Amazon launches its first ‘Print on Demand’ facility in Australia, the first in the Southern Hemisphere.
The state-of-the-art printing service enables authors and publishers to print paperback books at its Western Sydney Fulfilment Centre, making their selected catalogue of titles continuously available for fast delivery to Australian readers.
Customers now have access to millions of books on Amazon Australia, and these will be delivered faster to customers as the books will be printed locally.
Amazon outlines the process on how to book an order.
Once the customer orders a title enrolled in the program, Amazon says, the website prints the book and delivers it to them.
Amazon claims this eliminates “the needs for manufacturing or storing surplus books, which help independent authors and publishers reach more readers.”
Matt Benham, category lead for media and books, Amazon Australia, says, “We are continuously growing the delivery experience for customers and our new Print on Demand facility means that we will be able to get millions of paperback titles to customers faster than ever before.”
Benham enthuses: “We are also excited about the benefits Print on Demand brings to the thousands of Australian self-published authors who have been keenly waiting for the launch of an Australian facility.”
Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Amazon’s self-publishing service, enables authors to publish in both print and digital formats, retain their copyright, get to market fast, distribute globally, and earn royalties.
Alongside better access to Australian readers “through faster delivery of paperback copies of their work”, KDP authors, Amazon claims, “will also benefit from faster access to proof and author copies.”
Christopher Cartwright, an Australian author who self-publishes via Kindle Direct Publishing says “the arrival of Amazon’s paperback printing facility in Australia is a huge milestone for Australian self-published authors like me.”
Cartwright says this is a boon for authors and customers.
He concludes: “Customers will now be able to buy a print copy of any of my books and have it delivered to them much quicker than before so I look forward to seeing what this will do for my sales on Amazon.com.au.”
