The advantages of work-to-pay, as it was first presented, mostly centered on the vast extension of the sales possibility via the use of an online print shop that was always available for business from any location in the globe. Because of the success of online-only print services that are aimed at consumers, such as vistaprint, photobox, and moonpig, it was suggested that printers could tap into a vast new consumer market. This market could not only fill any spare capacity on their presses, but it could also provide a route for significant expansion. Because of this, many printers came to the conclusion that w2p was not appropriate for business-to-business sales or for usage with current customers. These are two groups that, when combined, encompass the majority of printers’ client bases. As a matter of fact, the current web-to-print (W2P) solutions are very well-suited to the task of catering to already established business-to-business clients, which is really the most ideal starting point for the majority of printers. In light of the fact that all types of sales transactions have been moved online, it is a natural evolution for printers to provide their clients with the choice to engage in e-commerce. The continuation of this trend will make it seem more strange for a printer to not have some form of online sales page, even if it is just for clients who have already purchased from them. When it comes to transactions involving basic repeat and stock items, clients may find that placing their orders online is more convenient than having to call, fax, or email the company. Additionally, w2p offers a controlled or guided environment for placing orders, which eliminates the possibility of omissions or ambiguities that may occur as a result of telephone, fax, or email orders that are not organized. W2P that is based on templates also guarantees that the task may be printed without the need for further checks. Printers are being pushed toward the implementation of w2p by a number of causes, including competitive incentives. It is possible for incumbent print service providers to experience pricing pressure from new entrants to the print market sectors who are using technologies that are either more sophisticated, more productive, or more flexible. The only option for the latter to react is to either reduce their pricing and search for methods to recuperate the money they have lost, or they may invest in the technologies that are competing with them. Some offset printers, for instance, have also made investments in large-format print services, often beginning with the inkjet printers that they use for proofing. This is done with the intention of capturing a bigger portion of the print spending that their clients make. This trend has resulted in litho printers offering prices that are based on offset printing cost models that did not allow for the more complex finishing and shipping/installation that are frequently required with large-format work. In addition to generally increasing the level of competition for specialist large-format print service providers, this trend has also led to them being undercut by litho printers. Once prices have been dropped, it is difficult for print service providers who are still in business to increase them again. This is true even if the litho printers that were under-pricing the large-format industry eventually left the market. In light of these motivations for implementing work-to-print, it could be realistic to anticipate that the majority of printers currently provide this service. A quarter of printers are still not receiving any work at all through this route, and more than half of them are receiving less than 15 percent of their work through this route. Despite the fact that figures from infotrends’ 2012 european production software investment outlook predict a healthy 71% growth in the volume of work submitted via website or dedicated portal between 2011 and 2014, the average percentage of work that they estimate will be submitted online in 2014 will still be just under 18 percent. Printers have not attempted to incorporate w2p for a variety of reasons, for which there are many explanations. Despite the fact that this may just be a reflection of the consumers’ lack of knowledge, insufficient customer demand is often mentioned as the reason. There are some consumers who are hesitant to move from their usual behavior. This might be because they are uneasy with the technology, they feel as though they are losing personal connections, or they are afraid that the change is intended to lock them in. Additionally, obstacles include the perceived expense as well as the complexity of implementation. Some prospective users are under the impression that even though the software is “rented,” they are still responsible for providing and maintaining the hardware and network infrastructure on which to run it. This is because the pricing models for “software as a service” (saas) are not always well understood. Providing support for a diverse range of job kinds via the use of w2p is considered to be challenging, especially in wide-format work. In connection with this, there are many who continue to believe that there is no specific software that can fulfill these requirements, that it is not flexible enough, or that it is excessively costly. A potential user of w2p may believe, on the basis of previous experience or anecdotal evidence, that the only way to successfully implement the software is through the use of bespoke software development. This is because the majority of print companies are unable to develop software in-house, and it would be costly to commission and maintain software that is developed by an outside party. These interpretations, on the other hand, are not accurate. w2p is a practical and important addition to the traditional sales channels of the majority of printers, provided that it is developed and marketed in the appropriate manner that is appropriate. Subsequent articles in this series will provide an overview of the dangers that should be avoided, as well as advice on how to accomplish the automation that is necessary for online print sales that are both productive and lucrative. This article is an excerpt from “making web-to-print work,” a free white paper from efi written by a technology writer from the United Kingdom named Michael Walker. The paper outlines the mistakes that were made by early users of web-to-print technology and explains how this experience can be used to ensure that current implementations maximize the potential of online sales and job capture through automation and integration.
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