PrintChannel.com yesterday announced a conversion program targeted at printers that had done business at defunct procurement Web sites.
The program also is targeted at printers that use printChannel competitors such as Collabria.com, Printable.com and Mediaflex.com.
The program changes a customer site from its existing system to the printChannel solution. Printers can switch their customers without any service interruptions, the company said.
The program is being offered at a 25 percent discount on printChannel's standard system set-up fee. The offer also includes five days of e-commerce training and 25 support hours to help customers convert their sites to printChannel. Pricing was not made available.
The online print services industry has been dogged by a poor stock market and rumors that major players are strapped for cash. Most industry sources say not enough print buyers are using the Web to justify vendor models similar to printChannel's.
Oliver Pflug, CEO of printChannel, San Francisco, said there is confusion in the industry. He said printChannel is worried that many print buyers view all print sites as middlemen who raise their prices.
Pflug said that explained why his firm's press release for the conversion plan included the following self-description: “PrintChannel.com does not broker printing and has a policy of not selling to end-user corporations directly.”
