58k.com
Bob Rose, President
111 John Street, Suite 430
New York, NY 10038.
Toll-Free: 800-587-4617
Phone: 212-791-4351
Fax: 212-791-4359
E-mail: admin@58k.com
Profile: 58k provides RFQ management and auction services for print buyers
and printers. Printers sign up to receive RFQs, then are interviewed by 58k and
classified. Buyers submit RFQs, and printers bid them. Both are anonymous. If
the printer has questions, they are forwarded to 58k. To help qualify the job
and the prospect, 58k publishes bidding histories, buyer and printer auction
histories and follow-through ratings. For example, buyers who post RFQs and do
not follow through with purchases receive lower ratings that are displayed on
future RFQs. Can distributors be listed as "printers?" The 58k Web
site says, "Brokers may enroll as printers if 58k.com's management decides
that the broker's presence will benefit our user
community."
Founded: 1999
Management Team: President Bob Rose
Corporate Status: Privately held
Financial Status: Private funding
Payment Structure: Printer pays a flat 2 percent fee on the first job. Fee
structure is based on a minimum job size of $1,500. 58k also asks the printer to
pay a residual 1 percent finder's fee for all work performed for the customer
over the next two years after the first job.
Customers: Printers in all 50 states, Canada and Mexico have enrolled,
including 5 of the 8 largest printers in North America, according to the
company's Web site.
Buyprint.com/Buymedia.com
(Probable development into the printing
industry)
Mike Jackson, Founder
and CEO
1200 Howard Ave., Suite 201,
Burlingame, CA 94010
Phone: 800-788-9245
Fax: 650-579-7978
Email: support@buymedia.com
Profile: BuyMedia provides web-based solutions that streamline the data
exchange between buyers and sellers. They provide a complete end-to-end
integrated advertising solution for transmitting data electronically including
research, planning, avail requests, sales proposals, order placement and
invoicing. BuyMedia doesn't replace proven face-to-face sales and negotiation,
but instead eliminates cumbersome paper based processes normally associated with
the buying and selling of advertising.
Management Team: Mike Jackson,
Founder and CEO and Board of Directors
Payment Structure: Access to BuyMedia's system is granted only to account
holders whose identity is verified through their username and password on each
login. Each application for an account is reviewed by BuyMedia to ensure that
only qualified applicants are granted an account.
Customers: BuyMedia now has a membership base of over 2,900 media
professionals who represent more than $20 billion in annual broadcast
advertising. This membership includes large and small advertising agencies and
direct advertisers.
Collabria.com
Alan Hu, President and CEO
2121 South El Camino Real, Suite 300
San Mateo, CA 94403
Toll-Free:
888-998-1777
Phone: 650-522-3200
Fax: 650 522-3300
E-mail: support@collabria.com
Profile: Collabria offers Internet-based electronic business solutions to
print distributors and manufacturers to help them build more efficient and
profitable relationships with customers. It sells its service to print
providers, who in turn provide the service to their customers. Collabria doesn't
sell or distribute printing. It sets up custom online catalogs, marked with
distributors' and manufacturers' brands, for print buying customers. Clients
then select and modify documents from the catalogs. After approvals are secured,
job orders are transmitted to distributors or manufacturers.
Collabria's system has three main features: a procurement system allows end
users to manage print purchasing; a workflow solution assists manufacturers with
print production, and a job tracking function allows print distributors,
manufacturers and customers to communicate during the production process via
online reviews and approvals. With Collabria's Print Commerce suite of modules,
distributors and manufacturers can offer customers personalized Web catalogs,
for ordering and managing printed products. Buyers can customize products and
see online proofs.
Founded: 1997
Management Team: Previous employers of the management team include Sun
Microsystems, Compaq, Tektronix, Xerox and Vanier Graphics.
Corporate Status: Collabria is a privately-held company backed by investments
from several Silicon Valley venture capital firms—$5.5 million in first-round
venture funding in March 1999 and another $46 million last month.
Payment Structure: Transaction-based. Distributors and manufacturers don't
buy, install or maintain software. Rather, they pay Collabria a setup charge and
then pay as they use its services.
Customers: More than 200 printers and corporate customers use Collabria,
including Wise Business Forms, Pinnacle Printing Systems, Golden Pacific Systems
and Hammerwood Print
Fobpaper.com
Dan Ciancio, Director of Marketing and Communications
161 N. Clark
St., Suite 3050
Chicago, IL 60601
Toll-Free: 877-362-7273
Phone: 312-423-3440
Fax: 312-261-4501
E-mail: dciancio@fob.com
Profile: Fobpaper.com is a powerful new money-and time-saving tool for the
world's paper buyers. Our state-of-the-art online purchasing system leverages
efficiencies across the supply chain, allowing buyers to tap into a dynamic
database of more than 50,000 products from more than 200 manufacturers and
distributors.
The easy-to-use Web interface allows fobpaper.com users to set up individual
portfolios, obtain price quotes, order products, find paper specifications,
analyze sourcing options and more. All in real time with the highest level of
security at the click of a mouse.
Founded: 1999
Management Team: Glenn Trout, President, COO fobpaper.com. Glenn Trout is
co-founder and president of fobpaper.com. He focuses on strategic planning,
business development and general management within fobpaper.com. Glenn has over
10 years of experience in the paper industry with Mead Paper. In his last
position with Mead, Glenn led the sales, marketing and strategic planning effort
for Mead’s largest paper segment and was responsible for over $350 million
in revenues. Glenn has led several paper industry studies focused on Supply
Chain Management, Channels of Distribution, Industry Consolidation, and the
impact of the shifting Global Supply/Demand equation. Prior to joining
fobpaper.com, Glenn spent one year with Ernst & Young LLP in their Mergers
and Acquisitions Advisory Group focusing on paper, printing, publishing and
other paper related industries. Glenn holds a bachelor’s degree in
marketing from Miami University, Oxford, OH and a master’s degree in
management and strategy, marketing and international business from The Kellogg
Graduate School of Business - Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
Corporate Status: A division of
fob.com
Financial Status: Information not available
Payment Structure: After registration to site and ordering material the user
is given payment options.
Customers: All visitors can search our paper database using the fobpaper.com
Paper Search. After a simple registration process, users may then send in price
inquiries on the paper they wish to purchase, save routinely purchased items to
their portfolio, view comparable grades, group inquiries together in one job,
and order paper. Upon return visits, users can view the status of their
inquiries and orders, run reports of their purchasing history, and reorder
products.
Formsplanet.com
Andrew Jackson
560 Rochester St.
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1S 5K2
Phone: 613-230-3676
Fax: 613-594-8886
E-mail: info@formsplanet.com
Profile: Formsplanet.com is an application service provider of custom
electronic forms and stationery available via the Web. The site houses a catalog
of intelligent virtual forms. Subscribers can select, customize, fill, issue and
archive all types of forms from a standard Web browser. The forms are
distributed over the Web and printed on demand where required. Formsplanet.com
eliminates the need for preprinted forms, static PDF forms or word processing
forms. Formsplanet.com also offers an affiliate program. Program members provide
a link from their Web sites to Formsplanet.com. If visitors from their sites
subscribe to Formsplanet.com, the members receive commissions. Currently,
members receive 10 percent of the revenues from the sale of initial
subscriptions and 5 percent of revenues from the renewal of those
subscriptions.
Founded: 1999 as a strategic business unit of JetForm® Corp., a provider
of electronic forms and enterprise workflow solutions
Management Team: Andrew Jackson, chief visioneer and senior vice president of
marketing for JetForm Corp., and Sue Hardman, chief commander and former
director of e-forms product marketing for JetForm
Corporate Status: Formsplanet.com was funded as a strategic business unit of
JetForm Corp., which is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol
"FORM."
Financial Status: Financial information on Formsplanet.com was not available.
JetForm had fiscal 1999 sales of $114.2 million (Canadian) and a net loss of
$29.1 million (Canadian), including a one-time restructuring charge of $30.5
million.
Payment Structure: Users receive the first 30 days of service free. After the
trial period, users can select a range of subscription options. They can pay
$5.95 a month, $25.95 semi-annually or $45.95 a year. The subscription rate
includes unlimited single user access and storage for up to 500 forms.
Additional storage is available for $2 per month for every 1,000 forms.
Customers: Formsplanet.com targets small businesses and single office/home
office users with access to the Internet. The company says typical users include
mobile professionals, owners of small businesses, entrepreneurs and tradespeople.
Four51.com
Rich Landa, Founder & CEO
4165 Shoreline Drive, Suite 220
Spring Park, MN 55384 USA
Phone: 952-471-7954
Fax: 952-471-7981
E-Mail: information@four51.com
Profile: Four51 is aimed at the print distributor who wants to connect
clients and manufacturers in a Web-based e-commerce network. Using the system,
partners can quote, order, manage, fulfill and report on the print procurement
process. The distributor interface features management reports on revenue,
profitability, units by supplier, product category and credit limit use. It also
offers RFQ management, allowing distributors to view RFQs from customers,
aggregate line items into one RFQ and send RFQs to multiple suppliers. Order
entry, management tracking and history are also available. The customer
interface features secure log-in, messaging, shopping cart ordering, purchasing
management, order tracking, order history and reporting. The supplier interface
features RFQ and order management and product and pricing management. It also
offers reports on revenue by product, RFQ win/loss effectiveness and
more.
Founded: 1999
Management Team: Rich Landa,
Founder & Chief Executive Officer Gary Nemcek, Founder & Chief
Operating Officer John Wangaard, Vice President, Technology Mark Osborn, Vice President, Marketing Jon Wylie, Vice
President, Finance
Previous employers include Workstations International (now Zonetrader.com),
NetforceMTI (acquired by Comdisco in 1995), Integrated Technology Services,
Norstan Communications, On Hand Network and MultiLogic.
Corporate Status: Unavailable at press time
Financial Status: Secured seed funding beyond founders' initial start-up
investment; seeking first-round financing.
Payment Structure: Setup charges; subscription based
Customers: Several in the Minneapolis area; sales offices planned for five
other regions of the country.
GOprinter.com
Greg Howell, President & CEO
351 South Main Place, Suite 100
Carol Stream, IL 60188
Phone:
630-690-2317
Fax: 630-690-3768
E-mail: info@goprinter.com
Profile: GOprinter is an applications service provider offering
business-to-business e-commerce tools for manufacturers, dealers and
distributors of printing supplies, equipment and paper products. It specializes
in solutions for the graphic arts supply chain. The company's suite, PORTfolio,
allows users to create and manage Web catalogs, conduct e-commerce transactions
and integrate business systems. PORTfolio consists of four products:
PRODUCTfolio, which enables users to convert paper-based and electronic data
into secure Web-based formats, then manage the catalog online with any browser;
MARKETfolio, which enables users to track order histories, customize interfaces
for specific customers, and let those customers find and order products by
keyword searching; PARTNERfolio, which enables users to trade data with EDI
partners, suppliers and other parties; and CHANNELfolio, which enables users to
offer private auctions, discussion threads and news feeds. GOprinter, which
doesn't buy and resell products or compete with its clients, also offers Web
site building and hosting.
Founded: 1999
Management Team: Greg Howell, president and CEO; Dave Rohner, vice president
of marketing (previously director of commercial printing for Moore North America
and a key player in the launch of Indigo America); Drew Gaffney, director of
business development; and Joe Kuryla, lead architect.
Corporate Status: Privately held. GOprinter recently formed an alliance with
PagePath Technologies, a Chicago-based firm that sells MyOrderDesk, a system
used by graphic arts service providers to manage electronic documents
online.
Payment Structure: Customers pay a monthly subscription fee plus a
transaction fee based on sales volume. The monthly fee is determined by the
number of SKUs in the customer's online catalog, the degree of functionality
deployed at the site and the integration level of the e-commerce system and the
customer's legacy system. GOprinter doesn't enter into exclusive agreements with
clients or prohibit them from engaging in other e-commerce
relationships.
Customers: Cleveland-based Morway Corp., an international blanket converter,
among others.
Httprint.com
Mark Porter, President & CEO
2351 Powell Street, Suite 501
San Francisco, CA 94133
Phone:
415-616-0686
Fax: 415-616-0696
E-Mail: marketing@httprint.com
Profile: Print buyers sign on to the site, choose up to three printers for
each project to be printed, send out a request for quote and award the job
online. Buyers can research printers on the site to find one that fits the
project. Customer service reps at httprint also can provide advice. The site
provides live help with customer service via a chat function, plus a database of
printers, a link to Corbis Images for stock photos, graphic arts-related book
sales via Amazon.com and "learning resources" such as a glossary and
topic areas including "bindery" and "color printing."
There's an "Ask Professor Print" feature that appears to be a database
of printing terms, but when the professor was asked about thermochromic ink,
collators or the word "cyan," he responded "No match found, try
again" each time. Cyan was in the httprint glossary. Maybe the professor
hasn't read it yet.
Founded: httprint's parent company, Landmark Productions, was founded in
1996.
Management Team: Strong backgrounds in marketing software products, direct
marketing and printing. Former employers include Milliken & Company,
American Express Direct Response, Autoweb, Oracle, xyan.com, Quebecor Printing
and R.R. Donnelley & Sons.
Corporate Status: httprint.com is a division of Landmark Productions Inc., a
full-service print and direct marketing agency in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Payment Structure: There are no charges for print buyers to use the service.
Printers pay "a small percentage of each transaction."
iGetSmart.com
Tom D'Agostino, Jr., President & CEO
276 Park Ave., S.
New York, NY 10010
Toll-Free: 877-351-7684
Phone: 212-539-0301
Fax: 212-529-4150
E-Mail: Marketing@iGetSmart.com
Profile: iGetSmart.com is structured as an application service provider. It
is an online inventory management and ordering system for print manufacturers,
distributors and buyers, and it was developed by SFI, a distributorship with
$130 million in 1998 sales, as a proprietary print management system called
iGetSmart. It offers a custom menu of services to each client, including
ordering and inventory management, reports, warehousing, billing and sales. It
provides online catalogs with digitized images of customers' products. The
e-business solution allows companies to manage and order all types of printing,
including stationary, promotional products, and office and janitorial supplies.
iGetSmart.com plans to offer a retail shopping mall for the small office/home
office market and individual consumers. Consumers will be able to shop the mall
for forms, stationary, promotional products and office supplies. Interactive
technology will allow consumers to customize orders and review online
proofs.
Founded: 1999 as a business unit of the Integrated Business Services Division
of Workflow Management Inc., a distributorship of business and graphic arts
products. Workflow Management 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, and SFI was the distribution arm of USOP's Print
Management Division.
Management Team: Includes Tom D'Agostino Jr., who had been president of SFI
after holding several management positions with the distributorship.
Corporate Status: iGetSmart.com is a division of the publicly traded company
Workflow Management, which is traded on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol
"WORK." An IPO is anticipated to spin off iGetSmart.
Financial Status: iGetSmart.com hasn't released information about its
financial status. However, its parent company, Workflow Management Inc.,
recorded sales of $250.2 million for the six months of fiscal 2000 ended Oct.
23. The Integrated Business Services Division, which includes iGetSmart.com, had
revenues of $51.2 million and sales of $94.8 million during the first two
quarters of 2000. When iGetSmart premiered last April, the company said in a
press release that it expected initial annual revenues of approximately $25
million—Workflow Management's existing level of business-to-business e-commerce
activity.
Payment Structure: 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.
Customers: According to Workflow Management's filing with the SEC, in July it
had approximately 200 customers using its iGetSmart technology. Last year,
iGetSmart.com entered into a software application service agreement with
Quebecor Printing Inc., a Montreal-based commercial printer with $8 billion in
annual revenues.
ImageX.com
Richard P. Begert, President and CEO
10210 NE Points Drive, Suite 200
Kirkland, WA 98033
Toll-Free:
877-682-0880
Phone: 425-576-6500
Fax: 425-576-6560
Email: info@imagex.com
Profile: ImageX.com Inc. is a business-to-business Internet marketer for
printed business materials ranging from business cards to high-end commercial
printing. ImageX.com offers an end-to-end solution that strives to streamline
the procurement process for print buyers and end users, print manufacturers and
raw material suppliers to the printing industry. The company operates printing
facilities in Portland, Ore., and Union, NJ. In addition, it works with a
network of approximately 40 printers around the country to fill customer
orders.
ImageX.com offers four Web-based services: the Corporate Online Printing
Center, the Small Business Printing Center, PrintBid.com and PaperDeals.com. The
Corporate Online Printing Center 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. PrintBid.com is an
online bidding service for custom print jobs. It links print buyers with
printers. PaperDeals.com is an online auction site for commercial paper stock—a
venue to link buyers with sellers.
Founded: 1995. ImageX.com introduced its Internet solution in October 1997.
In November 1999, it launched the Small Business Printing Center. ImageX.com
acquired PrintBid.com and its affiliate, PaperDeals.com, in December 1999.
Management Team: The company was founded by F. Joseph Verschueren, former CEO
of Parallel Communications Inc., an advertising agency, and Cory Klatt,
previously chief technology officer of Parallel Communications and a general
partner of Practical Applications Inc., a software developer. Other team members
have worked for Alaska Airlines, Adobe and Kodak.
Corporate Status: In August 1999, ImageX.com rolled out an initial public
offering of 3 million shares of its common stock. It trades on the NASDAQ under
the symbol "IMGX." As of the end of last year, it had 239 shareholders
of record. In January, the company filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission for a secondary public offering with estimated proceeds of $120
million.
Financial Status: ImageX.com recorded revenues of $11.5 million for fiscal
1999. However, the company incurred a net loss of $21 million during the year.
ImageX.com expects future losses as it expands its sales and marketing efforts,
develops new services and technologies and pursues acquisitions as part of its
growth strategy.
Payment Structure: 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
price. The company plans to charge a transaction fee for each print provider who
bids a job through its PrintBid.com services. As of January, ImageX.com offered
this service free to generate usage. PaperDeals.com charges a transaction fee to
the auction originator.
Customers: Target clients for the Corporate Online Printing Center are medium
to large-sized companies. At the end of last year, ImageX.com had approximately
195 target customers. In addition to online customers, the company gained
clients (through acquisitions) who order printing through traditional means. Its
goal is to convert these clients to its online system. ImageX.com's top
customers, based on revenues, include Automatic Data Processing, Bell Atlantic
Mobile, CB Richard Ellis, Merck & Co., Price Waterhouse Coopers (CK) and
Waddell & Reed. According to the company's filing with the SEC, its two
largest clients—CB Richard Ellis and Price Waterhouse Coopers—accounted for 29
percent of revenues for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 1999.
Impresse.com
Nimish Mehta, President & CEO
1309 South Mary Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
Phone: 408-530-2000
Fax:
408-245-8336
E-mail: info@impresse.com
Profile: Impresse Corp. is a provider of business-to-business e-commerce
solutions for the commercial print industry. Three years ago, Impresse audited commercial
printers and print buyers from Fortune 1000 companies to determine how to
modernize print buying through an Internet-based e-commerce solution. Based on
its findings, the company designed impresse.com to automate transactions between
print buyers and sellers. Impresse.com is an Internet-based e-commerce service
designed for print buyers in corporations and creative services firms to manage
the creation, procurement and production of commercial printing. It offers a
variety of print buying options, including simple, template on-demand printing,
ad hoc bid and quote projects, and contract catalog print buying. Online
services include new project specifications, reprint ordering, quote requests,
quote comparisons, production tracking, project management, buyer and vendor
management and report compilation. In addition, Impresse offers a solution for
commercial printers: Impresse.ware software is a set of support, scheduling and
execution tools for printers to optimize shop floor productivity. The software
is available through suppliers of printing systems.
Founded: 1997. In March 1999, the company released its first product,
PresseWare (later renamed impresse.ware), an Intranet software solution for
e-commerce customer relationship management and print manufacturing. In August
1999, the company introduced impresse.com, a Web-based e-commerce network for
commercial printing.
Management Team: Previous employers include Oracle, BT Alex Brown, Genesys
Telecommunications Laboratory, Chromatic Research, Macromedia, Verity and some
publications and commercial printing firms.
Corporate Status: Impresse Corp. is a privately held company that has raised
more than $84 million from investors and venture capital
firms.
Financial Status: Not available.
Payment Structure: Transaction fee-based service. Impresse receives a
percentage fee from commercial printers when orders are placed. It charges
vendors a percentage of the total value of the order.
Customers: Impresse targets Fortune 1000 firms from industries as varied as
manufacturing, financial services and retail. Its clients include AutoNation,
Dayton Hudson Corp., Fleming Companies, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, 3Com Corp. and
Whirlpool.
InaQuest.com
Greg Muzillo, Founder & CEO
8800 Pleasant Valley Road
Independence, OH 44131
Toll-Free: 800-776-3676
Phone: 216-901-4796
Fax: 216-520-6886
E-mail: marketing@inaquest.com
Profile: InaQuest.com customizes and maintains online stores for distributors
and manufacturers. The stores are designed to allow online viewing, buying and
management of imprinted product such as forms, business cards, letterhead and
promotional products, including wearables. There are two options: The Company
Store offers a centralized point for the purchase and management of corporate
branded merchandise. Customers, employees and stakeholders may purchase
corporate logo merchandise, printed material or forms online.
The Co-Branded Business Center offers print, promotional and business forms
products for the SoHo market. The site is co-branded under the name of the
distributor. The Business Center is a pre-configured site focused on selling
configurable products at fixed prices through a predefined set of vendors. Many
looks and styles are available.
Founded: March 1999
Management Team: inaQuest.com's founder and CEO is Greg Muzillo, founder and
CEO of ProForma.
Corporate Status: Privately held.
Financial Status: Private funding.
Payment Structure: Annual subscription fee and transaction fees.
Customers: In early May, nearly 30 Company Stores and Business Centers were
up and running.
iPrint.com
Royal P. Farros, CEO & Chairman of the Board
1450 Oddstad Drive
Redwood City, CA 94063
Phone: 650-298-8500
Fax: 650-364-7295
E-mail: Farros@iPrint.com
Profile: iPrint.com is a retail provider of online print services. It offers
thousands of items in more than 40 categories, including business cards,
stationery, checks, forms, labels and ad specialties. At the iPrint site,
customers design, proof and order printed products online. iPrint.com has
certified approximately 15 commercial printing companies that provide printing
on its behalf. After an order is placed, iPrint electronically sends a
ready-to-print graphic file and job ticket file to one of its certified vendors.
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.
Founded: 1996. iPrint's Web site was launched and began selling printed
products online in January 1997.
Management Team: Founder Royal P. Farros was co-founder of T/Maker Company
(acquired by Deluxe Corp.). Other previous employers of team members include
Cendant, General Magic, Deluxe Corp. and Andersen Consulting.
Corporate Status: In December, iPrint.com filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission to raise $50 million in an IPO.
Financial Status: Revenues for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 1999, were
$1.8 million. However, the company has an accumulated deficit of $9.9 million in
the same time frame. It incurred net losses of $700,000 in 1997, $2.3 million in
1998 and $6.7 million in the first three quarters of last year. According to the
company, the losses are the result of costs associated with developing its Web
site and marketing efforts. The company expects to incur further losses as it
expands advertising campaigns, develops additional marketing channels, develops
strategic relationships and enhances its Web site.
Payment Structure: Print buyers pay iPrint.com per product. The Web site
includes a detailed price list for products ranging from announcements to
screen-printed T-shirts. iPrint.com says most of its revenues are generated from
shipping and handling fees. Also, a significant portion of the company's
revenues is generated through barter transactions with its co-labeled partners.
iPrint.com provides these partners printed products in exchange for online
advertising.
Customers: iPrint.com's target customers are home offices and small
businesses with less than 20 employees. It has had more than 270,000 customers
so far. According to the company's filing with the SEC, the average value of an
order generated from its Web site is $60.
Liveprint.com
Alexandria, Va.
(703) 519-4400
Profile: liveprint.com aims to provide end users a fast way to create and
distribute marketing communications products. The Web site's liveDesigner
technology leads users through five steps to create custom suites of printed
items. Then, users can download the items and print them at their desktops for
free or have them printed professionally through the liveprint.com network.
Currently, liveprint.com has a limited product base—business cards, stationery
and envelopes. It plans to add newsletters, brochures, announcements, apparel
and other printed products soon. In addition to helping companies create printed
products, liveprint.com offers advice on how to use those products. In a section
called liveIdeas, the company features tips and articles for using printed
pieces effectively when starting, growing and promoting a business.
Founded: 1998, as a spin-off from Meetinghouse Technologies, an award-winning
multimedia design and development company.
Management Team: Previous employers include Science Applications
International Corp. (SAIC), Intradyne Corp., Defense Intelligence Agency, Waste
Policy Institute, Blockbuster Inc. and MCI/Worldcom.
Corporate Status: liveprint.com is a privately held company that has raised
two rounds of venture capital financing.
Financial Status: Not available.
Payment Structure: Visitors to liveprint.com can use the site's design tools
for free. In addition, after they've customized products, they can download the
items and print them from their desktops for free. Liveprint.com also offers
products through a network of printers. The Web site includes a pricing grid for
professionally printed business cards, letterhead and envelopes and lists the
minimum, maximum and average prices. These are its average prices: $38.99 for
500 2-color business cards, $132.99 for 1,000 2-color sheets of letterhead and
$157.99 for 1,000 2-color envelopes.
Customers: liveprint.com targets the small business market. The company
theorizes that small businesses are at a disadvantage when trying to secure
professional design, layout and marketing advice because they often lack
adequate budgets and time. The site strives to provide a high-quality,
affordable solution to small companies.
MediaFlex.com
Ken Ratcliffe, President and CEO
900 E. Hamilton Ave., Suite 350
Campbell, CA 95008
Phone: 408-558-9860
Fax: 408-558-9886
E-mail: info@mediaflex.com
Profile: MediaFlex.com provides order creation, processing, tracking and
invoicing of digital printing jobs via the Web. Customer files are stored on the
site for updates and changes before printing. After a distributor enters
ordering options and pricing information, end user customers can "do their
own ordering from you for brochures, flyers, posters, and more," the
company says.
Founded: 1997
Management Team: Previous employers include Apple Computer, Data General,
Internet Shopping Network, Xerox, Color Tech Corp., Scitex and Concord Growth
Corp., a financial services firm.
Corporate Status: Privately held.
Financial Status: Unknown at press time.
Payment Structure: One-time activation fee and a minimum monthly service
charge or a transaction fee for each order processed.
Customers: Hewlett-Packard, AudienceOne (a spin-off of Adobe Systems), the
National Basketball Association and numerous print shops such as Copy General in
Washington, Digital Printing Center in Chicago, and Cal-Pacific in Redwood,
Calif.
Mimeo.com
Jeff Stewart, CEO and Co-Founder
12 West 27th Street, 15th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Phone:
212-684-4600
Profile: Mimeo.com, an Internet-based on-demand copy
shop/printer. Mimeo’s primary business is taking full-color and B/W
digital print jobs from end-users via the Web, printing the jobs, and shipping
them for overnight delivery. To make matters even more interesting, Hewlett
Packard is one of the primary forces behind Mimeo.com. With the exception of
Xerox Business Services (XBS), most equipment suppliers have opted to stay out
of their customer’s business. Mimeo.com is operating out of a
strategically-located 140,000 square-foot facility adjacent to FedEx's
main hub in Memphis.
Mimeo.com recently announced that it is expanding its current
inventory of three Xeikon DCP/32D presses to include Xeikon's sheet fed
digital color printer, the CSP 320D, later this year. In addition, the company
expects to acquire additional DCP/32D presses as demand for its service
increases. Digital presses are being used increasingly in fulfillment models,
widening the audience for digital print technology and enabling individual and
small business customers to produce professional color quality documents from
anywhere at anytime. The company has chosen to use Xeikon as its sole digital
color equipment supplier.
Using free proprietary software, Mimeo.com customers can send color documents
through the Internet that are then printed directly on Xeikon DCP/32D presses
and shipped via Federal Express for overnight delivery anywhere in the United
States.
Founded: 1998
Management Team:
Corporate Status: Partnerships with agentLIFE.com, Draper Fisher Jurvetson,
Draper Fisher Jurvetson Gotham, Eletter, HP, PortableLife.com, Toshiba,
Upshot.com, Versient, Xeikon America and in search of affiliates.
Financial Status: Information not available.
Payment Structure: Transaction-based. No software needed. Pricing and
ordering done on-line. Shipping costs for overnight delivery. Sign-up to open an
account is free.
Customers: Any person in need of fast overnight printed of documents such as
proposals, manuals, bids, studies, specifications, contracts, presentations,
RFPs and research reports.
Noosh.com
Ofer Ben-Shachar, Founder, President & CEO
3401 Hillview Ave., Building B
Palo Alto, CA 94304
Toll-Free: 1-888-AT-NOOSH (286-6674)
Phone: 650-320-6000
Fax: 650-858-1015
E-mail: ir@noosh.com
Profile: Noosh is an Internet-based communication service designed to improve
the process of buying, selling and managing print. It brings together print
buyers, printers and creative agencies. Noosh allows users to perform four key
tasks:
* Estimating, quoting and specifications management—print jobs can be
created, submitted by buyers and quoted online to printers locally or
globally.
* Order management—online ordering for buyers and printers, confirmation and
job status updates from design through delivery.
* Content delivery and file management—content file transfer, online and
remote proofing and job file archiving.
* Industry reference—profiles of printing vendors and service providers.
Founded: 1998 by Ofer Ben-Shachar, founder and former chairman and chief
technology officer of NetDynamics, a Web application server company. Noosh was
officially launched in August 1999 at Seybold San Francisco.
Management Team: Former employers of the team include Apple Computer,
Covalent Software and R.R. Donnelley & Sons.
Corporate Status: In January, Noosh Inc. filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission to raise $58 million in an IPO.
Financial Status: Noosh posted a net loss of $17 million for fiscal 1999 and
no revenues for the year. Although Noosh processed print orders totaling $3.4
million last year, these were processed by companies using the service for
evaluation purposes. Noosh received no revenues from them. Like most other
dot-coms, Noosh says in its filing with the SEC that it expects further losses
in the future. In January, R.R. Donnelley & Sons announced a $14 million
investment in Noosh as part of a strategic alliance.
Payment Structure: Printing companies who 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: More than 80 print buyers and vendors have processed more than 350
orders. Key corporate clients include Aetna, Bank of America, Levi Strauss &
Company—Multibrand and Wells Fargo & Company. In addition, Noosh has
entered into strategic alliances with several printing companies, including
Consolidated Graphics Inc., R.R. Donnelley & Sons and Wallace Computer
Services Inc.
Paperexchange.com
Kent Dolby, President & CEO
31 St. James Avenue
Boston, MA 02116
Toll-Free: 1 888-722-2772
Phone: 617-536-4310
Fax:
617-536-4097
Email: info@paperexchange.com
Profile: PaperExchange.comSM is a leading global
e-commerce marketplace for the pulp and paper industry with more than 4,500
corporate members and over 6,500 individual members, spread out over more than
80 countries. PaperExchange.com's members have completed transactions in all
major grades of paper, and have made PaperExchange.com one of the world's most
frequented sites in the pulp and paper industry. Not only has the Company shown
consistent and rapid growth in terms of bidding activity, completed
transactions, tons of product posted, and number of registered members, but the
Company's site activity, as measured by user sessions, reached dramatically
higher new all-time records in each consecutive quarter of 1999.
PaperExchange.com is open for business 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The
Company is located in the central Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
PaperExchange.comSM enables buyers and sellers to negotiate
pricing and directly transact with one another through its marketplace.
PaperExchange.com charges its seller members a commission based on the total
notional value of any successful transaction conducted through the site. The
proven PaperExchange.com model delivers new levels of efficiency, convenience,
choice and flexibility to the pulp and paper industry. All paper is bought and
sold by members through private, secured transactions. PaperExchange.com does
not share its list of members nor its transaction information. PaperExchange.com
does not charge buyers to use its site, and does not charge sellers any
subscription fees, membership fees, or listing fees. Besides aggregating buyers
and sellers in a centralized forum, thereby reducing search time and overall
transaction costs for all users, PaperExchange.com offers value-added services
such as logistics and credit. In addition to providing origin-to-destination
logistic quotations, the Company also provides credit clearing services for
credit-approved members. Other site services include facilitation of the
purchasing and selling of paper industry equipment, such as converting machines.
In addition, PaperExchange.com provides members with industry-specific content
including job listings, industry events information, news headlines, and a
resource directory.
Founded: 1998
Management Team: David Wetherell has served as Chairman, CEO
& President of CMGI since he affected a leveraged buyout of the company in
1986. After significantly enhancing the revenue and market share of CMGI, he
took the company public in January of 1994. One month later, he founded BookLink
Technologies, Inc., the first of what has turned out to be a family of Internet
start-up companies. Ten months after the inception of BookLink, it was sold to
America Online in a stock-based transaction, which ultimately was worth in
excess of $70M to CMGI. Mr. Wetherell used the proceeds of this sale to fund a
two-pronged strategy: the incubation of a series of start-up Internet companies,
and the formation of @Ventures, a strategic investment and development
affiliate. Prior to CMGI Mr. Wetherell co-founded the software development firm
Softrend, Inc., and he has held senior management positions in application
software development and marketing management in the healthcare and
transportation industries.
Corporate Status: The Company's investors include The Kraft Group, Internet
Capital Group (NASDAQ: ICGE), Madison Dearborn Partners, MSD Capital, LP,
International Paper (NYSE: IP), Terrapin Partners LLC, Asia Pulp & Paper
(NYSE: PAP), Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS), Bowater Incorporated (NYSE: BOW),
Roger Stone, and DSCKW Irrevocable Trust, a David Wetherell family trust.
Financial Status: PaperExchange.comSM received first
round funding in 1998 and had 12 employees and 250 members by year-end. After
March 1999, PaperExchange.com relocated to Boston, Massachusetts, brought in
more senior management team members, expanded from container board to other
major grades of paper, and more than quadrupled its staff to over 60 employees
by the end of the year. Also in 1999, the company completed several rounds of
additional financing totaling approximately $35 million and completely revamped
its Web site on November 1 with the launch of Version 3.0. In October 1999, the
company announced its strategic partnership with VerticalNet Inc. (Nasdaq:VERT),
the leading provider of online trade communities. The company ended 1999 with
more than 2,800 registered members in more than 75 countries.
In January 2000, the company announced its third successful
round of funding. By February 2000 PaperExchange.com had announced several other
strategic partnerships including Impresse.com, a leading business-to-business
(B2B) e-commerce supplier of commercial print procurement services and C.H.
Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHRW), one of North America's largest
providers of multimodal transportation services and logistics solutions. The
company also opened a European headquarters in London, England, and announced a
listing and strategic alliance agreement with International Paper (NYSE:IP), the
world's largest paper and forest products company. In early March
PaperExchange.com announced a strategic alliance and listing agreement with Asia
Pulp & Paper (NYSE:PAP), one of the world's leading pulp and paper
companies, and a separate agreement with Staples, Inc. (Nasdaq:SPLS), the
pioneer in the office superstore industry, to post a subset of Staples'
cut-sheet paper requirements on the PaperExchange.com site. In April,
PaperExchange.com announced a strategic agreement with Noosh, Inc., a leading
Internet-based business-to-business communication and collaboration service
targeting the print industry, which is designed to leverage the synergies
between the two companies. PaperExchange.com also announced an agreement with
Bowater Incorporated (NYSE: BOW), the largest newsprint producer in the United
States, in which Bowater will offer newsprint for sale over the Internet on the
PaperExchange.com web site. PaperExchange.com also signed an agreement with SGS,
the world's leading quality assurance and inspection company. Through the
partnership with SGS, PaperExchange.com will enable members to efficiently order
a variety of testing and quality assurance services for products available on
the PaperExchange.com website. In June of 2000, PaperExchange.com and Port
Townsend Paper Company announced that they had entered into a strategic
alliance. Through the agreement, Port Townsend will work with PaperExchange.com
to begin listing products through the PaperExchange.com Web site, giving
PaperExchange.com members online access to certain Port Townsend products. Port
Townsend will also use PaperExchange.com to purchase paper-related products and
intends to work with PaperExchange.com to Web-enable Port Townsend's order and
fulfillment processes.
Payment Structure: There are no charges for print buyers to use the service.
Printers pay "a small percentage of each transaction."
Customers: Membership and other registrants to the site.
Printable.com
Stuart Clifton, President and CEO
16787 Bernardo Center Drive, Suite A-7
San Diego, CA 92128
Toll-Free:
888-450-4525
Phone: 858-676-0300
Fax: 858-676-1050
E-mail: info@printable.com
Profile: Printable.com develops and delivers scalable, hosted application
services designed to help printers "increase competitive position,
strengthen customer relationships, manage digital printing and workflow, and
boost buying power." The company's e-business services are accessed through
the Printer's DashBoard™, a free Web site that acts as a customizable control
panel. It allows printers to manage lead generation, sales, file transfers,
media asset management, account management, procurement and other business
activities. It includes a home page and pages for About Us, Tips, Equipment,
Jobs, Services and News. The e-business components include pages such as
Portfolio, Review Activity, Get a Quote and File Transfer.
YourPlaceSM, another printable.com tool, is a customer-care center created by
the printer for top customers. It appears on the printer's Web site. Customers
can access password-protected sites to check on current jobs, input job specs
and RFQs, reorder items from customer catalogs and contact the printer's sales
representative.
Founded: April 1997
Management Team: Stuart "Stu" Clifton, chairman, CEO and president,
served the same roles at DataWorks Corp. from 1987 until its merger with
Platinum Software (renamed Epicor) in 1998. While at DataWorks, he grew the
company's sales from approximately $2 million to more than $170 and won Ernst
& Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award. printable.com's board of directors
includes Clifton; James A. Caccavo, a partner with Moore Capital Management's
private equity group and Tickets.com's executive vice president and president of
Internet operations; Theodore J. Roth, president of investment management firm
Totem Enterprises LLC; and Roy Thiele-Sardina, a high-tech investor who helped
launch Brocade Communications (now a $20 billion company) and who served key
management and sales roles at Sun
Microsystems.
Corporate Status: Privately held.
Financial Status: In April, printable.com secured $13 million in second-round
funding from a number of high-profile investors, including Moore Capital
Management; Totem Investment Partners; Louis Rossetto, co-founder of Wired
magazine; and Bill Joy and Andreas Bechtolsheim, co-founders of Sun
Microsystems.
Payment Structure: Customers pay a monthly fee for access to the software,
but not transaction fees. The company charges one-time setup fees for
establishing or enabling Web sites for e-business, creating portfolios and
establishing customer centers. Fees are also charged when customizing a
printable.com site.
Customers: printable.com has more than 150 customers.
PrintBid.com
Robin Michalisko
1411 S.W. Morrison St. Suite 310
Portland, OR 97205-1945
Toll-Free:
888-236-7680
Phone: 503-248-2233
Fax: 503-248-7727
E-mail: Sales@PrintBid.com
Profile: PrintBid.com is an online resource where print buyers have access to
a comprehensive database of every printer in the country.
PrintBid.com creates new relationships between print buyers with specific
needs and vendors with specific capabilities.
Founded: 1998
Management Team: ImageX.com company and Cole &
Weber
Corporate Status: PrintBid.com is part of the ImageX.com company and Cole
& Weber
Financial Status: No information provided
Payment Structure: Registration is required to use site. There are no fees in
site usage. Sponsorship
Customers: No actual customers mentioned in the site.
PrintCafe.com
Mary Murrin Smith
Forty 24th Street, 5th Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone:
412-456-1141
Fax: 412-456-1151
Email: msmith@printcafe.com
Profile: Created by the merger of Prograph Systems Inc., nth Degree Software
and a division of Creo Products Inc., printCafe offers a Web-based
infrastructure for the printing and publishing industries. It automates the
business cycle of printing and publishing, and the end-to-end production process
via an Internet link between print buyers and printers. Users can specify
virtually any type of print project, obtain estimates, manage
business-to-business transactions, monitor ERP information, plan all stages of
the production process, track the status of a project in real-time, manage
invoicing and process payments, and report on a broad range of performance
summaries and analyses.
Founded: 2000; 200+ employees
Management Team: Marc Olin and William Guttman, former co-CEOs of Prograph
Systems Inc., became co-CEOs of printCafe. Prograph Systems Inc. will
consolidate and transfer all company infrastructure, resources, and customer
base into printCafe, with worldwide distribution and support to be available
through Creo. Creo is a supplier of digital prepress solutions. Prograph
developed a publisher-to-printer job specification system in the mid-1980s and
has engineered digital supply-chain management solutions for Time and People
magazines, among others.
Financial Status: Creo will contribute $25 million as part of a larger
venture capital financing round. In exchange, Creo will acquire an equity
position in printCafe Inc. and Amos Michelson, CEO of Creo Products, will join
the Board of Directors of printCafe. PrintCafe will operate in a close business
relationship with Creo Products, but will maintain its own business structure
and identity.
Payment Structure: Free to end user customers; available on a subscription or
transaction basis through custom-branded sites and Internet portals to printers
and suppliers.
Customers: 200+, including 17 of the top 20 high-volume commercial printers
in North America, including R.R. Donnelley, Valassis, Consolidated Graphics,
Mail-Well, Moore, Banta, Quebecor, Transcontinental Group Ltd., Brown Printing
Company and Perry Judd's. Publishing solutions are licensed to Time-Warner,
Scientific American, Rodale Press, Southern Progress, Pennwell, Weider,
Condé Nast, Readers Digest Association, Reed-Elsevier and
Primedia/Intertec.
PrintChannel.com™
Oliver Pflug, CEO
515 Folsom St.
San Francisco, CA 94105
Toll-Free: 888-514-4525
Phone: 415-644-3399
Fax: 415-644-3380
E-mail: info@printchannel
Profile: printChannel.com offers a turnkey e-commerce solution for print
buyers and suppliers. It provides a business-to-business conduit for ordering,
proofing and outputting custom printing, including forms, stationery, labels and
signs, via the Web. The company licenses its service to printers, who in turn
offer the solution—under their own names—to end users. Printers negotiate
contracts, print the jobs and ship them: printChannel processes the orders via
the Internet. PrintChannel offers three integrated modules: OrderWeb™,
ProductionWeb™ and the Configurator™. With OrderWeb, print buyers select product
templates, choose variable template components for products, review online
proofs and submit jobs to their print vendors. In ProductionWeb, the system
generates an output-ready PDF imposition for the print vendor. The Configurator
allows printers to establish and maintain their own customer configurations
through a Web browser.
Founded: 1998
Management Team: Former employers include Sony, Agfa and Xerox.
Corporate Status: Unavailable at press time.
Financial Status: Funded by private investors.
Payment Structure: Printers pay an initial setup fee and a processing fee for
all orders that printChannel delivers in image-ready format to the printer. When
printers are set up as users, they receive a URL for ordering and production
management, two to four days of training from printChannel and full system
documentation. The processing fees include service updates, upgrades and
supports. PrintChannel doesn't charge end users, but printers may choose to do
so.
Customers: printChannel has more than 200 corporate implementations in the
United States and Europe. It processes thousands of commercial printing
transactions monthly.
Printconnect.com
Erik Harrell, Founder & CEO
179 South St.
Boston, MA 02111
Phone: (617)423-9300
Fax:
(617)423-0589
email: info@printconnect.com
Profile: PrintConnect is an internet-based customer relationship management
service for the printing industry. PrintConnect streamlines communication and
project management between printers and print buyers by reducing the phone tag,
faxing and miscommunication inherent in the current print production process.
Through an easy-to-use web interface, PrintConnect customers can take advantage
of our automated job tracking; project scheduling; change order management; and
comprehensive job specification templates.
Founded: 2000
Management Team: Erik Harrell, founder and CEO of PrintConnect, developed the
idea for PrintConnect in November 1998 after meeting with a range of printers
and print buyers, and finding that there was significant "pain" that
existed in the current manual process of print procurement. What these printers
and print buyers were looking for was a better and less "painful" way
of doing business together.
Harrell felt strongly that the Internet was the answer to relieving the pain
that each printer and print buyer endured as an inevitable part every print job.
Since PrintConnect's inception, the company's management team has worked
closely with, and listened attentively to, major Fortune 1000 print buyers and
numerous commercial and digital printers to develop a truly first class solution
that achieves one major overriding objective: make it easier for printers and
print buyers to do business.
Princonnect.com has partners like Commerce One, Kana and Guru.com.
Corporate Status: Unavailable at press time
Financial Status: Information not available
Payment Structure: Involves a process of requesting quotes, submitting
estimates, awarding project, tracking status changes & costs, shipping
materials & finalizing costs, and accepting material & final costs
Customers: PrintConnect's customers include widely recognized Fortune
1000 companies and institutions as well as numerous commercial and digital
printers in the New England area. A specific listing of customers will be posted
on the website.
PrintingBrokers.com
7025 Bedrock Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22306
Phone: 703-768-6864
Fax: 703-768-8424
E-mail: info@printingbrokers.com
Profile: Magnet Print Brokers is a discount print and design broker.
They have a database of over 250 printers and designers nationwide. Magnet Print
Brokers has been in business since 1991. Their database includes 2, 4
and 6 color printers, web and silkscreen presses, 3-ring binder, vinyl brochure
and video box manufacturers among many others. Their quotations are based on the
finished product, not the amount of work involved. They provide complete
production services, and therefore they guarantee to lower annual printing
budget. Magnet maintains complete customer files of every job so any project is
easily reprinted. They handle all aspects of production from the design and
print stages to fulfillment and shipping requirements.
Founded: 1991
Management Team: No information provided
Corporate Status: Privately held
Financial Status: No information at press time
Payment Structure: Their quotations are based on the finished product, not
the amount of work involved.
Customers: Small Printers
PrintMarket.com
Stephan Gittings, CEO & Founder
2125 Powell Street,
San Francisco, CA 94133
Toll-Free Phone: 877-638-3325
Phone: 415-956-7355
Fax: 415-956-7356
Email: info@printmarket.com
Profile: PrintMarket.com is a bidding service for print buyers. The Web site
provides tools to facilitate purchasing and management for a variety of printed
products, including commercial printing, letterhead, business cards, packaging
products and technical documentation. The site provides print buyers an
anonymous, free estimating service and access to a database of nationwide
printers. In August, the site launched file Xpress™, which allows buyers and
printers to transfer and track artwork and files. In addition, the site includes
a Paper Market, where users buy paper online from mills and paper distributors.
Founded: 1996; Web site launched in 1998.
Management Team: Stephen Gittings, CEO and founder, was director of an
integrated brand management and marketing agency and a travel company executive.
Ralph Abadir, senior vice president, has a printing background, including
employment by Indigo.
Corporate Status: Privately-held. Has partnerships with National Association
of Printing Leadership and American Printer Magazine.
Financial Status: PrintMarket.com is free for print buyers. Printers pay an
annual membership fee of $298. In addition, when a member printer is awarded a
job through PrintMarket.com, the printer is charged a finder's fee based on the
total dollar amount of the job. For printing jobs up to $5,000, the finder's fee
is 2.5 percent, or a minimum of $15. For jobs between $5,001 and $25,000, the
finder's fee is 1.25 percent, or a minimum of $125. The finder's fee for jobs
ranging between $25,001 and $75,000 is .7 percent ($300 minimum), and the fee
for jobs totaling more than $75,000 is .5 percent ($525 minimum).
Payment Structure: PrintMarket.com is free for print buyers. Printers pay an
annual membership fee of $298. In addition, when a member printer is awarded a
job through PrintMarket.com, the printer is charged a finder's fee based on the
total dollar amount of the job. For printing jobs up to $5,000, the finder's fee
is 2.5 percent, or a minimum of $15. For jobs between $5,001 and $25,000, the
finder's fee is 1.25 percent, or a minimum of $125. The finder's fee for jobs
ranging between $25,001 and $75,000 is .7 percent ($300 minimum), and the fee
for jobs totaling more than $75,000 is .5 percent ($525 minimum).
Customers: PrintMarket.com has more than 2,500 member buyers, ranging from
small marketing firms to large, established publishing firms.
Printnation.com
Tony Seba, CEO & Founder
31 Technology Way, Suite 200
Irvine, CA 92618
Toll-Free:
888-806-2246
Fax: 949-789-0790
Email: customerService@printnation.com
Profile: PrintNation.com is the world's largest printing supplies and
equipment Superstore, designed to put money back into the pockets of printers.
PrintNation.com features film, plates, paper, chemistry, ink, consumables,
software, computers, scanners, and image-setters. From creative to prepress to
press to finishing, PrintNation.com has everything needed to run a business.
Offering more than 100,000 products from over 1,300 manufacturers,
PrintNation.com brings the incredible power of electronic commerce and the
Internet to the printing and publishing industry.
The comprehensive website also includes used equipment auctions, extensive product
information and research
capabilities, message boards, industry news,
chat rooms, instant financing, and
expert installation and training. Customers can
perform extensive product research, including a "click-and-compare"
feature that offers a detailed side-by-side product comparison. Complementing
the online store is an expert 24-hour telephone customer service and support
organization ready to assist with ordering, billing and shipment of orders
Founded: 1998
Management Team: Tony Seba, PrintNation.com's President and CEO, has more
than 18 years of solid experience in fast-growth high-tech companies. As
Director of Strategic Planning from 1996 to 1998 at RSA Data Security, he
managed strategic business development and developed both corporate and sales
and marketing strategy. While at RSA, Seba also initiated and created the
company's Internet payment initiative, as well as their public key
infrastructure and Java security programs. Seba has designed, created, managed,
built, and commercialized more than 24 products, including software for small
business management, integrated computer-aided software engineering, sales force
automation, and Internet security. Seba has been a guest lecturer at
Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management and frequently
speaks at national conferences about e-commerce. Seba holds an MBA from Stanford
University and a BS in Computer Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. Board of directors includes Freddie Seba, Chairman, Tony Seba, Board Member,
Jason Green, Board Member.
Corporate Status: Privately held
Financial Status: Information not available.
Payment Structure: Transaction-based. No minimum order. No annual
fees.
Quantum2000.net (under construction)
Ross Barker, CEO
PO Box 11155
Reno, NV 89510
Toll-Free: 800-328-7804
Phone: 775-856-1798
Fax: 775-856-2408
E-mail: barker.forms@worldnet.att.net
Sampleprint.com
110 Commerce Drive
Allendale, New Jersey 07401
Toll-Free:
877-257-7746
E-mail: info@mail.sampleprint.com
Profile: SamplePrint.com is designed to be the one stop information resource
for business buyers of workgroup color printers and copiers. This site is
an objective resource for buyers by providing product information, technical
benchmarks, sample prints and more. SamplePrint.com will allow any buyer to
submit files via the internet to be printed and time tested on a variety of
color printer choices. This service provides a prospective business buyer
with the ability to make a color printer purchase decision based on the image
quality of the print samples and additional information provided on the
site. The methodology for SamplePrint.com is to provide users with the
ability to evaluate color printers based on product and technical information,
as well as the actual print sample. In time, benchmarks, comparative tables and
editorial content will be offered as well.
Founded: 1999
Management Team: Information not available
Corporate Status: Held by sponsorship, currently Hewlett-Packard and Oki Data
Corporation.
Financial Status: No other information provided
Payment Structure: Free on-line resource.
Customers: Buyers and evaluators of workgroups color printers.
Sprockets.com
Patrick White, CEO
Two Park Plaza
Boston, MA 02116
Phone:
617-896-2000
Fax: 617-896-2100
E-mail: pwhite@sprockets.com
Profile: Sprockets is a secure web service that enables client, creative,
production and media professionals to coordinate projects and manage deadlines
over the Web. It is particularly aimed at those who work with large data
files—video, audio, complex print jobs—in the publishing and marketing
communications industries. Features include on-the-fly project and team
building; a shared file workspace; project discussion boards, calendars and
whiteboards; automated event notices via e-mail, voice, or fax; deadline
notification; team bios, and address books, archiving and security
systems.
Founded: 2000; scheduled to go live March 1.
Management Team: Patrick White, founder and CEO.
Financial Status: In January, the company announced $4.3 million in
first-round VC financing.
Payment Structure: $10 per month per project plus transmission fees, with no
per user or per site licensing fees.
Customers: Unknown at press time.
ThePaperExpert.com
Ron Mgrublian
Websource West Office:
333 Oyster Point Boulevard,
Unit 5, 2nd Floor
South San Francisco, CA 94080
Phone: 562-598-4938
Fax: 562-598-2574
Email: ron@thepaperexpert.com
Profile: Websource will manage all aspects of the clients order flow and
inventory. Clients receive an easy to read spreadsheet that is updated on a
continual basis.
Publishing arm of Unisource the
largest wholesale paper distributor in North America. Part of Georgia-Pacific a "Fortune 50", 20
billion dollar giant in the forestry products industry.
Part of the Websource that has a financial strength of a 20 billion dollar,
"Fortune 100" company. Has unparalleled mill representation,
partnerships and Georgia-Pacific & Unisource backing.
Founded: 1998, Websource has a 80 year experience in the paper industry and
is a Fortune 100 company.
Management Team: Websource manages all aspects of Thepaperexpert.com.
They have over 59 Mills, 1250 Clients, 1200 products, 80 years of
experience, 18 locations, 78 employees. Their headquarters is located in New
York
Corporate Status: Websource based in New York. Thepaperexpert.com office is
located in California.
Financial Status: No information provided
Payment Structure: Website use is free. Prices and fees are based on paper
requested.
Customers: Big and Small Printers
TopForm.com
Julie Pritchard, CEO
PO Box 922668
Norcross, GA 30010
Toll-Free: 800-448-1484
Phone: 770-448-1484
Fax: 770-448-3949
sales@topform.com
Profile: Founded in 1975 , Computer Software Inc. was one of the first
companies to provide small to medium size companies affordable multi-user,
minicomputer business software. Based in Norcross, Georgia, the high-tech suburb
of Atlanta, CSI develops and markets internationally its TopForm software products.
During the late 1970's and early 1980's, CSI designed and developed some of
the first accounting software packages for what became the personal computer. A
new company, State of the Art, Inc., was born. In 1991, State of the Art became
a publicly traded (NASDAQ Symbol: SOTA) national software publisher with tens of
thousands of small businesses using its MAS-90 software products.
In 1984, CSI began developing its latest product offering, the TopForm
Accounting series. From these building blocks and in conjunction with a team of
document management industry professionals, our TopForm Business Forms
Distributor software package was created. Products take full advantage of years
of experience in developing the very best in multi-user business software.
Founded: The TopForm company was founded 1975, the website has been up since
1997
Management Team: Julie Pritchard, CEO
Corporate Status: Privately held
Financial Status: Private funding
Payment Structure: Setup charges; subscription based on type of package
desired
Customers: No names mentioned on website.
Transaction2000.com
Brian Kellett
Eccles, Manchester, England
Phone: +44 (0) 161 787 3050
E-mail: brian@transaction2000.com
Profile: Transaction software is a suite of Web-based programs designed to
improve the efficiency of stationery and print ordering. It consists of three
main components: an online ordering system, a custom print module and an editing
suite. The online ordering system allows users to order standard printed pieces
administered under a print management system. Users can request that items be
manufactured or delivered from existing stock. The custom print module allows
users to personalize printed products, such as business cards and letterhead.
They view templates of products on screen, enter in variable data and submit
orders. Within seconds, a proof is returned to the user's screen, where it can
be printed out, amended or approved. Once approved, the order is sent through an
approval process and delivered to the printer. The editing suite gives users
flexibility when configuring their Transaction systems. Distributors can set up
multiple clients on the system with their own sets of databases. Once clients
are set up in the system, a series of menus allows additions, amendments and
deletions of various elements, including budgets, users, products and
prices.
Founded: Transaction was released in 1999 by Broker Forms & Print Ltd. in
Eccles, Manchester, England. At press time, the company's Web site
(www.transaction 2000.com) was slated for a new version with a demo and full
information.
Management Team: Brian Kellett, managing director, has 30 years of experience
in the printing industry, including 17 years as managing director of Broker
Forms & Print Ltd. Dave Etherington, project director, has worked in the
information technology industry for 10 years. He has focused on Web design
projects for the past five years.
Corporate Status: Broker Forms & Print Ltd. is a privately held company,
owned by Brian Kellett and Dave Etherington.
Payment Structure: Distributors purchase the software. The pricing structure
depends on how many clients the distributor includes on the system: It ranges
from $7,500 to $27,000. The only other fees associated with Transaction are
support fees.
Customers: Five companies in the United Kingdom and two in the United
States.
UserMax.com
Alan Brynjolfsson, CEO
59 Ave at the Common - Suite 106
Shrewsbury, NJ 07702
Phone:
877-377-4683
Fax: 732-389-9699
E-Mail: feedback@usermax.com
Profile: UserMax is a free, Web-based system for end users to automate quote
requests, vendor bids and purchase orders for printing. It was developed as a
solution for a single client who spent hours faxing and record keeping each week
in the process of requesting quotes and ordering printing jobs. The system
automates RFQs, eliminates printing and faxing redundant quote requests. It also
issues purchase orders, stores past quotes, tracks jobs in progress and
more.
Why would a distributor offer automated quoting to a client? In return for
providing the service to the end user, the distributor receives a copy of every
RFQ. The system limits the end user to three vendors per quote request (one of
them the distributor) that will receive RFQs for any
job.
Founded: 1999
Management Team: Founder Alan Brynjolfsson owns General Printing LLC, a
distributorship in Shrewsbury, NJ. He also has launched Printingprices.com, an
e-commerce printing site where consumers design and order custom printed items.
Other management team members' previous employers include Deloitte & Touche
Consulting, Price Waterhouse Coopers and General Printing & Design Inc., a
$7 million print brokerage firm in
Boston.
Corporate Status: Privately held
Financial Status: Seeking first round VC financing.
Payment Structure: Free
Customers: The system is in use by some customers of General Printing.