How to Evaluate Lightning Source for Your Book Printing: A Procurement Manager's 7-Step Checklist

This checklist is for publishers, self-published authors, or operations managers comparing print-on-demand vendors—specifically if Lightning Source (the Ingram Content Group subsidiary) is on your shortlist. If you're ordering fewer than 50 copies annually, some of these steps might be overkill. But if you're managing a catalog of titles or planning ongoing production, this process has saved us from some expensive mistakes.

I've managed our company's book production budget—around $45,000 annually across 12 active titles—for six years now. We've used Lightning Source LLC for about 70% of that volume. What follows isn't a sales pitch for them. It's the actual evaluation framework I wish someone had handed me back in 2019 when I was comparing Ingram Lightning Source against three other POD providers.

Seven steps total. Steps 3 and 5 are the ones most people skip—and where most of the hidden costs hide.

Step 1: Confirm Your Distribution Requirements First

Before you even look at printing costs, figure out where your books need to be available. This sounds obvious, but I've watched colleagues spend weeks comparing per-unit prices only to realize their chosen vendor couldn't get books into the channels they needed.

Lightning Source's main value proposition is Ingram network integration. If you need your titles listed in Ingram's catalog—which means availability to roughly 40,000 retailers, libraries, and wholesalers globally—that's a significant checkbox. If you're selling exclusively through your own website or Amazon, that network access matters less.

Write down:

• Which retailers must be able to order your titles (brick-and-mortar bookstores? libraries?)
• Whether you need international distribution (Lightning Source has facilities in the US, UK, and Australia)
• Your return policy requirements—bookstores often won't stock titles that aren't returnable

I'm not a distribution specialist, so I can't speak to the nuances of library acquisition systems. What I can tell you from a procurement perspective is that these requirements should drive your vendor choice, not the other way around.

Step 2: Calculate Your True Per-Unit Cost (Not the Quoted Price)

Lightning Source's pricing structure isn't complicated, but the total cost calculation trips people up. The base print cost depends on page count, trim size, interior color (black and white vs. color), and binding type.

For reference, as of early 2025, a 200-page black-and-white paperback in standard 6×9 trim runs roughly $3.50-4.50 per unit through Lightning Source. But don't quote me on the exact figure—I'd have to pull our most recent invoice to confirm, and pricing does shift.

What's often missed in the calculation:

Setup fees. Lightning Source charges title setup fees (around $49 per title last I checked, though this might have changed). If you're uploading 20 titles, that's meaningful.

Annual fees. There's a per-title annual fee to keep titles active in the system. Something like $12/year per title? I want to say $12, but verify current rates at ingramspark.com or through your Lightning Source rep.

Revision fees. If you need to upload corrected files after initial setup, there may be charges. We learned this the hard way when we found a typo in our first print run and had to pay to update files.

Build a spreadsheet. Seriously. Total cost = (per-unit print cost × projected annual volume) + setup fees + annual fees + probable revision fees. Then compare that total across vendors.

Step 3: Request Actual Print Samples Before Committing

This is the step people skip because it costs money upfront. Don't skip it.

Order proof copies from Lightning Source and from any other vendors you're seriously considering. For the same title. Same specifications. Side-by-side comparison.

What to check:

• Cover color accuracy—does it match your digital file? We've seen Delta E variations of 3-4 on some jobs, which is noticeable if you're looking at brand colors
• Spine alignment and text positioning
• Paper opacity—can you see text bleeding through from the other side?
• Binding quality—open the book flat, check for pages pulling away from the spine

In 2022, we almost committed to a cheaper vendor based on quoted prices. The sample came back with muddy interior images and a spine that cracked when opened past 90 degrees. Saved us from a $1,800 mistake—well, would have been a $1,800 redo plus angry customers.

This was true 10 years ago when digital POD quality was inconsistent, and it's still true today: samples aren't optional.

Step 4: Map the Order-to-Delivery Timeline

Lightning Source quotes production times, but production time isn't delivery time. You need the full timeline.

Typical flow for us (US domestic):

1. Order placed: Day 0
2. File verification/production queue: 1-2 business days
3. Printing: 3-5 business days for standard turnaround
4. Shipping to our warehouse: 3-7 business days depending on method

So "3-5 day production" actually means 7-14 days to delivery in practice. If I remember correctly, our average has been about 10 business days order-to-receipt, though I might be misremembering—our 2024 orders might have been slightly faster.

Ask specifically about:

• Rush production options and their cost premiums
• Drop-ship timelines if Lightning Source ships directly to customers
• International production—using the UK or Australia facility changes the math significantly for non-US customers

Step 5: Understand the Ingram Wholesale Discount Structure

Here's where it gets somewhat complicated, and honestly, where I see the most confusion.

When you set up a title with Lightning Source, you set a wholesale discount. This is the percentage off your list price that retailers receive when ordering through Ingram. The standard expectation from traditional bookstores is 55% off list price—so a $20 book would cost them $9.

Your revenue per sale depends on: list price minus wholesale discount minus print cost.

Example: $20 list price, 55% discount, $4 print cost.

$20 × 0.45 = $9 (your wholesale revenue)

$9 - $4 print cost = $5 gross margin

The temptation is to set a lower discount to improve margins. But—and this is the part that trips people up—many bookstores won't order titles with less than 40% discount, and some won't touch anything under 55%. To be fair, I get why publishers want to protect margins. But if bookstore distribution matters to you, the discount structure constrains your options.

Work backward from your target margin to determine viable price points before setting anything in stone.

Step 6: Review Return Policy Options and Costs

Lightning Source offers returnability options. Making a title "returnable" means bookstores can return unsold copies through Ingram. This matters for bookstore placement—many stores have policies against stocking non-returnable titles.

The catch: returns cost you money. You typically absorb the print cost of returned copies, and there may be handling fees. If returns run high, they can eat your margins entirely.

Questions to answer:

• What's your expected return rate? Industry averages for traditionally distributed books can run 20-30%, though POD-specific data varies
• Can you afford returns on your margin structure?
• Do you actually need bookstore distribution, or are online sales sufficient?

We made our backlist titles non-returnable and kept new releases returnable for the first year. That said, our situation is pretty specific—mid-size educational publisher with predictable institutional sales. If you're trying to break into trade bookstores, the calculus might be completely different.

Step 7: Document Everything in a Vendor Comparison Matrix

Last step: put it all in writing. Not for bureaucracy's sake, but because you'll forget the details in six months when you're reconsidering vendors.

Our comparison matrix includes:

• Per-unit cost at projected volumes (50, 500, 5000 units)
• Total annual cost including all fees
• Sample quality score (1-10, subjective but useful)
• Average delivery timeline (actual, not quoted)
• Distribution reach
• Customer service responsiveness
• File requirement complexity

When we audited our 2023 spending and compared it to our 2019 projections, we found we'd underestimated revision costs by about 40%. Would have been useful to have documented our assumptions more clearly at the start.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Comparing Lightning Source to IngramSpark without understanding the difference. IngramSpark is Ingram's self-publisher-facing platform; Lightning Source is the publisher-facing service. Similar underlying infrastructure, different pricing models and support levels. Make sure you're comparing the right service for your situation.

Ignoring file preparation time. Lightning Source has specific file requirements—PDF/X-1a:2001, correct bleed settings, embedded fonts. If your files aren't compliant, you'll spend time reformatting or pay someone to do it. Factor that into your cost comparison.

Assuming cheapest per-unit means lowest total cost. That "free setup" offer from a competitor actually cost us $450 more in hidden fees and file conversion charges when we tested it in 2021. Per-unit price is one input, not the answer.

Setting up without a test order. Don't upload your entire catalog on day one. Set up one title, run a test order, evaluate quality, time the delivery. Then scale up.

What was best practice in 2020 may not apply in 2025—Lightning Source has updated their systems and pricing multiple times. But the evaluation process itself? That framework has held up. Take it, adapt it, document what you learn.