The previous article: Proprietary vs. Open Source needs to be taken with a grain of salt. There are some people that delude themselves into thinking that an entire web based print conglomerate can be formed without spending a penny. That is certainly not the case as there are open source Web to Print expenses. Perhaps if you happen to be a printer who is also a programmer. Even if that were the case, you have to start judging as to where you want to invest your time and what is more worthwhile for you and your business? To sell and print? Or to program a solution that only you will use? If the answer is to program, then you may get away with spending nominal amounts. But if you ultimately need to tend to your printing business, someone then needs to tend to the programming and web development. So keep in mind, that even when utilizing open source platforms that are virtually free, there are other required expenses, such as to host, create a redundant environment, buy plug-ins for necessary widgets and of course – spend the necessary time (or money) to design, populate and publish your web site (or portal) with designs, information and products. If you are not spending the time, then someone can obviously do it for you. And that “someone” has to eat as well. That will cost money. But it will not cost the amounts of money that traditionally needed to be spent.