BookBaby was founded a decade ago as an eBook publishing and distribution platform. According to CEO Tony van Veen, about a year into its operation, authors began asking if they could print books as well. By 2016, it made sense to bring printing in-house to meet growing demand.
“We already did printing with our sister company, DiscMakers,” van Veen explains, “but we really didn’t know anything about book binding. We worked with our dealer, Northern Machine Works, to determine the best configurations for us.”
“We have also visited a lot of shops over the years,” adds Joel Maxey, VP of Operations, “and just about every one of them had Horizon equipment from Standard Finishing, with many units that had been reliably operating for years. That, combined with what looked to be the best value for the investment and the excellent ability and willingness for both Northern Machine Works and Standard Finishing to educate us, tipped the decision in their favor. Honestly, we didn’t know anything about binding, glue types, etc.”