Zeitfracht further expands print-on-demand services for publishers and retailers: De Gruyter and Springer Nature rely on sustainable book production from Erfurt

Erfurt, April 19, 2022. Zeitfracht is now also printing hardcover books at its Erfurt logistics facility in collaboration with printing service provider CPI. This enables the company to serve print-on-demand (PoD) orders even faster and more sustainably. The expanded range has led directly to new customers: Among others, the two major scientific publishers Springer Nature and De Gruyter will be relying on Zeitfracht's PoD service in future. With these two publishers, around 1.3 million PoD titles will be offered on the market via Zeitfracht in future.

"We are delighted about the prestigious new additions and the overall increase in interest in our print-on-demand service. Demand-oriented and risk-free production is extremely important, especially in times of tight commodity markets. We will continuously expand and optimize this area and thus significantly increase the availability of titles for our customers whose stock production and storage is no longer economically viable," says Thomas Raff, member of the Zeitfracht Group Executive Board and spokesman for the management of Zeitfracht GmbH. Whereas previously only softcover books were produced in Erfurt, the combined PoD printing site in the Thuringian capital will make it possible to reduce transportation costs. This allows resources to be conserved and the high speed of Zeitfracht logistics to be used directly.

"We are delighted that the expanded cooperation means that a significantly larger number of titles from our publishing program are available via Zeitfracht and that customers can now receive them much more quickly," says Alexander Faust, Director Production and Internal Operations at De Gruyter. Eric Schmitt, Executive Vice President Central Procurement at Springer Nature: "We are very pleased that our titles can now also be made available to customers in Germany via PoD via Zeitfracht. In addition to constant availability, it is very important for us to make a further contribution to the sustainability of physical production."

Zeitfracht GmbH has been working with CPI - the leading book printing service provider in Germany - since January 2022. Zeitfracht and CPI offer publishing customers a seamless transition between conventional edition printing and "print to order" in the Zeitfracht bar range or publisher delivery. In production, CPI and Zeitfracht use a unique technology in Germany, which produces softcovers and hardcovers on a single in-house machine without interrupting makeready.

About Zeitfracht GmbH:

Zeitfracht GmbH is the leading logistics service provider for the book and media industry. The company is also active as a service provider for complete fulfillment for brands from many other product areas. Zeitfracht employs around 1,600 people at its sites in Erfurt and Stuttgart. Zeitfracht GmbH's logistics center in Erfurt is one of the largest and most modern logistics facilities in Europe.