Blurb, Inc.
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Self-Publishing |
| Founded | Incorporated 2005 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, CA, USA |
| Key people | Eileen Gittins, CEO |
| Products | BookSmart®, Blurb Bookify™, Blurb plug-in for Adobe® InDesign®, Blurb Add-in for Microsoft Word®, Blurb book module in Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 4 & 5 |
| Employees | 120 |
| Website | www.blurb.com |
Blurb is a creative self-publishing platform that enables their users to create, self-publish, promote, share, and sell their own print and ebooks. Blurb offers book-making tools catering to diverse digital skills.
Blurb’s book-making tools include BookSmart (a downloadable tool), Bookify (an online tool), and Blurb’s plug-in for Adobe InDesign which allows book makers to design and upload their book’s PDF files from within InDesign itself. Blurb’s add-in for Microsoft Word allows book makers to go from manuscript to book easily. Adobe’s Lightroom 4 & 5 has a built-in Book module that Lightroom users can use to create and upload their books directly to Blurb for printing or for creation in ebook form.
Blurb authors can promote and share their books -including ebooks- using Blurb’s free on-line marketing tools. They can also set their price and sell their books and ebooks in Blurb’s online bookstore. Authors retain 100% of their markup with printed books and 80% of their selling cost with ebooks. Blurb’s print-on-demand technology enables authors to print just as many books are ordered. Blurb offers seven book sizes, hardcover and softcover options, and a range of premium and professional-grade papers and end sheets. Blurb e-books are fixed format, enabling them to retain the same image and text placement when viewed on the Apple iPad® as in the printed book version.
The company was founded in 2005 by Eileen Gittins and funded by Canaan Partners and Anthem Venture Partners. Blurb's headquarters are located in San Francisco, California, though the company adamantly refuses to make any physical or mailing address available to customers.[1] Since its inception, Blurb has delivered more than 6 million books created by more than a half million customers. Blurb’s website is translated into 6 languages and the company ships to more than 70 countries and territories.
Time Magazine named Blurb one of 2006's "50 Coolest Web Sites,"[2] and the service has been featured in the New York Times,[3] Wired News,[4] USA Today,[5] and elsewhere.[6][7][8][9][10]
Awards
- In April 2008, Blurb is nominated for A 2008 Webby Award[11]
- In 2010, Blurb becomes 2010 IMA Award Winner.[12]
- In May 2010, Blurb is named in Lead411's "2010 Hottest San Francisco Companies” list.[13]
- In August 2010, Blurb is announced 2010 AOP Open Award Winner.[14]
- The same month and year, the company makes the Inc 500 as #1 media company.[15]
References
- ↑ DELETED, NAME. "The Naked Debate". The Naked Debate. Wordpress. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ↑ "Web Search and Services". Time. 2006-08-03. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
- ↑ Peter Wayner (July 20, 2006). "Basics; Technology Rewrites the Book". New York Times.
- ↑ "Blurb.com Gets Book Smart". Wired. 2006-08-30.
- ↑ "New tech stuff protects, organizes, amuses". USA Today. 2006-02-08. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
- ↑ Self-publishing made easy online | CNET News.com
- ↑ Blurb Goes Live - 11/17/2006 - Publishers Weekly
- ↑ "Blooks" Are In Bloom
- ↑ My Book, by Me | Fast Company
- ↑ Gittins, Eileen (2006-05-04). ".com Live: Online Book Publishing". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
- ↑ 12TH ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS NOMINEES & WINNERS
- ↑ Blurb’s Killed Ideas: 2010 IMA Award Winner
- ↑ Lead411 launches "Hottest Companies in San Francisco" awards
- ↑ 2010 Open Award Winners are Announced & Exhibition is Launched
- ↑ America's Fastest-Growing Media Company