PrintingNews.com

There are a plethora of options on the market today, so the first place to start is to make a list of exactly what you need. Ask yourself these questions:

1. Is this part of a workflow overhaul, or just an additional way for clients to order print?
2. Is the online system going to be uni- or bi-directional? i.e., will clients only be placing orders, or will you give them the ability to check the status of orders as well?
3. Do you want a system that will automatically preflight and either accept or reject orders?
4. Do you want a system capable of automatically routing jobs to machines in the shop, or would you prefer to do that manually?
5. Do you want the system to tie into other parts of the shop, such as billing and customer service?

These are basic questions, but they will give you a starting point when it comes to choosing the Web-to-print solution that’s best for your business. If you can, attend trade shows such as the upcoming Print 09 that will be held in Chicago in September. This will give you the chance to go actually talk to manufacturers and get hands-on demonstrations from vendors who’s products you are considering.

“As a connectivity and workflow innovator who continues to bring the widest portfolio of Web-to-print options to the printing industry, EFI is actively engaged in integrating all aspects of collaborative online tools,” said Dan Crnarich, director product marketing, APPS, EFI. “Our...solution’s seamless workflow integration with our Print MIS portfolio allows many providers, from commercial printers to enterprise to CRDs, to expand service levels to their existing clients and reach new clients with maximum efficiency and without expanding their payroll. ”

“Web-to-print solutions offer commercial printers a new and exciting way to grow their businesses to provide full-fledged marketing solutions from material creation, to approval, to fulfillment, all their fingertips,” said Jon Bracken, vice president, Enterprise Solutions, Kodak.

And optimizing your workflow with Web-to-print has another advantage—more profit on the bottom line.

“The reality today is that print runs are getting shorter and customers are demanding faster turnaround time on their jobs. Print shops have to realize you can’t touch a $500 digital job 10 times and expect to make money,” said McWilliam. “Shops need to automate as many steps as possible in the workflow. Web-to-print represents a great way to get your customer to do, what I call ‘the heavy lifting’—without them even realizing it, when a customer submits a job across the Web, they are effectively creating the complete job ticket by entering all the information the shop requires to produce, finish and ship the job.

“Another key benefit is that it represents a great way for a commercial print shop to show off its capabilities. Many of our customers comment on how they have seen business increase just because customers now realize the scope of products that they offer.”

Social Networking

“I reviewed a listserve recently that had questions and answers on printers, fulfillment and mailers that had a mixed reaction to social media,” noted Foley. “Some even scoffed that it is dead. I said to the folks in the listserve, ‘If you believe there are buyers interested in your products or services using these medias (social networks), how can you not be using these medias to grow your business?’”