Canon Europe, leader in imaging solutions, today announced that it has acquired Kite.ly, the London-based mobile ecommerce platform specialising in personalised print. Kite.ly adds an important new focus area into Canon’s digital services portfolio, enabling the company to offer a print ecosystem unrivalled in scope. This acquisition is in line with Canon’s ambition to play a part in every image taken and to make image printing accessible to all via any device.

Alberto Spinelli, Senior Director of Digital Services at Canon Europe, says: “Bringing Kite.ly into the Canon group of companies is our latest move to expand Canon’s digital services offering, by making mobile printing ubiquitous. There is a fast-growing trend of consumers who want to shop for customised products and do it in an easy way from their mobile devices. The combination of Canon’s high quality printing technologies and Kite.ly’s easy-to-use solutions will create an unrivalled portfolio of print products, accessible to customers everywhere through existing and new imaging apps.”

Charlie Carpenter, CEO and co-founder of Kite.ly: “Today is a huge day for the Kite.ly team, reflecting the success of our relentless ambition to deliver a mobile personalised print solution, globally. We are excited to combine our innovative technology platform with Canon’s digital services portfolio to lead a new print era together.  We are inspired that Canon shares our vision to become the internet’s print button, embedded into any imaging app or website. Kite.ly hosts hundreds of app clients around the world and together with Canon we will be able to enhance their service, to help them generate new revenue and engage with their users in a much more meaningful way.”

Kite.ly is joining Canon’s group of companies and brands that offer complementary digital services, including Lifecake and irista, helping the company create a complete imaging ecosystem for consumers – from capture, reliving, sharing and printing, via easy to use mobile apps and websites. The acquisition will also allow Canon’s B2B partners and customers to explore new business opportunities, whilst retailers will be able to offer a complete end-to-end online personalised print solution to their customers, both online and in-store.  Print service providers will be able to easily plug the Canon-Kite.ly solution into their existing infrastructures and gain access to new revenue streams.