Canberra-based lip magazine re-launches with its 15th issue as a print-on-demand product. The press release has a strong pitch as to why print on demand is a compelling proposition for magazines:
While a few magazines may be going green — using recycled paper, soy based inks and implementing greener business practices — traditional magazine publishing still produces a huge amount of print waste.
Did you know that the average sell-through rate of print magazines is around 70% of magazines are pulped at the end of their shelf life. High print runs may be attractive to advertisers, but at what cost to the environment?
While I cannot dispute the average stated, the number is skewed by the 1,500+ special interest low print run titles. In the top 200 the sell through rate is 80% or above. The print on demand model is something we will read about more often for special interest and fringe titles.
Lip is run by volunteers and carries no advertisements. The website is very cool.