Mags R Us; HP Labs' MagCloud pitching outsourced printing and distribution

We're not sure about the idea of outsourcing the printing and distribution of single copies of magazines. But consider for yourself MagCloud, an experimental system now in beta by which Hewlett Packard Labs allows publishers to print individual copies on demand.

It is only available right now to U.S. publishers (and, while it is in its shakedown cruise, then only by invitation). But a quick perusal of the website suggests that this might appear at least superficially attractive to some. Here's how it works:

• A publisher signs up
• The publisher creates a hi-res pdf file in Adobe InDesign (or similar)
• The file is uploaded to MagCloud
• A proof is ordered to make sure all is well
• The magazine is printed, saddle-stitched, on 80-lb paper using HP's Indigo system
  
• The "cost of production" is $0.20 a page ($10.40 for a 52-page magazine)
• The publisher sets a markup on that cost
  
• The buyer of the magazine is charged the cost, the markup and a flat rate $1.40 a copy for shipping and handling (at least during the beta stage) using PayPal
  
• The finished magazine is mailed to the end user (for now, only in the U.S.)
  

This might work for printing and distributing on-request brochures, but it seem highly unlikely that most consumer or trade magazines would find this an attractive financial proposition. How many readers would find it alluring to pay $15 for a 52-page magazine?

Given current technology, once a publisher has sunk the costs of creating the content* and the pdf, why wouldn't she simply distribute that pdf file on a web site or attached to an e-mail?

*We laughed out loud at this statement on the MagCloud site: It costs you nothing to create a magazine, and you set a markup to earn a profit above production cost. A buyer will pay an additional modest shipping charge (USPS first class mail).

[Thanks to Joyce for tipping me to this.]