Dai Nippon Printing and Kodansha, two other Japanese firms that plan to supply publishing on demand, both reckon the best niche is no more than 500 copies at a time.

ECONOMIST: Electronic books

On a recent afternoon there, Bronwen Blaney, manager of retail services and custom publishing for On Demand Books, put the new machine through its paces.

WSJ: Brooklyn Library Gets On-Demand Printing

The first to do so in Japan is Fuji Xerox, which in May started a publishing-on-demand venture that lets customers browse through publications on its website and pick the material they want.

ECONOMIST: Electronic books

On-demand publishing has created new low-cost alternatives for people to get their manuscripts published.

WSJ: On the Web, Amateurs Rivaling Professionals