Who we work with

Book printing for trade & independent publishers

Short and medium runs printed white-label and shipped straight into the UK’s largest book distributors — big-house reach and craft binding, without big-house minimums or dead stock.

Book printing for trade & independent publishers
From 10 copies White-label printing Ships to UK’s largest distributors Paperback & hardback Print-to-demand reprints Free ONIX export

Independent presses live or die by cash flow. A litho minimum of two thousand copies sounds like a vote of confidence in a title — until a third of them are pulped eighteen months later. The big-volume houses are built for 5,000-copy runs; pure print-on-demand is commodity quality with no control. There’s a gap in between, and that’s us.

We print paperback and hardback trade titles from around fifty copies into the low thousands, white-label — every book carries your imprint, never ours — and we ship them straight into the UK’s largest book distributors. Print to actual demand, reprint fast from held files when a review lands, and you get a major publisher’s reach with a real bookbinder’s finish and a real person on the phone.

What we print

Built for an independent list.

01

Fiction & literary novels

B-format and Demy paperbacks in PUR or thread-sewn, mono text with a retail-grade laminated cover. Debut titles at low-risk quantities, reprinted as readership builds.

02

General non-fiction

Trade paperback and hardback in Royal or Demy, mono or full colour, with a spine that survives a bookshop returns cycle.

03

Children’s & illustrated

Full-colour interiors on coated stock — picture books, illustrated non-fiction, gift titles. Colour is a strength here, not an afterthought.

04

Hardback & case-bound editions

Case-bound hardbacks for launches, prize submissions and premium editions — thread-sewn bookblocks, cloth or PPC cases, dust jackets, foil.

05

Reprints & backlist

Print-ready files held on file, so a backlist title that lands a review or a rights sale is back in print in days — ideal for migrating a list off a high-minimum or POD provider.

06

Premium & special editions

Limited and collector editions with the finishing an indie needs to stand out: soft-touch laminate, spot UV, foiling, French flaps, printed endpapers.

Short-run digital book printing press
Short-run digital printing — from 10 copies
Books packed for dispatch to distributors
Packed and shipped to the UK's largest distributors
Cover finishing — lamination and foil
Cover finishing — lamination, foil, spot UV

We ship straight into the UK’s largest distributors

This is the part most short-run printers can’t offer. We don’t just hand you boxes — we can ship your finished books directly into the UK’s largest book distributors, so your titles reach the trade without you arranging a separate freight leg or a third-party fulfilment house. Warehousing, pick-and-pack, dropship to retailers and direct-to-reader fulfilment are all on the table. Print and distribution come off one floor in Exeter.

White-label — your imprint, never ours

Everything we print for you ships white-label. There are no Imprint Digital marks on the book, the packaging or the paperwork — to your distributors, retailers and readers, you are the publisher, full stop. We’re the invisible production and fulfilment arm behind your imprint.

Print to demand — keep your cash working

Stop sinking capital into stock you might not sell. Print what you can realistically move, reprint in days when a review or sales spike hits, and set up auto-replenishment so a title never quietly goes out of stock. Your warehouse cost and your risk fall together — without giving up bookshop-grade finish.

The sensible alternative to CPI and Ingram

The big litho houses (CPI, Clays) are superb at 5,000 copies and punishing below it; global print-on-demand (Ingram / Lightning Source) is convenient but commodity quality with little control. For short and medium runs, and for migrating a backlist off either, we give you better quality and a real person on the phone without five-figure minimums. We can bulk-onboard your list from its ISBNs — see Switch to Imprint.

Where to go next

Paperback fiction and non-fiction is covered on paperback book printing; case-bound and premium editions on hardback book printing. Price a title, order a sample pack, or talk to us about moving a list across.

What's included

Set up for how you work.

A finish the trade expects

  • PUR perfect binding — the strong, lay-flat standard for trade paperbacks
  • Thread-sewn and case-bound hardback for premium and prize editions
  • Mono and full-colour interiors — colour is a strength, not an upcharge afterthought
  • Matt, gloss, soft-touch laminate, spot UV, foil, French flaps

White-label, shipped to the trade

  • White-label printing — every book carries your imprint, never ours
  • Ship direct to the UK’s largest book distributors from our floor
  • Dropship to retailers, or direct to authors and readers, on request
  • Free ONIX metadata export for your distributor and accounts

Print to demand, not to the warehouse

  • From ~50 copies — open a debut without litho-scale risk
  • Reprint fast from held files; auto-replenish against a stock threshold
  • Protect cash flow — no two-thousand-copy minimum to pulp later
  • Medium runs into the low thousands as a title builds

A sensible alternative to CPI / Ingram

  • Lower minimums than the big litho houses (CPI, Clays)
  • Better quality and control than commodity print-on-demand (Ingram)
  • Bulk-onboard a backlist from its ISBNs, set up for reprint-on-demand
  • See Switch to Imprint for moving a list across

Ready to price up a project?

Build the spec, see the price live. No account required, no email gate — just an instant figure based on what you actually want.

How it works

From quote to delivered books.

01

Get a quote

Send the spec or your backlist — trim, extent, colours, binding, finishes, quantity. Quote turned around fast.

02

Proof & approve

Digital and physical proofs before the run. Free file check on every title; we flag issues before press.

03

Print white-label

Printed and bound in-house in Exeter, carrying your imprint — PUR, thread-sewn or case-bound hardback.

04

Store, ship & reprint

Hold stock and files; ship to the UK’s largest distributors and retailers; reprint or auto-replenish on demand.

Frequently asked

Quick answers, before you ask.

Do you ship to UK book distributors?

Yes — we can ship your finished books directly into the UK’s largest book distributors from our floor, as well as dropship to retailers or fulfil direct to authors and readers. That means your titles reach the trade without you arranging separate freight or a third-party fulfilment house. Tell us your distribution arrangements and we’ll confirm how we slot in.

Will the books carry our imprint, or yours?

Always yours. We print and ship entirely white-label — no Imprint Digital marks on the book, packaging or paperwork. To your distributors, retailers and readers, you are the publisher.

What’s your minimum order, and can you do short runs?

From around 50 copies. That lets you open a debut or a niche title without the litho-scale minimums the big houses require, and we reprint fast from held files as a title builds — so you print to demand rather than guessing a big first run.

We print with CPI, Clays or Ingram — can you take over our short and medium runs?

Yes — that’s exactly the gap we fill. The big litho houses are built for very large runs; global print-on-demand is commodity quality with little control. For short and medium runs we give you better quality and real service without five-figure minimums, and we can bulk-onboard your backlist from its ISBNs and set it up for reprint-on-demand. See Switch to Imprint.

How fast can you reprint a title?

Because we hold your print-ready files, a straightforward reprint typically turns around in days. You can also set up auto-replenishment so a title reprints automatically when stock hits an agreed threshold — it never quietly goes out of stock.

Can you print colour interiors as well as mono?

Yes — full-colour interiors on coated stock for children’s, illustrated and gift titles, mono for fiction and most non-fiction, or a mix within one book at no extra cost. Unlike the mono-focused volume houses, colour is a core strength for us at short-run quantities.

Do you handle ISBN barcodes and ONIX?

Yes. We place the barcode on the cover from the ISBN you supply, and we provide a free ONIX metadata export so your distributor and retail accounts can list the title as soon as it’s off the press.

Can I see a proof before the full run?

Yes — digital and physical proofs are available before any run, and every title gets a free file check where we flag bleed, resolution or colour issues before press. You can also order a sample pack to feel the stocks and bindings first.

Can’t find your answer? See our 73-question book printing FAQ for detail on file prep, binding, paper, turnaround and shipping.

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