I agree, the price would considerable. I think the end cost would be around $40 a book. That would cover the printing cost and still make it a worthwhile venture.
It's safe for me to guess, I work in printing
However, as you alluded to, there are many web based outfits that are suitable for short run printing batches or even on-demand printing such as 48hrbooks.com.
I'm not so sure how Shrapnel would take the idea of having the manual paginated and submitted to a third party...intellectual property and whatnot...
The provided materials are more than sufficient and the CD's booklet is more manual than you will get with any other game nowadays.
I guess my thoughts were that it could be a "deluxe" product that might drive a small amount of profit from hardcore fans.