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Print on demand publishing
You want your book in paperback and hardcover in every major store, and no boxes in the garage. We build the files and set the book up on Amazon KDP and IngramSpark. A copy is printed only when someone buys one.
Tell us the trim, page count and formats you want. Within one business day you get the setup your book needs and a written price. You pay nothing until you approve it.
The short answer
Print on demand means one copy of your book is printed each time a reader orders it, shipped straight to them: no print run, no stock. Columbia Publication prepares the print-ready files and sets the book up on Amazon KDP, live 24 to 72 hours after you approve, and on IngramSpark for bookstores and libraries. Setup is in every package from $1,499, and every royalty goes to you.
Prices checked October 26, 2026 · Reviewed by Gia Kahn, Lead Editor · Next review November 2026 · How we check
Is this you?
The idea takes one sentence. The setup takes a dozen settings, and any one of them can sink it.
Spine width must match the exact page count and paper, or the cover is rejected. Margins shift with trim size. Covers need CMYK at 300 DPI. On IngramSpark, the wrong wholesale discount or returns setting means bookstores simply cannot order you. And if the print and ebook editions are not linked, Amazon shows them as two separate books competing for the same reader.
We set every one of those on both platforms, preflight the files before upload, and register the accounts in your name, not ours.
What each copy earns
Here is the arithmetic on a common spec: a 6 × 9 inch, 250-page black and white paperback. KDP charges $1.00 plus $0.012 a page to print it, which is $4.00, and pays you 60% of the list price minus that $4.00.
| List price | KDP print cost | Your KDP royalty | IngramSpark (55% discount) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $9.99 | $4.00 | $1.99 | $4.50 minus print cost |
| $12.99 | $4.00 | $3.79 | $5.85 minus print cost |
| $14.99 | $4.00 | $4.99 | $6.75 minus print cost |
| $17.99 | $4.00 | $6.79 | $8.10 minus print cost |
Read one row and the rest follow: at $14.99, 60% is $8.99, minus $4.00 to print, leaves $4.99 a copy. IngramSpark works differently. At the standard 55% wholesale discount it pays 45% of list ($6.75 on a $14.99 book) minus the print cost in its own calculator. You earn less per copy there, and that discount is the price of being stockable by bookstores and libraries. Source: Amazon KDP printing cost table, checked October 2026.
Get My Publishing PlanHow it works
Your book waits on the platform as a print file until someone buys it, then a single copy is printed and shipped.
On Amazon, at a bookstore counter or through a library catalog. Until that moment no copy exists; your book is a print file waiting on a server.
The platform prints one copy, cover, interior and binding, usually within a day or two of the order.
You never touch stock or postage. Printing and distribution come out of the sale before your royalty is paid.
Spotted a typo after launch? Upload a corrected file, and every copy printed after that carries the fix.
Two platforms
Yes, if you want full reach, because they sell to different buyers.
| Amazon KDP | IngramSpark | |
|---|---|---|
| Sells through | Every Amazon marketplace, Prime eligible | Bookstores, libraries, schools and wholesalers in the US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia |
| Royalty | 60% of list minus print cost | List minus print cost minus wholesale discount |
| Formats | Paperback and hardcover | Paperback, hardcover and large print |
| Best for | Direct Amazon sales | Bookstore and library orders |
Every package sets the book up on both, with the wholesale discount and returns settings bookstores look for.
Ebook already live? Adding a linked paperback is quick, and it joins the same Amazon listing.
Get My Publishing PlanChoosing
Print on demand for everyday sales; a print run when you need boxes of books by a fixed date.
| Print on demand | Print run | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Setup only | Every copy paid for first |
| Stock | None | You hold it |
| Cost per copy | Fixed, higher | Falls as the run grows |
| Shipping | Platform ships to each reader | Delivered to you or your venue |
| Best for | Online and bookstore sales | Launches, events and bulk orders |
Many authors use both: print on demand for the steady trickle of online and bookstore orders, and a print run for launch and event stock.
When it is done
A royalty notice arrives for a paperback you never printed, boxed or mailed. A library two states away orders a copy through its usual supplier. The garage is still empty, and your book never goes out of print.
“It turned out better than I could have imagined when I first started.”
Jason Patterson, author of City of the Gods, available in paperback and hardcover on demand. Read the case study
Packages
One flat fee, both platforms set up, and every royalty paid to you. Print on demand comes with all three packages.
Ready to publish
$1,499
Cover, print and ebook formatting, ISBNs, and setup on KDP and IngramSpark in paperback and hardcover.
Paperback and hardcover that print one copy at a time on both platforms, so you never fund a print run or store a carton.
Both platforms, every format
Get My PlanRecommended
$2,499
Global Publish plus a full proofread, with one project manager steering your files through both print platforms.
Proofread, preflighted files and one person in charge, so the proof copy you order is the one you sign off.
Proofreading included
Get My PlanAuthority
$4,999
Everything in Full Production, plus a full copy edit, research on keywords and categories, an author website and a press release.
A copy-edited, findable book with a website and a press release behind it, printing itself while you go out and promote.
Copy edit included
Get My PlanWhy print on demand with us carries no stock risk
Paid in full once you approve the written quote. Book already edited and formatted? Ask for a custom quote for files and setup only.
What you can count on
How it runs
We’ve started with Publishing & distribution. Add anything else your manuscript needs, and a specialist sends an itemised quote within one business day. Free, confidential, no obligation.
Written quote within one business day. Nothing is charged until you approve it. 100% of your rights stay yours.
Questions
Your book is printed only when a customer orders it, and then shipped directly to that customer. You have no print run, no inventory and no fulfillment work. On each sale you earn a royalty after printing and distribution costs.
Amazon KDP and IngramSpark charge no setup fee; they take the printing cost out of each sale. What you pay for once is the print-ready files and the cover. Columbia Publication includes setup on both platforms in every package from $1,499.
60% of list price minus the print cost, on paperbacks priced at $9.99 or more; at $9.98 or less the rate is 50%. A 250-page 6 × 9 black and white paperback costs $4.00 to print, so at $14.99 you earn about $4.99 a copy.
KDP sells your book on Amazon. IngramSpark makes it orderable by bookstores, libraries, schools and wholesalers. You want both, and every package sets up both.
Once you approve the files, KDP usually goes live within 24 to 72 hours. IngramSpark distribution reaches retail and library channels over 2 to 4 weeks.
Yes. We format the print interior, build the cover around the correct spine width and link both editions on Amazon as one listing.
For most paperbacks and hardcovers, yes. If you want foil, lay-flat or gilded edges, a print run gives you finishes print on demand cannot.
In full, once you approve the written quote. After that there is no stock to buy: each reader’s copy is printed when ordered and its print cost comes out of that sale. Copies for yourself are ordered at print cost.
Send the trim size, the page count and the formats you want. Within one business day a specialist sends a written price for print on demand setup.
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