Margie Dana

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What's All This about Web-to-Print?

A lot of print buyers have been asking about web-to-print. What is it, and how can it help them? Last week I spent some time talking to a couple of very bright people who offer this technology, and thanks to them, I have a much better grasp of the basics.

For today's Tip, I spoke with Larry Letteney, President of HubCast, Inc., in Burlington, MA ( http://www.hubcastinc.com ) and Henry Wagner, Information Services Manager of Innovation Printing & Communications in Philadelphia, PA ( http://www.innovationprinting.com ). Innovation Printing is a provider of web-to-print services, while HubCast offers a distributed print platform for firms like Innovation.

First, here's a True or False Quiz for you:

1. Web-to-print describes printing done on web presses.

2. Web-to print is a relatively new technology that lets you, the customer, order the printing (and reprinting) of your materials over the Web from your own desktop.

3. With web-to-print technology, you can access your own templatized print jobs 24/7, edit them as needed (text and images), choose the quantity, see a preview of what the new piece will look like, order it (via a shopping cart, like Amazon) and send it off to print on demand with a click of a button.

4. With web-to-print, your entire sales force can access your sell sheets online, make the changes they need for specific clients, locations, or events, and after a supervisor or manager approves the orders, send the materials to print so they deliver in days.

5. With web-to-print, your jobs can be sent to the commercial printer of your choice - not just the print provider who is hosting the web-to-print technology.

6. With web-to-print, your jobs can be sent across the country or over the sea - and the color will be consistent.

7. Web-to-print jobs are always digital print jobs.

8. Web-to-print jobs are always printed on demand.

9. All web-to-print applications are alike.

Answers:

1. False. It's not about web presses. It's about the Web - as in worldwide.

2. True. Typically, a print solutions provider or other type of graphic services firm offers web-to-print. It's an online print procurement solution that gives you more control over the ordering of your own print collateral.

3. True. Click on your job, edit it, order it, print what you need, when you need it. Track inventory, track fulfillment, track costs.

4. True again. It's a good tool for supporting a diverse sales force. Sales folks typically need different materials in varying quantities, delivered on short notice, to many locations. This describes a perfect application for web-to-print technology.

5. Not always true. If you're considering a web-to-print service provider, check to be sure that you can have the jobs printed by your preferred vendors, if this matters to you.

6. False. Again, it depends on your service provider and which web-to-print application they use. According to Henry Wagner of Innovation Printing & Communications, if you want standardized color no matter where something's printed, the web-to-print provider needs to be GRACoL certified. The GRACoL profiles would be attached to the PDF for everything you're printing via the system.

7. False. They MAY be done digitally, but it depends on the piece.

8. True. This is a major feature of the technology. Customers need work printed ASAP. With web-to-print, you place the order and initiate the printing. You edit the file. Where you once had to rely on a designer to make changes to your file, send it to you for approval, make final changes, send it back, and send the file to a printer, now you can DIY (Do It Yourself).

9. False. Some software is more flexible, customizable, and robust than others. Know in advance what you need the system to do for you, and make sure the one you're considering can do it.

What's It All About?

Two things, says Letteney: time and relevance. That's what web-to-print technology addresses. Customers no longer have the luxury of months (or even weeks) to produce and deliver marketing or sales collateral. And marketing material has a much shorter shelf life in terms of relevance. People are not buying "pallets of print" anymore. With web-to-print, they only buy what they need.

Who are the key players in web-to-print technology? A few names kept coming up in my research: Printable ( http://www.printable.com ), PageFlex ( http://www.pageflex.com ), XMPie ( http://www.xmpie.com ), and a new one I learned of through Wagner - iWay ( http://www.cohesion.com ; Cohesion is the North American reseller for iWay). There are currently about 20 companies offering the software, said Letteney.

Web-to-print alleviates the pain felt by members of a firm's sales force. "Nine times out of 10," noted Wagner, "a sales force needs collateral often and at the very last minute." A sales force typically has tons of layers to go through when they want to order print collateral. Web-to-print lends itself to sales materials, particularly repeat work, because it strips away all of those layers.

Go Ahead, Repeat Yourself

The types of print materials best suited to this technology are repeat jobs, such as the following: sales sheets, product materials that get updated regularly, and corporate business cards for lots of employees. (Years ago, I was in charge of ordering business cards for a mutual fund company with over a thousand employees plus hundreds of sales people. A web-to-print solution would have made my day.)

More Benefits

With web-to-print, the customer has much more control over the ordering process. You also get control over administrative functions like billing, shipping, tracking, fulfillment, and inventory. You can add templates yourself (or have the service provider handle it). You can run reports off the system to track sales, expenses, and to plan budgets.

How to Evaluate a Web-to-Print Provider

First of all, remember that this is still a specialty among printing companies. Some marketing firms are also offering it.

If you want to evaluate a provider, ask yourself what you need. You don't have to be fluent in the various software applications, but start studying them if you're moving towards web-to-print. Ask your service provider the following questions, for starters:

1. How easy is it to use? (By all means, test drive it. They'll have a demo you can play with at your leisure.)

2. If my firm grows, including my product lines, can I add more products to this system?

3. We want you to host it for us initially, but we may want to take that over one day. Can we do it? What's the cost?

Have fun investigating this new technology. It won't necessarily be appropriate for all of your materials, but then, it wasn't built to handle everything.

I want to thank Larry Letteney and Henry Wagner for their help with today's column. I think this application is (dare I say it) "way cool." Web-to-print represents the marriage of the Internet with conventional printing. Welcome to the new era of print communications!

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