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Printing industry dot-coms are vying for position— The Internet printing marketplace has been affected by the dot-com shakedown. During the past year, closures have included Fobpaper.com, GOprinter.com, Impresse Corp. and PrintNation.com. The market is far from dead, though. Many companies have survived with strategic alliances, and new companies have entered the mix. To help document pros gain a feel for the current market, this mini-directory offers a cross section of representative companies. It features thumbnail profiles of 22 players, based primarily on information collected from their Web sites and press kits. 58k.com To help qualify jobs and prospects, 58k.com publishes bidding histories, buyer and printer auction histories, and follow-through ratings. Buyers who post RFQs and do not follow through with purchases receive lower ratings, which are displayed on future RFQs. According to the company's Web site, "58k.com is not for everybody or every job. We can't add value to small jobs to print business cards or personal stationery. Nor is 58k.com appropriate for the high-end jobs which are insensitive to price: Negotiable financial instruments or an engineer's drawings for a nuclear power plant probably don't belong on 58k.com. For every job in between, we are confident 58k.com's online auction model will change the printing industry forever." In April 2000, 58k.com opened an office in London and expanded into France with a multilingual online market. Printers from 26 European countries participate in 58k.com auctions. Founded: 1999. Management Team: Richard Robb, chairman and CEO; Bob Rose, national sales manager; Tom Riemer, CFO; David Robb, vice president and director of marketing; and Paul Trolio, COO. Money Matters: Privately held and funded. Payment: Printers pay a flat 2 percent fee on the first job. The fee structure is based on a minimum job size of $100. 58k.com also asks printers to pay a residual 1 percent finder's fee for all work performed for the customer. The company receives commissions from printers after jobs are produced and paid. Buyers pay no registration fees. Customers: As of March, more than 3,566 printers nationwide and more than 803 in Europe.
Cirqit.com is a founding member of PrintTalk, a collaborative effort among print management system and e-commerce companies to create standards for integrating applications industry-wide. PrintTalk supports Job Definition Format and Commercial Extensible Markup Language (cXML). Founded: 1999. Management Team: Mark Hausser, co-founder, president and COO; William Hackett, CFO and CAO; Judith Guido, CMO and CCO; Craig Garno, co-founder and vice president of information technology; David Schroeder, vice president of product management; Stephen Flood, co-founder and vice president of operations and customer relationship management; Houston Perry, co-founder and vice president of client services; and Peter Whitney, vice president of strategic alliances. Former employers include L.P. Thebault Co., Mount Auburn Press Inc., Base Ten Systems Inc., LandCare USA Inc., Electronics for Imaging, IBM Corp. and IKON. Money Matters: Privately held. Investors include Bencase Capital LLC, Boston Millennia Partners, CapitalCube LLC, Gryphon Holdings II LLP Inc., Scient Corp.'s Emeritus Chairman and Founder Eric Greenberg, Scient Capital LLC, Thomas Weisel Partners LLC, Wakefield Group and William E. Simon & Sons. Partners include Corporate Branding LLC. Payment: Cirqit.com charges monthly subscription fees and/or transaction fees only for software the customer uses. Customers: Include GlobalWare Solutions, L.P. Thebault, Luna, Oracle Corp. and Scient Corp.
Founded: 1997. Management Team: Donald Armagnac, president and CEO; Dwight Darling, senior vice president of sales; Alan Hu, chairman of the board; Michele Iacovone, CTO; Brian Kerester, CFO; Timothy Methenitis, vice president of services; Michael Sanabria, vice president of marketing; John Ashbaugh, vice president of product alliances and strategy; Robert Hu, vice president of strategic marketing; and David Rothberg, vice president of strategic alliances. Previous employers include QAD, Digital Equipment, Vanier Graphics Corp., IBM Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., WebLogic, BEA Systems Inc., Bankers Trust Co., Getronics (formerly Wang Laboratories), Claris Corp., Avnet Inc., and A&A Printers and Lithographers. Money Matters: Collabria is a privately held company backed by investors
including Bessemer Venture Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners (formerly
Weiss, Peck & Greer Venture Partners), the Internet Capital Group Inc., ABS
Ventures and Mitsui Comtek Corp. Partners include Ariba Inc., Mitsui & Co.,
PrintTalk, Quark Inc., PageFlex, ScenicSoft™ Inc. and Adobe® Systems
Inc. Customers: More than 1,000 printers and corporate customers, including Wise Business Forms Inc., Pinnacle Printing Systems Inc., Golden Pacific Systems Inc. and Hammerwood Print Inc.
Buyers can view custom catalogs displaying only products they're authorized to buy, secure log-in, messaging, shopping-cart ordering, order tracking and comprehensive reporting. The supplier interface features RFQ and order management, and product and pricing management. Four51 recently released its WildFireSM XML Transport Module, designed to pass data between Four51's software and other companies' software. The company recently announced beta development programs with Peachtree City, Ga.-based manufacturer CFC Print Solutions Inc. and Norcross, Ga.-based TopForm® Software Inc. to exchange data using the WildFire XML Module. Founded: 1999. Management Team: Rich Landa, founder and CEO; Gary Nemcek, founder and executive vice president; Mark Johnson, COO; John Wangaard, vice president of research and development; Mark Osborn, vice president of sales and marketing; Jon Wylie, vice president of finance; Barry Brown, senior vice president of operations; and Bryan Schueler, vice president of technology operations. Previous employers include Workstations International (now ZoneTrader.com), NetforceMTI (acquired by Comdisco Inc. in 1995), Integrated Technology Services, Norstan Communications Inc., On Hand Network and MultiLogic Inc. Money Matters: Received first-round financing from Five Points Capital Inc., United Capital Group, Monarch Capital Partners LLC, Rembrandt Venture Partners and RS Investment Management. Secured funding beyond founders' initial start-up investment. Payment: Distributors pay setup charges and a monthly subscription fee based on number of clients using the system. Customers: National customer base.
Last year, httprint created a European headquarters in London and opened an office in Germany. The company became a founding member of PrintTalk, a consortium dedicated to developing interoperable standards for end-to-end connectivity within the online printing industry. In August 2000, httprint acquired PrintConnect.com. Founded: httprint has its roots in Landmark Productions, a full-service print and direct marketing agency in San Francisco and Los Angeles that was founded in 1996. Management Team: Mark Porter, president and CEO; Eric Von Stafford, CFO; Krishna Pillai, CTO; Barry Hibbert, managing director in Europe; Martin Burke, business development director in Europe; Robert North, sales director in Europe; Jack Walklet, senior vice president of sales in North America; Mark Alioto, vice president of strategic accounts in North America; Karin Landstrom, vice president of production in North America; and Erik Harrell, vice president of business development in North America. Money Matters: Investors include Global Technology Group Vendors and Investcorp. httprint's sales in 2000 totaled $4.5 million. Two months into this calendar year, the company's 2001 contracted and committed sales surpassed $33 million. Last year, httprint partnered with Vio to provide online file transfer, and Marketect LLC to develop a Web-based trafficking device for direct marketers. In November 2000, httprint announced a global alliance with Coyle Print Group Inc. and became an e-commerce partner of the British Printing Industry Federation. This year, the company partnered with Movaris to deliver paperless solutions to Fortune 500 companies. Payment: httprint charges its Private Label Customers a monthly licensing fee. There are no transaction fees in the Production Center. Customers: Include Polestar (a large European printer), Compoz Design Imaging, Cal Printing, OpenMind Publishing Group and Consolidated Software Services Inc. In February, httprint signed a 3-year contract with DIRECTV Inc. to custom publish the DIRECTV SPORTS® Magazine.
Founded: 1999, as a business unit of the Integrated Business Services Division of Workflow Management Inc., Palm Beach, Fla. Workflow was the Print Management Division of U.S. Office Products Company (USOP) and was spun off in June 1998 as a separate company. USOP bought SFI in 1997. SFI was the distribution arm of USOP's Print Management Division. Management Team: Tom D'Agostino Jr., president and CEO; Elizabeth Tennican Graves, vice president and CFO; Timothy Resh, vice president and CIO; and Diane Clemente, vice president of client services. Money Matters: iGetSmart.com is a division of publicly traded Workflow Management, which is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol "WORK." Workflow recorded sales of $155.2 million for the nine months of fiscal 2001 ended Jan. 31. In 1999, iGetSmart.com entered a software application service agreement with Quebecor Printing Inc., a Montreal-based commercial printer with $8 billion in annual revenues. Payment: Printers sign licensing agreements with iGetSmart.com to offer the
e-commerce system to their customers. They pay an initial setup fee and a
percentage of revenues processed through the iGetSmart system.
ImageX.com offers four Web-based services: the Corporate Online Printing Center, the Small Business Printing Center, the Extensis Products Group and Creativepro.com. The Corporate Online Printing Center also provides custom online catalogs of printed materials for companies with more than 100 employees. customers can modify, proof and order printed materials from any Windows-based, Internet-enabled personal computer. The Small Business Printing Center offers a wide range of personalized printed materials based on standard templates. The Extensis Products Group gives clients products and services to develop, publish, market and support productivity software. Creativepro.com is a marketplace offering e-services, resources and software tools for the graphic arts community. Founded: 1995. ImageX.com introduced its Internet solution in October 1997. In November 1999, it launched the Small Business Printing Center. In December 1999, it acquired PrintBid.com, an online bidding service for custom print jobs, and its affiliate, PaperDeals.com, an online auction site for commercial paper stock. In January 2001, the company integrated PrintBid.com and PaperDeals.com into its core product offering, the Corporate Online Printing Center. PrintBid.com's operations in Portland, Ore., were closed, and the company's patent-pending technology was moved to Kirkland, Wash. Management Team: F. Joseph Verschueren and Cory Klatt, co-founders. Former employers include Parallel Communications Inc., Practical Applications Inc., Alaska Airlines, Adobe® Systems Inc. and Eastman Kodak Co. Money Matters: In August 1999, ImageX.com rolled out an initial public offering of 3 million shares of common stock. It trades on NASDAQ under the symbol "IMGX." In February 2001, the company partnered with IKON Office Solutions in conjunction with ImageX.com's custom print offering. Payment: ImageX.com derives most of its revenue through sales of printed materials on its Corporate Online Printing Center and from customers obtained through acquisitions. The company charges a one-time fee for setting up customers' Web sites and catalogs. Customers then pay for any printed materials they order. A private label supplier fulfills orders placed through the Small Business Printing Center, and ImageX.com receives a percentage of the payment. Customers: Include AT&T, Automatic Data Processing Inc., CB Richard Ellis Services Inc., GE Capital, Kraft Foods Inc., Merck and Co., Liz Claiborne Inc. and more. Target clients for the Corporate Online Printing Center are medium-sized to large companies.
In addition to providing customers with online print services directly through its Web site, the company works with a variety of online organizations, large commercial printers and office supply chains to deliver private-labeled and co-labeled printing solutions. In February 2001, the company introduced the division iPrint Enterprise Systems Group, allowing iPrint's e-printing services to integrate with corporate enterprise e-procurement systems. iPrint creates technologies designed to improve the print-buying process for corporations, streamline the cost of ordering professional printing and improve the ROI of e-procurement efforts. Founded: 1996. iPrint's Web site launched in January 1997. Management Team: Royal P. Farros, founder, CEO and chairman; Nickoletta Swank, vice president of strategic relationships; David Hodson, CTO; Kieran Chung, CIO; Greg Korjeff, vice president of operations; William Kaplan, vice president and general counsel; Tom Haley, and vice president of corporate printing services. Previous employers include T/Maker Company (acquired by Deluxe Corp.), UB Networks Inc., General Magic Inc., Deluxe Corp. and Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting). James McCormick, COO and CFO, recently resigned but was named to iPrint's board of directors. Money Matters: In December 1999, iPrint filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $50 million in an initial public offering. In January 2001, iPrint shifted its focus to enterprise e-procurement. In March 2001, the company partnered with Oracle Corp. to make iPrint e-printing services available to Oracle's iProcurement customers. The company plans to continue transitioning its focus from small office/home office consumers to corporate firms by July 2001. Financial figures for the first quarter of 2001 were scheduled for release April 23. The company plans to continue working toward profitability by implementing cost-cutting initiatives that include reducing non-profitable areas of business, relocating operations and consolidating buildings. Payment: Print buyers pay iPrint per product. The Web site includes a detailed price list of products ranging from announcements to screenprinted T-shirts. Also, a significant portion of the company's revenues is generated through shipping and handling fees, as well as through barter transactions with its co-labeled partners. iPrint provides these partners printed products in exchange for online advertising. Customers: Include Microsoft Corp., OfficeMax Inc., 3M, Oracle Corp., TIBCO Software™ Inc., Intel Corp., the Detroit Red Wings, the Arizona Cardinals and the Indiana Pacers. iPrint's original target customers were home offices and small businesses with fewer than 20 employees, but it has expanded to include Fortune 1000 customers, as well as Internet-based companies and professional sports franchises.
In addition, liveDesigner, the company's proprietary design application, allows customers to create personal and corporate identities that can be applied to printed products. End users can also download File Prep Tool™, retrieve saved designs, and find information on Kinko's stores, services and prices. Customer service is available 24 hours a day. Founded: Liveprint.com, Alexandria, Va., was launched in 1998 as a spin-off
from Meetinghouse Technologies, an award-winning multimedia design and
development company. Last year, it merged with kinkos.com. In January 2001,
Kinko's and kinkos.com merged. Headquarters were moved from Alexandria to
Ventura, Calif. Money Matters: Shareholders include Kinko's, Flatiron Partners, JPMorgan Partners (formerly Chase Capital Partners), America Online Inc. and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. Partners include FedEx Corp., America Online, Stamps.com, Onebox.com, Z-Tel Communications Inc.™, MyCorporation.com, AuctionWatch.com, MoreBusiness.com, Mucho.com and Inc.com. Payment: Visitors to kinkos.com can use the site's design tools for free. In addition, after they've customized products, they can download items and print them from desktops for free. However, products through a network of printers have various prices. Customers: Individuals, small-business owners and others with similar document needs. Last year, kinkos.com partnered with TrafficSchoolOnline.com to provide DMV-approved traffic school courses via the Internet to Virginia and the District of Columbia.
To use MediaFlex 5.0, clients need Netscape 4.6 or greater, or Internet Explorer 4.x or greater. The minimum modem connection for a print provider is 128k (ISDN or low-end DSL) and for a buyer, 56k. Founded: 1997. Management Team: Previous employers include Apple Computer Inc., Falcon Systems Inc., Internet Shopping Network, Color Tech Corp., Nest Ventures, Scitex America Corp. and BMC Software Inc. Money Matters: Privately held. In June 2000, MediaFlex.com partnered with Canopy LLC (formerly the PrimeSource Digital Print Group) to co-develop technology and end-user applications designed to link its users to the Xeikon digital press community. The companies also focus on printed products ordered via the Web and market niches for on-demand and e-printing. In July 2000, MediaFlex.com also partnered with Mimeo.com so that MediaFlex.com clients can order printed and bound documents online until 10 p.m. EST and receive next-day delivery. Other partners include Hewlett-Packard Co., Adobe® Systems Inc., Oracle Corp., Ariba Inc., PageFlex, Indigo, Sir Speedy Inc. and PIP Printing Inc. MediaFlex.com has plans to sell. Payment: Not available at press time. Customers: Marketing professionals at large, customer-focused and geographically dispersed businesses.
Founded: 1998. Management Team: Former employers include Square Earth, Johnson & Johnson, Record Masters, Salomon Smith Barney Inc. and U.S. Robotics Corp. Money Matters: Investors include Hewlett-Packard Co. and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Partners include Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba Corp., Microsoft Corp., FedEx and MediaFlex.com. Recently, Mimeo partnered with Cisco Systems Inc. to offer wireless online printing as part of the Cisco Internet Mobile Office initiative. Payment: Opening an account is free, with no additional software purchase necessary. Mimeo's payment structure is transaction-based, and overnight delivery incurs shipping costs. Pricing and ordering are completed online. Customers: Include Computer Associates, The Home Depot, Raymond James, Bear Stearns and Moody's Investors Service. Mimeo targets enterprise corporations, knowledge-based small businesses and professionals in need of overnight printed documents such as proposals, manuals, bids, studies, specifications, contracts, presentations and research reports.
Founded: 1998, by Ofer Ben-Shachar, founder, former chairman and CTO of NetDynamics, a Web application server company. Noosh was officially launched in August 1999 at Seybold San Francisco. Management Team: Former employers include Apple Computer Inc., Covalent Software and Checkpoint Software Technologies Inc. Money Matters: Customer transaction volume in the fourth quarter of 2000 grew nearly 50 percent to $24.1 million, compared with the third quarter. Noosh processes more than $1 million in transactions per week. Noosh's private investors include Accel Partners, Advanced Technology Investors, Bowman Capital Management, Meritech Capital Partners, Ricoh Silicon Valley Inc. and Technology Crossover Ventures. Corporate investors include General Electric Capital Corp. and R.R. Donnelly and Sons Co. Partners include Consolidated Graphics Inc., Moore Corp. Ltd. and Wallace Computer Services Inc. Payment: Printing companies that use Noosh's service generally pay a transaction fee based on the size and volume of the print order, while print buyers who use Noosh generally pay a monthly fee. Customers: Include Aetna Inc., Bank of America Corp., Timberland Co., Ameritech and Wells Fargo & Company.
NowDocs offers enterprise services including Direct, Special Edition, Intraprise, Direct-to-Mail and PartnerPrint. Direct features same-day digital printing and delivery of time-sensitive business documents. Special Edition is a secure extranet allowing companies to create custom documents for printing and binding. Intraprise helps corporate print centers with online ordering, printing, routing and distribution. Direct-to-Mail offers speed delivery for high-volume mailers. PartnerPrint is a private-label printing and delivery service for Web-based businesses. It also offers co-branding. NowDocs features technology such as online proofing, custom address books, a virtual filing cabinet and online file transfer. The company has a technology hub in Austin, Texas, and 10 print and fulfillment centers in North America and Europe. Customer service is available any time. Founded: 1998. Management Team: Brad Adamske, president and founder; Clint Todish, senior vice president of technology and development; Rex Massey, senior vice president of operations and customer service; Bennett Hirsch, senior vice president of marketing and sales; Charles Kimmel, CFO; and Michael Oswald, CAO and general counsel. Former employers include Acuity Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., FedEx and Tivoli Industries Inc. Money Matters: Privately held. Last year, NowDocs raised $31 million in second-round financing from investors, including The Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Staples Inc., Pacific Life, Spinnaker Ventures, ComVentures and Mission Ventures. The company partners with PitneyWorks and Staples. Both offer same-day print and delivery services to their small-office clients via the Web. Staples also uses NowDocs services in-house. Other partners include FedEx and eAttorney.com, an application service provider for legal professionals. Payment: Next-day delivery starts at $9.95. NowDocs' custom corporate solutions range from $30,000 to $250,000. Customers: Include travelling business professionals and small offices, as well as Fortune 1000 companies in paper-intensive industries such as commercial printing, finance, consulting and marketing.
Today, PagePath provides MyOrderDesk™, an e-commerce solution for graphic arts service providers, including distributorships. The system allows buyers to deliver files electronically, preflight files, and generate PDF files and production reports. It includes personalized Web sites for sellers. A free trial package of MyOrderDesk is available. PagePath also offers LAUNCH! software that enables manufactures to transfer files and a private-labeled PDF print driver for buyers. Founded: 1983. Management Team: Gregory Witek, CEO, and Mike Herz, Support Team
leader. Payment: The start-up fee ranges from $300 to $600, depending on the type of MyOrderDesk purchased. Clients are also charged $1 to $9 per day for the days they use the package. Customers: Include large insurance, banking, finance and health care organizations. PagePath designed, built and operated the national WAN for 12 MetLife Co. printing facilities. PagePath's focus includes small to medium-sized quick printers, commercial printers, copy shops, reprographers and forms manufacturers.
The site offers services for both buyers and sellers. Buyers can browse or search product listings, post and respond to RFQs, make bids, monitor sales activity, and more. Sellers can use the company's PEx StoreBuilder software to provide quotes, accept orders and track information. The company also offers value-added services such as logistics and credit clearing for credit-approved members. In addition, PaperExchange provides members with industry-specific content, including job listings, industry events information, news headlines and a resource directory. In October 2000, the company acquired BoxDirect.com, an e-marketplace focused on the corrugated container and paperboard packaging industry. PaperExchange introduced new online order, contract and inventory management solutions in November. In 2001, PaperExchange introduced PEx StockMover, a specialized online marketplace for managing and moving excess and idle inventory. It also launched PEx ProcurementManager, an online procurement management solution for pulp and paper buyers that includes contract negotiation, tracking and electronic funds transfer. Founded: 1998. Management Team: Bob Brenner, CEO, and Duane DeSisto, president and COO. Former employers include Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting), FosterGrant Group (AAI-Foster Grant), Zoll Medical Corp., MotherNature.com, Polaroid Corp., Boise Cascade Corp., Morse Shoe Inc., Analysis Group/Economics Inc., Interfor (formerly International Forest Products Ltd.) and Fidelity Investments®. Money Matters: The company's investors include Kraft Group; Internet Capital Group Inc.; Madison Dearborn Partners; MSD Capital LP; International Paper Co.; Terrapin Partners LLC; Asia Pulp & Paper Co.; Staples Inc.; Bowater Inc.; and DSCKW Irrevocable Trust. In December 2000, PaperExchange partnered with Schenker AG, an international integrated logistics services company that provides PaperExchange customers with instant access to European freight services. Other partners include MAJIQ Systems and Software. Strategic alliances include VerticalNet Inc., Asia Pulp & Paper, Staples, Noosh Inc., Bowater, Port Townsend Paper Co., International Paper Co. and Impresse Corp. Payment: PaperExchange generates revenue two ways: from transaction commissions that are adjusted according to a seller's trading volume and from fees charged for products and services that comprise e-business solutions. Customers: More than 5,500 corporations in more than 100 countries.
In March 2000, paperloop.com introduced its Technology & Mill Operations News Service, a weekly email with summaries and links to online content, including technology articles. The service also links visitors with content in the Technology and Mill Operations section at www.paperloop.com. It includes Interactive Buyers' Guide, a database of more than 3,500 suppliers of equipment, chemicals, supplies and services worldwide; Solutions Advisor, an interactive business network designed to connect companies in the paper, printing and converting industries; and Technology Centers, which includes a wide range of technology help and information resources on pulping and papermaking. In addition, the company recently launched Paper Product Locator, a searchable directory of pulp and paper producers, merchants, and converters worldwide. paperloop.com has offices in Brussels, Belgium; Singapore; Hong Kong; Atlanta; New York; San Francisco; Green Bay, Wis.; and affiliates in Germany, Great Britain, Japan and Sweden. Founded: Created in February 2000 as a joint venture between Miller Freeman Inc. and Pegasus Capital Advisors LP. Management Team: Former employers include International Paper Co., The Hoffman Group Ltd., CVH Enterprises Inc. and Badger Paper Mills Inc. Money Matters: Privately held, though board members say they will consider taking the company public. Partners include PacificNet, Question.Com, ABB Technologies, Clickpaper.com, YourEnergySource and Intertec/Primedia Inc. paperloop.com recently acquired its former partner, PrintMarket.com. Payment: Gold Access membership to content and premium research are available as subscriptions. Suppliers pay setup and monthly maintenance fees to create electronic stores for inclusion on the company's Web site. Customers: Manufacturers, converters, printers, suppliers, logistics providers, end users and the financial community.
printChannel.com offers three fully integrated modules: OrderWeb™, ProductionWeb™ and the Configurator™. With OrderWeb, print buyers select one or more products they want to order from a catalog. If an order involves a content change, OrderWeb generates a 100 percent accurate proof through the browser. ProductionWeb is an order processing module that receives orders, imposes them, assigns job numbers, tracks them and provides billing support. Print suppliers can configure and manage impositions as well as output online. The Configurator allows printers to establish and maintain their own customer product catalogs through a Web browser. Last year, printChannel.com launched myprintChannel™, a customizable version of the printChannel.com online service. With myprintChannel, print suppliers can tailor the user interface to their existing Web site designs. In February 2001, printChannel.com announced its new online job submission features, which allow end users to submit print jobs to print suppliers through the same printChannel.com interface they use to order catalog and variable data items. End users can enter job parameters, track file statuses, receive reports online, print documents remotely and submit requests or estimates. printChannel.com is a founding member of PrintTalk, a collaborative effort among print management system and e-commerce companies to create standards for integrating applications industry-wide. PrintTalk supports Job Definition Format and Commercial Extensible Markup Language (cXML). printChannel.com has offices throughout the United States and Europe. Founded: 1998. Management Team: Olive Pflug, CEO; Chris Glon, CTO; Tom Bascom, vice president of engineering; Joe Manos, vice president of sales; and Kevin Belcher, managing director. Former employers include Hewlett-Packard Co. and Sony Corp. of America. Money Matters: Funded by Warburg Pincus, a leading venture capital investor. As of March 2001, printChannel.com's 2001 revenues were 290 percent greater than the same period in 2000. Participating suppliers increased by 267 percent. Partners include Advanstar Communications Inc. and CAP Ventures Inc. Payment: Initial system setup fees typically start at $7,500, depending on service licenses and training arrangements. Print suppliers set up system accounts at no additional charge. System updates are included in processing fees for orders delivered through the system. Processing fees vary depending on products and volume. Different pricing options are available to suit sellers' business and product mixes. Customers: As of March 2001, more than 500 print buying organizations. The company has processed more than 200,000 transactions total and more than 15,000 commercial transactions each month.
Founded: 1996. PrintMarket.com's Web site launched in 1998. Management Team: Stephan Gittings, CEO. Money Matters: Partners include Intertec/Primedia Inc., UPS, Mucho and VisualArtsTrends. PrintMarket.com was recently acquired by its former partner, paperloop.com. Payment: PrintMarket.com is free for print buyers. It charges a combination of membership and finders' fees to printers after printers win their first projects. PrintMarket.com plans to offer printers the opportunity to buy online storefronts via www.paperloop.com/emarketplace. These storefronts will range from simple marketing micro-sites to sophisticated sites that can communicate with legacy and back-end systems. Customers: Range from small and medium-sized marketing firms to large consumer goods companies.
Five versions of the SMARTworks system were released by 2000 and have evolved to the current open platform, which integrates with Ariba Inc., Intelysis (Metiom) and ICG Commerce (RightWorks) business-to-business exchanges. In 2001, the company announced design-to-order services, including complex specifications capture and capabilities for RFE, negotiation and bids. To resell its services, SMARTworks relies on value-added resellers, such as Danka Business Systems PLC, rather than a direct sales force. There is no software to install. Founded: July 2000. The original software debuted in 1995, when it was first used by a Standard Register customer. Management Team: Jefferson E. Allen, vice president of sales and marketing, and John N. Scocozzo, vice president of engineering and CIO. Money Matters: SMARTworks is a wholly-owned subsidiary of large direct-seller Standard Register. It formed a strategic supplier alliance with Consolidated Graphics Inc. in February 2001. The agreement allows Consolidated to be a direct-seller using SMARTworks' Web application and gives SMARTworks clients access to a national network of more than 60 print facilities in 25 states. Payment: SMARTworks charges monthly fees based on the number of users, as well as varied fees for services such as implementation, training and custom development. Customers: More than 50,000 users at nearly 1,000 clients, such as Bank of America Corp., Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., Sprint, Dow Chemical Co., Greyhound Lines Inc., Honeywell Inc., Kerr-McGee Corp. and Knight Transportation. SMARTworks' target market consists of Global 2000 companies that spend more than $250,000 annually on print and print-related products from multiple suppliers.
Founded: 1999. Management Team: Former employers include Digital Art Exchange Inc., The Boston Consulting Group, PixelVision Technology Inc., Agfa Corp. and Polaroid Corp. Money Matters: Privately held. Partners include UUNet and Mail-Well Inc. Payment: Sprockets charges $10 per month per project plus transmission fees, with no per-user or per-site licensing fees. Customers: Visual media professionals in graphic arts, entertainment, advertising, marketing, sales and public relations.
Founded: 1996. With the aim of providing complex Web-based business solutions, Telekinesys quickly established a successful track record with customers such as British and Dutch government departments. The company developed Supply Line, a Web-based stock management package, for Reedform, a leading print management company. The package won a government award for e-commerce in 1999 and garnered interest from other print companies. This led to Telekinesys' concentration on the printing industry and the creation of equator. Management Team: Chris Hopwood and James Evason, directors; and Tim Dolder, systems development manager. Payment: equator is available for purchase or rental. It's installed on the customer's Web server or hosted by Telekinesys. A "pay-as-you-go," usage-based charging plan is also offered. Customers: Include distributors such as Universal Document Management and Tarbot Limited Printers. End users include a major tour operator, a major retail chain and many other large corporations.
Version 4.0 of Transaction features customer-driven enhancements, including credit card transactions via a secure server, quick population of templates using stored variable data information, and PDF or JPEG proofs. Users can set up promotional messages for their clients, and products can be linked to help increase order values. Full-search capabilities are also available. Transaction2000 is designed to connect with existing systems such as TopForm®, OETS and others. Founded: 1999, by Broker Forms & Print Ltd. Management Team: Brian Kellett, managing director, and Dave Etherington, project director. Money Matters: Transaction2000 is owned by its management team. Payment: Transaction2000's prices range from $8,000 to $27,000, depending on the number of clients the distributor includes on its system. Distributors purchase the software; there are no transactional fees. Customers: Include 15 in the United Kingdom and eight in the United States. |