nytimes.com — When Jim Clark started Shutterfly, the online photo printing service, in December 1999, a 2-megapixel digital camera could set you back $800, investor enthusiasm for e-commerce was soaring and the words ?Internet? and ?bust? were rarely used in the same sentence.
Oct 30, 2006 View in Crawl 4
dhuckOct 30, 2006
same article (i think) with no sign-in required<a class="user" href="http://news.com.com/A+dot-com+survivors+long+road/2100-1038_3-6130507.html">http://news.com.com/A+dot-com+survivors+long+road/2100-1038_3-6130507.html</a>
samadamOct 30, 2006
"the words “Internet” and “bust” were rarely used in the same sentence."There wasn't any porn back then?
riverside71Oct 30, 2006
Shutterfly isn't 'another' website.. it's results are arguably THE best among all the online printing sites and crappy Walmart/Kinkos quality prints don't even begin to compare with it. There are better sites out there like mpix etc but they cost more too. Online printing costs are really low compared to the hassle of printing things yourself.. getting everything color corrected and what not.I'd trust the professional Frontier/Noritsu prints to the ones done at home with inkjets/dye subs anyday.
graemeeOct 30, 2006
Yes, but IIRC they were called titties, not tit's up.
bobodanteOct 30, 2006
I've used Shutterfly for a while as a photo fulfillment service in my photography business, and I've found it excellent. The web tools are super easy, the integration with iPhoto on the Mac side is wicked, and it makes online photo sales incredibly easy. Also, the difference in print quality between Shutterfly and, say, Wal-Mart is leaps and bounds better. I've got gallery quality large format prints from Shutterfly I'm proud to have sold. Interesting article, though; I didn't know any of the company's back story, because they've simply worked for my needs and I never had cause to worry.Also, thanks for the direct link, as well.
rinesmithOct 30, 2006
I also agree that Shutterfly is GREAT. It's one of the few services (and perhaps the only service) that will automatically include and print the date the photo was taken on the back of the photograph. To me that's worth a premium when you want to sort your photos and then put them in an album in chronological order.