Page 206 - Graphic Design and Print Production Fundamentals

7.1 Introduction

Steve Tomljanovic

Learning Objectives

• Describe web2print and how it benefits the supplier-customer relationship
• Differentiate between the different business models of web2print implementation

• Explore the economic impact of implementing web2print
• Research target markets that would benefit from online selling processes
• Define business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) sales models

• Examine variable templates and identify their components
• Discuss how print on demand works and how it affects the sales cycle
• Give examples of print workflows and management information system (MIS) integration
• Discuss how web2print business opportunities might affect return on investment

As modern modes of communication are constantly changing, the print industry has had to become very
competitive. Successful print companies have evolved beyond producing only printed products; today,
they also provide other services geared to an electronic marketplace. With the ever-growing number of
people going online, customers have adapted to having instant information (Poon & Swatman, 1995),
which printers can now provide. One such service is web2print. Customers benefit from the ease of
ordering print anywhere around the world, with quicker turnaround times than traditional methods. Print
companies benefit by building a larger customer base, streamlining workflows, and reducing production
costs — all while staying competitive.

Print has traditionally been a service requiring many human touch-points, but with advances in business
communication over the Internet, the dynamics of custom manufacturing are changing, particularly with
respect to the ordering process (Shim, Pendyala, Sundaram, & Gao, 2000). Putting an effective online
service in place involves strategically selecting suitable products and services. Online ordering is not
ideal for every print product, but rather for specific products that are unnecessarily labour intensive.
Products that were once very labour intensive, such as business cards, can now be ordered online.
Customers enter their information directly into a template on screen while they sit in their own offices.
A print-ready PDF file enters an automated folder in the print company (called a hot folder) and moves
into the print workflow, allowing for a fully automated process called lights-out prepress, which saves
on labour and allows for greater profits. Web2print provides a client company a value-added feature,
while improving workflow process for the print company.

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