Caffeinated Books?

I've just been reading about a fantastic piece of technology called the Espresso Book Machine. Manufactured by On Demand Books, these machines are able to print library-quality paperback books on demand, quickly, and for a low cost. The digital library available for printing by the EBM includes over a million books provided through the Open Content Alliance, and they also have a partnership with Lightning Source Inc, which provides access to nearly a million titles that are currently in copyright. It usually takes about 4-7 minutes to print, trim, and bind a single book, and the cost is around ten dollars per book. There is a lot if interesting information at On Demand Books' FAQ, including the fact that "a single machine operating 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, can produce over 60,000 books per year with minimum supervision." They claim that the books produced by the machine are indistiguishable from any paperback on a bookstore shelf. Check out their brochure for a ten-step outline of how the machine works, and for a list of current locations. Among the first to get these machines were the University of Alberta bookstore, the University of Michigan library, and in 2007 there was one on exhibit at the New York Public Library. Check out the University of Michigan's video about the machine and what it means for their library. Out-of-print, rare, or hard-to-find books become accessible to anyone, and they can take home their own copy for relatively cheap. Truly amazing. And espresso means fast, not coffee.