PORTLAND (AP) – A print-on-demand publisher is suing online giant Amazon.com over its decision to use one on-demand printer exclusively for transactions sold and shipped from Amazon.

A majority of Bangor-based BookLocker.com’s sales are through Amazon, and the company stands to lose out on those sales if Amazon follows through with its threat to stop selling BookLocker’s books because it uses a competing on-demand printer, BookLocker’s lawyer said.

Amazon has threatened to turn off BookLocker’s “Add to Shopping Cart” button displayed on Amazon.com unless she switches her printing to an Amazon subsidiary.

“It’s not fair. It’s wrong. It’s oppressive,” said BookLocker owner Angela Hoy, who described a phone call in which an Amazon representative warned her to abide by the new rule regarding on-demand printers – or else. “My personal feeling was that they were blackmailing me.”

Her lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Bangor, contends Amazon’s actions violate antitrust laws by using its market power to advance its on-demand printing subsidiary.

“They’re leveraging that (market influence) to improperly get power in the printing of books,” said her attorney, Seth Klein, who’s based in Hartford, Conn.

The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, seeks an injunction preventing Amazon from implementing the new policy.

as well as monetary damages and legal fees. There are about 4,300 potential print-on-demand class members, Klein said.

Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith said the Seattle-based company doesn’t comment on active litigation.

Under “print on demand,” books are printed one at a time when an order is placed.

BookLocker.com, which has more than 1,200 print-on-demand titles in its catalog, prints its books through one of BookSurge’s competitors, Tennessee-based Lightning Source, which is described by Publishers Weekly as the nation’s largest on-demand printer.

Earlier this year, Amazon announced its decision to use its own South Carolina-based BookSurge subsidiary for print-on-demand books sold and distributed by Amazon. A statement posted on Amazon’s Web site indicates that the goal is faster delivery to customers.

Shoppers would still be able to buy print-on-demand titles printed elsewhere through third parties that offer books for sale through Amazon Marketplace.

But third party vendors would be at a disadvantage because they can’t take advantage of Amazon’s free shipping promotions and because many customers simply would prefer to make their purchases directly through Amazon, Klein said Wednesday.

Amazon also lets publishers who use different on-demand printers participate in its Amazon Advantage program, but Klein said the terms and conditions for participation are “so onerous that it is not an economically viable option.”

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