Amazon.co.jp Introduces Print-On-Demand Program for Books

Print-on-demand offers publishers a low risk way of making sure their titles are always in-stock, resulting in improved selection for customers and increased sales for publishers

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN) — Amazon.co.jp today announced a new Print-on-Demand (POD) program for Books, which dramatically expands the selection of titles available to customers and offers publishers a cost-effective way to make the broadest possible range of their authors’ titles available.

“Being able to print these books locally, through the CreateSpace platform, will get the books to the readers more quickly and supports Macmillan’s environmental initiatives.”

Using POD technology, Amazon.co.jp can rapidly print and ship a single book in response to a customer’s order. Titles in the program will always be in-stock, allowing customers to benefit from Amazon.co.jp’s shipping offers such as Amazon Prime and Same Day Delivery. There are currently over 600,000 titles available for printing from Amazon.co.jp.

Amazon.co.jp POD provides a cost-effective way for publishers to offer titles for sale to customers in Japan. POD will in particular help foreign book publishers who want to sell both their backlist and frontlist into the Japanese market without the expense and risk of overseas shipping and local inventory. POD is also a great solution for out-of-print works, niche titles, custom books, foreign language editions and alternative formats, such as large print.

Leading publishers from around the world are working with Amazon.co.jp to offer their titles via its POD service, including Cambridge University Press, Macmillan, British Library, Taylor & Francis and Springer.

“We hope to bring hundreds of thousands of books to Amazon.co.jp’s customers that might never have otherwise been available,” said Kazufumi Watanabe, Vice President of Media at Amazon. “Especially in Japan, foreign language books were hard to keep in stock due to their relatively lower demand and longer lead times. By introducing POD, publishers will be enabled to keep all their titles perpetually in stock at Amazon.co.jp. Such an innovative new solution will be a significant benefit to both the publishing industry and our customers.”

“We are pleased to add our U.S. POD titles to this innovative program,” said Tom Stouras, Vice President of Supply Chain and Sales Operations at Macmillan. “Being able to print these books locally, through the CreateSpace platform, will get the books to the readers more quickly and supports Macmillan’s environmental initiatives.”

“We are pleased that Amazon.co.jp has been producing Springer STM Books in Print-On-Demand in Japan,” said Ryoji Fukada, Managing Director, Springer Japan KK. “Currently Springer publishes more than 5,000 new English-language titles every year. Since many of these titles concern new scientific information, it is crucial for our readers to be able to obtain them as soon as possible. Using POD, our books will reach our readers faster.”

For a limited time, Amazon.co.jp will provide free setup for publishers with POD-ready PDF files. Amazon.co.jp is also offering competitive manufacturing rates as part of its comprehensive solution. For more information, pricing and details on the Print-on-Demand program, please contact [e-mail].

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle, Kindle 3G and Kindle DX are the revolutionary portable readers that wirelessly download books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and personal documents to a crisp, high-resolution electronic ink display that looks and reads like real paper. Kindle 3G and Kindle DX utilize the same 3G wireless technology as advanced cell phones, so users never need to hunt for a Wi-Fi hotspot. Kindle is the #1 bestselling product across the millions of items sold on Amazon.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, and www.amazon.it. As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

About Amazon.co.jp

Amazon.co.jp started operation on November 1, 2000 and aims to be the world’s most customer-centric store where customers can search and discover anything they might want to buy online. Amazon.co.jp currently offers over 20 million items in categories such as Japanese and foreign books, CD, DVD, software, games, home electronics & cameras, home & kitchen, toys & hobbies, sports & outdoors, health & beauty, cosmetics, watches, babies & maternity, apparel & fashion goods, food & beverage, jewelry, stationary/office supplies, DIY/tools, automobile & motorbike goods, musical instruments, and pet supplies. Customers can also access Amazon.co.jp on their mobile phones using i-mode, EZweb, Yahoo!, Keitai, and Willcom through Amazon Mobile’s platform for the mobile market. Amazon.co.jp provides customers with various features utilizing the industry’s most advanced online shopping technologies including reliable credit card payment, cash on delivery, payment at convenience stores and through ATM and online banking, Edy payment (advance payment), recommended items, and convenient 1-Click order. Responding to customers’ requests, Amazon.co.jp has been offering various kinds of delivery service including free shipping of items sold and shipped by Amazon.co.jp as well as same-day express delivery, express delivery, Scheduled Delivery, periodic delivery at special prices, and so on. Amazon.co.jp is one of the international sites run by Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, WA, U.S.A. Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn and www.amazon.it.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.