How to Make PDFs for Lightning Source Print-on-Demand—A Free Report

Digital printing has given rise to the print-on-demand distribution model that’s become so popular with self-publishers. Lightning Source, Inc. (LSI) is the principle provider of print-on-demand distribution, and the one I personally work with, and often recommend to my clients who are intending to become competitive self-publishers.

Like anyone else, I had to work out the exact steps LSI needed my book files to go through in order to guarantee that I wouldn’t have holdups later in the production process. I also wanted to ensure that I was getting the best quality printing I could from their system, so it was important to go over all the documentation and settings LSI specifies.

However, the information I needed was in at least 10 different documentation files and 2 very long web pages. In November I wrote a series of articles detailing exactly how to accomplish this task.

A Step-by-Step Guide to the Process

Today I’m making available a downloadable PDF file intended for anyone who needs to make reproduction files for Lightning Source’s digital print-on-demand process. Taken from my articles, revised and updated, this report will help you create a file that will:

• Run smoothly at LSI
• Get the best quality reproduction from their equipment
• Conform to the specifications for LSI production.

The PDF, which can be downloaded from the link at the end of this article, brings together in one place the information necessary in a step-by-step, illustrated format so all you have to do is follow along. The report is 21 pages long.

Feel free to pass the report along, or to post it at your own website, or to make it available to users along with other products. As long as the report stays intact, it’s fine to spread it around to anyone who you think might be able to use it. I hope to release more helpful reports like this in the coming months.

Download the “Creating a PDF for Lightning Source” Report

Here’s the link I promised you:

Download Creating a PDF for Lightning Source in InDesign CS4 [ PDF - 868 KB ]

Leave me a comment if you’d like to suggest other topics for future reports, I’d love to hear which areas of book production or design need explaining.

Related posts:

1. Creating a PDF for Lightning Source Print-on-Demand in InDesign CS4: Part 1
2. Creating a PDF for Lightning Source Print-on-Demand in InDesign CS4: Part 2
3. Creating a PDF for Lightning Source Print-on-Demand in InDesign CS4: Part 3
4. How Print-on-Demand Book Distribution Works
5. Self-Publishing Basics: Print on Demand—What Is It?

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Tagged as: Adobe InDesign, Lightning Source