Like email publishing, wireless publishing, electronic ink etc., print-on-demand too is a part of electronic publishing. Print-on-demand refers to the latest formula in the field of publishing, the method of printing books and other content one at a time and on demand or request.

According to some expert writers print-on-demand increases the cost i.e. the per-unit cost becomes quite high (around $4 per piece) and then there are queries pertaining to print and binding quality. On the other hand the print-on-demand strategy is quite cost-effective for it helps free writers from the process of doing a conventional print run of more than a thousand books at a time and thereby save money. As Vice-President of media products, Greg Greeley puts it 'print-on-demand has changed the economics of small-quantity printing, making it possible for books with low and uncertain demand to be profitably produced'.

Along with this print-on-demand technology offers a lifetime opportunity to each one of us to bring out our creativity in writing, feel free to express ourselves and let the world know about our thoughts. In you want to start there are numerous websites that will help you in this. The process is simple, just as a press asks for money to print your book, print-on-demand sites can publish a professional appearing tome and potentially offer editorial or publicity services without cost. The amount that you pay to the company varies with the length of the manuscript, number of copies made and additional services offered by it. For instance Lulu.com just charge a royalty on whatever book sold, Caf'Press.com draws only a cut of the sales while Universe.com presents different packages of services ranging from $299 to $1099. So there are ample of options for the author to choose and decide.

The art of print-on-demand makes use of complicated laser printing systems and electronically formatted text, which the printers can read. Lately publishers expect that this method will enable them print lesser copies of a book more effectively and still make a profit.

However if print-on-demand comes with various advantages to the author such as liberty to set timetable for publishing your book, owning the copyright, fixing the royalty amount, letting choose the artwork for the book cover, print copies on demand, links to your website and the site of the publisher etc., there are also several disadvantages to it. For instance with print-on-demand, the marketing of a book is more or less the author's responsibility. He only is responsible for promotion of his book through book signings and other marketing techniques. He also needs to pay his POD publisher a fee for the ISBN number and for listing his book at popular online bookstores. The onus of providing the copies of his book to reviewers within a specific time period also lies on the author's shoulder.

In toto though print-on-demand is an upcoming and successful strategy in the field of marketing yet it is largely beneficial to those who can afford to spend money on marketing and promotion of their book and simultaneously wish to have a complete hold over their book.