Hey writers! Usually I blog for readers, but this post is to show the print quality of KDP and IngramSpark, so welcome! I’ve been an indie author for about 6-1/2 years, and until a couple weeks ago, I’d only ever printed through Amazon’s KDP. For my most recent release, I decided (after years’ worth of research and consideration) to also use IngramSpark. Since I’ve ordered countless author copies from Amazon over the years and a whopping two author copies from IngramSpark in the last few weeks, this isn’t exactly a 50:50 test between the two services, but the differences so far are noteworthy enough that I wanted to share them with you.
Here’s what I’ve found so far.
In the photo below, a KDP copy is on the left and an IS copy is on the right. I noticed that the colors are richer and the text and illustrations are clearer on the IS cover.
In the photos below, I compare the bindings.
I’m not ragging on Amazon, but I’ve had some bad bindings over the years. Last summer I received an order of probably 20 author copies, and in at least half of the books, the pages were falling out. Yes, falling out. I could pick a brand new book out of the box, flip through the pages, and half the pages would flutter out. Amazon refunded me the cost of the books I needed to replace (but of course not the shipping, because I have yet to find a way to negotiate Amazon’s high shipping costs for author copies, and the customer service rep refused to give me a break on shipping). The customer service rep told me that the printing facility would be contacted so the broken binding situation wouldn’t happen again. In the replacement copies I ordered (and had to again pay full shipping on), a few of them had faulty bindings. These are the only two times I’ve had such an extreme issue, but in the photos below, notice the differences.
The top two photos are from KDP. The two books in the the top right can barely be given away. Considering I pay for this service, I’m not 100% satisfied. The bottom two photos are from IS. When I pulled them out of the box and half-held my breath in suspense of what I’d find, I was stunned by the impeccable bindings.
Let’s take a close look at the front and back covers.
In each of the below photos, KDP is on the left and IS is on the right. While the KDP quality is good, the IS quality is great. I notice sharper text and truer colors on the IS copies.
Now that I’ve judged my books by their covers,
let’s check out the inside. Again, KDP is on the left, and the same pages in the IS copy are on the right. The KDP paper looks and feels slightly thinner and the cream pages are just a tad lighter. Neither of those observations is a deal breaker for me, but when placed side-by-side, the IS pages definitely appear higher quality. More importantly, the text on the IS copy is a deeper black and reads easier. It’s a difference that I wouldn’t have picked up on without seeing the copies next to each other.
So, what do I think after this mini experiment in KDP vs. IngramSpark?
Going forward, I think I’ll order more copies from IngramSpark than from KDP (unless this batch was an anomaly and I notice poor quality in the future). I’m seriously considering adding my previously published books to IngramSpark. Setting up my book in IngramSpark wasn’t nearly as daunting or expensive as I’d always heard (especially with help from this detailed tutorial by author Bethany Atazadeh), and the shipping times were comparably slow between the two services.
Am I washing my hands of Amazon’s KDP? Well, no. Obviously it’s very convenient for readers, and the quality is good enough most of the time.
Am I delighted by the print and binding quality of IngramSpark so far? Yes. 10/10.
Do I think that competition is crucial to ensuring good service? Yes. Maybe in time, if and when Amazon sees the print quality that IngramSpark is producing, it’ll spur them to up their game. And if not, IngramSpark will probably pull ahead.
Have you used IngramSpark and KDP? Comment below with your observations (and if I missed something important or need to know something about either service, kindly let me know)!
M Liz Boyle 