Printing FAQ

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• Print Times
• My content includes color images. Which product line should I choose?
• Image types and suggested products
• Should I choose a Standard Paperback product for my picture book?
• What will happen if I choose to print my image-rich content using Standard Paperback products?
• What should I do if my color-interior Standard Paperback book arrives with one of these defects?
• Age Range for Children and Teen eBooks FAQ

Print Times

All printers across our global network have a 3-5 business day print time. Business days are considered Monday - Friday, and the first printing day is the day after the order was placed. For example an order placed on a Monday will send to the printer by Tuesday, and is expected to print between Thursday (day 3) and the following Monday (day 5). 

 

My content includes color images. Which product line should I choose?

Lulu offers four color product lines:

• Standard Paperback (US market only) – affordable paperback (perfect bound) options printed on uncoated 50# paper. This product is suitable for printing color and B&W diagrams, tables, graphs, line drawings, and small graphics. This product is not suitable for full-page color coverage or photo quality printing.
• Premium Paperback & Professional Hardcovers – Bookstore quality products printed on high-quality, coated paper. These products are suitable for all of the above listed images plus large graphics, full page images, and graphic novels.
• Photobooks and Calendars –  Photobooks are printed on photo quality coated paper (80# for perfect bound and 100# for hardcover photo books), which is perfect for photographs and highly saturated color printing. Calendars are printed on 100# stock.

Note: At this time, color Standard Paperback products can only be published and printed from within the US store.

 

Image types and suggested products

Image	Example	Product Line
		Standard Paperback	Premium Paperback & Professional Hardcover	Photobooks & Calendars
Color Text		YES	YES	YES
Graphs		YES	YES	YES
Diagrams (B&W)		YES	YES	YES
Diagrams (Color)		YES	YES	YES
Diagrams (Full Color)		YES	YES	YES
Screenshots		YES*	YES	YES
Frontispiece (Line drawing with light shading)		YES	YES	YES
Small graphics and text		YES*	YES	YES
Large graphics and text		NO	YES	YES
Full page B&W image		NO	YES	YES
Graphic novel / Childrens picture book		NO	YES	YES
Full page color image (Photo quality)		NO	YES	YES

*For best results, images should not exceed 20% of total content in Standard line books.

Should I choose a Standard Paperback product for my picture book?

The Standard Paperback products are intended to provide an affordable color printing option for authors who want to incorporate color text, graphs, diagrams, and small imagery into their novels, instruction manuals, and text books. For high quality, saturated color we recommend our Standard and Premium products.

What will happen if I choose to print my image-rich content using Standard Paperback products?

The paper used for Standard Paperback products is uncoated meaning the ink will be absorbed into the paper. Large quantities of ink applied to this type of paper will cause the book pages to become wavy once they dry - just as when you spray water onto the pages of your favorite book. Therefore, if your content includes too many images, it is likely your printed book will arrive with defects such as warped pages, streaking and/or image bleed through.

What should I do if my color-interior Standard Paperback book arrives with one of these defects?

If your printed book arrives with wavy pages, streaking or image bleed through it is likely your content is too image-rich for our Standard Paperback products. You should consider reprinting your content using either our Premium Paperback or Professional Hardcover lines, which are designed for printing high quality, image-rich content.

Age Range for Children and Teen eBooks FAQ

Earlier this year, we began allowing authors of eBooks in the Children and Teens categories to better target their intended audience. This information is required if you list your work in the Children or Teens categories.

How do I add an Age Range to my Children's or Teens eBook?
To add an age range, please follow these steps when logged into your Lulu account:

   1. Click "My Projects" in the upper right
   2. Locate the eBook on your project list
   3. Click on the title of your eBook
   4. Under the "License" section, click the gray "Edit" button
   5. Check the box or boxes besides the age range intended for your eBook
   6. Click the "Save Changes" button

   That's it! Your eBook's age range should update on the iBookstore within a few days.

Why is this required?
This feature allows Lulu authors to better market their eBooks. Friends and family searching for eBooks as gifts will be able to more easily separate eBooks into age appropriate categories. In addition, Apple requires age range information for all Children and Teen eBooks before they can be listed in the iBookstore.

What happens if I don't add an Age Range?
If your eBook was previously listed on the iBookstore under the category Children or Teens and you do not add an age range, your eBook will become harder to find on the iBookstore than ones with this information. Adding an age range will increase your work's visibility and potential for sales.

Can I select more than one Age Range?
Definitely! Select as many consecutive ranges as you need, and we will turn your selection into a single range. For example, if you check the boxes for ages 0-2 and 3-5, the iBookstore will list your eBook as intended for readers between 0 and 5 years old.

Can categories other than Children and Teens select an Age Range?
Age Range is currently only available for books and eBooks listed under the Children or Teens categories.

Can an Age Range be specified for a printed book?
Yes, certainly! For print books, the age range will not affect your book's listing on retail channels.