Marc Olin is CEO of printCafe. Marc served eight years as President of Prograph Management Systems, a software company he cofounded. Prograph developed the first publisher-to-printer job specification system and co-developed all of the major buyer-to-printer transaction standards. Marc received his B.S. degree from Carnegie Mellon University.

printCafe, Inc. was created two years ago through the combined initiatives of Prograph and CreoScitex, a division of Creo Products, Inc., a world leader in solutions for the graphic arts industry. printCafe solutions are installed in or hosted for over 8000 print buyers and printing facilities worldwide.

Last week, the company announced a major infusion of capital - nearly $40 million. Olin takes time to discuss this funding and provide his perspective on 2001 and the coming year.

Q: Many have beaten up on companies like printCafe this year predicting that financially you would not make it. Then you kick off the New Year with $40 million just after announcing operating profitability. How does it feel?

A: It feels great to know that despite the economy and the challenges facing many other companies, printCafe has maintained the total support of our investors and the commitment of our customers who have been the core of our success. This news should clarify our long-term viability, and ensure that we remain the leading enterprise software provider for the printing industry.

Q: Do you think this funding will take you to sustainable growth and profitability quarter over quarter going forward?

A: As you know, we did achieve our first quarter of operating profitability in Q3 2001 as forecasted earlier in the year. We certainly see this as a start and are confident that we will continue to grow our revenue and profitability as we have every quarter since our inception.

Q: With operating profitability, what will the money be used for - expansion, debt pay off?

A: We are paying off and restructuring all of our outstanding debt, which was left over from the acquisitions that created printCafe. Beyond that, this financing will be used to reinvest in the future of the company – to enhance our existing products and develop new tools to help our Customers grow their businesses.

Q: You pulled your IPO, acquired Impresse's technology, landed many accounts on both sides (printers and large print buyers) and reached a key milestone on your balance sheet. Look back and describe last year for printCafe.

A: Where 2000 was the year for aligning the market leaders in print management and sharing a vision for the integration of the printing industry, 2001 was the implementation year. It was a very important turning point for printCafe. We listened to our customers and responded to their needs. We experienced significant excitement and adoption of our Web-based solutions, delivered new releases for each of our print management systems, and brought to market one of the most exciting new products of the year – PrintFlow. With it we’re bringing optimization capabilities to the thousands of printCafe management systems clients throughout the industry.

We also emerged as the leader in Web-based print procurement for the Fortune 1000 with many significant customer signings in 2001.

Q: Will printCafe focus on what you already have and develop or will there be an aggressive mentality for new business?

A: We’re always focused on our existing customers. Drawing on the success of the last year, in 2002 we will continue our commitment to our customers while expanding their access and our value to the extended print supply chain. To that end, we will roll out several exciting new products, which we've been working on for quite some time now. We'll be releasing our first set of integration modules that connect our Internet products and management systems to Creo's workflow products - providing the realization of Networked Graphic Production. Our PrintSmith Site Internet front end for On Demand printers is being released this month and we've seen a tremendous amount of interest from the market for this as well.

We'll also be making some exciting new enhancements to each of our management systems and, of course, we look forward in getting our customers together at Connect 2002 in Las Vegas in June to share knowledge and to preview of some of these products and releases.

Q: We have reported the changes in many businesses that have web solutions. When people think of printCafe, they still think of web based print management. Isn't the Internet just a compatible feature of the solutions printCafe offers? Has your mindset shifted any in the last year?

A: Our vision has remained steady from the formation of printCafe – we plan to lead the industry with management technology solutions that benefit the entire print supply chain, adding value to all segments of the industry. We have always seen our PrinterSite Web front-end as a seamless extension of our management systems and a platform for expanding a printer's reach and profitability. It’s a marketing, sales, and efficiency tool that allows a printer to be connected more tightly with their customers. It directly links printers with customers, but is also a productivity tool for the sales force to improve the speed and accuracy of communication inside the printer's organization.

Q: There are fewer companies and the ones that are still around appear to be hibernating. Your thoughts on the competitive landscape in print management software.

A: Like many other industries, there has been natural consolidation, and we’re extremely proud to be the survivor. We believe our success is due, in large part, to the fact that we learned to listen to what our customers wanted. Early on, many companies presumed to know what the market would bear, but developed models for which they lacked the critical mass to execute. When we created printCafe back in January 2000, we approached the very best management systems providers in the industry. Each company saw the value we could provide their customers as a single unit, and printCafe was born. We believe – and our customers now confirm – that printCafe has the critical mass of technologies, customers, and expertise to deliver the best solutions for each segment of this industry. And, we have the right people behind our technologies to ensure that our products are implemented, supported, and continue to get better.

Q: What's your view of the economy right now and your expectations for 2002?

A: I can speak specifically to the printing industry, which has, clearly, been through some very tough times over the last six months. However, we are optimistic about the forecasts we’re seeing that the industry will start to experience a recovery in the first half of 2002.

Q: Printers and buyers have survived a very difficult year. For new prospects, how can printCafe "sell in this market” - why should they look at solutions from printCafe right now?

A: Our tools, both the Internet and the management systems software, exist to help the printer improve his knowledge of the business so he can survive the downturns and thrive in a good economy. These last months have been very difficult for many reasons. But economic slowdowns come and go. The printers that will succeed in this slowdown and the recovery that will inevitably follow, are the printers who spend this time preparing for success by getting fit for the future. They do this by putting the management tools in place that are necessary to measure and improve profitability. In tough economic times, it makes sense to focus on what you're best at and where you can make money. By investing today, the printer can ensure a competitive edge that will benefit him for years to come.