2013 has been a Banner Year for Walgreens API

2013 has been a banner year for Walgreens. The company launched the Walgreens Pharmacy Prescription Refill API, announced the QuickPrints Photo App Developer Contest encouraging developers to integrate the Walgreens QuickPrints API into their mobile applications, and announced the integration of QuickPrints with the Adobe Revel website. Nearing the end of 2013, Walgreens has unveiled the brand new QuickPrints SDKs for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, announced the QuickPrints Developer Contest winners, and has just released version 2.0 of the QuickPrints API.

Users of the Printicular Windows 8 Desktop App can send their photos to Walgreens for same-day pickup.

QuickPrints SDKs for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8

Walgreens announced the upcoming launch of new QuickPrints SDKs for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 at the Microsoft BUILD Conference that was held earlier this year. These new SDKs are now available for download and include a set of APIs that allow developers to create Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 applications where users can submit a photo print order to a Walgreens store. A few examples of Windows 8 desktop and tablet applications that use the QuickPrints SDK for Windows 8 include Printicular, Order Prints, and PhotoWeaver. Bruce Seymour, Managing Director at MEA Mobile, the publisher of the Printicular app, told ProgrammableWeb that:

"The Windows 8 QuickPrints SDK provides a critical bridge for our Photo Assistant App, Printicular to the retail endpoints at Walgreens. The Walgreens technical team is comprised of the some of the best API architects in the business. We're very proud to be working with Walgreens on developing our next generation of Print to Retail apps on the Microsoft Windows 8 platform."

The Walgreens QuickPrints SDKs for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 are great examples of how the Windows developer tools provided by Microsoft help to create a mutually beneficial ecosystem for Microsoft, companies like Walgreens, and app developers. Using Microsoft developer tools, Walgreens created QuickPrints SDKs for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, which can be used by developers to create apps that help promote Microsoft products and Walgreens. Tim O'Brien, General Manager of Platform Strategy at Microsoft, provided ProgrammableWeb a statement:

"Microsoft is committed to providing developers with opportunities to build engaging scenarios and to be successful on the platform. Partnering with companies like Walgreens empowers developers to create an enhanced and differentiated photo-sharing experience for their consumers."

QuickPrints Developer Contest Winners

Walgreens has announced that Moments and tapsBook are the winners of the Fall 2013 QuickPrints Developer Contest. Moments is a free application for iPad that allows users to easily create photo books from their Facebook, dropbox download or iPad photos. The Moments app also allows users to print their photo books to Walgreens for same-day pickup. Walgreens offers same-day pickup for photos at over 4,000 Walgreens locations across the US. Amit Sherman, CEO and Founder of Moments, states in the company press release that:

"The Walgreens QuickPrints API is great for Moments, since we only had to focus on creating a great app: they take care of the brick-and-mortar part of photo book printing. This is why we could focus on creating a simple application, built for mobile, for the creation of striking photo books that are real simple to make."

tapsBook, is also a free application for iPad that allows users to create storytelling photobooks "with just one tap." tapsBook photobooks can be instantly shared and can be printed with same-day pickup at Walgreens' many locations across the US.

QuickPrints API Version 2.0

Walgreens has just released version 2.0 of the QuickPrints API which includes several key new features and updates. The new release only applies to users of the direct QuickPrints API and does not apply to users of the SDK variations. Some of the key new API features include:

• Support for Web Channel based photo print checkout.
• Support for Mobile Browser based photo print checkout.
• Supports navigation to originating site after checkout completion.
• Ability to upload images to Walgreens Storage via REST approach.
• Overall more seamless and simpler API integration than past versions.

For more information about the Walgreens developer program, the QuickPrints SDKs for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, and other available Walgreens APIs, visit the Walgreens Developer Portal.

See also ProgrammableWeb's analysis of the business model behind Walgreens QuickPrints API.

By Janet Wagner. Janet is a Data Journalist and Full Stack Developer based in Toledo, Ohio. Her focus revolves around APIs, open data, data visualization, and data-driven journalism. Follow her on Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.