Internet Service Providers--Expanding Your Reach

"Many vendors have created special niches of capabilities and it's very difficult for a print buyer to ascertain where those printers are in relation to the buyer," he notes.

Once a printer has been profiled in the system, a buyer can then search the site for a list of printers whose capabilities best fit the needs of their project. "You can search for something as specific as four-color printers in the San Francisco area that offer computer-to-plate, can take a Quark file and can offer an in-house bindery," claims Robin Michalisko, PrintBid's marketing director.