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No I don't mean using your home printer to print out a whole book using your own ink and printer. I'm talking about walking into your local bookshop and printing up a book on the spot using a machine called an "ATM for books" by Time magazine. Even if the book is not on the shelves and is totally out of print - you can have it instantly. Angus & Robertson became the first Australian book chain to install the "Espresso Book Machine" (EBM) aka the "storymaker", capable of printing, trimming and binding a paperback book on demand within minutes. The bookshop chain has initially planned for several hundred out-of-print or difficult to get hold of books to be available, but Angus & Robertson said the range would expand daily, reaching 10,000 within 18 months. They would cost the same as the current shelf price of paperbacks or less, the retailer said. Which is great news as a typical Angus & Robertson shop can hold just more than the 20,000 physical books and it gives them a competitive edge against significant threats from online sellers such as Amazon.

The EBM is now up and running ready to print your book on demand in Angus & Robertson's Bourke Street store in Melbourne (Australia), but the company said it would have up to 50 machines installed throughout its Australia and New Zealand network within a year.

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