The domestic printing industry has come under severe price pressure over the past decade or so. “Small press run” doesn’t explain the rapid inflation in the cost of college textbooks since the press run isn’t getting any smaller than it’s ever been, and the cost of printing has actually declined on smaller runs due to digital printing presses that require little setup and no printing plates.
Look elsewhere for the source of this. I’d suggest looking at royalties.
It’s a huge racket - RICO worthy maybe.
I have a bit of knowledge of the production side. The actual cost of materials and labor plus factory overhead to produce a book might be seven or eight bucks. This is the domestic cost - off shore might be half that.
Not sure what the editorial costs would be, but on a $100 book, could it be $90 per copy? Hmmmm