You don’t need a publishing contract, a warehouse, or a big budget to sell (or share) great-looking printed books. Print-on-demand lets you upload your files once, then print and ship copies only when someone orders. No more guessing how many to print, no more boxes of inventory withering away in your garage, and no more of those delightful trips to the post office.
During Black Friday/Cyber Monday week, Lulu saw a 14% increase over the previous year in units sold/printed during the peak shopping period. This is a strong signal that creators and businesses are increasingly choosing print-on-demand over traditional inventory-based approaches for Holiday selling. Collectively, these results contribute to a year-to-date total of nearly 4.7 million printed books produced through Lulu’s global print-on-demand network and over 4,000 ecommerce storefronts connected for selling and dropshipping.
And this is not just an “author thing” anymore. Print-on-demand is growing fast, with the global POD market projected to rise from $12.39B in 2025 to $75.3B by 2033. That's a butt-load of books, tees, pillows, mugs, hoodies, water bottles, yoga mats, towels, and just about anything else you might want to add to your product lineup!
POD is no longer “just for novels”
My friend, Rusty Pepper, just published a great article here about how marketing procurement teams can leverage POD technology/models to move faster and more efficiently. And here’s my summary of it, specifically related to books as a tool for growth: If it can be laid out like pages and bound, it can be a POD “book”, and it WILL generate growth.
Creators and businesses use POD for things like:
- Product catalogs and seasonal lookbooks
- Trade show leave-behinds (mini catalogs, product guides, “best of” collections)
- Workbooks for courses, workshops, and coaching programs
- Brand books and style guides for partners, franchises, or internal teams
- Sales playbooks and onboarding manuals
- Customer stories and case study collections
- Photo books, portfolios, comics, and magazines
🎯 The point is simple: why fight for crowded space in their inbox, when you can own their empty mailbox?
What is print-on-demand book publishing?
Most often tied to a self-publishing platform, you upload a print-ready interior and cover, then the provider prints and ships the book each time it is ordered. Print-on-demand services are a zero-inventory model.
Offset printing is the opposite: you print a large batch up front (usually 2,000+). The per-book cost can be lower, but you have to lay out cash up front and you have to store and manage inventory.
How businesses and creators are using POD books right now
Here are a few ways POD shows up in the real world beyond “publishing a book”:
1) Catalogs that stay current A brand can update pricing, swap out discontinued products, or run a “Spring 2026” version without trashing pallets of old inventory. POD also makes it easier to test different catalog versions for different customer segments.
2) Trade show collateral that does not weigh a ton Instead of shipping boxes of brochures, companies create a single, high-quality “field guide” or product catalog and ship copies directly to the event site, or even to hot leads after the show as a premium follow-up.
3) Training and onboarding that feels legit Think: employee handbooks, onboarding playbooks, restaurant training manuals, compliance guides, franchise manuals, and SOP binders. Updates are easy: replace the file, not the whole inventory.
4) Sales enablement you can hand to someone A bound “pitch book” or case study collection can be a killer leave-behind for enterprise deals. It is also easier to circulate internally than a messy folder of PDFs.
5) Creator products that go beyond merch Course creators turn modules into workbooks. YouTubers sell “season one” compilations. Artists print small-run portfolios. Podcasters bundle a printed guide with a paid membership.
Top 3 POD book services compared
1) Lulu Direct (obviously, the best 😉)
If you want to sell from your own store/website, print bulk runs of books, or create personalized book products, this is a strong option.
- Production time: 3 to 5 business days
- Royalties: 100% of profits
- Formats: hardcover, paperback, comic book, magazine, cookbook, notebook
- Binding options include perfect bound (paperback), coil, saddle stitch, case wrap (hardcover), linen wrap (hardcover with a dust jacket)
Good for: Publishers, entrepreneurs, DTC brands, creators with an audience, anyone who wants catalogs, workbooks, guides, and fulfillment without managing inventory.
2) IngramSpark
IngramSpark’s standout is reach into online bookstores, chains, and libraries through a large distribution network.
- Production time: 3 to 5 business days (paperback), 7 to 10 (hardcover)
- Royalties: 100% profits, plus a 1% market access fee when using its network
Good for: creators who want online bookstore placement, and businesses that want their printed content stocked or ordered through retail channels.
3) Blurb
Blurb leans into design-heavy books and offers tools plus integrations with Adobe creative apps.
- Production time: 5 to 10 business days
- Formats: paperback, magazine, notebook, photo book
Good for: portfolios, photo books, lookbooks, and highly visual catalogs.
Why POD is so useful (especially for teams that hate inventory)
POD works like just-in-time manufacturing: books are printed when orders come in. And many providers handle fulfillment end-to-end, which saves time and avoids warehousing headaches.
Other big advantages:
- You can update files quickly when something changes
- You can reach retail channels through certain networks
- You can add services like proofs, editing, and even translation depending on the platform
POD vs. offset printing: which should you pick?
If you want speed, flexibility, and low risk, POD is usually the move. Books can be printed and shipped in days, and you avoid paying for freight, storage, and big upfront print runs.
Offset printing can win when you know you will sell a lot, you have a shipping solution, and want the best possible unit economics.
A simple breakeven and profit example for 1,000 units sold:
- POD print cost: $3.40
- Offset setup fee: $600
- Offset unit cost: $2
- Breakeven for offset: 163 books
- Profit from POD sales: $12,590 (1,000 x $12.59)
- Profit from Offset sales: $13,384 (837 x $15.99)
🎯 If you are not sure you will clear that volume, and/or convenience (automation, scale, etc…) is more important to you, POD is the safer bet.
How to choose a POD service
Start with some of the basics: review processes, decide what you are printing, check pricing and commissions, make sure they can scale, check reputation, and prep your files.
Then add a few business-specific questions:
- Can it connect to your store (or workflow) so orders are automated?
- Can you ship to many addresses easily (events, client gifts, distributed teams)?
- Do you need special bindings (coil for workbooks, saddle stitch for thin booklets, hardcover for premium brand books)?
- Do you need proofs and quality checks before you ship to customers or prospects?
- Do you need multiple versions (region-specific catalogs, role-based training manuals, language variants)?
A few marketing ideas for creators and businesses
Focus on the most important foundations: have a simple website, build an email list, use social media as a lead farm, and stay consistent.
Here are a few ways to translate that into creator and business moves:
Creators
- Bundle a printed workbook with a course or cohort
- Offer signed copies or limited “drops” (great for launches)
- Turn your best content into a curated print collection people can keep
Businesses
- Put a QR code in the catalog that routes to a tracked landing page
- Send a premium printed case study book to top accounts as an ABM play
- Create event-specific versions of your guide, then ship to leads after the booth scan list is cleaned up
- Use printed onboarding or training books to reduce “where is that doc?” chaos across teams
🎯 In a world drowning in digital noise, the businesses that win will be those that understand a simple truth: sometimes the most innovative move is putting something real in someone's hands.
My inspirational closing paragraph
Print-on-demand isn't just disrupting supply chains, it's rewriting the rules for how any business can create, distribute, and profit from printed materials. Whether you're a creator turning your best content into tangible products or an enterprise business replacing dusty inventory models with just-in-time production, POD removes the friction between idea and execution. The technology that once democratized book publishing is now democratizing all printed communication, from training manuals to luxury lookbooks. As the market races toward $75 billion by 2033, the question isn't whether POD will work for your business, but how quickly you can leverage it to move faster, test more boldly, and connect more meaningfully with your audience.