IngramSpark

IngramSpark is a self-publishing platform that prints hardcover and paperback books on demand and distributes them, along with ebooks, to retailers, bookstores and libraries. Its homepage promises "Everything you need to publish, print, promote and sell your book to millions of readers" and names "Hardcover, paperback, ebooks, and global book distribution" as its specialties. The site's footer carries a Lightning Source LLC copyright and links to Ingram Content Group. The service is for independent authors and small publishers who want their book in the book trade, not only in their own shop.

How publishing works

Signing up costs nothing. The pricing page says in capitals "FREE" and explains: "It costs you nothing to sign up for an IngramSpark account and to upload your print or ebook." Every published book gets global book distribution, access to paid book advertising opportunities, free tools and resources (a weekly blog, online courses and downloadable guides) and the Book-Building Tool, which creates covers and interiors that meet the file requirements. Authors can choose predesigned layouts, type directly into the tool or upload Word documents or PDFs.

Once a title is live, IngramSpark prints each copy when it is ordered. The book printing page puts it as "Never Out of Stock": "IngramSpark prints your book as soon as it's ordered, and can't be out of stock." It adds that "With printing facilities around the world, we get your books to readers faster." The company's blog specifies print facilities in the UK and Australia, distribution to Canada from the United States, and print partners in Germany, Italy, Poland, India, China, Japan, Brazil, South Korea and Singapore under what it calls the Global Connect Program, which feeds books into the wholesale channels of those countries. The same post says books reach Amazon, Apple, Nook and Kobo "along with an additional 45,000 retailers who order from Ingram", and that IngramSpark fulfills orders to Barnes & Noble, independent bookstores and libraries. It also notes that IngramSpark does not require exclusivity.

The site also sells printing for the author's own use. Its "Print My Book" and "Print Discounts" pages point to bulk print pricing: "With our bulk print pricing, you can save more by printing more."

Print options

The Print Book Options page lays out the choices in detail. On the outside, a book can be a paperback or a hardcover, with a matte cover ("Soft, velvety feel, no shine") or a gloss cover ("High shine, smooth finish and texture"). Paperbacks are perfect bound, with pages and laminated cover glued at the spine. Hardcovers come as case laminate (a laminated cover pasted on boards), jacketed case laminate (with a laminated dust jacket), or a Digital Cloth cover with a cloth-like look, available with or without a dust jacket; the page notes that the textured feel is available only for books printed in the US and UK.

Inside, there are four interior color levels:

• Black & White: "Most economical", printed on crème or white paper using inkjet, for text-heavy books.
• Standard Color: printed on white paper using inkjet, for books with some color.
• Premium Color: vivid color and crisp edges on white paper using inkjet, for image-heavy and children's books.
• Ultra-Premium Color: "Best color quality with ink laser-printed on the page, leaving a satin finish with light sheen", for photography books, coffee table books and high-quality children's books.

Paper comes in four stocks: Groundwood 38lb / 56gsm (black and white, select small trim sizes only), Crème 50lb / 74gsm (black and white), White 50lb / 74gsm (black and white and standard color) and White 70lb / 104gsm (all color options). An asterisk warns that not every ink and paper option is available at every trim size.

Trim sizes depend on binding and paper. Paperbacks on white paper range from 4 inches wide x 6 inches tall up to 8.5 x 11 inches; on crème or groundwood paper, from 4 x 6 up to 6.14 x 9.252 inches. Hardcovers on white paper range from 5 x 8 up to 8.5 x 11 inches, and on crème or groundwood from 5 x 8 up to 6.14 x 9.21 inches. The book printing page also invites authors to choose a custom trim size.

Pricing and what an author earns

IngramSpark does not print a price list; it offers a Print & Ship Calculator and a Compensation Calculator instead. The Print Book Options page explains what drives cost: hardcovers cost more than paperbacks, color more than black and white, and more pages more than fewer.

The Plan Your Book page shows one worked example for "the Average Novel": a list price of $16.95, a wholesale discount of 53%, a print fee of $3.58, leaving the author $4.39. A footnote says the print fee is based on the specifications in the page's diagram. The example boxes for the average children's book, business book and graphic novel on the same page show identical figures.

The wholesale discount is the lever that decides whether bookstores stock a title. The company's blog explains that bookstores, retailers and libraries buy at a discount so they can resell at a profit, and that they expect the standard trade discount of 55% off the list price. With IngramSpark, the publisher chooses a discount between 40% and 55% on the print version. The blog warns that below a 55% wholesale discount, bookstores and retailers receive a "short" trade discount and probably will not buy the book for stock.

Ebooks

Ebooks are published and distributed from the same account. The ebook page names retailers Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo and Barnes & Noble, library platforms OverDrive and Bibliotheca, and subscription services such as Scribd. Ebook royalties are stated plainly on the pricing page: "You earn 85% of the net revenue received by IngramSpark with each sale, regardless of retailer." A print book already active with IngramSpark can be converted to an ebook for $0.60 per page.

Each ebook needs its own ISBN, and the page says, "If you are in the United States, we can provide you a free ISBN." The file requirements are specific: a hi-res JPG cover and an EPUB 2 or 3 interior no larger than 100MB, with no single image over 5.6 million pixels, an internal cover image, and no page numbers, including in the table of contents. Fixed-layout EPUBs, used for children's books and cookbooks, reach a shorter list of channels, and Barnes & Noble accepts them for children's books only. The page recommends a validator such as Pagina and says the upload shows compliance errors on screen immediately.

What authors say

Three author testimonials appear across the site. Bec Acopio thanks the company for "high quality for my book, professional cover, distribution, low cost and quick deliveries for my orders." Lynnette Marie, author of three books, finds it "very cost effective for what I do." Marge Dawson writes that "The personal touch of the staff is great" and that she "would never have been able to afford to print without POD."

Who it suits

IngramSpark suits authors and small publishers who want a print-on-demand book listed with retailers, bookstores and libraries through Ingram's wholesale network, in hardcover as well as paperback, and with the same title available as an ebook. The range of bindings, trim sizes and four color tiers lets a novel, a picture book and a photography book each get suitable specs.

It asks more of the author than a closed platform does. The author sets the wholesale discount and list price, and the site's own example shows how a 53% discount leaves $4.39 of a $16.95 list price. Free ISBNs are offered only to authors in the United States, and ebook files must meet strict EPUB rules.