Printing at a traditional printer         

Some authors prefer to print their books at a traditional printer rather than using the print-on-demand services of Ingram Spark or Kindle Direct Publishing.

The reasons are varied, but usually the decision rests on the print quality needed. POD technology, while much improved over the years, is still not as pristine as the printing done on traditional offset presses. Also, paper- and cover-stock choices are limited with POD; not so with a traditional printer.

Typical books benefiting from offset printing are high-end coffee-table-style books that feature a rich collection of photographs, art books, and children’s books. (All such books can be printed using POD but, again, the quality will not match offset.)

Mission Point Press has printed many books through the years using traditional methods. We know this side of the business well, and can provide authors with bids to print this way.   

The advantage of offset is quality. But here are some clear disadvantages, which include:

•  A commitment to print at least 500 copies. So, the author must commit a large and fixed amount of money upfront, before the presses roll.

•  No easy way to distribute online. Unlike with POD, distribution on Amazon.com and other online retailers is not automatic. To get a book on Amazon, authors need to open either an Amazon Seller or Amazon Advantage account and manage shipments to Amazon warehouses. There are considerable fees involved, and the user interfaces are complicated. MPP can consult with you on this.

•  Bookstore distribution is also difficult. One advantage of POD is instant inclusion in Ingram’s catalog. Ingram is well-known by bookstores. It’s highly unlikely that Ingram will pick up your offset-printed book unless you can convince them of the soundness and wide reach of your marketing program. It’s a frustrating and lengthy process with no guarantee of success.

There are workarounds to offset these disadvantages. You can distribute books through MPP Distribution … but the onus is on the author to make bookstores aware of that source. Here’s how MPP Distribution handles offset-printed books.

Mission Point Press can also help you get your book online by creating an ecommerce platform in your Squarespace website or, if you have more complex ecommerce needs, in a Shopify store site. Both have made online retailing easy, and we’ve had a number of authors successfully sell their books this way. But the author needs to be comfortable with a computer, needs to monitor the store on a daily basis, and needs to be prepared to package and ship orders quickly. Some authors will hire administrative help to get those things done. 

Again, the onus is on the author to make readers aware of their books on their Shopify store.

To print any of the Author Resources, right click on the guide and select “print.” If you need additional help, ask your team leader to email the guide as an attachment.