E-books are becoming more popular by the minute thanks to devices like the Kindle, Nook, and iPad, but major dead tree publishers have been hesitant to go all in—until now. Dorchester Publishing, which describes itself as the "oldest independent mass market publisher in America," has decided to ditch its mass printing business to go digital- and print-on-demand only.

Unsurprisingly, Dorchester had a little nudge in that direction: the publisher said that sales of its books had declined a whopping 25 percent in just the last year, while its e-book sales are expected to double in 2011. The company specializes in romance, thriller, sci-fi, and fantasy novels and sells directly to major retailers like Wal-Mart.

"It wasn't a long, drawn out decision, because we've been putting in the effort but not getting the results," Dorchester CEO John Prebich told the Wall Street Journal.

Amazon recently said that Kindle book sales had surpassed the company's sales of hardcover books in the last three months—a trend that many expect to continue now that the Kindle is even cheaper than before. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos even made the bold prediction that Kindle book sales might eclipse paperbacks within the next year.

Though some consider that prediction to be just short of delusion, it's clear that e-books are (at least) on a positive trajectory. Whether that trajectory will enough to overcome the apparent drop in traditional media sales for Dorchester is another story, but the company says it expects to make big savings from cutting out printed books. It's unclear, however, whether that expectation includes some of its partners walking away: "It's been a good run, but if they aren't publishing mass-market paperbacks, we'll have to decide what to do," said Charles Ardai, owner of Hard Case Crime, which distributes its books through Dorchester.