Lightning Print has added two new features to its on-demand service. Effective immediately, the company will offer drop-ship order fulfillment, as well as the capability to print books with a hardcover binding.
Under the drop-ship service, publishers can place an electronic order with Lightning Print for any title that is in the Lightning Print digital library. Lightning Print will print and ship the title within 48 hours and will use whatever shipping service is specified by the publisher. The company will ship the title to a store, home, wholesaler or any other location a customer wants, according to Larry Brewster, v-p and general manager of Lightning Print. The service is available to any publisher with a minimum of 25 titles in the Lightning Print database.
Booksellers can also participate in the drop-ship service. If a book is out of stock, a bookseller can still order it, as it would any other title, and Lightning Print will fulfill the order, just as it would any order that came through Ingram, Brewster said.
The new hardcover capability will produce titles with either a four-color laminated cover or a stamped cloth-like cover. Brewster said Lightning Print will print hardcovers once a week until the demand justifies a more frequent schedule.
