Cloudprinter is changing gear. The Dutch printing platform, founded in 2016 and until now backed by a network of 380 partner printers in 104 countries, has announced the opening of additional production sites in the USA and Europe, including France.
With this dedicated physical infrastructure, complementing its global network, Cloudprinter.com intends to meet the extreme delivery times of the modern print business. "This expansion aims to guarantee absolute proximity (shipping zone 1) , removing the 'distance tax': unnecessary shipping costs and delivery delays that currently stunt the growth of everyone from independent designers to international brands."
Across the Atlantic, Cloudprinter plans to have 18 sites operational by mid-2027. The group mentions a presence in most strategic states, without specifying which ones.
In Europe, the printing services group lists five markets as priority targets: the UK, Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands, to guarantee complete continental coverage. Here again, exact locations are not detailed.
Details on the nature of the workshops, their capacities, the printing processes involved and the exact boundaries between manufacturing, personalization, picking and shipping are also very limited.
Cloudprinter offers more than 50,000 print-on-demand references, beyond the classic printed products, with ranges including textiles, homewares, containers and accessories. This wide range of products also raises the question of industrial trade-offs between integrated manufacturing and subcontracting, which the group is not documenting at this stage.
For Cloudprinter, the pressure of lead times driven by social commerce (TikTok Shop, in particular) and by the delivery standards of e-commerce players such as Amazon requires online retailers to be extremely responsive.
"We bring the factory closer to the customer", sums up CEO Martijn Eier. "By launching our own specialized print fulfillment centers, we are providing the physical infrastructure needed to guarantee our âeuro customers â?" from independent designers to international âeuro companies â?" ultra-fast delivery."
He adds: "The instant economy doesn't stop with the delivery of a package. Whether it's a viral trend on TikTok or a fast-growing Amazon seller, the winner is whoever is closest to the customer."
It remains to be seen whether this deployment, as yet poorly documented, marks a real operational shift, or whether it's just a publicity stunt designed to bolster future fund-raising in a particularly competitive print-on-demand market.
