Login Canada plugs into short-run book printing game

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/01/2024 (947 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Login Canada Ltd. is a Winnipeg-based book distributor with more than two million titles available for customers to order.

While many of them — such as Minimally Invasive Foot and Ankle Surgery: a Percutaneous Approach or Preventing and Treating Tobacco and Nicotine Use in Pediatrics: a Clinical Support Chart — are not your typical best-sellers, there is strategic demand for the science, math and technical books Login handles from the technical communities it serves.

Because of cost factors, a desire to decrease its carbon footprint and an effort to alleviate any cross-border friction, Login has teamed up with U.S.-based, short-run book manufacturer Publishers’ Graphics and is getting into the book printing business.

Mark Champagne, president and majority owner of Login (pronounced “Logan”) said it’s something leadership has been thinking about for 10 years.

“Initially, we didn’t think there would be enough volume, but post-COVID and with all the digitization and different formats for students and everyone else now, we think there will be significant volume to make it a good venture for both of us,” he said. “We’re both pretty excited about it.”

When the service launches in April, it will be initially restricted to black-and-white paperbacks.

Cara Lahey, sales and marketing director of Publishers’ Graphics (and the daughter of company founders Nick and Kathleen Lewis), said, over time, equipment and software enhancements will increase the offerings from Login.

Publishers’ Graphics has its own proprietary software and equipment configurations, making it a leader in short-run book printing. It has established similar equipment and software installations with some publishers — again, for short runs — but Lahey said this will be the first partnership with a distributor.

“Login and Publishers’ Graphics deal with some publishers in common,” Lahey said. “There is a need to get product sustainably and economically into Canada to go to various sales channels.

“The arrangement now is that Publishers’ Graphics produce some of those technical engineering and math books and some trade publications, and then they go to Login for distribution in Canada. The idea is we will bypass that and have a more sustainable and economic situation for our customers.”

Champagne said while the company may not yet have titles lined up to start printing in Winnipeg, they have been talking to publishers and believe there will be demand.

(He added it’s likely it will do work for self-publishers, but it’s not the business model it is counting on.)

“Press runs of between one and 1,000 is our sweet spot,” Lahey said.

Login, which has been operating in Winnipeg since around 1990 (and acquired by Champagne and his management partners in 2018) will license the technology and Publishers’ Graphics will work with the Winnipeg company to establish the operation.

“It’s not quite a turnkey operation, there will be lots of training involved, but our staff is all pumped,” said Champagne. “Yes, there will be an investment, but it’s not millions of dollars. This is digital printing at its finest for short runs.”

He pointed out the two million-plus titles Login has access to only scratches the surface of the published titles in the market. (Login has just more than 300,000 in-stock items.)

“Many of our titles lend themselves to short runs. Not everything needs a press run like Harry Potter titles,” he said. “And I don’t think the book industry needs another Friesens (Corp., in reference to the large-scale glossy book printer based in Altona) within an hour’s distance.”

Login has about 40 employees — it also has a distribution facility in Mississauga, Ont. — and will need to hire up between two and six more people as its “Publishing on Demand” service gets up and running.

About 80 per cent of Login’s sales are into the post-secondary school market.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca