We thought it might be useful to document the process of starting an online business from scratch.
Jim Coudal and Steve Delahoyde will periodically post here about issues involving our
product and business plan. Hopefully things will go well but even if the whole thing goes down in flames,
it’ll probably be interesting to watch.
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A Revolution, On Paper
It took us almost six months to get it just exactly right but we're happy to report that all Jewelboxing orders are now shipping with our new custom-milled and custom-coated paper. It performs incredibly well. Engineered to our specifications, it's a super-bright, 12mil 80# photo-matte stock that is coated on two sides and is optimized specifically for consumer-grade inkjet printers. Ink-spread is really minimal, allowing much greater detail than our previous paper and the richness of the color reproduction compares favorably with hi-gloss, super-premium photo paper.
It is virtually impossible to have a super glossy paper manufactured that is coated on both sides. More importantly, the photo finish tends to crack when folded. Both our insert-books and tray-liners are scored and need to be folded precisely for a perfectly-fitted final look. Our new paper provides photo quality reproduction while working within the requirements of the Jewelboxing assembly guidelines. Plus, the cases are beautiful and glossy-looking all by themselves.
As for the new paper working with laser-printers, our official policy is that it works best for ink-jet and conventional sheet-fed printing but we’ve tested it on a number of lasers with great results (except that some lasers are picky about how heavy a paper stock they can take). The heat’s not that big a deal but if you were doing hundred and hundreds of prints you might get some dusting from the coating that could concievably muck up the fuser. We haven’t seen that in tests, but we suppose it could happen.
Anyhow, the production of this paper represents a major investment for us and a major improvement for our customers. For the first time, we've had to increase the prices of our kits slightly but we promise, you won't be disappointed with the increase in quality. If you're a current customer and would like to purchase a PaperPack to try out with the kit you have on hand, and we'll send you a link and a 'friends and family' discount too.
Things are looking brighter in Mount Laurel, Lindsay, LA, Denton, Mexico City, Monte Estoril, Grand Rapids, San Rafael, Torrance, Boston, Austin, San Francisco, Kettering and Carbondale.
February 22, 2005 09:01 AM