FEDEX's NEW PRINTING SITE TAKES ON DELL & HP

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Date: Monday February 15, 2010 10:02:30 am
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    http://www.thestreet.com/story/10676013/1/fedexs-new-printing-site-takes-on-dell-h-p.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN
    FEDEX’s NEW PRINTING SITE TAKES ON
    DELL & HP

    MEMPHIS FEB 2010 :Get
    ready for the FedEx guy to also become your online small-business
    imaging guy. Late last year,shipping powerhouse FedEx upgraded its
    small-business Web site, FedEx Office, with a new spiffy look, ambitious
    new printing features and online file storage. The move puts the
    shipping specialist in competion with Hewlett-Packard’s Creative Studio,
    Dell’s ImageDirect, VistaPrint’sonline collateral services and custom
    printing tools from Moo.FedEx has been expanding its online products to
    target small businesses trying to cut costs in a weak economy. About 25%
    of the company’s printing sales originated online during the previous
    year, says FedEx spokeswoman Jenny Robertson.

    I recently tested
    the new site. Here’s what I found:
    What you get: The new FedEx Office
    offers a solid digital pipeline to manage your small business’s
    marketing materials.The company has worked hard to make its upgraded
    site easy to use. Simply surf over and pick one of its six templates to
    design, from presentations to brochures.I uploaded my test PowerPoint
    deck. The service allowed me to tinker with image and printing options,
    including paper stock, bindings and colors. When finished, I could pick
    up my project at a local FedEx office or have it shipped. There are even
    couriers available for rush jobs.

    Basic presentation packages
    start at 55 cents a page. More complex, full-color products with
    bindings and swanky paper cost about $8. FedEx stores files smaller than
    100 megabytes for up to six months after every order is placed. All in
    all, FedEx Office Online offers a worthwhile shipping option for
    stressed-out entrepreneurs.What you don’t get: FedEx office isn’t the
    cheapest solution, nor is it the most flexible.This is FedEx. You are
    going to pay. The cost of my test presentation reached $17. And even
    basic packages ran about 8 cents a page.

    The online controls,
    while slick, are basic at best. Give H-P’s Creative Studio or Moo a try
    to see just what’s possible with online printing. On a job of any scale,
    be sure to bid carefully to get the price and features you need. There
    are cheaper and more robust online imaging options available.Bottom
    line: Despite the cost, I was impressed. FedEx Office Online is aimed at
    mid-market small businesses, and successfully so.For road warriors
    wandering the land with sales presentations, posting important files on
    FedEx Office makes sense. Not only do you always have them, but how cool
    is it to have your pitch automatically show up at the client’s desk
    before even you even get there.

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