US digital book printer Lightning Source expects to sign the lease for its 1,850m2 premises in Milton Keynes this week.


It will start installing production equipment immediately and plans to be operational by late June or early July.


The firm already has a digital distribution agreement with Blackwells Books in Oxford and Bertram Books in Norwich.


"We are geared to quantities of one book and upward," said UK managing director Malcolm Allen. "We can handle, say, 250- to 350-copy runs as well."


An IBM Infoprint 4000 high-speed laser printer will handle black-and-white book block printing, with a second line planned for September or October. "Theres enough space for up to five lines," said Allen. "By using the same equipment as the US operation we can switch production to there in an emergency." An IBM InfoColor 70 will print colour covers.


The firm hoped to have the UK site operational by last November. "Its taken a lot longer to go through the legalities and sign the lease than expected," said Allen. He has been setting up the UK business from a base in Milton Keynes and has already appointed three external sales people.


Allen was responsible for Kodaks (later Dankas) facilities management division. Commercial director Suzanne Wilson-Higgins formerly worked on books and multimedia at Reed-Elsevier, while financial director Frank Levine was finance director of information services at Blackwells.


Lightning Source handles out-of-stock printing for on-line bookseller Amazon in the USA. "Were in discussions with Amazon UK," said Allen. Amazon UK is also based in Milton Keynes.


Story by Simon Eccles