Short-run printing

Short-run printing (SRP) means printing a book cost-effectively in much lower volumes than was possible with traditional printing. Minimum print runs used to be hundreds or thousands of copies. Nowadays, The Choir Press can print very small quantities at reasonable prices – as low as one copy at a time if that is what you need, but often between about 30 and 500 copies. The benefits include these:

• Short-run book printing means lower up-front costs
• Minimal ongoing inventory costs
• Little or no wastage due to unused books
• Fast response to orders and more choice of manufacturing options
• Responsiveness to variations in demand.
• Short run books reduce the traditional risks with printing large quantities
• Cost-effective printing for low-volume market sectors

Life before cost-effective short-run book printing

Before accessible short-run printing, anyone publishing a book had to accept that it would be printed in relatively large volumes – with all the up-front set-up costs, materials costs, inventory storage and risks of wastage if books remained unsold… With the new democratisation of publishing, and growing interest in self-publication, traditional print-run conventions have been replaced by convenient short-run digital printing.

How short-run printing works

Printing books in short runs involves producing small quantities in response to the rate at which orders are received. With short-run production, the self-publishing house typically offers a package for printing of a few tens of books: at The Choir Press, we can print any quantity from one book upwards. It’s sometimes more economical to create smaller batches, especially if yours is a private publication for self-distribution. Our print-on-demand service is a type of short-run printing that includes worldwide order fulfilment for books sold through websites like Amazon. Choosing short runs is very convenient and involves much lower minimum print quantities than was previously possible.

Talk to us about your short-run print requirements

Could a short print run hold the key to successful publication of your book? Could we print small quantities from your own print-ready files? Or would you like our team to handle the editing and composition first? Short-run book printers can help you print paperback or hardback books to meet very specific order quantities. For fiction or non-fiction alike, we can advise you and help make short print runs a successful reality. [Please contact us now for more information.]