What theprintspace does

theprintspace is a London-based fine art and photographic printing company founded in 2007 that operates as a unified platform-plus-services business serving individual artists, professional photographers, galleries, and online art sellers. Its core product set consists of Giclée fine art prints on textured papers such as Hahnemühle, and C-Type photographic prints on Fuji Crystal Archive, supplemented by archival mounting across multiple substrates and handmade framing. The business runs its own production centres in London, Düsseldorf, and Brooklyn, enabling tariff-free deliveries to the UK, EU, and US markets under a single precision colour management standard. All operations are end-to-end carbon neutral, audited by Carbon Footprint Ltd and offset through Gold Standard renewable energy projects.

Revenue is generated across multiple streams: unit-priced direct print sales via the self-serve Creative Hub platform, print-on-demand dropshipping charged at standard print costs plus a 20% markup, white-label REST API fulfilment for integrators (with webhooks for dispatch and tracking), subscription storage tiers in Creative Hub, mounting and framing add-ons, and a deliberately limited-roster marketing agency that applies behavioural-science tactics to accelerate artist online sales. Distribution combines a self-serve web platform, six e-commerce store integrations including Shopify, a public API for enterprise art platforms such as Juxtapoz Magazine, and same-day collection from the London studio. Go-to-market is hybrid: product-led growth via Creative Hub, API-first for professional integrators, and a selective enterprise-style field sales motion through the marketing agency. The company is privately held under Printspace Studios Limited, led by CEO Stuart Waplington, with no disclosed external institutional ownership beyond a 2019 FSE Group investment of approximately £1.59M.

Name

theprintspace

Legal name

Printspace Studios Limited

Website

https://theprintspace.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

theprintspace is a London-founded fine art and photographic printing company operating owned production centres in the UK, Germany, and the US, serving 30,000+ artists, photographers, and online art sellers with Giclée and C-Type prints, framing, mounting, dropshipping, and a REST API.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Print Sales: One-time purchase of Giclée and C-Type prints in various sizes and paper types. Customers upload files with custom measurements.
2. Dropshipping/Print-on-Demand: Print costs plus 20% markup covering automated fulfilment, limited edition tracking, certificates of authenticity, branded deliveries, and 7-day customer support.
3. Mounting and Framing: Custom mounting (substrate options) and handmade framing services with 10 working day turnaround.
4. Creative Hub Storage: Basic account includes 2GB storage free. Additional Data Storage available at per TB monthly charges.
5. API Services: REST API for professional art stores, apps and galleries to integrate print-on-demand capabilities with white-label fulfilment.
6. Marketing Agency Services: Behavioural-science based marketing strategy, art drops, popup exhibitions for artists seeking accelerated online art sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

theprintspace operates owned production facilities in London, Düsseldorf and Brooklyn to deliver professional fine art (Giclée) and photographic (C-Type) printing services globally, complemented by custom mounting and handmade framing, a Creative Hub software platform for artists, white-label print-on-demand dropshipping, a REST API for integrators, and a behavioural-science marketing agency for artists. Carbon-neutral end-to-end operations and tariff-free delivery to key markets underpin the offering.

Product overview

theprintspace operates as a unified fine art and photographic printing business with a platform-plus-services architecture. The core offering consists of Giclée Printing (for fine art and illustrations) and C-Type Printing (for photographic images), both available as standalone print products or combined with framing and mounting add-on modules. The Creative Hub platform serves as the central hub for artists, providing storage, sharing, and e-commerce integration. Print-on-demand dropshipping extends the core printing into global automated fulfilment. The Marketing Agency and Art Print Drops modules build on the platform to help artists sell through time-limited releases and social marketing. An Art Print API enables developers to integrate printing capabilities into external applications. All services are delivered carbon-neutral through owned production facilities in London, Düsseldorf, and Brooklyn.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Giclée Fine Art Printing Fine art printing using Giclée technology on textured art papers (Hahnemühle and others), delivering handmade feel and vibrant tonal range for visual artists' exhibitions, portfolios and limited editions.
• C-Type Photographic Printing Professional photographic printing using the C-Type process on Fuji Crystal Archive, Pearl and Flex papers, producing deep rich tonal range suitable for professional photographers and gallery exhibitions.
• Global Art Print Dropshipping White-label print-on-demand fulfillment at standard print cost plus 20% markup, covering automated order processing, certificates of authenticity, limited edition tracking, branded deliveries and 7-day customer support across UK, EU and US production facilities for tariff-free shipping.
• Marketing Agency for Artists Behavioural-science based marketing service for a limited roster of artists, including marketing strategy, time-limited art drops, online store setup and management, and popup exhibitions to accelerate online art sales.
• Handmade Fine Art Framing Handmade custom framing service with standard, box, floating and tray frame styles in multiple materials and colours, delivered with a 10 working day turnaround.
• Archival Mounting Archival mounting service for photographic and fine art prints on substrates including card, foam board, MDF, aluminium and Dibond with multiple fixture options and 5 working day turnaround.
• Creative Hub Platform Self-serve platform for artists to upload, store, share and sell digital artworks, with 2GB free basic storage, paid additional storage, open calls for competitions and e-commerce integrations.
• Art Print REST API REST API for online art stores, apps and galleries to integrate white-label print-on-demand fulfillment with automated order management, dispatch notifications via webhooks and tracking codes.
• Sample Print Pack Pack of 11 A4 prints in photographic or illustration styles on Hahnemühle and Fuji Film Professional papers, sold at £14.99 to allow customers to evaluate paper quality before ordering.

Quantifiable outcome

• Artists convert followers into buyers 4× faster with marketing agency services
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationShopify integration allowing artists to connect their online stores for automated print-on-demand fulfilment. Orders are auto-fulfilled on-demand with tracking and dispatch notifications.
• Art Capture StudiosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecommended professional digitisation service for artists selling prints. Handles artwork photography with 16-bit uncompressed TIFF masters (Adobe RGB) plus web-ready JPGs, with retouching and colour matching included.
• Gold StandardcoreOthersCarbon offset verification using Gold Standard certified renewable energy projects (wind power in India). Offsetting verified by carbonfootprint.com.
• World Land TrustminorOthersFor every user who refers a friend to CreativeHub, theprintspace funds protection of 25m² of wild green space via the World Land Trust. Over 120,000m² protected.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• WhiteWall: German premium photo and fine art printing lab offering gallery-quality prints, mounting and framing with global shipping and white-label services. Directly comparable GTM focused on artists, photographers and galleries seeking high-end reproductions.
• Fine Art America: US-based art print-on-demand marketplace and global fulfilment platform for artists and photographers. Closest US analogue to theprintspace's Giclée dropshipping model, serving the same fine-artist persona with similar e-commerce integrations.
• Prodigi: UK-based print-on-demand platform connecting artists' stores with a global production network of print labs for fine art and photo prints. Direct peer with a near-identical API-led, white-label-fulfilment GTM.
• Printful: Large-scale print-on-demand fulfilment service with extensive e-commerce integrations (Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy) and global production facilities. Comparable dropshipping model and platform-led GTM, though broader in apparel and merchandise.
• Loxley Colour: Established UK fine art and photographic printing lab serving artists, galleries and photographers with Giclée and C-Type prints. Direct UK competitor with overlapping customer base and product mix.
• Bay Photo Lab: US professional photo and fine art printing lab offering prints, mounting, framing and metal prints targeted at professional photographers. Comparable premium print quality and professional photographer focus.
• Saal Digital: German photo printing specialist offering professional prints, photo books and wall art with strong e-commerce focus. Similar product line and European regional orientation to theprintspace.
• Pictoclub: Fine art printing service for artists and photographers offering Giclée prints and an integrated online store for selling artwork. Direct peer to theprintspace's marketplace and store-services layer.
• Mpix: US professional photo printing lab popular with working photographers, offering C-Type prints, albums and gifts. Direct US competitor for theprintspace's professional photographer customer segment.

Broad incumbents

• CEWE: Europe's largest consumer photo printing incumbent (CEWE Photobook, calendars, prints) operating across multiple countries via retail and online channels. Broader incumbent in the European photo printing space with overlapping capability but a wider consumer product portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/theprintspace

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about theprintspace