Trafford Publishing
Trafford Publishing is a company for self-publishing using print-on-demand technology, formerly based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and now based in Bloomington, Indiana, USA.[1]
| Parent company | Author Solutions |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1995 (Victoria, British Columbia) |
| Founder | Bruce Batchelor, Marsha Batchelor, John Norris and Steve Fisher |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | Bloomington, Indiana |
| Publication types | Books |
| Official website | www |
History
The company was founded in 1995, by Bruce and Marsha Batchelor, John Norris and Steve Fisher. Bruce Batchelor served as CEO until 2006. Trafford Publishing focuses on print-on-demand ("POD") publishing, which means they print shorter runs or even one copy at a time, in response to orders from the author or from retail customers
At its peak size, Trafford had about 150 employees working at offices in Canada, USA, UK and Ireland. Trafford's self-publishing service was sold to Author Solutions Inc. in 2009.
Trafford requires payment from the author to cover set-up costs, and the author has to do most of his or her own marketing. Unlike most other POD publishing services, Trafford owned its own large printing plant, located in Victoria. Book printing was also done through Lightning Source Inc. (LSI), a subsidiary of Ingram Books distributors, in Tennessee and Milton Keynes as well as at BookSurge LLC's plant in South Carolina.[2]
Some titles have been converted to e-books and are distributed via Powells.com and Lightning Source Inc. (LSI).
According to their publishing guide, a number of packages are available. They range from a basic publishing service to order printed copies (for family histories, etc.), an intermediate package for basic online ordering capability, to a package with internet distribution. Trafford also has packages for publishing color children's books.
The company has distribution options in Europe.
According to the Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2009, Trafford was purchased by Author Solutions, which operates AuthorHouse and iUniverse and is owned by the San Mateo, Calif., private-equity firm Bertram Capital Management LLC.[3] Previously, in January 2009, the Bloomington, Ind., publisher acquired another competitor, Xlibris.
On November 28, 2009, the Victoria Times Colonist reported that Morriss Printing had filed for bankruptcy protection and a receiver would be selling off all assets.[4]
References
- Andrew Duffy (April 7, 2009). "US firm buys out Trafford". Times Colonist. Archived from the original on April 8, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2009.
- Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg (April 9, 2009). "Self-Publisher Buys Rival As Sector Consolidates". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 22, 2009.
- http://www.bertramcapital.com/
- Andrew A. Duffy (November 28, 2009). "Bankruptcy hits Morriss: Efforts to save printer fail and receiver will sell assets". The Victoria Times Colonist. Archived from the original on January 15, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2009.