In an effort to streamline its print-on-demand offerings for small publishers, Ingram is launching IngramSpark, a program that will offer an inexpensive and easy-to-use platform for small publisher clients to distribute print and digital titles. IngramSpark, which is being announced at BEA and set to launch in July, is aimed at making the distributor's current systems easier to use.
Mark Ouimet, v-p and general manager at Ingram, says the company "wanted to make it easy for publishers to create an account and start uploading their content in just a few minutes."
Elaborating on IngramSpark, Ouimet said that this platform should allow small publishers a "one stop shop" for getting digital distribution and print-on-demand for their titles. While Ouimet would not discuss the pricing structure—he said that information is not something the company is "not ready to roll out publicly"—he noted that there would be a "modest" and "competitive" setup fee. (Ouimet added that there would be a set discount off of retail, and publishers would have guaranteed compensation for any sales that happen through the program.) He noted that the program is geared at small publishers, not individual authors.
Ingram will be doing demos of IngramSpark at its booth (1056) and, with plans for the services to go live on July 1, a full rollout is expected by mid-August.
