RALEIGH, N.C. (October 15, 2010) — Lulu.com, which empowers authors all over the world to publish and sell more books, today announced the expansion of its global printer network, bringing online a print partner in France to handle explosive customer growth in France and the rest of continental Europe.

The new printer will manufacture and distribute the full array of Lulu’s products, including hardcover and paperback books, photo books, calendars and mini books. Book buyers in France will see shipping prices fall by as much as 20 percent because of the proximity of the printing facility, as will customers in the rest of the EU. 

“Victor Hugo and the Larousse Gastronomique have nothing on the remarkable French authors and their books being published on Lulu,” said Bob Young, Lulu’s Founder and CEO. “We’re committed to helping them reach readers all over the world by providing best-in-class tools for publishing and marketing their works in both print and digital formats. The addition of this printer is just one of several exciting projects we have planned to help authors in France sell more books.”

Lulu is seeing significant growth in France as more authors explore alternatives to traditional publishing. This year alone, the number of new author registrations in the country has jumped 80 percent as creators seek more control and profit from their works. With Lulu, authors retain complete creative, copyright and pricing control and keep 80 percent of royalties when copies of their works sell.

In addition to the new printer, Lulu recently updated the eBook publishing tool available to French authors. It allows them to quickly and easily publish their works to the iBookstore everywhere, and reach readers on the wide variety of electronic reading devices that Lulu supports today and will support in the future.