WEB-TO-PRINT — THE NEW FACE OF THE WEB

Another lesson has been that custom builds can create applications that ‘wow’ the client, but each custom build requires a certain level of internal maintenance. The more custom builds you do, the more staffing time it requires to maintain them. As the number of custom builds grows, the amount of time can put a real drain on profitability.

Now, Royal Impressions is carefully walking its clients through the benefits and drawbacks of all the bells and whistles they desire. “I might suggest that, while it might be nice to have all that, if they stay within certain limits, they can save a lot of money,” says DeSantis.

Web-to-print is a growing application. As customers become increasingly aware of the technology and how it can change the way they not just print—but fundamentally handle their document management and marketing collateral—the demand for these services will grow. As they do, the number of competitors entering the market that can offer similar services is also growing.

For this reason, if there is an overarching lesson that can be gleaned from those who have been there, it is the same lesson that printers these days are learning in every other critical digital printing application and value-added service. It’s not about the technology. It’s about the ability to help customers identify document management or marketing communications challenges within their own organizations, then bring whatever technology they have to bear on those challenges. This requires a fundamentally different approach to marketing, sales and pricing for many printers.

Just consider the names of the successful printers profiled in this article. There is a reason that not one has the word “printing” or “graphic communications” in their names. PI

About the Author
Heidi Tolliver-Nigro is an industry writer and analyst specializing in digital technologies. She can be reached by e-mail at htollvr@aol.com.