Self-publishing is one of the few areas of growth in the publishing business and a sign of the further democratisation of this once expensive specialism.
A proper printed book is a great way for independent creatives and small businesses to present themselves, their work, history, techniques and philosophy. Ideal for shops, waiting rooms and meeting spaces.
There is now a proliferation of companies offering book publishing services, including high street players, making it economical to print even single copies on demand. However, they mostly use the same one or two software systems for production – great for throwing something together but they lack options and finesse, being designed for the consumer market and constrained by the need to work online.
The American outfit Blurb is geared a bit higher. Instead of forcing you to use a clunky, unfamiliar application – and save your work in a format incompatible with the rest of the world – it allows you to deliver industry-standard PDF files like you would for any other professional print job. The print quality can't be faulted and you get an online version for free.
That makes it possible to design using normal high-end software – and your designs stay on your own hard disc where they belong.