Managing director John Weichard said it wasn't until 26 June that the website became advanced enough for the new online print buying venture to start actively promoting itself.

However, he added that PeoplePrint had been processing orders since at least March, with quotes ranging from $50 to $10,000. The service was originally scheduled to launch in late 2012.

"We've only really started putting our toe in the water, but there's work going through and lots of enquiries and quotes and we're busily building products as quickly as we can," he told ProPrint.

[Related: Local firms join global print 'search engine']

Weichard said the delays had been caused by the complexity of building an online marketplace. He wouldn't disclose how many printers had signed up with the website, although he told ProPrint in December that PeoplePrint had 260 registrations.

He said the focus was now on recruiting print buyers rather than producers. "The last thing we want to do is have a million printers on board and have them all starving."

Weichard said he was more confident than ever that PeoplePrint would sell "a mountain of print". The business has expanded to 11 staff, three of whom started on 1 July, and is looking to hire another employee, he added.

Weichard said PeoplePrint wasn't a print broking service but a more efficient marketplace in which to buy and sell print.

"The normal way of selling print is to quote many and sell once, but on PeoplePrint they quote once and sell many," he said.

"What we're focused on is taking the cost out of the job. The prices on PeoplePrint are terrific, because there is a whole lot of excess in a normal print job that has been removed."

[LinkedIn: How important is web-to-print?]

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