Personal Book (http://www.personalbook.cl) is a new print on demand web site recently launched in Chile. What is print on demand? Most books are traditionally published in editions. Editions can range from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands of books. This is because publishers use traditional tools for printing which are not cost effective for small quanities of books. This generates several problems for publishers since many times they don't know how good a book will sell. Books which have little circulation can become permanently out of print when there is little demand. This problems are also faced by bookstores since they must keep stock and are faced with the same uncertainty.
With the advent of digital technology it is now cost effective to print books 'on demand'. Personal Book is Chile's first on demand book store. They have absolutely no stock. Users can search and order books using the site. The books can be personalized with text and are printed with digital technology.