MagCloud (http://magcloud.com/), a child of HP Labs, also started shipping magzines to UK and Canada. This service obviously adds a lot of value to small time writers and editors.
———————————————————————————————————————————————–
MagCloud website writes:
MagCloud enables you to publish your own magazines. All you have to do is upload a PDF and we’ll take care of the rest: printing, mailing, subscription management, and more.
How much does it cost?
It costs you nothing to publish a magazine on MagCloud. To buy a magazine costs 20¢ per page, plus shipping. For example, a 20-page magazine would be four bucks plus shipping. And you can make money! You set your issue price and all proceeds above the base price go to you.
How are they printed?
MagCloud uses HP Indigo technology, so every issue is custom-printed when it’s ordered. Printing on demand means no big print runs, which means no pre-publishing expense. Magazines are brilliant full color on 80lb paper with saddle-stitched covers. They look awesome.
What do I need to do to participate?
You’ll need a PayPal account or major credit card to buy magazines, and publishers will need a PayPal account so we can pay you earnings. To create a magazine, you’ll need to upload a PDF, which means you’ll have to create your magazine in a program that outputs high-res PDFs like Adobe® InDesign.
——————————————————————————————————————————————–
This might do same thing what electronic media did for news papers. This service will also start a new “outsourcing business” where big outsourcers can manage printing and distribution for smaller magazine owners. This service will also impact big magazine houses such as Media negatively. Niche editors (creative people) can target smaller niche markets and that will reduce subscription for famous magazines. So, this is a risk for big magazine houses. This service lowers barriers to entry in publishing business and increases competition in the space.
Copyright issues will also be a major issue as bigger companies can not check each magazine for compliance and it will weaken the position of big magazine houses. MagCloud will also be a party in this non-compliance. I have not seen any clarity on this issue from HP.
Overall, this will be good for end consumers but will increase issues for publishing houses.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
No Responses Yet to “MagCloud : Last nail in coffin for organizing publishing media”