Lulu Press
Lulu Press is a privately held print-on-demand publishing platform serving authors, SMBs, brands, and enterprise publishers with global manufacturing, free Print API, ecommerce integrations, and retail distribution to 40,000+ retailers across 200+ countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersMorrisville, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Lulu Press does
Lulu Press, Inc. is a privately held, North Carolina-headquartered publishing technology company founded in 2002 that operates a global print-on-demand platform serving individual creators, small businesses, large enterprises, and publishers. The platform supports the production of print books, ebooks, photo books, calendars, notebooks, children's books, comics, magazines, cookbooks, educational books, and yearbooks across more than 3,000 configuration combinations, with production handled by a network of 10+ facilities worldwide fulfilling to 200+ countries.
The company's core technology stack is a cloud-based print-on-demand platform exposed through a free RESTful Print API (supporting JSON/XML and webhooks) and through Lulu Direct, a set of native ecommerce integrations with Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce that automate white-label order routing, printing, and shipping. Underlying infrastructure enables personalized book-of-one printing workflows, bulk order import for crowdfunding and pre-order fulfillment, and direct-to-consumer sales without inventory requirements.
Lulu generates revenue primarily through per-unit print fees (pay-as-you-go with no upfront costs to creators), a marketplace commission on Lulu Bookstore sales where authors retain 80% of net, a one-time retail distribution fee granting access to 40,000+ retailers including Amazon, Ingram, and Barnes & Noble, and usage-based monetization on the Print API where customers pay only per-order printing and fulfillment. GTM combines product-led growth for individual authors, developer-led adoption through the free API and Shopify/Wix/WooCommerce app stores, and an enterprise field sales motion targeting publishers and brands. The company holds SOC 2 Type 2 certification and has been a Certified B Corporation since 2016, with leadership transitioning to Craig Petersen as CEO effective January 1, 2026.
Lulu Press firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lulu Press
- Legal name
- Lulu Press, Inc.
- Website
- https://lulu.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Lulu Press is a privately held print-on-demand publishing platform serving authors, SMBs, brands, and enterprise publishers with global manufacturing, free Print API, ecommerce integrations, and retail distribution to 40,000+ retailers across 200+ countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lulu Press industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Print-on-Demand Publishing Services
- NAICS
- Books Printing (323117), Printing (32311), Printing and Related Support Activities (323), Support Activities for Printing (323120), Book Publishers (513130)
- SIC
- Book Printing (2732), Service Industries For The Printing Trade (2790), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Print-on-Demand Production (Book POD, Short-Run Fulfillment) (MPAJALAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- POD Platform Software & Workflow Automation (Order Routing, Prepress, MIS) (MPAJANAL), POD Fulfillment, Warehousing & Drop-Shipping Services (MPAJANAJ), Cover Design, Illustration & Book Interior Design Services (MPAJAJAH), Personalized & Customized Book Print-on-Demand (Variable Data, One-to-One) (MPAJANAH)
Keywords
Where Lulu Press is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Morrisville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Lulu Press business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Print-on-Demand Manufacturing: Primary revenue stream from per-unit printing costs. Customers pay for printing and shipping based on book specifications (size, paper, binding, color options). No upfront costs or inventory requirements. Volume discounts available for bulk orders of 100+ copies.
- Lulu Bookstore Sales: Authors earn 80% of retail price minus printing costs when selling through Lulu's own bookstore. Lulu retains the difference as platform commission. Free to publish with no listing fees.
- Retail Distribution Services: One-time distribution fee for listing books on retail channels including Amazon, Ingram, Barnes & Noble, and 40,000+ other retailers. Enables authors to reach broad retail audience through established book distribution networks.
- Print API Access: Free API access with no service fees. Businesses pay only for printing and fulfillment costs per order. No setup fees, monthly fees, or minimum volume requirements for API integration.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free ebook publishing with Lulu's converter and bookstore distribution |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | 80% revenue share on Lulu Bookstore sales after printing costs |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Per-unit print pricing based on book specifications |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | One-time distribution fee for retail channel access |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels8 records
Lulu Press product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lulu Press operates a global print-on-demand publishing platform that enables individuals, businesses, and publishers to create, print, and sell books worldwide without upfront costs or inventory. The platform combines custom book manufacturing (3,000+ product combinations across trim sizes, paper types, binding, and color options) with white-label fulfillment, native ecommerce integrations (Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce), a free RESTful Print API, retail distribution to 40,000+ retailers, and the Lulu Bookstore marketplace where creators earn an 80% revenue share.
Product overview
Lulu Press operates as a global publishing technology company offering a comprehensive print-on-demand and ebook publishing platform. The core product portfolio centers on Print Books as the primary offering, supplemented by Ebooks, Wall Calendars, Photo Books, Notebooks and Planners, Children's Books, Comic Books and Graphic Novels, Booklets, Magazines, Cookbooks, Educational Books, and Yearbooks. Distribution channels include the Lulu Bookstore (80% revenue share), Retail Distribution to 40,000+ retailers, and direct sales via Lulu Direct platform integrations with Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce. Technical infrastructure is provided through the Lulu Print API for custom integrations and the Order Import Tool for bulk order fulfillment. The platform's value proposition combines over 3,000 product configuration combinations, global print network with 10+ facilities, white-label fulfillment, and no upfront costs for creators.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Lulu Direct: Ecommerce integration platform connecting print-on-demand books to Shopify, Wix, and WooCommerce stores with white-label fulfillment.
- Lulu Print API
Products and services
- Custom Print Books
- Ebooks
- Lulu Direct
- Lulu Print API
- Lulu Bookstore
- Retail Distribution Service
- Order Import Tool
Quantifiable outcome
- Internal production time reduced from two weeks to two hours through API integration
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Lulu Press
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Lulu Press technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature6 records
Lulu Press partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and standard.
- ShopifycoreNative Lulu Direct integration with Shopify's ecommerce platform. Enables automated print-on-demand book sales through Shopify stores with white-label fulfillment. Sellers retain 100% revenue, Lulu charges only printing/shipping.
- WixcoreLulu Direct integration with Wix website builder. Quick setup for selling print-on-demand books from Wix stores with automated dropshipping.
- WooCommercecoreLulu Direct integration with WooCommerce (WordPress). Enables book sales on WordPress sites with automatic printing and global shipping fulfillment.
- KickstartercoreKickstarter crowdfunding integration for book launches. Creators run campaigns, collect pledges, then fulfill orders through Lulu's Order Import tool for bulk dropshipping to backers worldwide.
- AmazonmajorRetail distribution partner enabling authors to list books on Amazon marketplace through Lulu's distribution network.
- IngrammajorMajor book distribution network partner. Enables access to Ingram's wholesale and library distribution channels.
- Barnes & NoblemajorRetail distribution partner for listing books with Barnes & Noble bookstore chain.
- Apple BooksstandardEbook distribution channel through Apple's iBookstore for EPUB and PDF ebooks.
- KobostandardEbook distribution partner for selling through Kobo's global ebook marketplace.
- Google Play BooksstandardEbook distribution channel for selling through Google Play Books store.
- ScribdstandardEbook distribution partner for listing on Scribd's subscription reading platform.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Lulu Press competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Blurb: Blurb operates a print-on-demand platform for books, photo books, magazines, and trade publications with a self-publishing marketplace — directly overlapping Lulu's core product set and target customers.
- BookBaby: BookBaby provides self-publishing, editing, design, and print-on-demand services for indie authors and small publishers — same primary customer profile as Lulu Authors & Creators with comparable service bundling.
- Mixam: Mixam is a UK-based print-on-demand platform for books, magazines, photo books, and similar formats with global shipping and a free API, closely mirroring Lulu's product breadth and developer-first positioning.
- Newspaper Club: Newspaper Club offers short-run and print-on-demand newspapers, magazines, and zines to global customers — a focused peer on Lulu's periodicals/magazines product line with similar single-copy economics.
- Bookvault: Bookvault is a UK-based book printing and POD specialist serving indie publishers and authors with global fulfillment — a focused book-POD peer comparable to Lulu's core print offering.
Broad incumbents
- Kindle Direct Publishing (Amazon KDP): Amazon's KDP is the dominant free self-publishing POD platform for ebooks and paperbacks, competing head-on with Lulu Bookstore and Lulu's retail distribution economics while leveraging Amazon's retail and Kindle ecosystems.
- IngramSpark (Ingram Content Group): IngramSpark offers print-on-demand book manufacturing and global wholesale distribution through Ingram's industry-leading network; a direct enterprise alternative to Lulu's retail distribution and POD stack for publishers.
- Shutterfly: Shutterfly is a large-scale custom photo printing and gifting platform with overlap on Lulu's Photo Books product and enterprise personalized-print aspirations, though broader in scope (cards, gifts, apparel).
- Cimpress (parent of Vistaprint): Cimpress is a mass-customization printing and marketing products platform whose enterprise/custom-print capabilities overlap with Lulu's B2B and Lulu Direct monetization, serving as a broader incumbent in on-demand print.
- Barnes & Noble Press: Barnes & Noble Press is the bookseller's self-publishing POD platform offering free publishing and retail distribution through BN stores — a channel-owned POD competitor that competes on the same retail-distribution surface as Lulu.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Lulu Press social profiles
Digital presenceLulu Press compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Lulu Press financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lulu Press leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Lulu Press funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lulu Press M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lulu Press
What does Lulu Press do?
Lulu Press operates a global print-on-demand publishing platform that enables individuals, businesses, and publishers to create, print, and sell books worldwide without upfront costs or inventory. The platform combines custom book manufacturing (3,000+ product combinations across trim sizes, paper types, binding, and color options) with white-label fulfillment, native ecommerce integrations (Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce), a free RESTful Print API, retail distribution to 40,000+ retailers, and the Lulu Bookstore marketplace where creators earn an 80% revenue share.
Is Lulu Press a public or private company?
Lulu Press is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Lulu Press founded?
Lulu Press was founded in 2002. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Lulu Press based?
Lulu Press is headquartered in Morrisville, United States, in the North America region.
How does Lulu Press make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Print-on-Demand Manufacturing is the primary driver. The others are lulu Bookstore Sales, retail Distribution Services and print API Access.
Who are Lulu Press's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Blurb, BookBaby, Mixam, Newspaper Club and Bookvault. Broad incumbents are Kindle Direct Publishing (Amazon KDP), IngramSpark (Ingram Content Group), Shutterfly, Cimpress (parent of Vistaprint) and Barnes & Noble Press.
Does Lulu Press have an API?
Yes. Lulu's Print API is a free RESTful API that connects businesses to a global print-on-demand network. It allows developers to integrate custom book printing and fulfillment directly into their websites or applications. The API supports JSON and XML formats, includes webhook options for order status and shipping updates, and provides a Developer Portal for monitoring order status. There are no service fees to access the API; users pay only for printing and fulfillment costs. The API enables printing of books, magazines, workbooks, journals, and calendars, with support for personalization capabilities. Developer documentation is at api.lulu.com/docs.
What industry is Lulu Press in?
Lulu Press's product category is Print-on-Demand Publishing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJALAG, Print-on-Demand Production (Book POD, Short-Run Fulfillment), with a secondary code of MPAJANAL, POD Platform Software & Workflow Automation (Order Routing, Prepress, MIS). Its NAICS code is 323117 and its SIC code is 2732.