- Blurb, Inc.
Infobox_Company
company_name = Blurb Inc.
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = Incorporated 2005
location =San Francisco, CA , USA
key_people = Eileen Gittins, CEO
| industry =Publishing
products =BookSmart
num_employees = unknown
homepage = [http://www.blurb.com/ www.blurb.com]
footnotes =Blurb is a company which provides a
print on demand publishing service for the general public. It offers a free downloadable book layout software client,BookSmart , with which potential authors create their books using their own text and images. The completed book layout can then be uploaded to Blurb's web server, after which copies may be ordered for printing and delivery. Blurb also allows authors to sell their books to anyone and retain a mark-up on the printing costs as author profit. AnISBN number can be obtained through any ISBN provider and added to a book for distribution through third party retailers.Blurb prints books in full-color, with hard or soft covers, in four different sizes and formats.
The company was founded in 2004 by Eileen Gittins and funded by [http://www.canaan.com Canaan Partners] and [http://www.anthemvp.com Anthem Venture Partners] . Blurb's headquarters are located in
San Francisco ,California .BookSmart
Blurb's BookSmart software tool is designed to allow users with no experience in publishing layout or graphic design to lay out a professional looking book. It contains multiple templates, into which users can
drag and drop images and text. BookSmart is capable of importing content directly fromblog s, one's computer,Flickr photo sets,iPhoto albums,Picasa web albums, andSmugMug . A major consideration is that material can only be imported, not exported. The only output is paper books purchased from blurb.com and locally printed pages with a watermark superimposed on them indicating they are proofs.BookSmart runs on
Windows 2000 , Vista or XP, and onMac OS X . Blurb released the beta version of BookSmart in May 2006, following a trade premiere at the 2006 [http://www.demo.com DEMO] consumer technology conference in February 2006 [http://business2.blogs.com/business2blog/2006/02/slurping_up_the.html] . Nearly 10,000 individuals signed up to receive BookSmart while the software was still in its beta-testing phase [ [http://www.blurb.com/corporate/060503release Blurb’s Book Publishing Software Democratizes Publishing Industry | Blurb ] ] .In contrast to competing print-on-demand publisher Lulu, Blurb does not provide the capability to upload an arbitrary
PDF file for printing. All books designed for printing with Blurb must be laid out using BookSmart. However, the software providesfull bleed blank page templates which allow bookmakers to add their own page designs, imported as jpgs from any graphic design application.Time Magazine named Blurb one of 2006's "50 Coolest Web Sites," [ [http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1222614,00.html#blurb Web Search and Services - TIME ] ] and the service has been featured in theNew York Times [ [http://www.blurb.com/corporate/060620nytimes New York Times - Technology Rewrites the Book | Blurb ] ] ,Wired News [ [http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,71683-0.html?tw=wn_index_7 Blurb.com Gets Book Smart ] ] ,USA Today [ [http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2006-02-08-demo-conference_x.htm USATODAY.com - New tech stuff protects, organizes, amuses ] ] , and elsewhere [ [http://news.com.com/Self-publishing+made+easy+online/2100-1038_3-6148342.html?tag=nefd.top Self-publishing made easy online | CNET News.com ] ] [ [http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6392152.html Blurb Goes Live - 11/17/2006 - Publishers Weekly ] ] [ [http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2006/tc20060425_299851.htm?campaign_id=search "Blooks" Are In Bloom ] ] [ [http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/105/next-lab-test.html My Book, by Me | Fast Company ] ] [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/05/03/DI2006050301188.html com Live: Online Book Publishing - washingtonpost.com ] ] .ee also
*
Blook External links
* [http://www.blurb.com/ Blurb.com official website]
* [http://www.blurberatiblog.com/ Blurb.com official blog]References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
