What Hardcover with Dust Jacket Is the Best?

About this video

In the final part of his four-part proof series, Dale compares hardcovers with dust jackets from IngramSpark, Lulu, Barnes and Noble Press and Blurb, using Mel Kepler assisting indie author Aaron Wilkerson with the debut novel Resonate, launched in May 2023 — 6 by 9 inches, black-and-white on white paper, glossy dust jacket, 302 pages. He notes KDP is absent because, although it had recently added hardcover, it did not yet offer a dust-jacket option. IngramSpark scores 3 out of 5: widest reach, with royalties he puts at 45 to 70 percent minus print fees before a 1 percent distribution fee from July 2023, but the proof took 21 days at $19.57 total and the selected grey digital cloth cover arrived looking blue with no title stamped on the spine. Lulu scores a strong 4 out of 5 at $27.81 in 14 days, with the most format choices, a real linen wrap and a gold spine stamp. Barnes and Noble Press scores 4 out of 5 at $20.38 in 17 days, US-only, which Dale links to Lightning Source printing. Blurb scores a weak 4 out of 5: the priciest proof at $21.31 before fees, only three trim sizes and no spine stamp, but the fastest delivery at 11 days and, in his view, stellar print quality.

Key takeaways

• KDP did not offer hardcover with dust jacket at the time of filming, so authors wanting that format had to use another print-on-demand platform.
• Check what sits under the dust jacket: IngramSpark’s digital cloth cover is a printed canvas image, while Lulu offers a real linen wrap with an optional foil stamp.
• Delivery gaps were large in this test — Blurb 11 days, Lulu 14 days, Barnes and Noble Press 17 days and IngramSpark 21 days for comparable proofs.
• Global-distribution limits matter: only 13 of Lulu’s 16 trim sizes and only navy and grey linen colours were available for global distribution.
• Mel found IngramSpark’s interface the most complex and its technical file review took eight days, versus about two days for Barnes and Noble Press editorial approval.

Episode details: published June 4, 2023 · 16:25 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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