Just image it! company helps retailers put consumer images on laptops, iPods, and more.

Chris Anderson, author of the book "The Long Tail," and father of the economic theory of the same name, says there is at least some demand for just about any product. Companies that can greatly expand their product offerings--without expanding the costs of keeping all that physical inventory on their shelves--often find it a highly successful approach.

With that in mind, many retailers are seeking ways to offer their customers more and more choices--and Image It! Inc., Fontana, Calif. (www.imageitinc.com), is providing a way to do it. Image It! Inc. was born of a parent company called Beyond Manufacturing, which is a maker and distributor of promotional products.

"About two and half years ago, we stumbled on this great four-color imprinting process," says Peter Chin, president and CEO of Image It! Inc. "We played with it quite a bit, and reached the point where we can imprint on all kinds of items. Then we discovered we could affordably do one-offs on all the merchandise we print on.

"We launched Image It! Inc. to take that idea to the photo industry," he continues. "Our products can help make up for the deterioration of 4-by-6 and 5-by-7 printing."

Image It! Inc. prints images on an impressive array of products, such as laptops, cell phones, iPods, accessories/cases, Xbox and Wii consoles, clocks, calculators, backpacks, bibs, and pet ID tags, just to name a few. The company also imprints images on more traditional items, such as mugs, key chains, mousepads--and the mouse, too.

"We stock the merchandise and print from whatever image the customer gives us," Chin says.

The company doesn't sell every product it imprints; some things, like laptops and iPods, must be shipped from the consumer or the retailer to Image It! Inc. for imprinting. Image It! Inc. has a relationship with The UPS Store, which inspects, packs, and ships customers' items to ensure their safety during transit.

Image It! Inc. does all order fulfillment with a staff of about 20 in a 25,000-square-foot facility. Chin says the company uses many different pieces of equipment to print--some they have built themselves--using several techniques and processes. The company sells its one-off imprinted products both directly to consumers and through retailers.

"If the retailer itself has a department or online store that sells products, we can provide them with imprinting, and sometimes additional products. With our retail clients, it's a partnership. They sell the product and we do the manufacturing and logistics. We will ship the completed order back to the store or directly to their customer."

For retailers, there are many benefits to working with Image It! Inc. "We do all the work and keep everything in stock; the retailer doesn't have to tie up money in inventory, labor, or the equipment needed to provide these products," Chin states.

"Beyond that, it gives the retailer a way to make more money without spending a cent," says Chin. "We charge the retailer a wholesale price for an item, and they charge their customers the retail price for that item."

Image It! Inc. also offers marketing materials to retail partners to help them sell imprinted photo products to their customers.

"Lots of the larger chains have their own marketing strategies in place, so they often will use their own materials. But smaller retailers can take advantage of our materials," Chin says. "It helps sell the products when their customers can actually see what they look like and what's possible."

The company has a brand-new website, www.imageitstore.com, to make the ordering process faster and easier.

"When a customer places an order, the retail associate obtains the digital image and uploads it on our site. They key in the store code and choose the item the customer wants. There is a template on the site for each product, so there is no resizing to be done. The salesperson can see the item with the image on it right there on the web page and confirm it's correct before making the purchase. Then they just enter the shipping address, and they're done," Chin explains. "We take it from there."

Image It! Inc. is currently working with Office Max stores, as well as several online retailers and independent photo stores. The imprinted products range in cost from $10 to $200, but most products are around $20.

Chin says demand for services is growing rapidly. "Retailers are jumping on the bandwagon all the time, primarily because of the iPod and cell phone cases," he says. "Those are extremely popular; people love to put their images on them. For retailers, it generates more sales when you can add value like that."

By Jennifer Barr Kruger