Picaboo
 | |
| Industry | Photography products, Printing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founders | Howard Field and Kevin McCurdy |
| Headquarters | Hanover, New Hampshire |
| Products | Photo sharing, Photo products |
| Website | picaboo |
Picaboo is a web-based image self-publishing and printing service based in Hanover, New Hampshire. Customers can upload their digital photos through Picaboo's in-browser application and create a variety of personalized photo products.[1]
History
[edit]Picaboo was founded in 2002 in Palo Alto, California by Babson College classmates, Howard Field and Kevin McCurdy.[2][3] Series-A funding was secured from Kleiner Perkins and Softbank.[4] The first version of its photo editor was launched in 2005.[4] Originally available as a downloadable desktop application, Picaboo has since retired its desktop application for an exclusively browser-based flash application. In 2015 the company relocated its headquarters to Hanover, New Hampshire[5] and is currently based in Boise, ID.[6]
Products
[edit]Picaboo’s software allows users to customize and order photo books and a variety of other products like canvas prints, posters, calendars, greeting cards, etc.[7] Picaboo customers can personalize their products by adding photos and captions.[8] The software allows the user to customize various features, including backgrounds and pre set templates and layouts.[9] The finishing of the cover can also be customized using different materials like cardboard, padded leather or linen.[10] Additionally the customer can choose to include die cuts or engrave the title with gold stamping.[11]
In September 2012, the company launched "Picaboo Yearbooks", a web application for creating yearbooks and managing yearbook sales via an online storefront.[12][5] The yearbook division was acquired by Vidigami in July 2017.[13]
In September 2019, RPI announced its acquisition of Picaboo for an undisclosed amount.[14]
Reviews
[edit]In December 2012, The Wall Street Journal, despite mentioning that Picaboo's tool lacked tips or suggestions for new users, rated it the top photo book creator in terms of finished product quality in comparison to three other photo-book services.[15][12] According to a 2017 review by Tom's Guide, the strong points of Picaboo are the easy-to-use interface and the extensive search engine for clip art, and on the negative side, a lower than expected quality of the printed pictures and fonts.[16] PC Magazine praised the quality of the printed photo-book.[17] In a December 2018 review, PC World found the quality of the book to be good, but criticized the lack of gift packaging options and inconsistency in photo reproduction when source pictures had lower resolution.[18]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "Company Overview of Picaboo Corporation". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on May 31, 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
- ^ Wayner, Peter (20 July 2006). "Technology Rewrites the Book". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ "Executive Profile: Kevin B. McCurdy". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
- ^ a b Arrington, Michael (November 2005). "Tag Camp Photo Album with Picaboo". TechCrunch. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
- ^ a b Lippman, John (20 September 2015). "Picaboo, I See a New ... Yearbook". Valley News. Archived from the original on 2016-06-21. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ "RPI acquires ColorCentric, Picaboo.com, and prInternet™ businesses from SoftPrint Holdings, expanding its product offerings and increasing its geographic footprint". www.nbc29.com. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
- ^ Masters, Carolyn (15 January 2016). The Heart of Your Move: The Woman's Relocation Guide to Easing the Stress, Comforting the Soul, and Listening to Her Heart. Wheatmark, Inc. p. 109. ISBN 9781604949254.
- ^ Young, Allison (23 December 2010). "Top 10 Romantic Christmas Gifts". Fox News. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ Myers, Debbie Rose (20 September 2013). The Graphic Designer's Guide to Portfolio Design. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118716519.
- ^ Wayner, Peter (17 April 2008). "Turn Those Bytes Into Books". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ Vogt, Petra (25 May 2012). Create Your Own Photo Book: Design a Stunning Portfolio, Make a Bookstore-Quality Book. Rocky Nook, Inc. ISBN 9781457166617.
- ^ a b Rajala, Liisa (2 October 2015). "Book smart". New Hampshire Business Review. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ "Bottom Line: That Little Spot of Red going dark in Hanover". Valley News. 25 August 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
- ^ "RPI Acquires SoftPrint Holdings' Business Units". Printing Impressions. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
- ^ Dizik, Alina (Jan 9, 2013). "Pages of Memories Done in Less Than an Hour". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
- ^ Wiener Grotta, Sally (21 July 2017). "Best Photo Cards 2017". Tom's Guide. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ^ Fasig, Nicole (27 July 2017). "Hands-On with Picaboo: Creating Photo Books". PC Magazine. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ^ "Picaboo photo book review: Decent overall, but photo reproduction is inconsistent". PC World. 13 December 2018.
