LAVERGNE, TENNESSEE – Lightning Source, an Ingram Content company focused on enhancing book sales for publishers with innovative, low cost and minimum risk print on demand solutions, today announced the launch of an Espresso Book Machine (EBM) title pilot with On Demand Books.

Participating publishers in the pilot include John Wiley & Sons, Hachette Book Group, McGraw-Hill, Simon & Schuster, Clements Publishing, Cosimo, E-Reads, Bibliolife, Information Age Publishing, Macmillan, University of California Press and W.W. Norton. The pilot, being offered initially to a small group of publishers that currently work with Lightning Source, will enable these publishers to enhance the availability of their titles at point-of-sale EBM locations. Approximately 85,000 titles from these publishers will be available for purchase at EBM locations in the USA in May 2009.

Upon the completion of a successful pilot, publishers that print and distribute books with Lightning Source will have the option to participate in the EBM channel. Complete channel automation is expected in the first half of this year, and rollout of the program to publishers globally is expected to follow shortly thereafter.

The EBM, which was named a Time Magazine “Invention of the Year,” is essentially an ATM for books. Placed primarily in bookstores and libraries, the machine automatically prints, binds and trims perfect bound paperback books on-demand, at point of sale.

“We see the Espresso Book Machine as an innovative and exciting way for publishers to get their books out into the market,” said David Taylor, President of Lightning Source. “There is clearly a place for the in-store print on demand model in the emerging landscape of globally distributed print.”

Mr. Taylor continued, “Working with On Demand Books allows the many thousands of publishers with whom we already work the chance to get their books into this new distribution channel with minimal effort. In the times in which we are living, publishers need to be looking at every option to ensure that their books can be immediately available to people who want to buy them.”

“The EBM & Lightning Source pilot program is an exciting next step in the evolution
of digital printing and direct fulfillment of Wiley’s must-have content to our customers, wherever and whenever they need it,” said Lynn Terhune, US POD and USR.

Administrator, John Wiley & Sons. “Our rich content is being discovered by our customers in channels that were unimaginable five years ago.”

David Young, CEO of Hachette Book Group, said: “I’m pleased to have Hachette Book Group involved in this pilot program because anything that enables us to keep the widest array of books in print and available for the consumer, is good news both for us and our authors.”
“Providing McGraw-Hill content to our customers around the world is core to our strategy,” said Philip Ruppel, President for McGraw-Hill Professional. “Espresso’s ability to make thousands of our key titles available on-demand gives us another vehicle to achieve that goal.”

“The future has finally arrived in the form of the Espresso Book Machine pilot program,” said Joe D’Onofrio, Senior Vice President, Supply Chain Operations for Simon & Schuster. “This is an important first step for all publishers in providing readers with universal and instant access to the widest possible catalog of titles in high quality editions. We’re thrilled to be able to do this through our partnership with Lightning Source. ”

“Norton is delighted to have joined the Espresso/Lightning source pilot program and especially to include in it, Jason Epstein’s insightful volume Book Business, which makes the case for this initiative that will help achieve the widest possible distribution for our books,” said W. Drake McFeely, Chairman and President, W.W. Norton and Company.

“Since the introduction of print on demand over a decade ago, I’ve dreamed of a day when the technology would be refined and reduced to in-store scale,” said Richard Curtis, President, E-Reads. “At last it’s here and I’m overjoyed at this significant moment in the evolution of the book industry. Now you can visit a bookstore, order a book online, and pick your copy up after a leisurely cup of coffee. Bravissimo Espresso!”

“The University of California Press has had a long and active partnership with Lightning Source, and we’re very pleased to have the opportunity to extend that partnership to the Espresso Book Machine pilot program,” said Erich van Rijn, Director of Publishing Operations, University of California Press. “This program will further our efforts to make the greatest amount of our published material available to the widest possible readership. The point-of-sale printing model is truly an exciting development for the book business.”

“On Demand Books is delighted that the Espresso Book Machine is playing such a central role in a program that is blazing a trail to the future of book publishing,” said Dane Neller, CEO of OnDemand Books. Mr. Neller continued, “With the book business facing dramatic changes and challenges, we believe the timing of the EBM couldn’t be better. Publishers, retailers and libraries alike see the appeal of the machine that collapses the supply chain, boosts backlist sales, matches supply with demand, eliminates returns and powers new, high growth sales channels for publishers.”

On Demand Books will be demonstrating the new Espresso Book Machine 2.0 model at the upcoming London Book Fair. More information on the Espresso Book Machine and Lightning Source can be found on the Lightning Source and On Demand Books websites.

About On Demand Books, LLC On Demand Books, proprietor of the Espresso Book Machine® (“EBM”), was founded in 2003 by its Chairman, Jason Epstein, a renowned innovator throughout his nearly 60-year publishing career, and business executive Dane Neller, who left his role as President and CEO of Dean & Deluca in 2005 to focus his full energies as CEO of On Demand Books. The EBM was featured in a Time Magazine cover story as a “Best Invention of 2007” and has also attracted the attention of The New York Times, Newsweek, Fortune, CNN, and NPR. For more information please visit www.ondemandbooks.com.

About Lightning Source
Lightning Source is the leading print-on-demand company in the world, offering the unique combination of quality one-off book manufacturing and access to the most comprehensive distribution solutions in the publishing industry. Lightning Source is an Ingram content company. The Ingram content companies provide a broad range of physical and digital services to the book industry, and immediate access to the largest selection of books and book-related products in the industry. The content companies are Ingram Digital, Lightning Source Inc., Ingram Book Company, Ingram International Inc., Ingram Library Services Inc., Coutts Information Services, Ingram Periodicals Inc., Ingram Publisher Services Inc., Spring Arbor Distributors Inc., and Tennessee Book Company LLC. For more information, visit the website at www.lightningsource.com.

The Lightning Source name, corresponding logos, taglines and other service marks identifying Lightning Source and its services are the proprietary marks of Lightning Source Inc. and must be represented accordingly. Other products and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.