LONDON, ENGLAND, October 15, 2008
/24-7PressRelease/ -- Earthtone, providers of e-commerce solutions for the print industry, announced that in the two months after the launch of its e-commerce platform in July, in excess of 500 US print providers and 150 UK print providers registered to join the network.
Earthtone is the first e-commerce solution designed to meet the needs of tens of thousands of independent print businesses, bringing together world-class e-commerce solutions, a commission based commercial model and a market-defining service proposition to enable tens of thousands of smaller, independently operated print businesses to capitalize on customers' shift to e-procurement.
With InfoTrends, a global strategic consulting firm focused on document technology, predicting that e-commerce will account for 45% of the print market* - up from 14% today - Earthtone is a timely solution to the problems facing smaller print providers looking to exploit the
online document printing opportunity. In contrast to web-to-print solutions - which require upfront investment and ongoing charges and offer questionable returns on investment - Earthtone's commission-based commercial model offers print providers risk-free e-commerce.
Moreover, Earthtone's vendor-neutral business model creates economies of scale, enabling smaller businesses to deploy world-class e-commerce solutions and compete with big brands for market share.
Print shops benefit from a search engine optimized online storefront and a range of features - like integrated shipping, online payment processing and support for over 100 file formats - that extend their reach and help them to attract and retain customers from across the web.
Kourosh Kaghazian, Vice President for Business Development, commented on Earthtone's performance in August and early September: "We're confident that our service meets printers' need for affordable, risk-free e-commerce. We're seeing interest from all quarters, including small and medium sized commercial printers, locally-focused independent print centers, and franchisees from, amongst others, the Sir Speedy, Minuteman and AlphaGraphics networks. Looking forward, we foresee an increase in the rate of registrations in the run up to launch."
With its recently announced partnership with ICED - owner of the Kwik Kopy, Kwik Kopy Business Center, Inkwell and Franklin brands - expected to augment these figures significantly, Earthtone seems set to shake up the online printing landscape when it launches in October.
Notes to editors:
* InfoTrends InfoBriefing, On Demand Printing & Publishing 2008
About Earthtone:
Earthtone creates world-class e-commerce solutions for the print industry. Earthtone's global printing platform connects businesses and individuals to local print providers over the web, delivering secure, convenient and user-friendly online print procurement to buyers. By channeling buyers to the network, Earthtone creates growth opportunities for print providers, who pay nothing to join the network and are charged no ongoing fees.
Earthtone's e-commerce platform is currently in beta with a launch to print buyers expected in October.
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