Help:Collections/Printed books



Wikibooks offers users a service to order individually printed books based on collections created with the Collection Tool. The service is offered in cooperation with PediaPress which is the official print on demand partner of the Wikimedia Foundation. [1]

How to order a printed version
First create your personal collections of pages as described on the Collection Tool help page.

Then simply click on "Preview with PediaPress" on the 'Show collection' page. This uploads your collection to the PediaPress website. After choosing the destination country, an approximate number of pages and the price are shown. Title, subtitle, and editor can be set or changed here. Further, users can customize the cover by selecting an image from within the collection to appear on the front of the book, as well as setting a background color.

There is a preview which shows what your selected pages (only the first N pages) will look like in a printed book. (Note: The typesetting and layout of printed books differs from downloadable PDFs, since the page size is half letter, not letter and it includes additional features like an index, references as footnotes, etc.)

At this point, your book can be ordered by adding it to the cart and checking out. Available payment methods are MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal. Softcover books are printed within 2–3 business days, hardcover or color books are printed within 15 business days, and shipping takes another 2–20 days.

How are books manufactured?
PediaPress uses the TeX typesetting system to generate a digital pre-press reproduction. Books produced by this technique look just like conventional books.

Book specification:
 * Content
 * Table of contents
 * The selected pages
 * Endnotes
 * Licensing information
 * Index
 * Paper size: 8.5 inch × 5.5 inch (216 mm x 140 mm)
 * Images are printed using the highest available resolution
 * Books can contain 50 to 800 pages; larger collections are automatically evenly split up into multiple volumes

There is an example book (PDF), which shows how printed books are typeset.

How much do printed books cost?
Pricing for printed books depends on the number of included pages (see table). Shipping costs depend on the shipping destination. To get a detailed quote, simply upload your book to PediaPress and select your country and currency.

The Wikimedia Foundation receives 10% of the gross total for each book sold.

Which shipping options are available?
For the US and most European destinations express shipping options are available. For most other countries in the world a standard shipping option is the default. Delivery time varies from 2 to 20 business days depending on the destination.

What is PediaPress?
PediaPress is an online service which offers customized printed books from wiki content. The web-to-print service works on any MediaWiki which has deployed the open source Collection Extension. The company actively supports the MediaWiki community and established a long-term partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation (Wikis Go Printable). The company was founded in 2007 and is located in Mainz, Germany. For more information see.