Tradeprint has signed a deal with Canva, the rapidly expanding online design platform, to enable customers to design and print straightforward products via the Tradeprint portal.
This is the first deal of its kind in the UK and a first for a Cimpress group business. Other group companies are in discussions with the rapidly expanding Australian software business.
Canva started in 2012 producing school year books. It has expanded readily thanks to intuitive tools that enable those with no or limited design skills, to adapt templates to produce flyers, invitations and business cards. There is access to millions of stock photos and fonts even at the basic no subscription level.
Canva will also allow uses to create Instagram pages, Tweets and other social media messaging. It is being used for collaborative design projects, school work included. With work from home becoming normal across the globe, this aspect of the application has helped to drive continued growth during lockdown.
“In recent months we have entered a new normal across the globe, businesses have recognised the need for more collaborative and user friendly business support solutions,” says Aaron Day, Canva global partnerships lead.
The growth rate is making Canva the Uber of online design, with the business raising $60 million in a recent funding round to give the business a valuation on paper of $6 billion. It has 30 million registered users across 190 countries who have built 3 billion designs since 2013.
Once a user subscribes to the Canva platform, further tools, founts, designs and images become available. Day says: “Together with Tradeprint we are simplifying the design to print process and giving businesses across the UK more choice and greater flexibility in how they create and communicate with their customers.”
Customers will use access the Canva design editor though the Tradeprint website to build the products that the Dundee business will print and ship. It is an extension of what Tradeprint already offers rather than a replacement for any of its services.
Managing director Charlene Douglas calls it a “self service solution”, adding: “Over the past 20 years we have been striving to continuously support the businesses across the UK by offering a vast range of products with exceptionally high quality print at affordable prices. Our partnership with Canva is a significant milestone in the evolution of our business and service offering.”
The deal is not the first instance of Canva in the UK. Users have already been able to create designs and have them printed in the UK.
Tradeprint has teamed up with Canva to include the Australian company’s online design tool via the Tradeprint website, to handle design of business cards and simple print products.
