University Bookstore shows off Espresso Book Machine

The machine allows users to print off original works, as well as books from the University Classics series.

By Samantha Sunne

Published Nov. 4, 2009

In the month since the Espresso Book Machine was installed at the University Bookstore, it has printed hundreds of books, most of which are from the University Classics series. An open house Wednesday showcased books the machine printed from that series, as well as works by local authors.

Diane Oerly, who collected her father’s short stories into a self-published book, called the process convenient and affordable. Publishing her father’s stories has been a long-time goal for her, she said.

“It’s fantastic,” said Oerly, a business technology consultant in the Division of Information Technology. “It’s so exciting that we could capture his stories.”

Her father Fred Oerly said he thought it would be years before he would see his stories published.

The bookstore has been focusing on printing University Classics, affordable versions of some of literature’s most popular classics, MU Media Coordinator Heather Tearney said.

The University Classics publication of Bram Stoker’s "Dracula," a novel of some 300 pages, costs $7.95. The same novel published by Oxford University Press costs $9.95 at the bookstore. Some shorter books, such as the Shakespeare play "Romeo and Juliet," are available in the University Classics series for as little as $3.95.

Graduate student Robin Hubbard said affordability was one of the most important reasons she chose to self-publish her guide to computer-assisted research.

“As a student myself, I am very aware of the cost of textbooks,” Hubbard said.

Her goal is to sell her textbook to students for less than $15. She said she chose self-publication so she could constantly update the book in order to keep it up to date.

With the Espresso Book Machine, anyone can publish his or her own book in less than five minutes, Tearney said. She suggested students could put together a portfolio of their work for a resume. Junior Mitch Hughey, an English major, said he definitely planned on publishing his own work in the future.

Books can be customized according to size, color scheme, cover design and typography, Tearney said. The bookstore publishes for a rate of 6 cents per page and can print a paperback book of up to 425 pages. The customer can also purchase an ISBN for $8.

The bookstore will install a color content printer in the spring and will eventually print course packets, cheaper textbooks and out-of-print books, Tearney said.

The bookstore plans to enhance the University Classics series by including notes and introductions written by university faculty, she said. Art students will be recruited for the design and cover art.

Tearney said the machine has only needed a few tweaks so far. It requires simple maintenance such as refilling paper and glue and emptying the recycling, bookstore employee Nic Maglio said. The bookstore has only had minor problems with the machine so far, such as paper jams, he said.

“Every new machine they make is an improvement over the last one,” Tearney said.