There’s no doubt that the internet and technology have changed the world and made our lives easier. This is very apparent in the printing world with the advent of web-to-print and digital printing technology.
In the simplest terms, web-to-print refers to the practice of doing print business using websites. This broad definition includes a lot of things, like ordering a new set of business cards from a printing company’s website or uploading a template to a website or e-mail to print. Web-to-print technology is great for businesses that need to print for a lot of reasons, such as:
Better Hours and Access
Web-to-print interfaces can allow you to place orders or reorder more prints any time. While the printing company obviously can’t print during off hours, you can access your order, place a new one, or make revisions later that the printer could use once they open in the morning. Some interfaces allow you to get a quote or estimate for a job instantly using their software, which could make your life a lot easier when you have a deadline quickly approaching.
More Branding Control
Digital printing and web-to-print have opened up a world of opportunity to create custom mailers and marketing pieces. Using a web-to-print interface, you can create a brand or logo template that will stay consistent while customizing each piece. This frees up a lot of the designer’s valuable time as well, as now instead of redesigning each piece to fit your brand, a sales rep or someone else can use a pre-designed template for each piece and make changes as they see fit while maintaining the same brand.
Faster Ordering and Reordering
It can be great to sit down and work out a mailer or campaign from scratch with your printer, but not everyone wants or needs that kind of attention. You may have a campaign already worked out or know exactly what you want, and a web-to-print ordering system will make it a lot easier and quicker for you. If you already have a page or template set up, you can easily send or upload it and quickly place an order directly.
Reduce Time and Material Waste
Imagine you’re hosting an event and need flyers. You order 1,000 to distribute, but can only put up 500 before the day of the event. Those 500 flyers are now completely wasted. With an on demand web-to-print service, you no longer have to build from scratch every time you need another run of prints or over order just to be safe. Now, if you need to order more of a batch of mailers or flyers you can simply order the amount you need, saving you time and preventing over ordering materials that can waste valuable marketing money. Rather than order 1,000 and hope you can use them all, you can order in smaller batches and reorder more quickly to save time and money as well as reduce waste.
Web-to-print technology has revolutionized the printing business, allowing for easier and faster ordering and more control over branding and materials. Coupled with variable data printing, there are now infinite possibilities for customizing your materials. If you want to learn more about web-to-print capabilities, call Brooks Litho today to see how we can help.