Click-to-Order Reprints

For the past several years, those seeking reprints of an article they’ve read via a magazine’s Web site could call a contact number or send an e-mail to an address provided on the site. Or they could complete a simple online form and click “submit.” That information would generally be sent via e-mail to the publisher or the company providing reprints for that publisher, and the potential purchaser would be contacted for more specifics.But much more recently, ordering reprints through online automation has become more sophisticated. Rights can now be purchased for various uses, and any quantity can be ordered—from a single reprint of an article to thousands. Instant Gratification“Probably the biggest change to reprint automation for us has been the digital licensing arrangement we have with iCopyright, which has been available since November of last year,” says Michelle Wolfe, vice president of sales and marketing of FosteReprints, Michigan City, Ind. “Through iCopyright—a service that automates the licensing and delivery of digital content—readers of an article will see a reprint icon at the bottom of the article that, once clicked, will pop up a window with a wide array of options to choose from.” The first of those options, she says, is an ‘Instant Uses’ tag. This choice allows readers to purchase instant licenses of the article in text-only form through a PDF format in real time. Under the ‘Instant Uses’ tag is a list of four additional options, including: e-mail distribution, photocopies, re-publish in a print publication and Web page e-print. “For Web-page e-prints, a buyer can purchase, with a credit card, an HTML version of the article that can be linked or displayed on the Web page of their choice for a monthly fee,” says Wolfe. Other options involve fees per recipient and number of copies in circulation. The only downside, or upside depending on the purchaser’s preference, is that instant reprint purchases typically involve no human contact—“unless the order does not go through for some reason,” says Wolfe. Richard Wright, co-founder of Wright’s Reprints, The Woodlands, Texas, which partnered with iCopyright in July 2005, says, “Then we act as the customer service center that ensures the order goes through.” Publishers also can work directly with iCopyright. According to iCopyright's Web site, 600 publications currently use the system, and reprints or licenses of more than 20 million stories are able to be ordered automatically using iCopyright.Michael Biggerstaff of Reprint Management Services (RMS) cautions, however, that publishers may or may not own rights to photography appearing in the article. “If they don’t, then the instant purchase of an article will not include that photo,” he says. But if the publisher does own rights to photography, they will be included. “Most articles are HTML, but when you click to include ‘photocopy’ it will paginate everything with a tag at the end that gives you the right to reproduce it. Buyers enter their credit card information and the quantity desired, and a PDF is created,” he adds. “This is all managed through iCopyright, which handles what we call ‘quick-throughs’ or instant PDFs.” Wolfe and Wright report that iCopyright also allows publishers to log in and view activity occurring on their sites. For instance, publishers can enter a password to see what has been sold, and to see where the licensing has gone—whether reprints are posting on other Web pages or ordered as an instant PDF.Wright also says instant clearance is generally restricted to smaller reprint orders that, in Wright’s Reprints case, would be anything under 500.“The publisher gets a percentage of these orders, as does iCopyright and the reprint company,” he says. “Even though there is usually no human intervention and no invoicing created by the reprint company with these transactions, it receives a small percentage of the sale. “In fact, three logos will appear when an instant reprint is generated, including iCopyright’s, the publisher’s and the reprint company’s.”Losing the personal touch and the upsell RMS does not go out of its way to promote instant purchases, as it prefers as much personal interaction as possible regardless of quantity. “We offer online reprints, but rather than letting someone just click and buy, we want to talk to them about the quantity they want and the reprints’ usage. Oftentimes, we can suggest a reprint program that may fit their needs better,” says Biggerstaff, adding that RMS reps will call potential buyers in just about every case to talk about what they will use the reprints for and what their needs are. “We let them know about various marketing strategies and e-print options, and how different types of reprints fit into those marketing strategies.”For instance, he says, some buyers may think they only need 500 reprints at $1.50 unit price. But, after talking to them, sales reps discover 2,000 reprints would better serve their needs, which can be purchased at a 75-cent unit price. “If they had ordered online, they could’ve missed the savings and had too few reprints.”While RMS becomes involved with most online purchases, FosteReprints and Wright’s receive leads only when buyers click on a custom reprint option. “Once people choose a customized reprint, we are sent the information and then contact those buyers to find out what they are looking for,” says Wolfe. “We can then talk about a variety of different redesigns or special reprint presentations to fit what the customer is looking for.”At Wright’s Reprints the process is the same. “The only leads that we are tied into are those that come through custom reprints. Anything that is instant, or is an order for just 10 or 20 copies, is strictly done online,” says Wright. One option RMS offers is NXTprint—a product from NXTbookmedia.com, which handles digital publications. “NXTprint gives buyers the potential to do things that they can’t do with PDF,” explains Biggerstaff. “NXTprint comes through a recipient’s browser, and it is less intrusive than a PDF, meaning it does not involve a huge download. It is really more for buyers looking to create a marketing piece that is electronic. It is just a link of a miniature, flipping icon embedded in e-mail that takes the recipient to NXTprint.”Another option via modern reprint-automation processing falls under a category often referred to as ‘content services.’ This option is for readers who would like to reuse content from an article for reasons other than a reprint, such as commercial, academic, nonprofit or governmental purposes. “For these requests, a licensing agent will contact users directly about the query,” says Wolfe.Does Automation Boost Revenue?As for whether the reprint-automation system generates greater reprint sales, the jury is still out. Wolfe says FosteReprints has experienced about four times the normal amount of sales since partnering with iCopyright in November. On the other hand, Wright believes reprint automation offers a great convenience to users, but not necessarily a great revenue stream.“Just from conversations I’ve had with publishers, I’ve learned that the revenue generated is not much different than that generated from usual reprint ordering,” says Wright. “But other publishers may have a different story to tell.” Sharon R. Cole is a Philadelphia-based freelance writer serving the print industry.

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