Have you ever wanted to make a hundred business cards, need them printed yesterday, sans the hassle of dealing with some Shomolu printer that will bill you for expedited service? I know I have. Except you live in Shomolu, any print job that can’t be done from your office deskjet is often a tedious and expensive undertaking, no matter how small.
That is the problem that Printivo, a new startup that officially launches today wants to solve.
The ones who have used DIY web-to-print platforms like Moo.com will know how this works. You log on to Printivo’s website, upload your design, or choose from hundreds of pre-loaded and customisable templates, select a bunch a print preferences, select payment and delivery method, checkout, and you are done. Printivo executes your order and sends the finished goods to your door within a couple days max.
And it is not just business cards. It is print collateral of different shapes and sizes – letterheads, envolopes, bags, brochures, handbills, promotional items and more. Printivo claims it will disrupt the Nigerian printing industry with modern print technology, a robust do-it-yourself software platform and the reach of the internet.
Printivo’s value proposition is three-fold. First, they remove the expensive middlemen — designers and printers — from the process with the DIY platform. Second, the startup has invested in some pricey digital printing equipment that allows them print exactly what is required, unlike traditional offset printing which requires large volumes to be economical and is often impractical for small jobs. Finally, Printivo delivers on the one thing that customers care about the most – affordability. Not only are their rates insanely competitive, due to all the cost savings that come from printing in exact quantities, they also ship for free, within Lagos.
This is not the first time we are hearing this sort of boast though, about disrupting the offset/offline print industry with the internet. The likes of Duduprintz, Printsharply and Printmagic also said the same, and for one reason or the other, all of them have reverted to pursuing offline dealflow, much like the Shomolu printers themselves. What is to stop the same fate from befalling this latest entrant into the web-to-print arena?
Well, Printivo’s creators are betting that the same boom trend in Nigerian retail ecommerce will also hold true for the online service industry. It has been nearly two years since I first wrote about Duduprintz on TechLoy, perhaps the addressible market has grown since then? Also, Printivo seems to not be addled with the design and QoS problems that dogged its predecessors. Printivo’s vertical integration is near total, from the software that handles the printing workflow to fulfilment for which the startup has acquired its own bikes and dispatch riders.
All of this must be costing somebody money. Indeed, it is. Oluyomi Ojo who runs a thriving advertising and branding agency and co-founded Printivo along with Ayodeji Adeogun and Ibukun Oloyede says the venture is totally bootstrapped and fuelled with personal funds.
Although Printivo’s official launch is today, they have already begun to serve individual and corporate customers. To commemorate their unveiling, Printivo is offering TechCabal readers ten percent off any purchase they make. Visit www.printivo.com/techcabal to grab the discount code. Valid for the first one thousand uses. Enjoy.
