Authors and Publishers are Bypassing Amazon to Sell Books Directly to Readers

Print Trail's print-on-demand and fulfilment platform helps publishers, including Heriot-Watt and Historic Towns Trust, sell direct to readers

Print Trail were a huge help in setting up our webcommerce facility and their fulfilment services are efficient and cost effective. We are delighted with the relationship.”

— James Winterbotham, Historic Towns Trust

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, May 20, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A growing number of publishers and organisations are choosing to sell books directly to their audiences rather than routing every sale through Amazon or traditional retailers. Print Trail, a print-on-demand and fulfilment platform, provides the infrastructure that makes direct-to-consumer book sales practical, combining e-commerce, printing, order processing, and global shipping in a single automated service.

The platform already serves clients including Heriot-Watt University and the Historic Towns Trust, handling everything from print production to doorstep delivery. Publishers integrate Print Trail with their own websites, and the system handles the rest: when a customer places an order, the book is printed and shipped from the nearest global distribution depot automatically. There is nothing for the publisher to do.

"Publishers and authors have been giving away margin to retailers for decades because selling direct was too complicated," said Dan Brady, founder of Print Trail. "We remove that complexity. You sell from your site, we print and ship. The customer relationship, and the profit, stays with you."

"Print Trail were a huge help in setting up our webcommerce facility and their fulfilment services are efficient and cost effective. We are delighted with the relationship," said James Winterbotham of the Historic Towns Trust.

Publishers start by uploading their interior PDF and cover artwork to Print Trail and configuring their branded e-commerce website, powered by WooCommerce. The setup includes a custom domain under the publisher's full control (such as merrillosmond.com, the direct-sales site for Merrill Osmond, lead singer of The Osmonds). When a customer places an order on the branded site, the order flows automatically into Print Trail's system with no manual intervention required.

Print Trail then processes the order at the warehouse location closest to the customer's shipping address. For print-on-demand titles, books are printed and packaged from that location; for bulk stock, Print Trail picks and packs books already in inventory. Orders are automatically shipped with tracking information, and order status is relayed to the customer in real time. Publishers can view all orders at any time through their account.

The direct-to-consumer model solves several problems simultaneously. Publishers keep the full sale price rather than paying retailer commissions. They build direct customer relationships and email lists. They avoid the cost of warehousing stock, since titles are printed on demand when ordered. And the platform co-exists with existing sales channels, adding a direct option without disrupting Amazon, bookstore, or wholesale distribution.

Print Trail supports softback, hardback, mono, and full-colour printing, with binding options including perfect binding, case binding, and sewn binding. The platform also offers bulk printing for larger runs alongside its print-on-demand capability, allowing publishers to move titles between models as demand changes.

Running costs are minimal: after initial setup, publishers only pay when a book is sold. There are no monthly fees, no hidden charges, and no minimum order requirements.

For more information or to request an order fulfilment or book printing quote, visit printtrail.com.

About Print Trail

Print Trail is a print-on-demand, order fulfilment, and e-commerce platform for publishers and authors. The service combines book printing, automated order processing, and global shipping, enabling publishers to sell directly to readers from their own websites without holding stock. Print Trail is operated by Consilience, a publishing and software company established in 2001.

https://printtrail.com

Dan Brady
Print Trail
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