Online Printing Service — Opportunity or Hindrance?

When it comes to choosing print vendors, consumers have more options than ever. Along with the explosion in Internet retail sales, online printing services have developed a presence. What does this mean to the printing industry? Following is a discussion by Margie Dana, president of Dana Consulting in Chestnut Hill, a consulting firm for printers and print-buyers alike.

Q: What does the future of printing look like?
A: The printing landscape has changed radically in the last few years. Thanks to new technologies in desktop publishing and digital printing, the technical aspects of getting materials prepared for a printer have undergone significant transformations. The process of getting things printed - finding a printer, creating job specs, negotiating price, determining a schedule - hasn't really changed since Gutenberg first set movable type. Until now. New Internet printing services are in the process of significantly changing the industry. They offer consumers and printers alike a brand-new way of doing business. As Dorothy said to Toto, "we're not in Kansas anymore."

Q: What are the advantages to online print buying?
A: Convenience and automation. Buyers have 24-hour, 7-day-a-week access to the e-print services. Through easy-to-use, pull-down menus or a wide range of design templates, you are guided through the dizzying multiple choices that define every print job, like paper, typefaces, inks, layouts, and quantities. On some sites, visitors create their own job specs, which are submitted to "approved" print vendors. The buyer then sees the lowest bid, thereby eliminating the traditional and tedious methods of finding vendors, creating bid letters, and collecting and comparing the results. Buyers have instant access to their jobs in progress through automated tracking software. No more missed phone calls to the salesperson or customer service rep. No more guesswork about the status of a print job.

Q: What are the disadvantages?
A: Lack of personal relationships with local vendors and lack of control over your job. Consumers don't select print vendors, the software does. This requires a strong dose of faith from the customer. Printing is customized manufacturing - every job is new. Going online to buy books that are already manufactured is one thing. Going online to arrange for the production of unique materials is another. Getting anything printed well requires tight orchestration between the client, designer, and printer. Good printing is as much about preventing mistakes as it is about high-quality craftsmanship. You need face-to-face collaboration to do this well. The industry has to ask itself: How much do most designers or print buyers really know about creating files for a print shop? If an online buyer chooses inappropriate inks or paper, how far into cyberspace production will her job progress before she's told -- if ever?

Q: What are the advantages to buying printing from a "real" print shop?
A: Personal service, more control, long-term value, and not-to-be-underrated education. You can build a professional relationship that will serve you for years. Knowing that your salesperson or customer service rep will be shepherding your job through production offers immense value (and comfort) when you're printing a complicated piece. You have more control over your printing if you and your printer know each other. Potential printing nightmares are discovered all the time in a prepress department. Prepress operators are often on the phone with customers, helping them fix current problems and prevent future ones. Consumers turn to printers for all sorts of help with paper, file preparation, ink problems, scheduling, and mailing issues. You can't get this personal service over the Internet.

Q: What are the disadvantages?
A: You have to find the right printer. In Boston alone there are over 800 print providers. Not every printer is created equal, so new print buyers are forced to shop around for a printer in an inefficient hit-or-miss fashion. Since printers have niches, corporate print buyers usually need multiple vendors. Someone has to manage the vendor relationships. All of this takes time and industry knowledge. Printing is highly technical, not something you can learn overnight. Just knowing how to talk with printers is critical -- they have a language all their own, and it can intimidate consumers.

Q: So is there room for both?
A: Yes. The new online technologies will only get better and better. These printing services will certainly appeal to people who are drawn to Internet shopping and who don't want to deal with the trouble of finding and managing printers themselves. Printing is complicated. Making it easy and automated while delivering quality is a winning proposition. Brick-and-mortar printers that offer impeccable service along with quality and fair prices will thrive. But they'll have to make it easier to do business with them. First, they need to build more marketing muscle. The Web firms have staged an aggressive marketing campaign in the print-buying community. Local print shops that only rely on salespeople to attract new business should develop strategic ongoing marketing campaigns to differentiate themselves in whatever niche they occupy. Printers need to become more customer-centric to focus on how they can help their clients solve problems. Hiding behind centuries-old traditions alienates some businesspeople. If printers are to compete with the new technologies, they have to embrace the Internet and all of its implications.