PW: Lightning Print Moves into E-books

Ingram's Lightning Print has acquired JNMedia, a company specializing in the storage and distribution of electronic books. With the purchase, Lightning said, it hopes to branch out from being primarily an on-demand outfit to a company with a strong emphasis on e-books. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

To emphasize the point about expansion, the company stated in a release that the acquisition "will substantially strengthen Ingram's 'on-demand' printing capabilities and pave the way for other e-book digital fulfillment services slated for commercial availability later this year."

Ed Marino, president of Lightning Print, said that it intends to build JN's program into its system, making it easier and quicker for e-books and on-demand titles to reach libraries, stores and e-retail outlets.

Founded by Jonathan Nathan, formerly of Random House, JN has worked to develop a "one-stop shop" for publishers. Nathan said he is attempting to sell a system to publishers that makes content available in all sorts of e-formats: PDF, Rocket eBook, Palmtop, etc. "We're trying to make it a much more automated process," Nathan said. "Instead of being segmented the way publishers do it now, with an interior department and a typesetter and the separate cover design, publishers submit a file once. It would then be converted into any file, printed or electronic," he said.

Nathan, who with the acquisition becomes an Ingram v-p, will offload much of the negotiations with publishers to Lightning. JN had been talking directly to publishers such as Random and Harper, but Nathan noted that Ingram's connections in the book industry will make such negotiations easier.