IngramSpark Reviews 1,600

TERRIBLE! ... filling out the information is a little confusing if you've never printed a book

I selected the size that i wanted it to be and then uploaded the PDF of the inside of the book and it was printed so big that all the words were cut off and you can't read the book

they don't send a proof and i guess even though i selected a size to print the font maybe i needed my PDF to match that because they don't do it

regardless they said it was my fault and wouldn't reprint the books and from the service I got I'm still confused what i would do to get the book printed correctly the next time

0/10

One star is one star too many for my experience with Ingram Spark. I wanted to enroll with them in order to market my one existing publication and those I am working on for the near future. I have tried twice. Both times I read through all the required, voluminous pages of information ( useful but much of it far from timely at this stage when I haven't even enrolled) I then needed to select the 'I accept' button in order to complete the enrollment process. Both times that button was 'greyed out' and unresponsive. I tried the 'Support' button and was offered the choice of "Search our help center with a keyword or phrase " but the search box would not accept any entries. Other options were 'Help Center' which was also unresponsive and presumably might have been activated had I been able to enter a keyword or phrase above it but I couldn't. The third option was 'Community'.In other words Ingram Sparl couldn't be bothered torespons to customers or potential customers themselves so delegated it to some unspecified group of people who don't work for the company. I give up.Ingram Spark are not the only company offering a service to self-publishers.

This is a terrible platform for UK authors. It offers us appalling customer support with very few options. The online chat bot is crude, unsophisticated and has failed to provide any meaningful responses to my urgent distribution queries. Ditto email - the responses are so generic it seems they are generated by some sort of 1st generation AI. The live chat option is available to US customers only - no such service for any UK users. Abysmal.

Bryan was so helpful!

Ingram Spark is printing my children's book and Bryan has been so helpful throughout the entire process. I can't recommend them enough!

This service is absolute nonsense. I have tried expanded distribution but files that easily uploaded on Amazon KDP consistently have new and emerging issues. There is zero technical support. I have been trying for months to get several issues sorted and am passed from one customer service advisor to the next with the average response time of 48-72 hours. I expect this feedback will get the equally useless response, "Thank you for your review and letting us know about your experience. We’re sorry we didn’t meet your expectations and are always looking for ways to improve. We truly appreciate you taking the time to provide your valuable feedback."

The support from Ingram Spark is very poor. I know for a fact that sales have happened through Amazon but I have never been notified nor have received any money for the sales. Ingram Spark say that Amazon has third parties who handle the sales. Amazon says that is not the case. And Ingram Spark would be handling the printing. So it seems that Ingram Spark is merely there to be paid for print but never to look after the author.

I used to be a big supporter of IngramSpark. But this latest book experience has been nothing but a nightmare. Support is so bad, and takes so long, that it could be categorized as nonexistent. When they do get around to responding, they only use canned AI responses to kick the problem along without actually doing anything to fix it. No matter how many conversations I had with different "support agents" it was the same result. Not only that, they are still holding my print files hostage so I can't publish with another distributor because the ISBN is technically in use. We are approaching a month past my actual launch date and I still have no print book to offer. Worst. Experience. Ever.

Where do I start? I ordered copies of my latest novel and they arrived printed crookedly on the page, with the back cover blurb blurred and the images on the front too dark. This has never happened before, in fact for all seven of my previous novels they have printed, I do have to say that it hasn't been an issue. But... this time has been an UTTER, UMNITIGATED, FREAKISH NIGHTMARE, from start to finish, and it isn't so much with the problem itself, which was bad enough, but with IS's chronic reluctance to fix it.

It has taken nearly four weeks for them to admit and even begin to remedy the problem. Yes, four weeks. They started off by insinuating that I was trying to diddle them out of ten measly copies of a book. They asked for proof, in the form of file formats which weren't possible, and then when I told then WHY it wasn't possible (to supply a very long and protracted video they expected me to take myself, i.e. holding the camera AND somehow managing to demonstrate the page after page problem on all ten books at the same time), all they did was repeat their request for them. They had no interest in believing anything I said to them, or simply taking the word of a customer who has already given them PLENTY of business without any complaint.

They then they started ignoring me, so I threatened to show up at their office if nobody got back to me. Nobody got back to me, so I physically got into my car and drove for an HOUR, to their office in Milton Keynes, dumped the books on a desk, and insisted that someone deal with the issue. They have no phone number I could have called. Physically showing up was my only option to avoid what probably would have ended up being months of being ignored, if they'd ever got back to me at all. I was recovering from an operation at the time and I could hardly walk, but I still felt I had to physically go there. It ate half a day of my time, a quarter of a tank of my fuel, and left me in pain.

They then said there was a new problem - with the file threatening to cut off the back cover blurb (which hadn't been the case before). Albeit smudged and impossible to read, the blurb had been well within the page. (???) So that needed to be remedied too, which involved my publisher having to resubmit a new file to them after contacting the graphics designer to obtain a rework, and then they resubmitted it. I approved the new file, and then I heard nothing. And nothing. And nothing, until I lost my temper with them YET again (>>>SIGH<<<) and got a response. They are NOW, apparently, submitting the file for approval to go to print and - yet AGAIN - they are telling me that they will 'come back to me when they have up to date information'.

In short - they produced a desperately shoddy product, forced me to get angry and confrontational in order to get them to address it, and they are still fobbing me off with excuses as to why they cannot simply sign off on the copies of the book to the standard I should have been given in the first place, and JUST get it done and delivered!!! I will now have to talk to my publisher about using another provider, because these people don't give a monkeys how long they mess people about for, over something they HAVE the choice to deal with a lot quicker. They haven't even prioritised this reprint, after a FULL MONTH of complaining. Why would I want to give them any more of my business?

So ... if you're going to use Ingram Spark, it's all gung-ho and happy-days if you actually do get what you want and deserve at the outset. If there is ANY kind of problem, whether its your own fault or not, gird your loins and prepare for weeks and weeks and weeks and WEEKS of delays and excuses - when they're not ignoring you completely.

The stress attached to this has been stupendous. All for ten books. All I wanted was a timely remedy. I did not expect to have to get really angry and upset and borderline threatening, in order for them to take me seriously. If you have the stomach for that, good luck to you, but you might be better finding a printing firm who won't make you feel utterly irrelevant, even as they're taking your money for terrible quality work.

I cannot comment on the quality of IngramSpark's printed books because I haven't been able to get my files approved. Despite using their provided cover template, my submissions are rejected due to metadata errors. The platform also incorrectly sets my book to a right-to-left layout, which I cannot modify.

Customer service has been unhelpful. They claim I'm contacting them from an unlinked email, which is false—I only have one email associated with my account. Their chatbot doesn't address these issues, and my inquiries remain unanswered.
JD&J Book Cover Design

Additionally, during the selection phase, the platform presents cover template dimensions inconsistently. For example, it lists sizes like 8.5 x 10 inches (portrait) alongside 280mm x 216mm (landscape), making it unclear whether you're selecting a portrait or landscape orientation. This inconsistency adds to the confusion and complicates the setup process.

I've used four other print-on-demand services without such set-up problems. IngramSpark's process is frustrating and lacks adequate support.

For book quality and print times, 4.5 stars. For the website - pretty much useless on mobile, at least on my Galaxy, but is good on PC (3 stars). For customer service... well, I find there are two levels of customer service - the basic 'first responder' is often not very helpful; the 'deeper responder' is professional and attentive. 3 stars for customer service.

I recently published my second book. The title was in my publisher's account and needed to be transferred to my account, so the whole process required an extra effort. I am happy to say that their customer support team handled the whole issue diligently and with the urgency it needed. They kept me posted on every step and finally transferred the title to my account in record time. I would unhesitatingly use IngramSpark for my next book.

I've had a frustrating experience with Ingram from the start. I had a conversation with customer service about my book compensation being negative before my publishing date and we fixed it on the author dashboard by deselecting premium color. I thought everything was good to go. They do not show you a sales report until the end of the first month after your book is published and I discovered the issue had not been fixed. I sold over 200 copies the first month and made negative $ (owed them money!) because premium color had been selected in the very beginning of setting up my title and was buried.

I've had several issues come up since, including no data showing up in my sales report section for my title, knowing I have sold over 200 copies. The customer service rep did not address my problem through email and simply copied what is on the website FAQ about how to find your sales reports.

If you want to talk to someone on the phone you have to request the number and pay for the call. They've made money off my work and want more money to help me resolve issues that are outside of their basic user issues. SCAM.

I'm surprised they currently even have a score above 3 stars. How is that possible when their support staff ghosts people or passes the buck because the person who drew your ticket didn't want to address the issue? It's been 2 weeks since I signed up, and still, my account is in a stalemate as their support team continues to ghost me. Initially, they requested a copy of my passport. Why they simply don't request that at sign-up time is beyond me, but I sent it twice now, thinking due to lack of a response 3 days later that maybe somehow it didn't reach them or whatever, the point is, I have done my part and still, ghosted. Oh, I got a response today to one of the 4 tickets I submitted, telling me that my original ticket was assigned to another support person, so they have forwarded the information to her. Great! Send my information to the person who's doing their job the worst, or rather not at all! I've had poor, even terrible, service before, but this........ This is beyond unacceptable! I'm actually a bit embarrassed for them!

Anthony M was brilliant with helping me with my issue and giving solutions that worked and it saved the day!

I’m deeply disappointed with IngramSpark. I submitted a support ticket almost a month ago regarding a major printing error my book was printed or assembled with the pages in reverse order, making it unreadable. This was supposed to be a special moment for me, with my launch date set for March 15th. It’s now April 6th, and I still have no resolution.

Despite submitting multiple tickets and providing clear evidence of the issue, I’ve only received generic responses that don’t actually address the problem. The tickets get closed without any explanation or update on what’s happening with my book. I feel completely ignored.

This has delayed my book launch, cost me money and time, and damaged my confidence in using IngramSpark going forward. A simple acknowledgment and clear plan for fixing the issue would go a long way but so far, I’ve received neither.

Authors deserve better communication, accountability, and customer service. I’m hoping this review encourages IngramSpark to do better for indie publishers like me.

IngramSpark was kind enough to replace my order when there was a misunderstanding about the cover. I'm glad that everything got ironed out. The support personnel were very helpful.
However, it is difficult to navigate the new upload compared to using their designer. When you do an upload, beware that IngramSpark inserts placeholders for the title, author name, etc.

It took around a month to verify my account. Since, I’ve received email after email about my cover not fitting, then when I upload a new one - messages I don’t even understand. Tried joining the Facebook group for help - the admins won’t approve my request to enter.

Zero proper help. Zero customer service.

No wonder KDP / Amazon is so popular. The process is so much smoother with them.

My book is now 5 days from release and 6 weeks into the process, I am still at step one.

Going to explore Draft 2 Digital instead.

I had a great experience with Princess
Client Services Coordinator

Although I had a long difficult and sometimes annoying time and programs in getting my book and Epub eventually underway, and finding it difficult to find the right areas within Ingramspark and their very precise requirements in processing particularly being an older author; I have found solace in one particular person named Thato who had the patience to continually help me finally get my dream desire which I considered very important for humanity finally underway. Although I found the process difficult I'm grateful for the help, so finally ask that my desires of my book "More than nine lives with God" that the book and Epub will now be properly finalised advertised and distributed worldwide, to help people, and that any purchases be paid to my account, thank-you,

Regards

John Coleman

I had a very positive and clarifying experience with my support call. All of my questions were answered!