5 Reasons Why Web-to-Print will be Bigger than Ever in 2010

If you are a company that is consistently changing content or the design of your brochures or even your business cards, web-to-print software may be the best solution for you. Tell me if this sounds familiar, your business produces multiple versions of brochures, business cards, letterhead, etc. and you have to pay the designer each time a new design is needed or content needs updating. Not only are you paying designer fees but you are also paying for the paper, storage, handling, inventory tracking, etc. This can add up quickly and can be a headache. However, a solution is at hand.

Web-to-Print is an individually tailored e-commerce software that a business purchases. This software will combine page design and internet functionality. To the sales rep or user who wants to update or create a brochure, the software interface looks like an on-line InDesign template. The user starts with a template of what they want to create or update letterhead/brochure/business cards, etc. This template will be created by the originating designer and it is locked or controlled so it can only be changed in certain ways.

In the end, this allows for many benefits. Here are just five:

1. Consistency: since the design cannot be changed, all the printed material will look like they go together.

2. Savings: producing your own brochures from this web-to-print template, will cut down your need for your designer.

3. Sustainability: printing only what you need will reduce waste and create space.

4. Accuracy: being able to make changes as soon as updates are needed, then printing the updated material will result in always having current and accurate information. 

5. Tracking: web-to-print software not only allows you to update your collateral, it lets you track it as well. You can track changes made to each piece of collateral and who it was made by. You can also track the quantity printed and the shipping information.

After changes are made to the piece of collateral, it can be printed either conventionally or digitally. This web-to-print technology is best for short print runs using a digital press because this technology is not suited for printing several thousand copies of a product. Instead, you should probably produce a smaller number of printed products that are different from one another but that need to look like they came from the same company.

This is an exciting new development in web-to-print technology and we’d love to explore its options with you. If you would like help figuring out the best way to use this technology for your business, feel free to contact us at info@pmgi.net or 503.352.3504.

*This blog is an interpretation of a newsletter written by Steve Waxman, a printing consultant..