Espresso Book Machine Could Change Publishing

April 30, 2009

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April 30, 2009

A new kind of vending machine has been unveiled in London. The Espresso Book Machine has access to 500,000 books. Put in money, make a selection and the machine prints and binds your book. At 100 pages a minute, you can get a copy of War and Peacein 15 minutes.

STEVE INSKEEP, host:

And today's last word in business is literary espresso. A new kind of vending machine has been unveiled in London that offers hundreds of thousands of items. You may not see them all in the display window, but the Espresso Book Machine has access to half a million books. You stick in your money, you make your selection, and the machine will print and bind your book in just about the time you need to say caramel macchiato. At 100 pages per minute, you can get a copy of Dr. Seuss's "Green Eggs and Ham" in seconds. "War And Peace" would take about 15 minutes, if you can wait.

The Espresso Book Machine would seem perfect for airports and for coffee shops, so customers could have their Dickens and their espresso all in one shop - the convenience of a Kindle, but you're still using paper. And that's the business news on MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

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