Graph Expo 2000--Vendor Coalitions Offer Real Promise

At Graph Expo '99, Impresse and Noosh presented what appeared to be a buyer-centric model with fees to be paid for by printers. The lack of the printing industry endorsement, coupled with the giant amalgamation of many of the leading print MIS suppliers into printCafe, showed just how nimble these dominant e-hubs can be. While printCafe's client base numbered only 7,000, these printers were the dominant revenue generators in North America. With printCafe's spring announcement of its PCX standards interface initiative, PrintTalk was formed in June consisting of 18 e-commerce and MIS competitors, representing 6,000 printers. Its objective was to draft a standards-based and open architecture to assure end-to-end connectivity between e-commerce applications and business management applications for the graphic arts industry.