A Print-on-demand System for Producing Instructional and Extension Materials

Abstract

A Print-on-Demand (POD) System was developed to expand the availability of printed extension and educational materials. The layouts are developed on a computer using text files and digital images. Images can be edited with graphics programs before insertion into the layouts. The completed materials are stored, in final format, on disk and are printed on an as-needed basis or distributed over computer networks. The system greatly reduces the production time to a finished product and gives great flexibility in revising publications. The basic POD system consists of a computer, a mass storage device, and a printer. Photo CDs and video capture are the most common sources of digital images. Photo CDs produce higher-quality images but require more time to get the digitized images due to commercial processing. For Photo CDs, the images are photographed with a 35-mm camera and sent for processing and digitizing. With live video capture, a video camera is connected directly to a computer and images are digitized in real time. Tape recorded images also can be used, but the image quality is less than live video. Video images are digitized at 72 pixels per inch (ppi), and Photo CD images are available at >3000 ppi. Video images are best digitized at twice their desired size and reduced to final size when increasing the resolution.