Web-to-print, also known as web2print, refers to all those printing services available on the web platforms and different websites.
This kind of online business, now widely known, offers great benefits when compared to traditional production channels, especially concerning time. Customers of a web2print service are free to place, manage and supervise their own orders directly online, 24h a day and all around the world, without any necessity of company briefing, offline orders, “let it be printed”, etc.
The normalization of order, billing and delivery process, able to be managed directly from the customer, and the transparency of the entire purchase give, in addition, a great added value to the relationship between company and customers, that become an active part of the process.
The inner production of web2print is based on the automation and normalization of management processes and on the optimization of the production and the entire workflow. An example refers to the possibility to collect different orders, with similar features that make them compatible, and print them together, on a single printing sheet. That way, in fact, an excessive use of manufacturing machines, paper and ink can be avoided. This approach allows, then, reducing production costs with the resulting final cost-cutting of product, in the interest of customers.
Online printing and accessibility
The economic factor is very important when talking about web-to-print because this kind of service allowed considerably increasing the printing offer and its referring target, especially regarding short printing runs, a sore point for traditional printing companies.
Traditional companies, provided with an entirely offline management and manufacturing system, usually requires a minimum quantity order needed to cut down the corresponding costs of the entire process. The minimum quantity for a purchase, generally high, often requires as well huge investments that companies can’t afford, especially when it is about private users, PMI or very young startups. That’s the reason why many consumers have often given up realizing custom products, being pleased with serial products, often far away from their own needs.
Based on the current market demands, in fact, printing companies need always to be able to offer a flexible and affordable service that could meet the growing demand of stark customization. Consumers, in fact, are always searching for custom products realized following the one-to-one marketing strategy. Thanks to web2print it is now possible to offer an accessible service to everyone, able to suit their needs at a good price.
Packly is an example. A web-to-pack service that allows anybody to order its own packaging with custom sizes and personalized graphic design, starting from 1 printed box, at affordable prices. A very innovation in paper industry.
Web-to-print and mass customization
Web-to-print is then a great tool for consumers that totally falls into mass customization strategy: “”the capability to manufacture a relatively high volume of product options for a relatively large market (or collection of niche markets) that demands customization, without tradeoffs in cost, delivery and quality”. A great tool to improve your business at a convenient price.
