PediaPress GmbH is a software development and print-on-demand company located in Mainz, Germany. The company is a spin-off of Brainbot Technologies AG. It allows users to create customized books from wiki content using an automated PDF file builder and print-on-demand technology. Users can add their own cover details and limited content, such as a foreword. PediaPress maintains that it is not a publisher and does not review the content of any printed books or other works offered through its tools, however it may remove content it deems to be illegal or inappropriate. PediaPress and the Wikimedia Foundation became partners in December 2007, and a proportion of the sales income of each book is donated to the Foundation.
Origins
PediaPress was established to provide an online service that enabled Web users to create customized books from wiki content using direct web-to-print technology. Users were able to use the Wikipedia Book Creator tool to arrange the order of the articles and specify the cover details. The price of each unique book depended on the number of pages. Books were ready for shipment within a few working days. PediaPress and the Wikimedia Foundation became partners in December 2007. PediaPress's software was initially integrated into Wikipedia, and made accessible in the navigation sidebar of every page via a "create a book" button. PediaPress had contracted with Lightning Source, a subsidiary of Ingram Industries, to print the books. PediaPress established a long term partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation. A portion of the proceeds of each book was donated to the Wikimedia Foundation to support their mission. Initially, the ability to create books from the English version of Wikipedia was exclusive to signed in users, because of scalability issues. But later, anyone could create books from any of the millions of articles on Wikipedia in English alone.
Capabilities
The source wiki must have a compatible tool. Users must first design the book on the source Wiki, selecting the articles and specifying the contents and the cover details, then click the link to PediaPress. PediaPress converts the book to a PDF file ready for printing as a x sized book. Users cannot download the converted PDF of their WikiBook but can only order print-on-demand paper copies. PediaPress offers paperback and hardcover formats in full color or black-and-white. Users can specify the cover details and add their own limited content, such as a foreword. The PediaPress.com web-to-print service works from all MediaWikis that have installed the extension. Sites offering the service include the German Wikipedia, Wikibooks, and the OpenOffice.org Wiki; extending it to all language editions of Wikipedia has also been proposed.
