As if finding a real printer weren't tricky enough, finding the right e-printer for your needs is even trickier. They all seem to have different business models, first of all. Second, it's impossible to tell who's who from their Website names. Finally, there's no Internet equivalent of a Yellow Pages directory of e-printers. Harper keeps his list current.
Categorization is key because Web-based print services do different things.
Unfortunately, the burden is still on the buyer to wade through the many e-printers out there to determine which ones best serve his or her needs. Many of the online print shops specialize in stationery items like letterhead and business cards, notepaper, and presentation documents. Individual print shops are developing powerful Websites, partly to service customers better and partly because of competition from e-printers. Many are investing in technology that will let them offer more functionality to customers. For example, some printers offer software for sending digital files to printers, for estimating jobs, for tracking jobs through the production process, for sending digital proofs, and for ordering jobs from inventory online.