Print on Demandq

[Mike]

I'm happy with Lulu for PoD but use BookBaby for ebooks, as Lulu didn't distribute to Amazon until quite recently. BookBaby have always done bulk printing, but now offer PoD for print books too. I haven't tried them so I am not sure about the quality.

[R.F.G.]

I use Lulu for print as well. Since they offer both 60# and 50# paper options it isn't always as expensive -- I did a 300+ page book for a base print cost of $4.51.

[R.A.]

I've had no disappointment with Createspace. They're inexpensive and good quality.

[G.G.]

I second R.A. I'm happy with Createspace.
They also give you a date you will receive the books but so far, all my orders have arrived well before that said date.

[Cheryl]

I third R.A. I use CreateSpace and have had no problems with the quality of their paperbacks or their service.

[Victoria]

I use CreateSpace too. Haven't had any problems and I was impressed by the quality of the work they do. They're also good at replying to questions you have.

[Jason]

If you want your books to be in B&N, then you can't only go through CreateSpace. I use them for Amazon, but for B&N in-store purchases I use Ingram Spark. Their quality is also excellent, although there is a small set-up fee.

[Justin]

Aside from Createspace and Lulu I've heard of LightningSource. I'm not sure how good they are as I only know of them but it's worth a look.

https://www.lightningsource.com/

[Lance]

I use Lightning Source for my non-Amazon print distribution. Because it's a division of Ingram, you can get distribution to all the online outlets serviced by Ingram (including Indiebound), and bricks-and-mortar bookstores (including B&N, Books-a-Million and most leading indies) can order them through their normal systems. It can also get you into Espresso, the onsite print-on-demand system.

Their setup fees ($75) and recurring catalog fees are a pain, but it's the only way you're going to get your print books into most of the world.

However, you still need CreateSpace for Amazon distribution unless you want your paperbacks listed as "out of stock" all the time.

[R.F.G.]

Actually Lulu prints get distributed to the same basic places as Lightning Source, without the setup and recurring catalog fees. Now getting a brick-n-mortar to actually stock physical copies of your indie book is another story.

The Amazon "out of stock" or "unavailable" message (for Lulu sourced books) lasts for roughly six to eight weeks, which is the length of time it takes for the Amazonian QC people to verify the book.

I'm not sure about the Espresso thing, as I haven't seen one.