Re: Amazon Createspace

**"* M* <B*@verizon.net>**

My two cents on CreateSpace as a Print On Demand (POD) printer:

I have used two POD printers, Amazon's CreateSpace and Ingram's Lightning 
Source. Both are good but I prefer Lightning Source. The color cover quality 
is better with them. Some of the CreateSpace books have come in with slight 
scratches on the covers and other tiny imperfections.

The printing cost is about the same but Lightning Source also charges a $75 
setup fee. It is well worth it if you expect to sell more than 100 copies 
and I am sure you do. And with them you can sign up for automatic 
distribution through Ingram for only a $12 catalog listing fee per title per 
year. The whole package is more professional. There are different price 
levels for single copies, 50 or more copies, and standard (non POD) print 
runs of a thousand or more. The standard print runs cut the cost in half but 
then you have to sell and ship them all. It is still a short print run 
that's appropriate for many projects.

However if you are sure you are doing standard print runs, get three or more 
bids from different book printers. You may be surprised to find huge 
differences among them and that the best bid will get you a very good deal. 
Get bids from printers who specialize in books, not advertising brochures. 
The ones doing advertising have no incentive to give a low price -- the more 
it costs the bigger the commission the ad agency gets from the client. For 
larger print runs my choice is Sheridan Books. It has been many years since 
I worked with any other non POD book printer but Sheridan.

CreateSpace is more flexible about submission formats and assistance (for a 
price) than Lightning Source. However, it is not that hard to create PDF 
files that conform to Lightning Source requirements which are somewhat more 
exacting, or you can find a local graphic artist to help you.

-- Betty Mackey
www.mackeybooks.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <hamptongar@aol.com>

> Wondering if any list members have used the Amazon Createspace  service 
> and
> what your reaction and experience has been with it?  I did some  self
> publishing 25 years ago using cut and paste line art along with an IBM 
> Selectric
> and a local printer for the color covers and printing.  We did  1000 copy
> runs and in all sold about 15,000 copies of four titles.  they  only 
> ranged
> 15-25 pages each but we definitely hit a strong niche market.  Thinking 
> about
> revising them and republishing in some manner and this  seemed to be an
> interesting way to both publish and get exposure.  Your  thoughts?
>

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