If you ordered books from more than one different source, you may have noticed a variance in quality between the printed books. This is because more than one printer was likely used, and different printers may use different ink, paper and/or binding types. We stand by the industry-standard quality of all print partners we work with; however, no two printers are perfectly alike, which means that some authors may prefer the quality of one printer over another. There can even be a variance in colour and ink from one job to the next with the exact same printer!
Read on below for an explanation of the printers used with online retailers vs Tellwell's print partners, and what to do if you encounter a print error.
Online retailers:
Books ordered through online retailers (e.g. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Chapters/Indigo, etc.) will usually be printed by Ingram, though paperback books ordered through Amazon will be printed by Kindle Direct Publishing [KDP] if you have Enhanced Amazon in your publishing package. Hardcover books will always be fulfilled by Ingram.
While Ingram and KDP are two of the largest and most reputable companies in the print-on-demand industry, it's good to keep in mind that there is a trade-off in quality for the ability to have the book listed in retailers worldwide without having to pay to print a single copy in advance.
Ingram and KDP's books are in the Goldilocks zone, where the quality is more than satisfactory for the vast majority of consumers, while keeping the print cost and therefore the retail price low, and (most importantly) your net royalties high (more on royalties here). This is why Tellwell and just about all other assisted self-publishers use these two companies for print-on-demand fulfillment of our authors' books.
Print orders through Tellwell:
Custom orders of 250 or more copies will be printed through Tellwell's international network of offset and digital print partners. These printers typically offer a higher quality product than with Print-on-Demand, because it becomes more economical to do so when printing higher volumes. Therefore, if you as the author happen to compare the quality of a book ordered via print-on-demand with that of a book in a bulk order through one of Tellwell's print partners, you may notice a difference in quality. However, keep in mind that the reader will not be making the same comparisons, and (assuming no legitimate print errors occur) you can safely assume they will be satisfied with the quality of the book regardless of its origin.
Quality issues & print errors:
If you receive a printed book with a significant printing error (significant generally means it impacts the readability of the book), please reach out directly to the retailer from which you purchased the book, including photos of the print errors. The retailer should then issue a refund or re-print the book for you, depending on their own policies. For books ordered through Tellwell, please email printing@tellwell.ca and we'll arrange for the printer to replace the affected copies.
For more information on fixing typographical errors that may have slipped through the design process, please see our article titled How do I make changes to my book after it's been published?
Related articles:
What is Print-On-Demand Distribution?
How do I order printed copies of my book?
Will I earn royalties from my print order?