You typically go to the library to take out a book, but now you can go to a Toronto library and make one.
The Toronto Reference Library unveiled its newest form of technology at its Digital Innovation Hub — a book printing machine.
OK, given the fact the printing press is extremely old, what’s new about this?
What’s new is the ability to self-publish books – whether your own piece of literature, a cook book, dissertation or whatever you choose for a relatively reasonable price of $145 for 10 copies of a 150-page book. At about $15 per book, that’s a lot less than most book printers charge.
"It's like watching a birthing,” said Toronto author Nina Munteanu. She was one of the first people to use the machine.
The Asquith Press, costing about $68,000, sounds like a photocopier while it works, but the Plexiglas sides reveal each stage of the book making process.
"You can literally see the cover being made and all the pages being trimmed and glued together and being bound,” she said.
Dawn Connolly works at the Digital Innovation Hub at Toronto Reference library. She said there is another attraction for budding authors, no fear of rejection from publishers.
"It puts the tools of creation back in the hands of people who have the imagination or the creativity in the first place."
The library is already anticipating high demand for the book maker and is offering courses on how to format work for proper printing.