{"id":2985,"date":"2022-08-29T01:36:47","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T01:36:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qinprinting.com\/blog\/?p=2985"},"modified":"2026-01-08T16:21:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T08:21:23","slug":"offset-vs-pod-printing-self-publishers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qinprinting.com\/blog\/offset-vs-pod-printing-self-publishers\/","title":{"rendered":"Print-On-Demand vs. Offset Printing: A Guide for Self-Published Authors"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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While many self-published authors of genre fiction start out with print-on-demand (POD) services, increasing numbers of successful self-publishers are turning to traditional offset printing. We evaluate the pros and cons to understand this growing trend.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Photo by furkanfdemir<\/a> via Pexels.com<\/span><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Whether you’re new to self-publishing or an old hand, you probably know more about print-on-demand (POD) services than you do about offset. And, honestly, much of what you think you know about offset printing is most likely either out-of-date or was never true in the first place. We’ll clear up the facts from the fiction as we go along.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Self-publishing is coming of age<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Modern self-publishing\u200a\u2014\u200awe say ‘modern’ because self-publishing has been around as long as publishing itself, although it was once only possible for the independently wealthy\u200a\u2014\u200areally became feasible for the masses with the advent of Amazon’s e-Book only KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) platform back in 2007. The now defunct paperback POD service CreateSpace was added in 2016 and has since been subsumed into KDP. Amazon is currently experimenting with a limited hardcover POD service, too. But since KDP launched back in the day, self-publishing has evolved, developed, in some cases improved, and certainly blossomed into a fully-fledged and ironically mainstream industry worth over six billion dollars<\/a> a year in the US alone.<\/span><\/p>

Aggressive promotion of the services by Amazon, and early successes on the part of a number of prominent independent authors, turbo-boosted the nascent self-publishing industry. While other companies such as Lulu, BookBaby, IngramSpark and others have either muscled in on the market or held their traditional territory, there’s no doubt that Amazon dominates the niche to such an extent that many self-publishers don’t even examine the alternatives.<\/span><\/p>

But while it may be easier to trot along with the rest of the flock, ever more creatives are stopping to ask themselves, “Wait a minute, what do I really<\/em> know? Have I opted for this because it’s the best, most rational, and high-quality option or just because all the other sheep are running this way?”<\/span><\/p>

And recently, we’ve seen some of the most successful writers in the self-publishing industry discuss the merits of custom offset printing over POD. Among those leading the new movement toward better printing, more creative control, and the higher return on investment that traditional printing services offer are leading lights such as Nina Amir<\/a> (of “Blog Your Book” fame), Joel Friedlander<\/a> (The Book Designer), and Guy Kawasaki<\/a> (APE: How to Publish a Book), to name only a few.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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So, what's changed since 2016?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Several things have moved along in the self-publishing market and in the services provided to career self-publishers since 2016. At the same time, it’s not just POD companies that have been improving and evolving their offers. Custom offset printers have, too! We’ll touch on this in more detail later.<\/span><\/p>

Authors within the self-publishing community have been developing their skills; not only as writers, but also in marketing, promotion, and business management. They’ve formed companies, built huge mailing lists, and got rich\u200a\u2014\u200aor at least earn a comfortable living on a par with any other white collar salaried professional.<\/span><\/p>

In many ways, the lines between the self-publishing world and the world of mainstream publishing have blurred. You can see that clearly in the increasing frequency of “cross-over events”\u200a\u2014\u200alike when a major publishing house offers a six-figure deal to an independent; or when a famed author, tired of being ball-and-chained to the restrictive contracts and the pitiful royalties offered by “The Big Five” publishers, turns to self-publishing instead. Not to mention the growing number of writers for whom the term “hybrid author” has been coined. Hybrid authors are writers published in the mainstream, with agency representation, who fiercely defend their contractual right to publish independently as well.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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From hopeful dreamers to author-entrepreneurs<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Back in 2016, most self-publishers trying out the guinea-pig services such as CreateSpace and others, were inexperienced “hopefuls” with little capital to invest other than their time and their dreams. Fast forward to the present, and while the top self-publishers are multi-millionaires and at the other end of the scale huddle the disillusioned few, in the middle ground\u200a\u2014\u200awhich is by far the largest space\u200a\u2014\u200ayou’ll find a great crowd of successful self-publishing “mid-listers” enjoying complete creative control and a perfectly comfortable full or part-time income, thank-you-very-much.<\/span><\/p>

Having grown up with the industry and matured from nervous hopefuls into confident and successful “authorpreneurs”\u200a\u2014\u200ato use a term coined by another leading light of the self-publishing movement, Joanna Penn<\/a>\u200a\u2014\u200athis cohort is starting to reassess how they work and where they invest their money. Cue the “rediscovery” of custom offset printing and the many advantages it has over POD services. Because once you’ve established a fan-base, have several bestselling titles under your belt, and a thousand-strong email list of readers eagerly awaiting your next release\u200a\u2014\u200anot to mention a little capital to invest\u200a\u2014\u200ait suddenly makes a lot of sense to do what the mainstream publishing houses do and get your books made by an offset printer.<\/span><\/p>

After all, if POD was such a panacea, then the mainstream publishers would all be doing it, too. If you think you may only sell a handful of books, it makes sense to use print-on-demand, which is why it’s a good option when you’re starting out. But if you’re confident that you can pre-sell at least a few hundred copies directly to your fans, it makes no sense whatever<\/em> to fork out the extortionate cost-per-unit that POD charges you. And what the POD services don’t tell you is that if you make an order of 500+ books, they’ll probably get it fulfilled with an offset printer. But they won’t pass on the cost benefits to you. Uh-uh. Nope. No way!<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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And what if you're not writing SF, fantasy, crime, thrillers, romance, or self-help?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Back in the early days, the only self-publishers were e-Book only genre fiction writers. The POD services were fully tailored to their minimal needs. Even now, while there’s a huge cluster of non-fiction niches serviced by the self-publishing industry, if you can’t squeeze your book into a trade paperback format, your options are as limited as your average mole’s eyesight. If you want to self-publish an art book, a coffee table book, a children’s board or pop-up book, or a fine hardcover compendium edition of your bestselling trilogy, what can the POD services offer you? Answer: nothing. Sorry. On that front they haven’t played catch up at all.<\/span><\/p>

Let’s be clear at this stage: we’re not knocking print-on-demand services. We acknowledge without reservation that they have their place and for several thousands of authors of a certain stripe, they answer every need. Many also throw marketing and distribution packages into the mix. And without them, few of today’s most successful independent “authorpreneurs” would have ever got started. There’s nothing wrong with print-on-demand! We’re just saying that it’s not by any measure your only<\/em> option; and in an increasing number of cases, it’s decidedly not<\/em> the best.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Print-on-demand vs. offset printing<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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So, in the spirit of balance and fair play, let’s take an unbiased look at the various pros and cons\u200a\u2014\u200agenerally speaking\u200a\u2014\u200aof print-on-demand vs. offset printing. That way, you can begin to make that rational assessment we talked about earlier. Then whether you decide to follow the flock or stamp out your own path, at least you’ll have made an informed, knowledgeable decision based on the facts.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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POD advantages:<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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