Independently owned Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeehouse is one of only 28 places in the United States with an Espresso Book Machine (EBM), a Time Magazine “invention of the year,” and the only location in southern California. The store helps readers connect with the books they want, and now, with the EBM, the staff can also assist authors to connect their work with others. Novels, poetry collections, journals, family histories or even family recipes can be turned into bound, beautiful volumes.  The EBM transforms digital files into a paperback book complete with a full color cover and a black and white interior, indistinguishable from books produced by traditional publishers.

There are no minimum print runs, so one can print as many or as few copies as desired, whenever they are needed. Printing, binding and trimming time is about as long as it takes to grab a cup of espresso. A work-in-progress can also be printed, uploading revised files and printing new versions at any time.

Books can be offered for sale or kept private (printable only by the author) – whichever best suits the project.  And, if a book is made available for sale, the author retains all rights to the work and is responsible for setting the retail price.

As opposed to online self-publishing services, Flintridge Bookstore and Coffeehouse offers personal assistance and can walk authors through the entire process and customize it to their needs. The turn around time for printing is faster than for most websites. And, with the EBM, once authors have paid the initial set up fee, their book is available any time in the future for just the cost per copy. Find a description of the services throughout website at www.flintridgebooks.com.

In addition to self-publishing services, the EBM prints On Demand Books, offering over three million public domain and out of print titles, as well as a growing selection of current releases. ODB books can be printed in as little as 10 minutes. And they can be ordered online and either picked up at the store or shipped. Visit the bookstore’s On Demand Books at http://printabook.flintridgebooks.com.

For more information, contact the bookstore’s EBM operator at espresso@flintridgebooks.com or call (818) 790-0717.