Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications, has acquired print-on-demand company Xulon Press, a digital Christian-market book publisher.

Xulon President and CEO Tom Freiling will join Salem Publishing as vice president and general manager of Xulon Press, he told Christian Retailing. He would “continue much in the same role, still working with the company,” he said, but “it will be different. My focus is on business development and marketing, reaching more Christian communicators than (Xulon Press is) able to right now.”

The acquisition was “an opportunity for Salem to diversify our core radio, Internet and magazine platforms, yet continue to serve our niche-the audience interested in Christian, family and values content,” said Jim Cumbee, president of Non-Broadcast Media for Salem Communications.

Xulon had “built a successful print-on-demand, digital-based business that targets Christian writers who want to be published,” Cumbee added. “By providing Xulon the ability to promote its product through our radio, Internet and print platforms, we expect to achieve new levels of success,” he said.

Print-on-demand publishing reduces the need for large inventory and warehousing and allows authors the opportunity to publish their work in minutes, Salem said in a statement announcing the purchase.

Founded in 1999, Xulon would move to a bigger facility in the same area as its current Longwood, Fla., office, said Freiling, and staff would grow as well. The main reason for the sale, he told Christian Retailing, was that “our growth rate has been really healthy ever since we started; (we) began to grow (and) needed additional resources.

“Salem just seemed to be the perfect match, because they have broad reach into the Christian community with radio and also online and in print,” he said. “It was a natural fit for both of us. It does really allow us to grow the company even bigger.”

Salem Publishing, based in Nashville, publishes CCM Magazine, Homecoming Magazine, YouthWorker Journal, Singing News, FaithTalk and Crosswalk.com The Magazine.

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