Ingramspark and Amazon

[Lori]

Greetings.
I am almost ready to publish my Moments In Time coffee table book. This book takes readers on a meditational journey to some of my favorite places. It contains my original photography and the first edition will be soft cover.
I am thinking about uploading my book to both Amazon and Ingram and order the proof copy from both to see which prints better. I have my own ISBN so I'm thinking this is feasible. Any feedback from fellow self published authors is greatly appreciated.
Since it is a picture book the print quality is extremely important.
Thanks for your insight!
Lori

[B.A.]

That is feasible and a great idea to discover which is the best for color prints. From what I understand, both can have issues with print runs, but Ingram sees to have better service where that is concerned.

[Lori]

Thank you. Crossing my fingers.

[Anita]

For color interior, Ingram has three options, and I am making the assumption your photos are in color, not black and white. I would recommend selecting the second option, the 70 lb paper. I have found the 50 lb is too thin, you can see the image on the opposite side of the paper.

You will need to resize your cover template, as Ingram does use a different formula for calculating spine width. This includes the 50 lb option.

One other point, your print cost will increase depending on which paperweight you select. For example for a 6X9, 100 page, color interior for 50 lb paper, the base print fee is $3.53. For the second option, it goes to $4.28 and the third option is $7.88.

Standard Color Color printed on 50lb White paper
Standard Color 70 Color printed on 70lb White paper
Premium Color Color printed on 70lb White paper

Hope this helps.

[Ed]

Congratulations on completing your book. May it bring you much success.

Good idea to order the proof copy from both sources. I've been told by some that Ingram offers the better quality. However, much to my surprise, I found that KDP looked and felt better in terms of paper quality and "heft" (for lack of a better description) with regard to my book. That could be just those particular print runs, so I plan to keep an eye on things going forward.

Here is what I hear from other authors who include lots of photos (I'm a non-fiction business guy, so have no direct experience, so take this as you will). Coffee table books are nearly always hard cover, something that KDP does not offer to the best of my knowledge. Thus, you may not even need to upload it to KDP.

Distribution is another question. A direct publisher relationship with Amazon is usually a good thing, though you can use Ingram to distribute it there (and elsewhere, of course). It really depends on your business model and how you choose to handle distribution.

[A.M.]

I agree, Ed. I always published a paperback via KDP and Ingram and was surprised to find I liked the KDP finished product better.

[A.M.]

Meant to say, I **also** published a paperback...

[Ed]

Thanks for sharing your similar experience, A.M. And congratulations on publication of OF, BY, AND FOR THE HANGED MAN. I hope it proves hugely successful for you.

[A.M.]

Much appreciation, Ed. Truly!

[Brandon]

My experience is that the print quality and paper quality with Ingram spark is vastly superior to KDP. However, Ingram will definitely be pricier, and the overall user experience and customer service is better with KDP. It makes sense to upload and order proofs on both sites if quality is important to you.

Best of luck and congratulations.