A new online marketplace serving buyers and sellers in the print industry has been launched by Printori gin.com. The concept has been devised by a consortium comprising Dublin-based software company, SoftCo, Mr Michael Kearney and Mr Ed Murphy, who operate the Snap Printing franchise in Ireland and Britain, and a number of private equity investors organised by Davy Stockbrokers.

The site has been set up at an initial cost of £1 million, which is expected to fund it for the first three months. It plans to raise further financing of around £10 million within 12 months.

Printorigin.com will feature the services of leading industry supply partners, providing access to more than 1,500 print centres in more than 30 countries. These include the US-based Sir Speedy, PIP Printing and the European-based Multicopy.

The site will operate as a virtual trading platform, allowing buyers and suppliers of print and print-related products to make contact over the Internet, buy and sell goods and services, manage relationships, automate processes and, ultimately, save money. The company said it had generated considerable industry interest and expected to sign up other suppliers in a range of geographical markets shortly. The site features software designed by Softco, which will allow participant buyers and sellers to outsource their e-commerce technology requirements.

They will now be able to rent ebusiness and print-related software through the site on a monthly basis.

Based on levels of investment to date, Davy Stockbrokers has estimated the initial valuation of Printorigin.com to be around £15 million.