Deeper integration between Blurb and HP delivers superior print quality and consistency; critical to Blurb’s professional market

Photokina—Cologne, Germany—September 23, 2008 – Blurb, the creative publishing platform that enables anyone to design, publish, share and sell bookstore-quality books, today announced that all four-colour Blurb books will be made using the HP Indigo digital printing press. The Blurb Global Print Partner Network now supports over 60 countries with access to over 80 HP Indigo presses, all with priority service support from the HP Indigo technical team.  Blurb’s printing network is widely viewed as the most comprehensive in the industry, supporting Blurb’s rapid growth.

“HP has been a strategic partner of ours since Blurb was founded, and is a natural fit to support Blurb’s superior quality requirements as we continue to work closely with creative professionals,” said Eileen Gittins, CEO and founder of Blurb. “We have always used the HP Indigo family to print the majority of our books. Moving exclusively to the Indigo platform assures a more strategic partnership between Blurb and HP that will be invaluable to Blurb and to our customers as we continue to scale.”

Many Blurb customers are creative professionals and professional photographers who use Blurb’s creative publishing platform to create professional portfolios, client presentations, or to design and deliver professional-quality books to sell directly to their clients or in the Blurb bookstore. For these professionals, high print quality and consistency directly impact their business.

“As a professional photographer, print quality and consistency are the ante for any company I do business with,” said Jay Graham, a professional photographer who uses Blurb books as part of his business. “I’ve ordered many Blurb books, and continue to be blown away with the results. HP Indigo is considered the world leader in digital colour quality, and the expanded relationship between Blurb and HP is exciting for all professionals who use Blurb books as part of our business.”

Earlier this year Blurb introduced its membership-only B3 program (Blurb Business to Business). A key feature of the program is a premium Custom Workflow option that delivers superior quality; Custom Workflow books are printed exclusively on the HP Indigo family as well.

“HP is thrilled that Blurb and its customers view HP Indigo printing as the standard that meets the needs for critical colour quality and consistency,” said Alon Bar-Shany, vice president and general manager, Indigo division, HP.  “HP is committed to continued growth in the publishing industry as part of our focus on Print 2.0 because of the unique opportunities on-demand and customised printing offers.  It speaks volumes that Blurb, a leader in service and support for authors and publishers, has selected HP Indigo as its exclusive print platform and we will continue to work together to allow users to fully leverage the power of the web.”

To create and publish a Blurb book, all users start by downloading Blurb BookSmart™ software from the Blurb Web site. Blurb’s BookSmart software is free, runs on a Mac or PC, and offers a wide variety of book layouts created by professional book designers. Blurb delivers the permanence and impact of commercial-quality books, with the speed and flexibility of the Internet. Using Blurb, customers enjoy complete creative control, no minimum orders, edit on-the-fly capabilities, mass customisation, and global distribution.