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About 4525 days ago E-Commerce

Best of the Web: Casing Cybermarts for Office Furniture

Several Web purveyors specialize in such goods as office desks and computer tables. Fourteen CEOs rate the online dealers As long as people insist on sitting in a chair before they will seriously consider buying it, the Internet is unlikely to become the ultimate destination for furniture shoppers. “There will always be people who want to kick the tires,” says Jeff Quinn, a senior analyst at Gomez, a Lincoln, Mass., consulting company that tracks online markets. That law of human nature is just one reason, according to Quinn, that only a scant 0.7% of the $189 billion in U.S. retail furniture sales today are transacted online. If Aunt Bessie prefers to buy her chintz-covered love seat in the fluorescent glow of a furniture store, fair enough. But what about a small-business owner who’s in the market for some durable office desks? For years many small businesses have ordered their office furniture sight unseen (not counting photos) through catalogs. “As long as there’s a good warranty and the price is right, it’s done,” says Farid Gazor, who three years ago launched a company offering E-commerce software to furniture dealers and manufacturers, reasoning that the Web could make their old-line industry more efficient. In the process of building that business Gazor discovered that companies with 5 to 250 employees were a neglected — and promising — market segment. Compared with large companies, small businesses “were much more ready to adopt a more efficient way of buying furniture,” he says. So in January 1999 Gazor transformed his company into NextOffice, an online office-furniture purveyor in San Francisco that targets small companies. Gazor is hardly alone in pursuing an office-furniture E-commerce niche. Some manufacturers, such as Herman Miller and Knoll, have recently come around to the idea of selling online. Their Web sites, of course, offer only the products they manufacture. In contrast, eclectic sites in the NextOffice mold have sprung up to sell the furniture of many competing brands. (NextOffice, for example, carries the wares of more than 90 manufacturers.) With the dot-coms, furniture typically is delivered from the manufacturer’s warehouse to the customer’s door by trucks that are under contract to the site. The cyberspace merchants also tend to have a lot of furniture-industry experience. Rich Peterson, who cofounded Officefurniture.com, based in Danville, Calif., is a former furniture distributor with 18 years in the field. Another site, OfficebyDesign.com, is the virtual version of a 12-year-old Cleveland office-furniture dealership, TodaysOffice. A third, Office Furniture USA (www.ofusa.com), is a network of 145 furniture stores around the country. The sites’ customers are mostly small businesses with fewer than 200 employees. No customer is too small: the sites say they’re pleased to deal with soloists and home-office workers. The online office-furniture sellers seem to adhere to an unwritten E-commerce pricing dictum: Thou shalt not discount. The prices listed on the sites, several of their owners acknowledged, are similar to what retailers charge. The owners say they aim to compete with brick-and-mortar stores not by cutting prices but by providing such Internet-enhanced features as quick access to a wide variety of products and real-time information on inventory and order status. “Customers have more choices,” Peterson declares flatly. So if you decide that the Internet is a place to hunt for office furniture, where should you look? Inc. asked 14 small-company CEOs to evaluate seven Web sites specializing in online sales of office furniture. Our panelists judged the sites by value and selection as well as other criteria. Although they didn’t go so far as to order any furniture, they did simulate a shopper’s experience, sampling such things as the sites’ customer- service responses. Here’s what the panelists found: www.furniture-online.com What it’s good for: Hardly anything, said three of the four CEOs who evaluated the site. However, the fourth CEO lauded the site’s “broad selection, ease of use, and rapid and thorough customer service.” Don’t waste your time if: You like to browse. One of the site’s weakest points is “its lack of a sitewide navigation system that shows shoppers where they are and where they can go,” one CEO noted. What our CEOs had to say: The reviewers felt the site lacked sophistication. “My two-year-old son could design a better site,” sniped the harshest critic. What you ought to know: Of the seven sites evaluated for this column, this one had the highest restocking charge for returned goods, a fee of 20% to 25% of the purchase price for certain items. “The manufacturers will charge me a restocking fee of 20%, and then I have to eat the freight,” explains Furniture-Online.com CEO Art Fiala. “Some companies won’t take a chair back at all.” www.nextoffice.com What it’s good for: Interactive personal attention. If you fill out a form and send it to the company’s professional space planners, they’ll set up a private site for you with sample layouts for your office. Live chats and E-mail support are also available. “They answered my question promptly and adequately,” noted one CEO. Don’t waste your time if: You prefer plain vanilla to banana splits. The site specializes in high-end goods. “Its furnishings did not interest me at all,” said one no-nonsense reviewer. What our CEOs had to say: High-tech bells and whistles complement images of fancy furniture on this site. Reviewers praised what one called a “standout feature,” a device that changes pictures of items to show them with different wood finishes or fabric colors. What you ought to know: You won’t know how much you’ll owe in delivery charges until you reach the checkout page. www.ofconcepts.com What it’s good for: Smooth navigation from point to point. It was “very easy” to move around the site, one CEO said, lauding in particular “the way it is categorized in the left-hand column for you.” Another judge said he also liked the online-chat feature. Don’t waste your time if: You’re looking for something special. “There wasn’t anything to grab or hold my attention,” said one critic. What our CEOs had to say: Reviewers weren’t exactly raving about the site, but they thought that both navigating and ordering functions were “easy and self-explanatory,” as one of them put it. What you ought to know: The site will help you set up a lease-to-buy agreement with a third-party leasing com- pany, typically for orders of more than $2,500. www.officebydesign.com What it’s good for: Sample office layouts and funky furnishings, such as lime green boomerang-shaped tables, which impressed several panelists. Don’t waste your time if: You need one-on-one attention. The site provides its phone number only obscurely and encourages all inquiries by E-mail. One tester sent an E-mail message and waited 36 hours without a reply. “My expectation is that an acknowledgment of receipt, if not a full answer, should be sent within 24 hours. I was not satisfied,” one judge commented. What our CEOs had to say: Despite poor customer service, the site has much to offer, according to several of the panelists. It was “stylish and colorful with clear links,” noted one CEO. “The shopping cart was easy to use. When I clicked on ‘continue shopping,’ it took me to the subsection I’d been browsing before — a nice touch.” What you ought to know: A “move manager” feature is in the works. The tool will help customers schedule an office move and will send them E-mail reminders. www.officefurniture.com What it’s good for: Reasonable prices and a wide range of products. One reviewer also recommended the site as a sure bet for anyone who wants to become “more knowledgeable about the market offerings.” Don’t waste your time if: You have a slow Internet connection. This site posts a lot of pictures — notably, of several “Virtual 3-D Showrooms” — which is a great way to see the merchandise if speed isn’t an issue. “They should take the Staples approach and show the items as hypertext links that you can click on if you’re interested in the product,” advised one CEO. What our CEOs had to say: This is an outfit on the right track. “This site could go from functional to awesome” if it would allow small-business owners to plug in the shape and dimensions of their offices and get specific advice, one judge said. What you ought to know: The site’s restocking fee is a relatively steep 20%. www.ofusa.com What it’s good for: A 3-D rendering program that allows visitors to view their own offices online with different furnishings. “Interesting, if a bit hard to use,” said one CEO. Don’t waste your time if: You’re a bargain hunter. Although the site touts its “everyday great prices,” a majority of our reviewers suggested its offerings were on the high side. What our CEOs had to say: The reviewers faulted the site for a lack of customer service. “It’s a pretty plain office-furniture site with one slick toy,” said one CEO. What you ought to know: All sales are final. Warranties are handled individually by the 145 brick-and-mortar franchisees. www.shop121.com What it’s good for: Comparison shopping. A shopper can select four desks, and the site displays product information on all of them side by side, giving the details, right down to the dovetail corners. There’s also a powerful search function that can access data covering, among other things, price, style, and manufacturer’s name. Don’t waste your time if: You need instant answers. The company is removing its immediate online help feature because of a lack of use. What our CEOs had to say: Save time to explore, as there’s much that’s worthwhile to see. It’s “a big site,” noted one CEO. “It provides everything you need.” What you ought to know: Before the site could complete an online order, it had to contact a customer by phone for help in handling a complex freight-charge calculation. That extra step was a “major shortcoming,” complained one panelist. The company said it would automate the task online before 2001, although it would welcome follow-up phone calls from customers. The bottom line Most of our reviewers said they were unfazed by the idea of ordering furniture sight unseen. One balked, saying that it’s impossible in online shopping “to feel the texture, an important factor in the decision making.” The panelists generally favored sites that offered the greatest variety of products. The top-scoring sites, Shop121 and OfficebyDesign, received kudos for their large inventories and for offering good prices. The panelists also valued customer service as a top priority. “I have furnished a few offices in the past,” said one CEO. “The only time it really came out right the first time was with one-on-one help.” Other sites rating high for their customer service were NextOffice and Officefurniture.com. Jill Hecht Maxwell is a reporter at Inc. Technology. The savvy entrepreneur’s guide to buying office furniture online Comments Would CEOs go back? What is the site good for? CEOs’ quick take www.furniture-online.com “No.” “Nothing in particular.” “An amateurish generic site that sells bland generic furniture.” www.nextoffice.com “When I have a specific need.” “The space-planning feature seems cool.” “Functional and straightforward, but its furnishings didn’t interest me at all.” www.ofconcepts.com “When I have a specific need.” “Nice flow of information.” “I wish I’d had access to this site when I was buying our conference table.” www.officebydesign.com “Occasionally.” “Courteous and responsive customer service.” “Very hip site, from the look and feel, to the products offered.” www.officefurniture.com “Occasionally.” “I found the ergonomics section helpful.” “Very good selection, and the prices are comparable with those in catalogs I receive.” www.ofusa.com “No.” “Window shopping.” “Very well organized, but if you need help, it’s difficult to find.” www.shop121.com “When I have a specific need.” “Detailed product information.” “A very professional, comprehensive site.” Grades Navigation Inventory Ordering Customer service Reliability Value Average grade www.furniture-online.com B- C+ B- B- A- B- B- www.nextoffice.com B+ C B A- A- B B www.ofconcepts.com B B- B B B B- B www.officebydesign.com A A- A C- A+ A- A- www.officefurniture.com B A- B A- B A- B+ www.ofusa.com B- C B C B+ C+ B- www.shop121.com A A B+ A- A A- A- Our Panelists Ty Austin, chairman, M-Cubed Information Systems Inc.; president and CEO, NetX Information Services Inc. Bill Blount, general manager, Precision Shapes of Virginia Chris Charuhas, CEO, Visibooks Gregory S. Howe, president and CEO, BMS Corp. David L. Jacobs, president, Spyder Active Sports Aaron Kassin, president and CEO, My Contact Lenses Inc. Taketoshi Natsui, president, Disco International Inc. Susan S. Nedell, president, Wyndemere Inc. Beran Peter, CEO, Instruction Set Inc. Robert Rogers, president, the Chesapeake Center Jean D. Sifleet, lawyer and certified public accountant John Spinale, CEO, Bitmo John Webster, CEO, PermitsNow Inc. David Whitman, president, Whitman Global Carpet Care Please e-mail your comments to editors@inc.com.

About 4647 days ago E-Commerce

Start the Presses!

Best of the Web With a little imagination, you can design your company’s printed materials online. Our panel of entrepreneurs road-test the sites offering printing services This may be the digital age, but hard-copy printing expenses still bite deeply into many companies’ budgets. Even dot-coms spend lavishly on paper products — everything from business cards to bumper stickers to bound copies of PowerPoint sales presentations. Lots of CEOs would love to curb those costs without compromising on quality. Not surprisingly, the Web has spawned a whole industry that’s trying to do just that. Inc. asked a panel of CEOs and entrepreneurs to evaluate online printing sites. To narrow the field, we focused on self-service printers — sites where small-business customers can create their own documents and customized products — rather than sites geared to the printing industry, such as those that auction off print jobs or match buyers and sellers. We also excluded many sites specializing in one product, personal greeting-card sites, and a few just-launched, under-construction, or repeatedly inaccessible sites. Finally, we eliminated several sites that sell printing services but outsource the actual work to other companies. (At OfficeMax.com, for instance, print orders are fulfilled by iPrint.com; Sir Speedy sends orders to both NowDocs.com and iPrint.com.) For comparison purposes, though, we did include the site of office superstore Staples, which many small businesses already use. Panelists — all online-printing novices — road-tested the sites by placing orders of less than $50 for custom products: letterhead stationery, business cards, bound reports. Their adventures in self-service Web printing varied widely. Their biggest single complaint: sites that committed the cardinal sin of wasting their time. “When I was ready to buy, the site had completely lost my order and told me my shopping cart was empty,” one panelist groused. Others disliked having to register, download software, or hunt through page after page before placing orders. “The sites need a simple Buy It button,” said one frustrated tester. Several testers said they enjoyed self-service tools that let them experiment with fonts, layouts, colors, graphics, and paper types. Others said they’d rather leave those decisions to the pros at the corner copy shop. “Printing on the Net is hard because you can’t quite get the look of the paper or color on your screen,” one panelist said. Nevertheless, most panelists were pleased, or at least satisfied, with how their orders turned out. However, one CEO — who acknowledged that his business cards were done just as he’d designed them and of decent quality — said he doesn’t expect to transfer his company’s printing business online. “It just isn’t the same as being able to touch and feel the samples, select based on that experience, and then get questions answered, like, What color of ink do you think works best with this paper?” he said. In general, testers said they were most likely to occasionally turn to E-printers for specific small, basic, or repeat jobs, such as reprinting business cards previously designed by a brick-and-mortar printer. One panelist said that although he wouldn’t depend on an online printer for his needs at his fast-growing business, he’d consider it for “volunteer and entrepreneurial things we do at home.” And while some took advantage of special promotions like low introductory prices or other special offers, others questioned the long-term cost benefits of doing all their printing online. “It’s very convenient but about twice the cost of our negotiated printer rate, with turnaround time of 7 to 10 days instead of 2 days,” one panelist said. Another concluded: “Nothing caused me to think that I could get the job done better, faster, or cheaper than the way I do it now.” www.imagex.com What it offers: Business cards, labels, stationery, and promotional products. What it’s good for: Repeat jobs initially handled by other printers; no-frills printing. Don’t waste your time on: ImageX.com’s other printing services, designed for big corporations, print buyers and vendors, and graphic designers. What our panel had to say: Testers felt the small-business center offered a quick, inexpensive solution for basic jobs, but they said it lacked enough choices to customize products. (For instance, at press time customers could choose from only three fonts for business-card printing.) www.inaquest.com What it offers: Business cards, letterhead, and other standard products; forms; gifts and promotional products. What it’s good for: Customized marketing giveaways, like T-shirts and phone cards; graphic-design consultation. Don’t waste your time on: Trying to figure out the site’s odd name, which panelists called meaningless, confusing, and hard to remember. What our panel had to say: Some found inaQuest.com easy to use and appealing. “This site makes me want to buy something with a logo on it — and I don’t even need anything!” one panelist remarked. But another tester called the site “frustrating” and “a waste of time,” with sluggish page loads that slowed down his system. www.iprint.com What it offers: Business cards, letterhead, other standard products, and promotional items. The site also handles fulfillment for other businesses, including OfficeMax, Sir Speedy, and Yahoo. What it’s good for: Broad selection of fonts, colors, layouts, and paper stock; standard-setting design templates. Don’t waste your time on: Looking for upscale promotional products; the site’s limited selection includes low-ticket items like mouse pads, magnets, and pens. What our panel had to say: Perhaps because four-year-old iPrint.com is the Web’s best-known printing brand, testers held the site to particularly high standards. All praised the easy-to-use predesigned templates, but one panelist struggled with the custom layouts: “It took 10 minutes to get the hang of it — and that’s from someone who designs software for a living,” he said. Another severely downgraded iPrint.com for crashing during checkout. www.kinkos.com What it offers: Business cards, letterhead, invitations, and folders. What it’s good for: Custom-designed notepads; resource links to other sites. Don’t waste your time on: Trying to use your own graphics or logos; at test time, the site wouldn’t accept them. What our panel had to say: Panelists liked the predesigned templates. They also liked being able to click to prices from any graphic. But therein also lies the downside. Kinkos.com — a recent collaboration between copy-center king Kinko’s and online printer Liveprint.com — seems relatively expensive. “It was almost three times our negotiated printer rate,” one CEO said. (Full disclosure: Kinkos.com partners include Inc.‘s sister company, Web site inc.com.) www.mimeo.com What it offers: Printing, binding, and delivery of documents such as reports, business plans, and presentations. What it’s good for: Straightforward projects at competitive prices. (Mimeo.com offered a $30 discount to new customers at press time.) Don’t waste your time on: Trying to do highly complex jobs or requesting work needed the same day. What our panel had to say: Some testers called Mimeo.com’s instructions easy to follow and said it produced high-quality documents. But others got frustrated with the required printer-driver software. “Downloading the software was time-consuming, and I wasn’t able to save it all on one disk,” complained one panelist, who ultimately quit without ordering. www.nowdocs.com What it offers: Printing, binding, and delivery of documents. What it’s good for: Same-day delivery in major cities; one- or two-day delivery elsewhere. Don’t waste your time on: Using the site if you don’t know how to upload documents as Zip files. What our panel had to say: NowDocs.com requires no special software, a convenience panelists loved. They also liked being able to preview jobs before printing, to establish corporate accounts, and above all, to get their orders quickly. One tester’s order arrived a day late, but NowDocs.com alerted her in advance about the delay and ultimately provided flawless documents. The sole complaint came from a CEO who had trouble registering, telephoned customer service, waited a couple of minutes on hold, and finally was advised to start over from scratch. “Not an unpleasant experience,” the panelist concluded, “but not really a good use of my time.” www.printomat.com What it offers: Business cards, letterhead, labels, Post-it Notes, rubber stamps, and promotional items. What it’s good for: Easy uploading of graphics. Don’t waste your time on: Using the site if you don’t like methodical, step-by-step instructions. What our panel had to say: Reactions to this site were all over the map. “Excellent layout and server responsiveness, nice presentation, a very efficient site,” one tester reported. “Slow and dull,” another complained. “I felt like I had to fight the site to get what I wanted.” Panelists generally liked the broad product selection and the help and tips available throughout the process. www.staples.com What it offers: Business cards, letterhead, labels, promotional items, and forms. What it’s good for: Easy, large-volume jobs. Don’t waste your time on: Trying for one-stop shopping. Printing jobs, which are handled by third parties, must be transacted separately from other online purchases. What our panel had to say: Users sometimes had trouble finding Staples.com’s Print Center on the company’s jam-packed Web site (from the home page, go to Business Services, then Office Operations). Once there, though, “I found the site to be extremely intuitive in terms of ordering,” said one tester. However, he also said he wouldn’t feel comfortable using the site’s automated quote-requesting service: “I would continue to want an in-person relationship in order to feel sure that our requirements are completely understood.” www.vistaprint.com What it offers: Business cards; letterhead, envelopes, postcards, and other products were in the works at press time. What it’s good for: Business cards designed either from templates or with the VistaStudio tool, which lets users customize and tweak their products. Don’t waste your time on: The offer for 250 “free” business cards, which advertise VistaPrint.com’s business as much as yours. What our panel had to say: All condemned the free-card come-on. “It sounded too good to be true — and, of course, it was!” one tester said. “They take three weeks to be delivered, cost $4.95 for shipping, and carry an ad for the printer on the back.” (Cards printed without the ad are available for an additional fee.) But panelists universally praised the site’s user-friendly approach; one summed it up as “a very intuitive Windows-based application.” Anne Stuart is a senior writer at Inc. Technology. The Savvy Entrepreneur’s Guide to Online Printers COMMENTS Would our CEOs recommend it to others? CEOs’ bottom-line take ImageX.com Mostly no. “I can see this being used by small businesses that need to produce materials quickly and inexpensively.” inaQuest.com Mostly yes. “User-friendly site offering a variety of services that seem high quality and speedy.” iPrint.com Mostly no. “Once you get the hang of the interface, it’s very easy.” Kinkos.com Mostly no. “No ability to use my graphics; limited custom- product selection.” Mimeo.com Possibly, in some cases. “Don’t like downloading software.” “Document received on time; quality is great.” NowDocs.com Mostly yes. “Extremely convenient site.” “Job arrived one day later than promised, but quality was wonderful.” Printomat.com Mostly yes. “If they did away with their registration form and made it easier to navigate, it would be a perfect site.” Staples.com Possibly, in some cases. “Good for volume reproduction of standard documents.” VistaPrint.com Mostly no. “Clearly at a very early stage of development.” “Seems to have promise.” GRADES Ease of navigation Selection Ease of use and ordering Reliability Value Versus traditional printers Final grade ImageX.com B+ B+ B- B+ B C+ B inaQuest.com B+ B B B B B- B iPrint.com A- B C B- C- C+ C+ Kinkos.com A C C+ B- D+ C- C+ Mimeo.com B C+ B B- B+ B- B- NowDocs.com B B B- B B- C B Printomat.com B+ A- B+ A- B C+ B Staples.com B- C+ A B B C+ B- VistaPrint.com B D- B+ C+ C- D C Our Panelists Cynthia D. Abbott, president, SmartNexus Inc. Dennis Aubrey, CEO, Altamira Group Inc. Don Bulens, president and CEO, Trellix Corp. Glen Calder, vice-president, TransMedia Group Connie Dickinson, president, DickinsonGroup LLC Gary Goodrich, CEO, ProPay.com Eric Grossman, CEO, SimplyHealth.com Michael A. Harris, CEO, OnTimeAudit.com Gregory S. Howe, president, BMS Corp. Carmen Hughes, president, Mindshare Communications Ben Johns, CEO, Whereoware David Koretz, president and CEO, BlueTie Inc. Melanie McFaddin, managing director, Trans@ctive Partners Scott T. Newman, president, US Markerboard Robert Prince, CEO and founder, Homes.com William R. Robinson, chief marketing strategist, Relentless Marketing Daniel S. Solomons, president and CEO, Hunter Recruitment Advisors John W. Webster III, CEO, PermitsNow.com Carol J. Wideman, president, Vcom3D Inc. Martin D. Williams, president and CEO, U.S. Marketer.com Please e-mail your comments to editors@inc.com.

About 4647 days ago E-Commerce

Start the Presses!

Best of the Web With a little imagination, you can design your company’s printed materials online. Our panel of entrepreneurs road-test the sites offering printing services This may be the digital age, but hard-copy printing expenses still bite deeply into many companies’ budgets. Even dot-coms spend lavishly on paper products — everything from business cards to bumper stickers to bound copies of PowerPoint sales presentations. Lots of CEOs would love to curb those costs without compromising on quality. Not surprisingly, the Web has spawned a whole industry that’s trying to do just that. Inc. asked a panel of CEOs and entrepreneurs to evaluate online printing sites. To narrow the field, we focused on self-service printers — sites where small-business customers can create their own documents and customized products — rather than sites geared to the printing industry, such as those that auction off print jobs or match buyers and sellers. We also excluded many sites specializing in one product, personal greeting-card sites, and a few just-launched, under-construction, or repeatedly inaccessible sites. Finally, we eliminated several sites that sell printing services but outsource the actual work to other companies. (At OfficeMax.com, for instance, print orders are fulfilled by iPrint.com; Sir Speedy sends orders to both NowDocs.com and iPrint.com.) For comparison purposes, though, we did include the site of office superstore Staples, which many small businesses already use. Panelists — all online-printing novices — road-tested the sites by placing orders of less than $50 for custom products: letterhead stationery, business cards, bound reports. Their adventures in self-service Web printing varied widely. Their biggest single complaint: sites that committed the cardinal sin of wasting their time. “When I was ready to buy, the site had completely lost my order and told me my shopping cart was empty,” one panelist groused. Others disliked having to register, download software, or hunt through page after page before placing orders. “The sites need a simple Buy It button,” said one frustrated tester. Several testers said they enjoyed self-service tools that let them experiment with fonts, layouts, colors, graphics, and paper types. Others said they’d rather leave those decisions to the pros at the corner copy shop. “Printing on the Net is hard because you can’t quite get the look of the paper or color on your screen,” one panelist said. Nevertheless, most panelists were pleased, or at least satisfied, with how their orders turned out. However, one CEO — who acknowledged that his business cards were done just as he’d designed them and of decent quality — said he doesn’t expect to transfer his company’s printing business online. “It just isn’t the same as being able to touch and feel the samples, select based on that experience, and then get questions answered, like, What color of ink do you think works best with this paper?” he said. In general, testers said they were most likely to occasionally turn to E-printers for specific small, basic, or repeat jobs, such as reprinting business cards previously designed by a brick-and-mortar printer. One panelist said that although he wouldn’t depend on an online printer for his needs at his fast-growing business, he’d consider it for “volunteer and entrepreneurial things we do at home.” And while some took advantage of special promotions like low introductory prices or other special offers, others questioned the long-term cost benefits of doing all their printing online. “It’s very convenient but about twice the cost of our negotiated printer rate, with turnaround time of 7 to 10 days instead of 2 days,” one panelist said. Another concluded: “Nothing caused me to think that I could get the job done better, faster, or cheaper than the way I do it now.” www.imagex.com What it offers: Business cards, labels, stationery, and promotional products. What it’s good for: Repeat jobs initially handled by other printers; no-frills printing. Don’t waste your time on: ImageX.com’s other printing services, designed for big corporations, print buyers and vendors, and graphic designers. What our panel had to say: Testers felt the small-business center offered a quick, inexpensive solution for basic jobs, but they said it lacked enough choices to customize products. (For instance, at press time customers could choose from only three fonts for business-card printing.) www.inaquest.com What it offers: Business cards, letterhead, and other standard products; forms; gifts and promotional products. What it’s good for: Customized marketing giveaways, like T-shirts and phone cards; graphic-design consultation. Don’t waste your time on: Trying to figure out the site’s odd name, which panelists called meaningless, confusing, and hard to remember. What our panel had to say: Some found inaQuest.com easy to use and appealing. “This site makes me want to buy something with a logo on it — and I don’t even need anything!” one panelist remarked. But another tester called the site “frustrating” and “a waste of time,” with sluggish page loads that slowed down his system. www.iprint.com What it offers: Business cards, letterhead, other standard products, and promotional items. The site also handles fulfillment for other businesses, including OfficeMax, Sir Speedy, and Yahoo. What it’s good for: Broad selection of fonts, colors, layouts, and paper stock; standard-setting design templates. Don’t waste your time on: Looking for upscale promotional products; the site’s limited selection includes low-ticket items like mouse pads, magnets, and pens. What our panel had to say: Perhaps because four-year-old iPrint.com is the Web’s best-known printing brand, testers held the site to particularly high standards. All praised the easy-to-use predesigned templates, but one panelist struggled with the custom layouts: “It took 10 minutes to get the hang of it — and that’s from someone who designs software for a living,” he said. Another severely downgraded iPrint.com for crashing during checkout. www.kinkos.com What it offers: Business cards, letterhead, invitations, and folders. What it’s good for: Custom-designed notepads; resource links to other sites. Don’t waste your time on: Trying to use your own graphics or logos; at test time, the site wouldn’t accept them. What our panel had to say: Panelists liked the predesigned templates. They also liked being able to click to prices from any graphic. But therein also lies the downside. Kinkos.com — a recent collaboration between copy-center king Kinko’s and online printer Liveprint.com — seems relatively expensive. “It was almost three times our negotiated printer rate,” one CEO said. (Full disclosure: Kinkos.com partners include Inc.‘s sister company, Web site inc.com.) www.mimeo.com What it offers: Printing, binding, and delivery of documents such as reports, business plans, and presentations. What it’s good for: Straightforward projects at competitive prices. (Mimeo.com offered a $30 discount to new customers at press time.) Don’t waste your time on: Trying to do highly complex jobs or requesting work needed the same day. What our panel had to say: Some testers called Mimeo.com’s instructions easy to follow and said it produced high-quality documents. But others got frustrated with the required printer-driver software. “Downloading the software was time-consuming, and I wasn’t able to save it all on one disk,” complained one panelist, who ultimately quit without ordering. www.nowdocs.com What it offers: Printing, binding, and delivery of documents. What it’s good for: Same-day delivery in major cities; one- or two-day delivery elsewhere. Don’t waste your time on: Using the site if you don’t know how to upload documents as Zip files. What our panel had to say: NowDocs.com requires no special software, a convenience panelists loved. They also liked being able to preview jobs before printing, to establish corporate accounts, and above all, to get their orders quickly. One tester’s order arrived a day late, but NowDocs.com alerted her in advance about the delay and ultimately provided flawless documents. The sole complaint came from a CEO who had trouble registering, telephoned customer service, waited a couple of minutes on hold, and finally was advised to start over from scratch. “Not an unpleasant experience,” the panelist concluded, “but not really a good use of my time.” www.printomat.com What it offers: Business cards, letterhead, labels, Post-it Notes, rubber stamps, and promotional items. What it’s good for: Easy uploading of graphics. Don’t waste your time on: Using the site if you don’t like methodical, step-by-step instructions. What our panel had to say: Reactions to this site were all over the map. “Excellent layout and server responsiveness, nice presentation, a very efficient site,” one tester reported. “Slow and dull,” another complained. “I felt like I had to fight the site to get what I wanted.” Panelists generally liked the broad product selection and the help and tips available throughout the process. www.staples.com What it offers: Business cards, letterhead, labels, promotional items, and forms. What it’s good for: Easy, large-volume jobs. Don’t waste your time on: Trying for one-stop shopping. Printing jobs, which are handled by third parties, must be transacted separately from other online purchases. What our panel had to say: Users sometimes had trouble finding Staples.com’s Print Center on the company’s jam-packed Web site (from the home page, go to Business Services, then Office Operations). Once there, though, “I found the site to be extremely intuitive in terms of ordering,” said one tester. However, he also said he wouldn’t feel comfortable using the site’s automated quote-requesting service: “I would continue to want an in-person relationship in order to feel sure that our requirements are completely understood.” www.vistaprint.com What it offers: Business cards; letterhead, envelopes, postcards, and other products were in the works at press time. What it’s good for: Business cards designed either from templates or with the VistaStudio tool, which lets users customize and tweak their products. Don’t waste your time on: The offer for 250 “free” business cards, which advertise VistaPrint.com’s business as much as yours. What our panel had to say: All condemned the free-card come-on. “It sounded too good to be true — and, of course, it was!” one tester said. “They take three weeks to be delivered, cost $4.95 for shipping, and carry an ad for the printer on the back.” (Cards printed without the ad are available for an additional fee.) But panelists universally praised the site’s user-friendly approach; one summed it up as “a very intuitive Windows-based application.” Anne Stuart is a senior writer at Inc. Technology. The Savvy Entrepreneur’s Guide to Online Printers COMMENTS Would our CEOs recommend it to others? CEOs’ bottom-line take ImageX.com Mostly no. “I can see this being used by small businesses that need to produce materials quickly and inexpensively.” inaQuest.com Mostly yes. “User-friendly site offering a variety of services that seem high quality and speedy.” iPrint.com Mostly no. “Once you get the hang of the interface, it’s very easy.” Kinkos.com Mostly no. “No ability to use my graphics; limited custom- product selection.” Mimeo.com Possibly, in some cases. “Don’t like downloading software.” “Document received on time; quality is great.” NowDocs.com Mostly yes. “Extremely convenient site.” “Job arrived one day later than promised, but quality was wonderful.” Printomat.com Mostly yes. “If they did away with their registration form and made it easier to navigate, it would be a perfect site.” Staples.com Possibly, in some cases. “Good for volume reproduction of standard documents.” VistaPrint.com Mostly no. “Clearly at a very early stage of development.” “Seems to have promise.” GRADES Ease of navigation Selection Ease of use and ordering Reliability Value Versus traditional printers Final grade ImageX.com B+ B+ B- B+ B C+ B inaQuest.com B+ B B B B B- B iPrint.com A- B C B- C- C+ C+ Kinkos.com A C C+ B- D+ C- C+ Mimeo.com B C+ B B- B+ B- B- NowDocs.com B B B- B B- C B Printomat.com B+ A- B+ A- B C+ B Staples.com B- C+ A B B C+ B- VistaPrint.com B D- B+ C+ C- D C Our Panelists Cynthia D. Abbott, president, SmartNexus Inc. Dennis Aubrey, CEO, Altamira Group Inc. Don Bulens, president and CEO, Trellix Corp. Glen Calder, vice-president, TransMedia Group Connie Dickinson, president, DickinsonGroup LLC Gary Goodrich, CEO, ProPay.com Eric Grossman, CEO, SimplyHealth.com Michael A. Harris, CEO, OnTimeAudit.com Gregory S. Howe, president, BMS Corp. Carmen Hughes, president, Mindshare Communications Ben Johns, CEO, Whereoware David Koretz, president and CEO, BlueTie Inc. Melanie McFaddin, managing director, Trans@ctive Partners Scott T. Newman, president, US Markerboard Robert Prince, CEO and founder, Homes.com William R. Robinson, chief marketing strategist, Relentless Marketing Daniel S. Solomons, president and CEO, Hunter Recruitment Advisors John W. Webster III, CEO, PermitsNow.com Carol J. Wideman, president, Vcom3D Inc. Martin D. Williams, president and CEO, U.S. Marketer.com Please e-mail your comments to editors@inc.com.