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7 March 2025
We would like to inform you that, effective April 1st, our express service level will be discontinued. However, we continue to offer the following print options to meet your needs:
Paperback
Hardcover
As a reminder, our turnaround times are for printing and do not factor in shipping times. We are dedicated to delivering high-quality printing services and are pleased to continue offering reliable options to meet your needs.
2 January 2025
Reinstating US Print Service Levels
Please check your Ingram Lightning Source account for current print turnaround times.
22 November 2024
Due to an increase in volume, print times have been extended for our UK print facility.
UK Economy Service – SL10
Paperback books – 8 business days
Hardcover books - 12 business days
UK Midrun Service - SL50
Paperback books - 9 business days
Hardcover books - 13 business days
14 November 2024
Beginning November 14, 2024:
Current turnaround times for printing:
US Rush Service
Paperback books – 1 business day
Hardcover books – temporarily suspended
US Express Service
Paperback books – 2 business days
Hardcover books – temporarily suspended
US Economy Service
Paperback books – 5 business days
Hardcover books - 15 business days
US Midrun Service
Paperback books – 10 business days
Hardcover books - 15 business days
UK Rush Service
Paperback books - temporarily suspended
Hardcover books - temporarily suspended
UK Express Service
Paperback books - temporarily suspended
Hardcover books - temporarily suspended
UK Economy Service
Paperback books – 6 business days
Hardcover books - 9 business days
UK Midrun Service
Paperback books - 7 business days
Hardcover books - 10 business days
Service levels at our AU facility remains unchanged.
12 November 2024
Rush and Express order types have been suspended/disabled until Jan 1 for the UK only. Service levels at our US and AU facilities remain unchanged.
08 October 2024
Below are our recommended order dates to give your books the best opportunity to reach readers in time for the holidays:
19 January 2024
Inclement winter weather across Tennessee and other parts of the United States has resulted in service delays for Lightning Source. Concurrently, several of our shipping carriers are also facing delays, contributing to extended shipping times. You may see longer than normal shipping times in addition to longer than expected turnaround times.
We appreciate your patience. We are working quickly to get orders completed as soon as possible.
10 January 2024
Rush and Express Service Levels
We are pleased to share that rush and express service levels have been reinstated for both paperback and hardcover books in the United States. All service levels (economy, rush and express) are available in our United States, United Kingdom and Australia facilities.
Please check your Ingram Lightning Source account for current print turnaround times.
1 December 2023
Current Turnaround Times in the United States
Beginning December 4, 2023 we are temporarily suspending rush and express service levels in the United States.
Current turnaround times for printing your books:
Economy Service
Paperback books - 7 business days
Hardcover books - 14 business days
Midrun Service
Paperback books - 15 business days
Hardcover books - 20 business days
As a reminder, our turnaround times are for printing and do not factor in shipping times. Many carriers are experiencing delays, so please expect shipping to take longer than usual.
Service levels and turnaround times at our Australia and United Kingdom facilities remain unchanged. Please check your Lightning Source account for additional information.
27 October 2023
Below are our recommended order dates to give your books the best opportunity to reach readers in time for the holidays:
21 August 2023
Upgrades to Print Equipment at Ingram’s Facility in Australia
To support our continued expansion, we are upgrading our equipment and therefore both Standard and Premium Color will be offline for a period of approximately two weeks.
What This Means for You:
Should you have any questions, please contact your account representative, or email us on lsicustomersupport@ingramcontent.com.
*This includes titles priced in Australian Dollars and sold within the region during the period of the upgrade, where Standard and Premium color is offline. Titles printed in black and white and Ultra-Premium remain unaffected. This change does not impact any other Ingram print location.
5 June 2023
Groundwood Eggshell paper is now available in our Australia facility. Groundwood Eggshell paper is an excellent alternative to crème paper if you are looking for a thicker but lighter paper that works great for trade books, reader guides, and academic trade titles.
Specifications:
Weight US & AU: 38#/56.2gsm, UK: 44#/65gsm
PPI 408, Opacity 94, Brightness 70
Optimal Titles:
Small-format books, B&W only, Select Trim Size
Please reach out to your sales or client services rep to learn more.
21 March 2023
Extended turn-around times for AU print orders ended on March 6 and are now back to normal. Express and premium service level options are also available again. AU Economy service usually prints in 5 business days AU Express service usually prints in 2 business days AU Rush service usually prints in 1 business day Thank you for your patience and understanding while we managed an unprecedented volume of orders. As a reminder, our turnaround times are for printing and do not factor in shipping times.
20 January 2023
Effective March 18th, 2023, Ingram Lightning Source will be adjusting UK, EU and AU print-on-demand pricing. As you may know, material and energy prices continue to rise in the UK and AU with many businesses being affected by these unprecedented cost increases. In light of this, print prices for all products manufactured in our UK print facility will be increasing by 5% and prices for all products manufactured in our AU print facility will be increasing by 8%.
2 December 2022
Due to increased volume, we are removing Rush and Express Service levels from 02/12/2022 in the UK only.
Current Turnaround Times for UK Print Orders
As a reminder, our turnaround times are for printing and do not factor in shipping times. Many carriers are experiencing delays, so please expect shipping to take longer than usual.
22 November 2022
Orders from Lightning Source – UK Only
Due to the recent announcement by the Royal Mail of additional strike action on the 23rd and 24th of December, the last date orders will be shipped via Royal Mail is now Thursday, 22 December. We encourage all publishers to place their orders early to avoid disappointment.
If you are utilising our Royal Mail shipping options, untracked to UK destinations, please check the Royal Mail website here for further updates on strike action.
18 November 2022
Order ahead to make sure you get your order in time for the holidays.
Recommended Order Dates to Guarantee Delivery on Time
Many carriers are experiencing delays, so shipping time may take longer than usual.
7 November 2022
Due to increased volume, we are removing Rush and Express Service levels and extending our current turnaround times for AU orders from 04/11/2022.
Current Turnaround Times for AU Print Orders
As a reminder, our turnaround times are for printing and do not factor in shipping times. Many carriers are experiencing delays, so please expect shipping to take longer than usual.
11 AUGUST 2022
Effective October 10th, 2022, Ingram Lightning Source will be adjusting UK and EU print-on-demand pricing. As you may know, material and energy prices are rising sharply in the UK with many businesses being affected by these unprecedented cost increases. In light of this, print prices for all products manufactured in our UK print facility will be increasing by 4.9%. Service fees such as title set up, revisions, proof copies, and order handling are not impacted by this change.
With this increase, you may want to consider a list price adjustment on your books to maintain your current publisher compensation rates.
Helpful Resources:
Submit changes via XML or Spreadsheet by Thursday September 15th to be effective on Saturday October 1st.
Submit changes via online account by Thursday October 6th to be effective Friday October 7.
Thank you for your continued business as we help you reach readers worldwide.
28 JUNE 2022
Due to system upgrades, colour printing at our Lightning Source production facility in Melbourne, Australia will be offline from 5pm (Melbourne, VIC, GMT +10) 17th July to 24th July 2022.
Any order of Premium or Standard Colour submitted during this period will be placed on hold until 24th July. From this date, orders of colour titles will be printed and shipped.
Turnaround times for orders placed for theMelbourne facility during this time will be counted from colour printer reactivation on 24th July rather than from the date on which the order was placed. We therefore advise that any time-sensitive orders of Premium or Standard Colour titles be placed as soon as possible.
Please check your Lightning Source account dashboard frequently for the most current business updates regarding Ingram service levels.
10 FEBRUARY 2022
Current Turnaround Times for U.S. Print Orders
As a reminder, our turnaround times are for printing and do not factor in shipping times. Many carriers are experiencing delays, so please expect shipping to take longer than usual.
10 JANUARY 2022
Effective March 8, 2022, Ingram Lightning Source will be adjusting print rates in all of our print-on-demand markets.
Here are a few highlights associated with March’s rate adjustments:
Helpful Resources:
Throughout these global inflationary times, Ingram Lightning Source has endeavored to manage its costs closely by improving its manufacturing efficiencies and supply chain sourcing in order to minimize pricing increases.
Going forward, if there are any additional pricing updates we will notify you of those adjustments, to help you plan ahead accordingly.
Thank you for your continued business as we help your titles reach readers worldwide, in a sustainably responsible way through printing on demand and closest to your customer.
16 NOVEMBER 2021
A new version of the Lightning Source Publisher Operating Manual is now available here. Changes made in this version include:
15 NOVEMBER 2021
Coming soon, retailers located outside Australia will be able to purchase print-on-demand books from ICG in Australia in AustralianDollars (AUD). This is great news for retailers ICG trades with globally and benefits you. With fewer limitations on who can place orders and where your titles can be sold, your titles' sales potential is much greater.
If your titles are already priced in AUD, there is nothing additional you need to do to be included in this new opportunity. If you would not like ICG to sell your AUD-priced titles globally, please contact us at ingramwholesaleau@ingramcontent.com by 15th January 2022 to opt your content out of this sales channel.This sales channel is only available to titles priced in AUD, so if you have not yet set your pricing for this, please do so now to be included.
3 NOVEMBER 2021
Beginning the week of November 8th, you will notice new web ordering processes for orders printing in the UK and shipping to the EU27 countries due to changes to EU VAT regulations. Please see our updated FAQ for additional information.
5 OCTOBER 2021
Based on this year’s volume and ever-changing conditions, we’re sharing recommended Lightning Source order dates for the best opportunity to reach readers worldwide for the holidays.
Recommended United States Order Dates
Order by November 5, 2021, for Paperback and Hardcover
Recommended United Kingdom and Australia Order Dates
Order by November 19, 2021, for Paperback and Hardcover
As a reminder, current U.S. turnaround times for economy print orders are as follows:
(Subject to Change)
Spikes in demand as well as anticipated carrier shipping delays during November, December, and early January will likely cause extended turnaround times. Please review the latest turnaround times when placing your orders and plan to meet the above recommended order dates, especially for higher volume orders.
8 SEPTEMBER 2021
Amidst significant uncertainty in the global supply chain, Ingram Lightning Source is committed to supporting the book industry with the best possible service through the busy holiday season and into 2022. Over the past several months, the publishing industry has seen several cost increases for consumables, such as paper and packaging materials, as well as an increase in the cost of labor. Operating safely during the pandemic also has required additional resources and investments in manufacturing and distribution centers.
As a result of these industry-wide challenges, effective November 6th, 2021, Ingram Lightning Source is increasing print pricing as follows:
These changes do not apply to freight, handling, or title setup related fees.
You can view our updated rate cards below:
To help you assess any increases you may need to make to your retail pricing, we will be adding the future pricing view to our online pricing calculators. You should expect to see that view appear within the next two weeks. As a reminder, we offer the following retail price change options:
Weekly: through the Lightning Source website or via XML upload, with changes effective every Friday at 12:01 AM US Central Time
Monthly: through our spreadsheet template. Prices to be submitted no later than 15th of the month to be effective 1st of the following month.
We will also be identifying titles that will move into negative publisher compensation because of these price changes and will communicate that title information to you within the next two weeks.
13 AUGUST 2021
We are extending our current turnaround times for U.S. orders.
Current Turnaround Times for U.S. Economy Print Orders
As a reminder, our turnaround times are for printing and do not factor in shipping times. Many carriers are experiencing delays, so please expect shipping to take longer than usual.
22 JUNE 2021
Due to scheduled maintenance to update foundational IT systems, ALL Lightning Source accounts will be unavailable for log in starting Friday, July 9 at 9:00 pm CDT for U.S. customers and Saturday, 10th July at 3:00 am BST for UK customers and 12:00 pm AEST for Australian customers.
This maintenance is expected to take 24 hours to complete. If there are orders you need to place, titles you need to upload, edit, or approve, or any other actions or information you need to access in your account, please do so before or after the weekend of July 9-11. This advance notice is intended to help you plan accordingly for this temporary outage.
We appreciate your patience as we make these necessary database updates to better support our growing customer base and allow for future platform development.
Your Lightning Source Team
16 JUNE 2021
Due to EU VAT rule changes effective from 1st July 2021, Ingram Content Group UK (ICGUK) will be making alterations to the web ordering process for orders printed in the UK shipping to EU27.
Changes will be effective from Q3 2021, please see FAQ for more details.
9 JUNE 2021
Please be advised that from 8th June 2021 there will be a change to the requirements for the Declared Unit Value (DUV) field on all orders being exported from the UK. For more details, please refer to our Support Pages.
There will also be an update to the UK to EU27 shipping rates in the run-up to changes being implemented by the EU from 1st July 2021.
Please note this refers to Publisher Direct Orders Only.
Wholesale orders (i.e. when Ingram sells your titles to resellers in our wholesale network on your behalf) are unaffected by this change.
21 MAY 2021
Due to increased volume, Rush and Express Service levels have been temporarily removed for United States hardcover orders. The Rush and Express Service levels remain for hardcover orders in the United Kingdom and Australia and for paperback orders in all facilities.
Please note this refers to Publisher Direct Orders Only.
17 MAY 2021
From 1 July 2021, the European VAT rules on cross-border business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce activities will change. The EU will be removing the current €22 VAT threshold meaning all goods passing into the EU will be subject to customs clearance and VAT charges. They will also introducing a new ‘Import one stop shop” (IOSS) system which will allow distance sellers to make their VAT returns and payments online, away from the border.
If you are selling directly to customers in the European Union and plan to continue doing so after the 1st July, it is likely you will need to take action now. Further details can be found at https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/business/vat/vat-e-commerce_en
This information in no way constitutes tax advice, you should seek the services of a registered tax specialist if this is required.
3 MAY 2021
Lightning Source AU Pty Ltd, an operating company of Ingram Content Group, has been renamed Ingram Content Group Australia Pty Ltd. This change helps bring together Ingram Content Group’s publisher and retail services in Australia into one named entity.
Please continue to direct email invoices and enquiries to: AR_Invoices.AU@ingramcontent.com
23 APRIL 2021
We're pleased to announce that Express and Rush Service levels have been reinstated for both paperback and hardcover US orders. With this addition, all service levels (Economy, Express, and Rush) are now available from our US, UK, and AU print facilities.
29 MARCH 2021
We’re pleased to announce that print turnaround times have improved for US hardcover orders from 15 to 10 business days.
Current Global Print Order Turnaround Times
29 MARCH 2021
We’re pleased to announce that print turnaround times have improved for US hardcover orders from 15 to 10 business days.
Current Global Print Order Turnaround Times
12 MARCH 2021
Post-Brexit UK to EU Shipping Options
Following our most recent Brexit message on 30th December, Ingram Content Group UK (and all associated company brands, including IngramSpark) has updated its tracked shipping options and rates for deliveries into the European Union. For more details, please refer to our FAQ.
Please note this refers to Publisher Direct Orders Only.
Wholesale orders (i.e. when Ingram sells your titles to resellers in our wholesale network on your behalf) are unaffected by this change.
5 MARCH 2021
We’re pleased to announce that print turnaround times for US hardcover orders have improved from 20 to 15 business days.
Current Global Print Order Turnaround Times
1 MARCH 2021
Updated versions of the Operating Manual and File Creation Guide are now available with the following changes:
Print on Demand Operating Manual
File Creation Guide
Trim Size Matrix and Text Setup pages updated to reflect new perforation availability.
17 FEBRUARY 2021
Due to extreme winter weather conditions affecting some of our Lightning Source facilities in the U.S., you may experience delays in order processing and transit times. Please continue to check this page for more updates.
12 FEBRUARY 2021
We’re pleased to announce that print turnaround times for US hardcover orders have improved from 30 to 20 business days.
Current Global Print Order Turnaround Times:
We’re monitoring the lockdown in Australia closely and will let you know on this business updates page and the orders page of your account if anything changes, as well as keep you informed on the return to standard print turnaround times for US hardcover orders.
22 JANUARY 2021
We’re glad to announce the print turnaround time for paperback orders placed from our US, UK, and Australian print facilities has returned to our standard print turnaround times. We anticipate a reduction in US hardcover print turnaround times soon and will keep you updated via this business updates page when we have information to share.
Current Global Print Order Turnaround Times:
11 JANUARY 2021
We are pleased to announce that we have now completed the move to our new Australian facility. Consequently, we have resumed production of Standard Color and Standard Color 70 formats. These book types are once again available for publisher direct and wholesale orders.
All other product lines–paperback, hardback, premium color, and black & white–remained in production throughout the move and are therefore unaffected by this announcement.
To find out more about how we are growing in Australia, please visit: www.ingramcontent.com/publishers/lp/australia-facility
10 FEBRUARY 2022
Current Turnaround Times for U.S. Print Orders
As a reminder, our turnaround times are for printing and do not factor in shipping times. Many carriers are experiencing delays, so please expect shipping to take longer than usual.
