Baker & Taylor and Promedia Solutions to Distribute Rich Digital Media Content Via Blio

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Baker & Taylor, the world's largest distributor of physical and digital books, and Promedia Solutions, a leading Italian book publisher service provider and content aggregation company, are proud to announce they are partnering in the distribution of Italian language ebooks around the world via the revolutionary, cutting-edge Blio ereading application.

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Baker & Taylor distributes ebooks that come to life via Blio, the innovative, interactive, full-color application created and developed by K-NFB Reading Technology. Together, Baker & Taylor and Promedia Solutions will now offer Italian publishers a distribution solution that knows no bounds.

"We are very pleased to work with Promedia Solutions, a highly regarded digital asset manager and distributor, to increase the supply of ebooks to international markets," said Linda Gagnon, Senior Vice President of Baker & Taylor's Digital Media Group. "Our partnership enables Promedia Solutions to gain access to new outlets for Italian publishers." 

While several digital ereading environments are suited to novels and other non-illustrated works, Blio can handle these titles as well as the rich media, full-color content contained in highly illustrated, highly graphical titles, without losing the original layout.

"The partnership with Baker & Taylor lets us both expand our services and reinforce the relationship with our clients," says Carlo Emanuele Bona, Managing Director of Promedia Solutions. "Content distribution via an operator as important as Baker & Taylor is the natural evolution of our current services portfolio, letting us offer our clients a completely integrated solution from the management to the sales of content."

Through its strategic relationship with K-NFB Reading Technology, Baker & Taylor is responsible for distributing digital media content via Blio and its vast worldwide distribution network. Children's titles, lifestyle titles such as cookbooks and travel books – and other rich, beautiful digital content – can be found in the Blio store (www.blio.com). Blio is being preloaded on millions of consumers' favorite devices in 2011, including tablets, laptops, desktops and phones from today's top device manufacturers and mobile carriers. Blio will be available across multiple platforms and languages.

About Baker & Taylor

Baker & Taylor Inc. (www.baker-taylor.com) is the world's largest distributor of books, digital content and entertainment products. The company leverages its unsurpassed worldwide distribution network to deliver rich content in multiple formats, anytime and anywhere. Baker & Taylor offers cutting-edge digital media services and innovative technology platforms to thousands of publishers, libraries and retailers worldwide.  Baker & Taylor also offers industry-leading customized library services and retail merchandising solutions. Baker & Taylor is proud to power Blio (blioreader.com), the world's most flexible, engaging and revolutionary e-reading application. Charlotte, N.C.-based Baker & Taylor is majority owned by Castle Harlan Partners IV, L.P., an institutional private equity fund managed by Castle Harlan, Inc., a leading private equity investment firm.

Baker & Taylor and the Baker & Taylor logo are trademarks of Baker & Taylor Inc. Blio is a trademark of K-NFB Reading Technology, Inc. Other company and product names mentioned for identification purposes may be trademarks of their respective owners.

About Promedia Solutions

Promedia Solutions is the technological partner for the modern publisher, being the digital answer of Gruppo Bona that has been dealing with publishing industry since 1777. Promedia Solutions provides unparalleled business development support to regional and international publishers, providing them also with Digital Asset Management technology in SaaS model, in order to help them in their content management. Promedia Solutions has inherited more than 230 years of experience and know-how connected with the publishing value chain and the production processes from Bona Industrie Grafiche. For more: http://promediasolutions.it/.

SOURCE Baker & Taylor