Polaroid and iPrint Technologies Launch Online Photo Gift Shop
Press release from the issuing company
MENLO PARK, Calif.-June 21, 2001-- iPrint Technologies, inc., the leading online printing technology and infrastructure provider, and Polaroid Corporation today announced an agreement in which iPrint will provide a photo gift fulfillment service for visitors to the Polaroid i-Zone Web site, i-zone.com. The site is an online photo community for teens that integrates pictures into favorite activities such as e-mail and chat.
iPrint will create, host and maintain a private label Photo Gift Shop on i-zone.com, allowing visitors to easily integrate their i-Zone photos onto a variety of printed products such as t-shirts, mouse pads, mugs and Post-It Note Cubes. Teens can further customize items with text, graphics and ink colors, then place their orders in a few easy steps. Using proprietary technology and an extensive network of backend fulfillment partners, iPrint will process and produce each photo gift, and provide all customer service and billing services.
"Our relationship with iPrint will significantly expand our product offerings on i-zone.com while giving teens new ways to have fun with their photos on the site,'' said Jim Schmidt, Director of New Business Development, Polaroid Corporation. "Printed photo gifts will make a strong addition to the apparel and photo accessories we already showcase on i-zone.com.''
Using proprietary technology from Polaroid, i-zone.com invites visitors into the world of "photoplay,'' a concept that focuses more on the social interaction of the picture-sharing process than the picture itself. The site is designed to capture the attention and imagination of teens, providing a universal meeting place where they can share new and creative uses for their Polaroid i-Zone photos. The Web site currently has an average session time of more than 30 minutes.
"Our agreement with Polaroid extends our private labeled services in the photo industry,'' said Nickoletta Swank, Senior Vice President of Strategic Relationships for iPrint. "We're also excited to offer our photo gift fulfillment services specifically to teenagers -- a large and increasingly lucrative market segment on the Internet.''
The i-Zone Photo Gift Shop, which will initially offer 15 gift products, is expected to launch in June, 2001. Gift offerings and features are expected to expand in the months following the site launch.
In addition to creating and hosting private-label Web sites for companies, iPrint also integrates its technology into corporate enterprise e-procurement systems, facilitating the online procurement of custom-printed stationery items, brochures, promotional and apparel items, and direct mail and fulfillment services. Printing and fulfillment are completed through iPrint's extensive network of commercial printing partners or via existing vendor relationships.