According to the announcement, the agreement gives Xlibris' authors broader access to new retail channels because of Lightning Source's distribution relationship with Ingram Book Group, one of the largest wholesale book distributors in the U.S. It will also boost the size of Lightning Source's growing digital library.

"Our relationship with Lightning allows us access to a wide array of national, regional, and online booksellers," said Xlibris CEO John Feldcamp. "We already have over 4,000 titles in the Lightning system. Getting books into readers' hands more quickly and efficiently keeps with our objective of helping authors reach as broad an audience as possible."

"The Xlibris/Lightning partnership provides the perfect example of how we can push the envelope with our technologies to come up with a fast, efficient, and cost-effective solution," said Ed Marino, president and CEO of Lightning Source. "In the matter of a very few weeks, we have managed together to streamline the process and digitize a huge amount of content. This is a significant indication of what is possible with the right strategic partner."

Through Lightning's POD and drop-ship services, orders for Xlibris' paperback titles can be printed and ready to ship to Xlibris' customers and wholesalers within 48 hours. Hardcover titles can be printed and ready to ship within 4 to 6 days.

Lightning Source, Inc., a subsidiary of Ingram Industries, Inc., provides services for the secure conversion, storage, management, and distribution of digital content. Lightning stores books and other information electronically and delivers them "on demand" in either traditional, printed format or as e-books in response to orders from booksellers, librarians, and publishers.

Source: Xlibris, Philadelphia, 215/923-4686; http://www.xlibris.com.