We are getting more and more questions about D2D Print as time goes on, which is a great thing—it means our fully functional beta is getting a lot of use! Thanks for all of your feedback and suggestions, which will help us make our Print on Demand (POD) service even better.
We want to get all of your questions about D2D Print answered, so this post is the first in a series. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll be an expert on how to upload, edit, and order your book in paperback.
(If you’re not in D2D Print yet, sign up for the Print Beta here! We are opting in new sign-ups every week.)
What is D2D Print?
But first, the basics. In case you’re thinking, “What is D2D Print?,” here’s some background.
D2D Print is our in-house Print on Demand (POD) service. Through our service, you can list your book as an in-stock paperback through online booksellers. When readers click that magical “Buy” button, it then gets printed and shipped. You don’t need to worry about holding inventory, keeping stock at the right levels, or processing returns.
D2D Print books are made available to Amazon and all the other distribution channels served by Ingram, including Barnes & Noble and most independent bookstores in the U.S.
Who can publish with D2D Print?
Anyone! Our D2D Print service and Draft2Digital ebook distribution service are two separate opportunities to sell your work. We don’t want to tie authors up, so you’re free to use them independently of one another. You can use Draft2Digital’s conversion and layout tools free of charge, whether you use us for ebook distribution or not.
(Of course, we’d love to help publish your ebooks too—but it isn’t required.)
Pricing
Print will always cost more than digital—but how much more should you charge? To help answer that question, we’ve created a Print Price Calculator to make it easy to decide. Of course, specifics like estimates, actual costs, and royalties may vary, but you can expect to earn about 45% of your book’s list price, minus the printing cost.
Language restrictions
We accept all books written in a Latin-based language.
Trim sizes and binding types
Now, let’s talk details. Print on Demand is all well and good—but you want to make sure your paperback looks professional, right?
We offer the following trim sizes (all available as perfect bound paperbacks only):
- 5” x 8”
- 5.25” x 8.5”
- 5.5” x 8.5”
- 6” x 9”
- 7.5” x 9.25”
- 8.5” x 11”
Page count requirements
To qualify for D2D Print, your book must be a minimum of 64 pages and a maximum of 740 pages across all print trim sizes.
Printing in color
D2D Print does full four-color cover image prints, but we only print black and white interiors (for now) to keep prices reasonable.
If you’re starting with a full-color ebook file, you don’t need to do anything to convert the interior to grayscale. We do it for you! Just use your full-color file, and we’ll handle the rest.
When you upload a file with color images, you’ll see a warning message like this:
That’s it for now—check back soon for the next in our D2D Print Masterclass series!