Self Publishing Printing Companies

At one time, self publishing companies were difficult to find and even if they existed, they may have been reluctant to link themselves with the words "self publishing." It was, after all, too risky in a world that still considered self publishing "vanity." To be fair, digital printers were still in their developing stage and often the equipment produced inferior books that did not meet market standards.

It didn't take long, however, for the digital industry to equalize the playing field, and that presented a sticky situation. Publishers who saw the advantage of switching from offset printing to this state-of-the-art, efficient, economical and streamlined procedure didn't want to bear the stigma of being known as a "self publishing" printing company.

The walls of illusion came tumbling down.

No one could stop progress, however. Self publishing printing companies cropped up like dandelions in the patch of well-manicured lawns. Even Amazon.com got into the act, purchasing an on demand digital printing company and providing online self-publishing services for books that are then sold in their stores . . .

If you would like to convert your books into electronic format using Amazon's self-publishing tools and sell them via Amazon.com, visit Amazon's Digital Text Platform. This is a fast, easy self-publishing tool that lets you publish your digital text content for the
Amazon Kindle wireless reading device.

Now that self publishing is here to stay, how do you know which printing company is for you? Here are a few questions to ask:

1. What are the setup costs?
2. What are the unit print costs?
3. What is the turnaround time for setup and proof delivery?
4. What is the turnaround time for printing 50, 100, 500, 3000 and 5000 books?
5. Is there a break in the cost for larger print orders? If so, at one number does the cost decrease considerably?
6. Do you do color interiors? What is the difference in cost between a black and white and color interior?
7. What are the different trim sizes that you print? How do setup and print costs vary, based on the trim size?
8. Do you do one-off printing (print one book at a time)?
9. Are you linked to a distributor?
10. Do you ship books overseas? To Canada? Do you have self publishing printing relationships with overseas companies?

For more information about self-publishing your books, click here.