11 Best Print-On-Demand Books Providers (2024)

Gone are the days when you had to finish endless steps to publish a book! Earlier, publishing a book was a more hectic process than writing itself. 

But the advancement of technology has simplified the life of authors and poets, too! Since the invention of Print-On-Demand books, the terms “expensive” have been replaced by “affordable,” and “publishing house” has been replaced by “self-publishing.” 

Today, many authors have self-published their books with the Print-On-Demand books model. It remains a reliable, affordable, and hassle-free method. In this article, we will cover the best providers to help you publish your book. 

If you don’t know whom to go to for Print-On-Demand books, we’ve spilled the beans on the 11 best providers to help you self-publish a book! 

Top 11 Print-On-Demand Books Providers (2024)

Here is a glimpse of the best POD services for your book publishing. These are best chosen by checking the ease of use, user experience, and convenience. Let’s have a look! 

POD Platform	Price	Best For
1. Amazon KDP	Variable according to the content	Books, ebooks,
2. IngramSpark	FREE as of now.	Books, journals, ebooks, magazines
3. Blurb	Starts at $14.99/ month	Travel books, albums, magazines, portfolios
4. Printify	$29/ month	Books, journals, ebooks, magazines
5. Lulu xPress	Variable according to the content	Notebooks, journals
6. Contrado	Starts with $15	Notebooks, address books, and photo books
7. BookBaby	Starts at $99	Print books, books, journals, magazines.
8. Acutrack	Not listed	Books, journals, ebooks
9. Gelato	Not listed	Notebooks, calendars, and photo books.
10. Gear Launch	Not listed	Birthday cards, calendars, photo books, and other visual-based content types
11. Pothi	Not listed	Books, journals

With the print-on-demand model, the only thing you as an author have to do is write. What happens after your fans have ordered your book is easily handled by POD services, including printing and shipping. So, which is the best POD service? Here are the 11 best POD services that many famous authors are using. 

1. Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing 

Amazon doesn’t need a special introduction, right? Amazon’s KPD (Kindle Direct Publishing) services let you self-publish your book in 45 languages and more than ten countries worldwide. 

This is how the author of “The Miracle Morning” sold over 2 million copies of his books upon publishing on Amazon’s KDP. 

With Amazon’s POD, you can control the book’s content, price, design, audience, and advertising. However, the drawback of Amazon KDP is that it only has the option to print digital and paperback books. This is not suitable for magazines and spiral-bound books. But still, you can leverage it as an author with minimal charge. All you have to pay is the print, shipping, and commission on each sale! 

Platform	Timeline	Best for
Amazon KDP	24-48 hours	Ebooks, paperbacks

2. IngramSpark

IngramSpark is a convenient platform for authors worldwide to publish quality print books and ebooks. IngramSpark allows you to print and publish in various formats, such as hardcover, paperback, and ebooks. It’s easy to use, reliable and gives your book a global reach. 

The best part about publishing your book in IngramSpark is that it is connected to over 40,000+ independent and chain bookstores, libraries, and online retailers worldwide. Their global distribution network includes Apple, Kobo, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bertrams, Waterstones, and Booktopia.

Its ease of use and convenience are reflected in its facilities- paper, trim size, binding, hardcover, paperback, and color options- all in just one click! This is the best POD service if you’re just beginning since they have free resources like blogs, podcasts, online courses, and downloadable guides to learn to publish, design, and market your books online.

Platform	Timeline	Best for
IngramSpark	Not disclosed	Ebooks, paperbacks, hardcovers, premium color, standard color.

3. Blurb 

Whether you have to create a wedding album or a travel book, Blurb does it so beautifully that it’s irresistible to notice. You can publish content such as travel books, wedding albums, cookbooks, portfolios, storybooks, magazines, and many other types of content. 

In 2012, Blurb officially announced that Blurb authors earned $1M in profits on selling nearly 100K books in 2011. That’s a large audience base for you to start your journey.

Blurb is officially tied up with Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Lightroom, and hence, this platform is perfect for creating artistic books! All the books published come with their signatory identity, “Blurb” as a watermark. But you can remove them if you wish to by paying a custom logo fee. 

Platform	Timeline	Best for
Blurb	4-5 business days	Photo books, travel books, magazines, notebooks, ebooks, portfolios

4. Printify 

Printify is an official Shopify Print-On-Demand service for e-commerce products. It has an extensive catalog of products like T-shirts, hoodies, and books. 

The platform is 100% free to use. There is also a paid premium version for designing your book according to your needs. They have custom design templates you can add to your books. You can access the content, design, list prices, and everything. Once the book is ordered, the delivery logistics are handled by Printify.

Printify is integrated with multiple platforms, so the chances of reaching a wider audience are very high. You can create books and custom journals with high quality, custom page dimensions, and excellent designs. The platform is connected with ten stores that you can sell! 

Bonus: If you want to know more about Printify, then take a look at our detailed Printify Review here.

Platform	Timeline	Best for
Printify	2-7 business days	Notebooks, journals

5. Lulu xPress 

With Lulu xPress, you can publish any content- books, ebooks, journals, cookbooks, travel books, or anything. While you completely focus on writing, they handle every step of logistics so that you can focus on your work of art! 

There are no upfront or monthly fees you have to pay on Lulu. You only have to pay the production costs when an order is placed in your store. The Lulu platform gives you access to 3000+ formats of pages, print quality, trim size, binding type, designs, interior color, cover finish, and retail pricing.

You can also select from hardcover, paperback, black, and white/ color formats that would best suit your book. Sell your book with Lulu that’s high in quality, professional design, and a stunning outlook for your readers to binge on! 

Platform	Timeline	Best for
Lulu xPress	Production time: 3-5 business days Shipping time: up to 28 days	Hardcovers, paperbacks, comic books, magazines.

6. Contrado

Contrado is a POD platform with a large catalog of more than 470 products, just like Printify. While they don’t provide POD services for a traditional book, you can leverage the platform to design notebooks, address books, and photo books. Therefore, it is perfect for artists, painters, and other visual nerds! They have various visual templates you can use to design your art gallery. Thoughtfully designed, resourceful, and creative that take away your breath for a minute. 

Contrado lets you choose from various paper and binding styles and is left to your creativity! The specialty is they use luxurious ivory paper to print your books and are high-quality!

Platform	Timeline	Best For
Contrado	Production time: 3-5 business days Shipping time: up to 24 hours	Scrapbooks, portfolio lookbooks, notebooks, spiral-bound notebooks, guest books, address books, photo books, and photo albums.

7. BookBaby

The best part about BookBaby is that you just have to write. It handles the rest of everything- editing, designing, and marketing. The book printing is made in the USA at the State-of-the-art printshop.

They provide various services, including book printing, ebook publishing, audiobook creation, editing, design, sales, and marketing. Isn’t that cool for the platform to offer everything you need? It recently collaborated with Speechki to create audiobooks using AI-powered synthetic voice narration. So, be ready to leverage! 

It helps yet give you total control over marketing, banking, scheduling, designing, editing, and more- says Katie Schulz Bahn, the author of Sugar Sand Road.

With 100+ retail partners worldwide, your book reaches millions of people. 50k+ authors are using BoobBaby. Now it’s your time.

Platform	Timeline	Best For
Contrado	Production time: 8 business days Available on Amazon within 20 days	Ebooks, photo books, comic books, magazines, hardcovers, paperbacks, art books, yearbooks.

8. Acutrack 

Their tagline is the biggest USP they can ever promise- “We’ll have your books out the door before a POD company adds a print order into its system.” You can definitely imagine its speed. Unlike other POD services, it’s not a one-at-a-time model. But they will print and store your books so your fans instantly get them. But this poses a risk factor for you! You’ll have to know your monthly predictable sales outcome so they can pre-print the books and warehouse them. 

This model is incredibly best for you if your books have a seasonal surge and demand for release. This method ensures there is no delta in shipping and delivering your orders. Another major drawback is you have to pay inventory costs to some extent. Best part? They offer an annual writers scholarship of $2000.

Platform	Timeline	Best for
Acutrack	Shipping within 72 hours	Books, magazines, hardcovers, paperbacks

9. Gelato

If you’re an e-commerce business owner, this platform is the best for you! With over 100 printers in over 30 countries, you can monetize your passion into a profit. Gelato is connected with notable companies such as Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, Big Commerce, and Squarespace. They have a large catalog of products, including T-shirts, apparel, and mugs. 

You can mainly print softcovers and hardcover notebooks, calendars, and photo books. But it’s not suitable for traditional books and journals. It’s easy to use with no leftover stock or minimum order. It helps you to print high-print quality. You don’t have to pay any upfront fees.

Platform	Timeline	Best for
Gelato	Production time: 1-6 business days Shipping: 1-4 days	Notebooks, calendars, and photo books.

10. Gear Launch

Gear Launch is a unique POD platform with two different printing processes based on the product used. It’s famous for birthday cards, calendars, photo books, and other visual-based content types. Therefore, it’s best for those with artistic interests. With Gear Launch POD, you have the flexibility to self-publish your books with ease. 

It’s like having your printing press at your fingertips but without the massive upfront costs. 

What’s excellent about Gear Launch POD is that it empowers authors to get their stories into the world without the complications of traditional publishing. You’re in control, and your creativity knows no bounds. Plus, it’s a win-win for readers who enjoy various unique and independent books. 

Platform	Timeline	Best for
Gear Launch	Shipment: 3-5 days	Journals, birthday cards

11. Pothi

Pothi is an Indian POD platform to self-publish your books. You can publish your books along with editing, designing, printing, and distributing. Like other platforms, there is no minimum order in this platform, eliminating leftover stocks and losses. The platform is partnered with Amazon and Flipkart. 

So, you can sell your books through Amazon, Flipkart, and Pothi. The publishing steps are easy, and you can get guidance through their website. Pothi is a large network where 18,000 books are already published. The platform is also available to print books, ebooks, and journals. 

Platform	Timeline	Best for
Pothi	Shipment: 3-5 days	Print books, ebooks, journals

Why Choose Print-On-Demand Books?

One major problem with the traditional book publishing method was inventory management. Earlier, authors used to print a plethora of books that became useless if not sold. Shipping was another part of the problem. Authors didn’t have the time, money, or energy to ship many books once ordered. The cost of publishing, finding a good publisher, and printing bulk books was another problem. Together, the old conventional method wasn’t reliable to most of the authors and left them exhausted. 

Print-on-demand books vanish all these problems at once. There are many benefits that authors enjoy in the modern method of printing books! 

• You don’t need to manage your inventory and upfront costs!
• Print books digitally only on demand. No waste, no unnecessary shipping. 
• Books can be customized to users’ needs.
• Hassle-free. These books can be printed just with a few clicks!
• The service providers carry out shipping. So, no trouble. 
• No complaints of damage, quality, or missed delivery. 
• Customized designs, print size, and covers.

There are many other benefits you can leverage from Print-On-Demand books a writer. You can also learn to sell books on Amazon with our step-by-step guide here.

Conclusion: Best Print-On-Demand Books Services (2024)

These are the 11 best POD book services you can trust. 

• Printify:  It offers most of the content types like books, magazines, and journals with variable options for designs, trim size, page quality, and others
• Blurb: If you need a more vibrant design with an artistic look, I highly recommend Blurb since it has excellent integration with Adobe.
• Acutrack: I would recommend this for writers who need wicked speed. They are the swiftest in everything!

Each platform gives its unique flavor and style to your books. Choose the one that feels right to you and your audience so that you can monetize it easily. Said that, let us know your experience in using each of them.

Which is your go-to platform for publishing books?