MyPublisher, a New York provider of Photo Books and design software for digital photographers, said it has raised $8.9 million.
There's plenty of new competition for this company, but it is one of the more established players, and says it is profitable.
During the 1990s, it distributed its Photo Book services through retail giants like Wal-Mart, K-Mart and CVS. In early 2000 it phased out its offline distribution, however, and switched to internet-based retail distribution. From 2002 to 2006 it was the exclusive partner and supplier of Photo Books for Apple Computer and Adobe. In 2006, it phased out all these private label partnerships though, and focused on selling directly to consumers online.
Its BookMaker(TM), has been downloaded over 2 million times, it says. Since 2005, MyPublisher has printed more than 120 million photos for consumers.
The round was led by Mousse Partners, and included Jerome York, current board member of Apple, Inc and Tyco International, and Ward W. Woods, former President and CEO of Bessemer Securities. Original investors and board members -- Novestra, W. Thorpe McKenzie, W.B. Avery, and founder Carl Navarre -- also participated.