Advertising supported free prints app Frintz launches

Frintz, a Rochester, New York-based advertising-supported free prints startup, has officially launched. The company is led by printing industry veteran William Testa, with technology developed by former Eastman Kodak Co. technology executive, Gustavo Paz-Pujalt, Ph.D.

The app-based offering provides free prints to consumers via iOS and Android apps; the free price is subsidized by advertising on the back of the prints. The 4-by-6 print is removed from the ad via a micro-perforated side of a piece of high-quality photo paper.

Frintz (the combination of “free” and “prints”) attracts advertisers – a pet food supply company, for instance – and connects a high-quality print of someone’s cherished memory to an ad for the company’s products. Frintz, which uses the ads to defray production, mailing and photo print costs, delivers the photos for free. Frintz is also committing to product category exclusivity per packet.

A portion of the company’s revenue will go to several charities. Frintz is also partnering with https://printreleaf.com so trees are planted to maintain sustainability.

“The value-added, compared to other mail services, is that people who receive their Frintz packet get free photographs and can’t wait to open it to see their pictures,” Testa said in a press release. “When they see their precious memories, they also see the attached ads and are in a happy and excited place to review an advertiser’s message.”

At launch, Frintz has partnered with Buffalo, N.Y., based direct-mail printer Zenger Group in Tonawanda for output service. The company said it also plans to launch in Nashville, Syracuse, Rochester, Boston, Albany, Cincinnati, Cleveland and 24 other cities.

“Frintz is a billboard in the living room,” Testa said, “and it’s tied to the customer’s favorite photograph. You can’t beat that for affinity, for developing brand loyalty. We expect to generate an almost 100 percent open rate for our advertisers. The product advertising engagement rate will be off the charts.”

Bryan Carr, the former vice president of production at The Buffalo News, is in charge of the Buffalo-Niagara market.

Let’s hope Frintz fairs better than other advertising-based free print apps, like Flag, which was roasted on “Shark Tank” in 2017.