UnibindDigital head of global marketing Jason Pyne dubbed the portal a "bespoke upload system" where long-term or one-off customers can upload artwork for books and presentation documents.
The cover is produced and bound by Unibind using its own products, with the print processed by partner The Printed Word, which recently moved in with Unibind at its new Horsham plant.
The Printed Word, which Unibind has had a 25% stake in over the past two years, adds a print factory with warehousing and logistics to Unibind’s manufacturing offerings.
Pyne said: "We are making use of the products and services that the combined companies have. We put the two products together and we can create the whole piece without the customer having to do anything other than creating the document.
"The product is unique because there is no-one else who has the facilities of both manufacturing and printing under one roof with total control over the resources. Unibind currently supplies customers with covers and they can print their own content and glue the pages to the cover we have produced.
"But we have an extended offer now offering a fulfilment process. Rather than buying photobook-style products, they can upload the PDF to the website, and we can process the whole lot and send the finished piece back in the post.
He said that the Tangerine Bus, which got its name from the initials of "Bespoke Upload System", would work well for advertising customers needing pitching documents, media packs for the publishing industry, and for finance and property users wanting short-run bound documents for presentations. He added that the system was "open to everyone wanting one or 101 pieces".
New users can access the website and pay a one-off fee, starting at under £10 per book. Existing customers of Unibind UK, recently bought by its managing director Tsol Keosgerian, or The Printed Word can enter their account number to have the orders added to invoices.
Pyne added: "As a company, we are determined to embrace the possibilities that the internet brings to the binding industry to make it easier than ever before for customers to access innovative solutions.
"Previously, the cost of having business proposals, for example, bound in hardback was prohibitive, but because Unibind’s core business is binding, we can offer this at very low prices."
