Lulu

Lulu is a book printing, publishing and technology company that prints books, magazines, calendars and notebooks on demand through a global network of printers, and ships them to readers in more than 200 countries and territories. The copyright line names Lulu Press, Inc., and the print API page lists print facilities in Australia, Canada, France, India, the United Kingdom and the United States. It serves three kinds of customers: authors who self-publish, creators and brands selling direct from their own websites, and businesses that need printing and fulfillment at scale through an API.

What a seller can print

The product range is built around the book. Lulu says customers can "Choose from thousands of sizes, paper types, and binding options to print a custom book", and the print API page puts the figure at "3,000+ custom configurations", covering coil-bound, paperback and hardcover books, magazines, children's books, calendars and notebooks. Its FAQ adds workbooks, guides, journals and branded merchandise such as planners. Formats include landscape, portrait and square sizes; printing comes in full color or black and white ink, with standard or premium paper. The print books page highlights an A5 paperback, a trade-sized paperback for novels, memoirs and marketing books, and a casewrap hardcover with glossy or matte finish and a stiff cover board.

Calendars and ebooks round out the catalog. A customer can "Make your own photo wall calendar for free and print it on-demand", and can make an EPUB or PDF ebook for free and sell it on Lulu's bookstore or through retail sites.

Quantities run from one copy upward. The print books page says a customer can have "a single book copy printed or 1000+", and the API FAQ says the network "supports everything from printing a single copy to orders of thousands of units". The homepage also describes short runs to meet unexpected demand.

How orders reach Lulu

Lulu offers several ways to sell, and the homepage suggests using any or all of them.

Lulu Bookstore and retail distribution. Authors can sell on the Lulu Bookstore, and eligible books can be listed "with over 40,000 book retailers around the world", with Amazon named as an example of the retail sellers.

Own website integrations. Books can be sold from the author's own website through Lulu's integrations with Shopify, Wix and WooCommerce, so that orders are printed and fulfilled automatically.

Direct Buy Button. Lulu calls it "the fastest and easiest way to sell books directly from your newsletter, social profiles, and website without worrying about shipping or taxes", offering direct purchase links or an embedded checkout from a block of code.

Order Import tool. It lets creators fulfill pre-orders or a crowdfunding campaign.

Print API. For businesses and developers, the API is described as JSON/XML and webhook compatible and RESTful. The workflow has four steps: the customer orders on the seller's website, app, ecommerce platform or internal system; the seller's application sends the order, shipping information, print specifications and PDF files to Lulu; Lulu routes the order through its print network; and Lulu ships directly to the customer, with tracking available through the API. A dashboard shows the fulfillment status, and Lulu says its print-on-demand experts help with integration. Guides cover getting started with the API and setting up print-ready PDF files.

The homepage also describes "white-labeled fulfillment of your books, magazines, and other content to more than 200 countries and territories", and says "Lulu handles all of the printing, binding, packaging, and shipping for you."

Personalized books

Lulu pitches its API for one-off, personalized books. "Use custom AI workflows to create unique print files for individual customers. Then use Lulu's Print API to print each book to order." The FAQ lists typical uses: children's books, astrology trackers, fitness or meal plans and personal gifts, with a unique PDF generated and sent for each order.

Production times

The print books FAQ is specific about timing: "All printers across Lulu's global network have a production of 3-5 business days, but your shopping cart will display the estimated production time specific to your order." Business days run Monday to Friday, and the first printing day is the day after the order is placed; an order placed on a Monday goes to the printer by Tuesday and is expected to print between Thursday (day 3) and the following Monday (day 5). Shipping comes on top and is covered on a separate shipping page.

Files, tools and prices

To create a book, the author selects a format and uploads an interior PDF and a cover PDF, or builds the cover in Lulu's cover designer. For each book size, Lulu offers a free design bundle with page and cover templates for InDesign, Photoshop and Word and its Book Creation Guide. Prices are not listed on the pages themselves; Lulu points to its Pricing Calculator, which shows print costs and produces a custom cover template for the exact page count. Lulu also keeps a list of partners for editing, design and marketing, plus a blog, podcast, videos and tutorials.

Certifications

Lulu says it has been a Certified B Corporation since 2016 and publishes an Impact Report on what that means for it. It also states that it is SOC 2 certified and performs external security testing.

What customers say

Chelle Honiker of Indie Author Mag says that by integrating Lulu's API with Ghost and Zapier, "the magazine reduced its internal production time from two weeks to just two hours." Marc Pittet of Mustachian Post writes: "Before switching to the Lulu API, I was spending 1–3 minutes per order manually entering customer details, addresses, and credit card info" and that orders now "take literally zero minutes of my time". Katie Cross of Katie Cross Books says Lulu integrates "so smoothly with my personal Shopify store" and praises its customer support.

Who it suits

Lulu suits self-publishers who want one place to print, list with retailers and sell on their own site, and businesses that need an API to print books, magazines or personalized one-offs on demand and ship them worldwide under their own brand. Print facilities in six countries and the Shopify, Wix and WooCommerce integrations make it practical for sellers with international buyers.

Sellers who need a book in hand within a day or two should plan around the stated 3-5 business days of production before shipping.