You don’t have to be a trained writer to publish a book. And you don’t need a lot of money to invest in printing copies to sell and distribute. in fact, you can self-publish your own book while taking advantage of the benefits of a print-on-demand business model.
print-on-demand books are a great way to start your self-publishing journey. Whether you already have an engaged audience, are looking to add to your existing product collection, or are just starting out, print-on-demand books could be a viable option for you.
You are reading: Print on demand books amazon
why choose print-on-demand book publishing?
The print-on-demand business model is attractive to new and aspiring entrepreneurs alike. It’s an affordable way to start a business: all you really need is an idea and the will to see it through.
For starters, when you use print on demand, you don’t need to make a huge investment in inventory, not to mention find a place to store it all. And when it comes to print-on-demand books in particular, a large order could mean losing thousands due to damage, inconsistent quality, and misprints.
Also, finding a publisher for your book idea can be frustrating. If you already have an audience, you can monetize it yourself and sell books online directly to readers, without the need for a publisher to print and promote your book on your behalf. That’s exactly what Tumblr poet Braveen Kumar did when he started his print-on-demand business. braveen already had a small but engaged following on instagram, and also created a pre-launch email list to promote his poetry book.
Outsourced printing and fulfillment means you can focus on the business side of things instead of fumbling with publishers and logistics.
print-on-demand book websites for desktop publishing
lulu express
- Notable lead times: Production time is three to five business days; shipping usually takes up to 28 days.
- minimum order requirements: n/a
- book products available: books hardcover, paperbacks, comics, magazines.
lulu xpress is the simpler book printing side of lulu’s overall book publishing services, and is perfect for desktop publishing. there are many formats and options to choose from, including hardcover and paperback, black and white and color, and a variety of paper types.
braveen used lulu xpress to print his poetry book because it had decent profit margins for him. he sold the book, which cost $3 to print and $6-$9 to mail, for $20. Using Lulu XPress also allowed her to sell his book on Shopify, supporting her long-term goal of developing a full print-on-demand brand with different products. he also allowed her to use instagram product tags to tag his book directly in posts, which was especially helpful considering the photos on the book pages were part of his content strategy.
lulu xpress prints hardcover and paperback books. You can choose from perfect binding, roll binding, binding, hardcover binding, and hardcover linen options with dust jacket bindings. There are also distribution tools to help market your book and drive sales.
contracted: print on demand
- Notable timeline: Most products are printed and delivered in three to five business days; orders ship within 24 hours.
- minimum order requirements: n/a
- book products available: scrapbooks, portfolio lookbooks, notebooks, spiral bound notebooks, guest books, address books, photo albums, photo albums.
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contrado is a custom print shopify app with over 470 print on demand products to choose from including stationery books. While you won’t find print-on-demand services for a “traditional” book, you can upload your own designs for notebooks, address books, photo albums, and more. is an ideal platform for artists and creatives with highly visual book designs. you can also sell your contracted art, increasing your earning potential.
don’t have your own design? no problem, contrado has pre-made templates and patterns for you to choose from.
contrado makes international shipments. Rates vary, but most orders arrive in three to five business days, even overseas. contrado also offers discounted rates for students. customers praise the service pod’s customer support team, accessible via live chat and email.
acutrack
- Notable timeframes: Orders ship within 72 hours.
- Minimum order requirements: n/a
- book products available: not listed.
acutrack is a print-on-demand and fulfillment service provider specializing in books. In addition to printing books on demand, it prints DVDs, Blu-ray discs and USB sticks. pod company specifically calls out entrepreneurs in the “personal development space” as the perfect fit for its service, though it may be a good fit for any desktop publishing author.
acutrak features a flexible open api as well as integrations with shopify, amazon, clickfunnel, salesforce and over 100 other e-commerce platforms. online reviews comment on helpful customer support and fast fulfillment times. some merchants describe acutrack as a full compliance partner.
amazon kindle direct publishing
- Notable timeframes: e-books are virtually instant: your book will arrive in kindle stores in 24-48 hours.
- minimum order requirements : n/a
- book products available: e-books, paperbacks.
With Amazon’s print-on-demand service, you can publish and distribute paperback and digital copies to customers around the world. You can take advantage of Amazon’s Kindle Store to get your book in front of potential new customers. Publishing your products is free, although you will pay a commission for each sale.
a key benefit of using amazon kdp is that you can request proof copies to check for errors when printing. this mitigates money loss from damaged or incorrectly manufactured products: you pay the printed cost plus shipping.
If you’re looking for magazines, periodicals, or spiral bound notebooks, you’ll need to use a different pod service. That said, you can repurpose your existing books into Amazon e-books or paperbacks if you want to take advantage of the potential visibility in your markets.
propaganda
- Notable lead times: Printing and binding take four to five business days.
- Minimum order requirements: n/ a
- available book products: photo albums, trade books, magazines, notebooks, e-books.
blurb is a print-on-demand company specializing in books and art for creatives. has a large selection of paper types that vary in quality and price, as well as digital design tools to help you design your product.
blurb integrates with adobe lightroom, photoshop and indesign to make it easy to transfer your designs directly. You can also publish and sell digital copies of your books through Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and even the Advertising Bookstore.
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Please note, however, that blurb charges a “custom logo fee” if you wish to remove the watermark from your book. Essentially, you increase the price of your book by 25%. overall, reviews are mixed. prices start at $14.99 for a small square paperback, so can be expensive for businesses.
ingramspark
- Notable lead times: Undisclosed.
- Minimum order requirements: n/a
- available book products: ebooks, paperbacks, hardcovers, premium color, standard color.
ingramspark is a pod service with many options to self-publish a book. You have a variety of print options for size, paper type, finish (matte or glossy), paper color, paper weight, and cover. It even has a special digital cloth with a textured hard cover. ingramspark also provides distribution services.
While ingramspark may sound great, reviews are mixed. there are 80 complaints with the better business bureau (bbb) and several blog posts online detailing challenges with the pod provider. if you want to try it, take advantage of its zero minimum order and make it in small batches.
baby book
- highlight timeline: Proofs take about eight days, the book is available for sale on amazon in as little as 20 days, and first orders are filled in as little as 50 days.
- minimum order requirements: n/a
- book products available: e-books, photo albums, comics, magazines , hardcover books, paperbacks, art books, yearbooks.
bookbaby’s print-on-demand service offers black-and-white and full-color printing for paperbacks and hardcovers, as well as digital publishing options.
Prices start at $99 and bookbaby offers a unique 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee, plus free shipping on most orders. so even though the reviews are negative, it might be a low-risk option to try.
other print-on-demand books
ice cream
- Notable lead times: Gelato requires one to six business days to create a product plus one to four days to ship.
- minimum requirements order: n/a
- book products available: photo albums, notebooks.
gelato is a dropshipper that has relationships with over 100 printers in 32 countries and offers 72-hour delivery on most orders. While you won’t find “traditional” book printing here, you can order softcover and hardcover photo books, notebooks, and even calendars. gelato also has print-on-demand t-shirts, apparel, mugs, and other products if you want to grow your brand in the future.
gear launch
- Featured Lead Times: Orders ship within three to five days; domestic orders arrive in five to ten business days; Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico & international orders may take two to four weeks.
- minimum order requirements: n/a
- book products available: magazines. the only books gearlaunch offers are magazines, although it does have hardcover and paperback options.
What’s noteworthy about gearlaunch is that it has one of the most extensive catalogs of print-on-demand products on this list, making it ideal if you have plans to expand your product line.
- Notable timeframes: Most orders ship within two to seven business days.
- Minimum order requirements: No /a
- book products available: notebooks, personalized diaries.
printify is a shopify app that offers notebooks and journals, but not traditional books. is another capsule printer with a large product catalog that can support a growing brand. all data is synced directly with your shopify store so you have accurate and up-to-date reports all the time.
Want to sell more print-on-demand products? explore our full list of print on demand companies and what they can sell.
share your print-on-demand books with the world
You don’t need to look for a major publisher to share your books with the world. A print-on-demand book business is the perfect place to start spreading your message, whatever it may be. When you launch your print-on-demand business with Shopify, you get access to thousands of apps to help drive your business, as well as a world-class customer support team that’s invested in your success.
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