Web-to-Print, a new look into the benefits of a Web2Print Solutions for printers, designers but also corporate entities.
Web-to-Print is also known as Web2Print and is a remote publishing solution, linked to e-commerce which refers to the practice of doing business online using websites.
For years, printers have used Print Tools and Print Software that allow the reduction of errors through the innovation of reducing the manual process and increasing the automation across their print workflow.
There are a vast range of printers who all specialize in their own area. Unlike what most people would think, your local printer cannot possibly have a handle on all print methodologies available! Those methodologies include lithographic, flexographic, digital, screen, large format, DTG, sublimation and 3D today! It is merely impossible for a commercial printer to be able to afford every piece of equipment or technology available to cover all types of printing.
Consumers assume printers do everything, they simply cannot! Choosing the wrong printer can lead to paying more for your print. If a consumer requires DL flyers for a local Mailer and need 20,000 copies, the local retail store (Kwik Kopy, Snap, Officeworks, etc..), the local printer simply cannot produce this job however will do something outsourcing, which is the process of purchasing the print from another Trade Printer who in turn will produce the job and charge the ordering printer. Your local printer will then margin the job to provide you with your needs. Had the consumer gone direct to a printer who actually is able to produce the Flyers, the consumer would benefit from purchasing the print at a more competitive rate.
What is the problem though? Well Printers are fantastic in their area of speciality however they are not very strong in self-promotion. For years, printers have attempted to find ways to promote themselves, using the same methodologies as other non-print related companies; Google, Yellow Pages, Sponsorships, signage, etc… Going online is the norm for most business is simply part of the marketing mix. Setting up an E-Commerce site for bespoke products is however not as easy!
Today, this headache has been taken away and the introduction of Web2Print technologies allows printers to finally get online and produce standard and custom solutions.
Benefits of Web2Print:
- Easy to build Web2Print
o Easy click and drag system (similar to Wix for websites)
o Integration into banking platforms (Westpac, CBA, NAB, ANZ, etc…)
o Integration into Courier services (UPS, FedEx, DHL, TNT, Tolls, etc…)
o Worflow integration
o Supplier management
- Online Editors
o Customer can create their own assets via Click and Drag system or easy upload too (i.e. Canva)
- Retail Store
o Click and Drag process (Shopify)
o Pricing calculators
o Suggestive selling
- Corporate Stores
o Brand compliant templates all ready for customers (Creation of business cards, posters, stationery, etc…)
o Account related enquiries
In 2018, Web2Print Stores are incredibly agile and really easy to set up. Not only do they allow you to sell your products online, but they also allow you to sell other people’s product lines that you may not carry (i.e Promotional products, signage, and more…)
Web2Print Stores are now the ideal partner for printers but also a great tool for designers to share their designs with their clients, for designers to sell their designs to their clients but also sell print to their customers through Supply Chain tools. Reciprocally, customers can use the Web2Print platforms to share their designs internally and to their designers or printers in order for them to manage their own internal marketing needs without the added costs associated with Supply Chain “professionals”.
If you are a customer, a designer or a printer, the right Web2Print solution can not only save you costs and resources, it can also allow you to sell your solutions to a much greater audience.
Call your Web2Print professionals to see how this integrated marketing platform can help you and your organisation.