BUZZ BOOK: Are in-store printing presses a book game-changer?

In a time of vacant storefronts, depressing studies about declining rates of reading and bookstore closings, the return of a bookstore is happy news indeed. The iconic Shakespeare & Co. shuttered its doors at its first location at 81st and Broadway in 1996 — and opened back up on the Upper West Side this fall. The new location at 2020 Broadway, which is the third in the city, boasts 3,000 feet, free Wi-Fi, a cafe — and, along with the other locations, its own printing press.

If a title is not available on the shelves, the patented 3D printer Espresso Book Machine can print one “in the time it takes to brew an espresso.”

“I felt that the future of bookstores was smaller stores, community-based and experiential. This technology is like bringing the warehouse into the store, allowing us to offer customers the se- lection of Amazon,” says Dane Neller, CEO of Shakespeare & Co.

“This can print a book in three or four minutes, and it looks like a book you would get off the shelf. It also allows self-published authors, children and all sorts of people who don’t go the traditional publishing route to create books.”

The custom-printed book costs what it would cost on the shelf; the author services, which include editing, layout and graphic design, are priced differently. So, is this the future of bookstores? “The challenge on the publish side is getting the big publishers to give us permission to print their titles,” says Neller. “We’re still small and don’t have the scale. But, if they really believe in the future of independent bookstores, this is the way to do it. With disruptive technology, it takes time.”