Self-publishing service provider Lulu has acquired the PrintOnDemand.com business. The web site was owned by Chuck Surprise and offered weekly news updates about digital printing and a directory of digital print services providers. Currently the site does not offer either of these services. Lulu is using the site as a way to promote its printing services. Mr. Surprise was unavailable for comment.
According to a page posted on the site recently, the "acquisition provides Lulu with an increased ability to reach out to both content creators and the digital printing community to create a centralized information portal to both educate and discuss the advancements in the industry that are revolutionizing the publishing industry."Visitors to the new PrintOnDemand.com will notice that the site has been transformed from a digital printing news and information portal to an electronic marketplace for ordering business communications products.
The new Print On Demand service from Lulu provides products similar to what VistaPrint, PrintingForLess.com, PsPrint, and others offer. Unlike the others, Lulu does not own any of its own production equipment. Product manufacturing is outsourced to ColorCentic in Rochester, NY.
Update Oct. 25 Below is an email sent by Chuck Surprise after we posted this story. The email was sent to subscribers of POD.com:New Name, New URL for PrintOnDemand.com Newsletter DigitalPrint360.com (coming soon) and FindADigitalPrinter.com replacing former PrintOnDemand.com
The PrintOnDemand.com URL was sold to Lulu.com and is now devoted to advertising that company's business. We originally believed that the new owner would continue to provide general news of the digital printing industry, but that is not the case. The rebuilt website, launched October 25, 2007, carries no outside news or advertising.
DigitalPrint360.com...Coming Soon The new DigitalPrint360.com website and newsletter, replacing the former PrintOnDemand.com website, is scheduled to launch in early November.
DigitalPrint360.com will continue the editorial policies and coverage of the popular PrintOnDemand.com website which drew more than 2,000 viewers per day. We anticipate the new site will quickly build to similar traffic numbers.
FindADigitalPrint.com...Here Now The new advertising portion of the old POD.com, www.FindADigitalPrinter.com, is up and running.
All of the advertising from the old site is online. Advertisers will be contacted separately with news of their options for displaying their messages to digital print buyers.
We appreciate the support of our 7,200 newsletter subscribers and pledge that we will continue to keep you informed about the latest developments in the world of digital print.
Discussion
By Bob Delaurier on Oct 25, 2007
I have enjoyed being a member of PrintOnDemand.com and have gained several new customers through their referrals. Now that this site is self serving I can see that this has come to an end. Obviously what has really happened here is that the buzz words of "PrintOnDemand is what Amazon was really after. I wonder if I will be getting a refund for my membership fee???
By David Watson on Oct 25, 2007
Print On Demand. com will be missed. It performed a very useful information service in the digital transformation of our industry. I hope Chuck is ok and hopefully he is not caught up in the many fires around San Diego.
Chuck was always a visionary about our business. I remember serving with him on the Board of Directors of the TIA (Typesetting Industry Association) in the 1980s. I learned alot from him about where the industry was heading. Frank should do a piece on the impact old typesetters (people not machines) have had on the development of the industry.
I guess it also shows the effect of the concentration of industry information sources under the WTT banner is having on other sources. PrintWriter is gone and now Print On Demand. Media concentration seems to happen in all sectors. WTT should make an arrangement to keep the old content of Print On Demand active as an archive reference.
David Watson
By Slava Apel on Oct 25, 2007
Contgratulatioins to Lulu. Good thinking. With Amazon being able to print their own books now, Lulu had to look elsewhere. The domain name is worth a lot of money in the long term, cornering not only the current reader market but the whole onDemand industry. This reminds me of when Printing.com domain got sold – another great domain acquisition move.
By David Lewis on Nov 07, 2007
Print on Demand certainly blurs the division between B2C and B2B. Like Lulu we see this as the path of the future. Online design and layout for scrapbooking or brochures is not that much different and more companies see the benefits of quick turn-around highly customized marketing materials.
By Jerry Mueller on Dec 07, 2007
Lot of pioneers have made comments here.
Chuck has always been out there helping lead the way to the promised land. The Central Graphics name is still synomous with leading edge.
Hope all is well with all of you.
Discussion
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