# Print on demand

> Source: https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/print-on-demand

Last updated: 2026-09-06
Category: Printing & binding
Also called: POD

Print on demand (POD) prints a book only after it is ordered, one copy at a time, so there is no print run, no inventory and no minimum quantity.

## Definition

**Print on demand** is a manufacturing model, not a quality grade: a digital press prints and binds each copy when an order arrives, and the book is shipped straight to the buyer or the author. There is no run to finance, no warehouse, and a title can stay available for decades with nothing in stock.

Against **offset** printing the economics invert. Offset has a large set-up cost and a very low cost per copy, so it wins from a few thousand copies; POD has no set-up and a fixed cost per copy — typically a few dollars for a black-and-white paperback, more for colour and hardcover — so it wins for one copy or a hundred. Modern POD quality for text books is close to offset; colour work has narrowed the gap.

The large POD networks are Amazon KDP, Ingram (IngramSpark / Lightning Source) and Lulu; each has its own **bindings**, trims, paper stocks and preflight rules.

## In Bindery

Bindery prints on demand through Lulu — 21 presets, hardcover to saddle stitch — with the full quote for printing and shipping shown before payment, and no membership needed to print.

## Related

- [Proof copy](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/proof-copy)
- [Perfect binding](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/perfect-binding)
- [Casewrap hardcover](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/casewrap-hardcover)
- [ISBN](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/isbn)
- [Wholesale discount](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/wholesale-discount)
- [Turn a PDF Into a Printed Book](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/tools/pdf-to-printed-book)
- [Turn a Word Document Into a Printed Book](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/tools/word-document-to-printed-book)
- [Hardcover Memoir Maker](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/formats/hardcover-memoir-maker)
- [Book Publishing Glossary — 59 Terms Defined](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary)
- [Bindery — the Claude-powered book studio](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/bindery)

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