SOME PRINT - Why web-to-print is a non-negotiable

In the literary work Charlotte's Web, Wilbur is a pig befriended by a spider who saw something special in him. Knowing that there was no such thing as a "spring pig", Charlotte and the rest of the barn creatures set out to save Wilbur. It's funny how a children's novel sticks with you for your entire life and just the other day, the correlation to printing popped into my head. You see, Charlotte used her web to draw attention to Wilbur. She spun words into the web! Words like Terrific, Radiant, Humble but most importantly, SOME PIG! That novel, in it's paper form was read by just about everyone in my generation. It was print, but just as it seemed Wilbur's time was limited, some people are saying the same about print. There is no question that print is changing but there is also no question that print is Terrific, Radiant, Humble and best described on the WEB as SOME PRINT or more accurately Web-to-print. 

Conventional print is an over saturated buyers market and today's printers have to change the perception by adding value just as Charlotte did for Wilbur. Fortunately we don't have to rely on a fictional character to accomplish this but we do need to understand that if we don't differentiate, bacon, will be cooked not made.

Today there are many growth areas for print service providers, investment into these areas can be difficult for many reasons. The overhead involved in keeping a conventional print business operational can, and often does, limit an organizations ability to invest in new technology. Beyond the capital investment necessary, many organizations also lack the skills and expertise necessary to implement and exploit the benefits of these new offerings. Failure to try, however, is only sharpening the knife for the inevitable. Print in it's static/commercial form will continue to fade while more flexible and value laden print and messaging will grow. You see, it's the message and the uniqueness of the message that once saved a pig and the same is true as the print industry treks through this new frontier. 

I titled this entry, SOME PRINT - Why web-to-print is a non-negotiable because that is what I whole heatedly believe. From the perspective of a printer, Web-to-Print (W2P) simplifies the print ordering process and increase productivity. Web-to-print (W2P), is a natural extension of commercial print. As such, the production and product handling is somewhat familiar. The basics of producing a printed product, be it a business card or a brochure, are consistent with what a commercial printer already knows. That however is where the similarities end. W2P requires much more expertise and from the perspective of the customer provides convenience as well as the ability to customize and get what you want, when you want it. Customers also will require features like Live Pricing, Integrated Shipping, File Uploads, Single Sign-on, Design Functionality, order and product Approvals Cycles, Customization, Preflighting, Mail List handling and countless other capabilities. All of these functions that will now be completed by a user, not an employee. This creates the need for Education which until the advent of W2P was kept neatly tucked behind the conventional shop's smoke and mirrors. Education however is an opportunity. Education is a value proposition that sets you apart from the want-to-be's. Education is the glue that unites the customer bond to the W2P provider. Customer service plays a key role here. Your client base is now in the 1000's. You may only have 10 or 20 W2P storefronts but each one of them can have hundreds of users. It is now your role to manage these users and provide the necessary support and training. Successfully doing this increase the power of the glue.

It has been estimated that the global W2P market will experience a 7.8% annual growth rate over the next 5 years. Growing from $131.5 billion in 2013 to $187.5 billion in 2018. I believe that this growth rate is conservative. W2P will get another significant bump as the integration of Augmented Reality (AR) on mobile platforms becomes standard within the OS. Today in order to utilize a smartphone or tablet to experience AR content, a user needs to install and open the appropriate AR browser on their device. Moving forward, it makes sense that iOS and Android platforms will integrate this functionality into the camera capabilities on the device. Once this happens, EVERY print piece should include AR content. W2P will enable a user to choose the content on a 'as needed' basis. The possibilities will be endless.

SOME PIG was special, SOME PRINT is and will be even more special and powerful. There are many directions that need to be explored as the industry continues to change and grow. There are very few directions that are "non-negotiable." W2P is one of those directions. Failure to to move in the W2P direction really is not an option. Where W2P will lead you may be scary and for many an unknown destination. This is an area experiencing great advancements and growth each and every day. It is far from static, and it is not easy. Quite frankly, nothing of value is ever easy. My advice is that before you end up sizzling in a cast iron skillet, create a vision of W2P for your organization. Read and stay on top of ALL advances in mobile technology. Explore the possibility's for content creation. Are you going to partner with an agency or compete with them? Don't under estimate the requirements a client may have. EDUCATE your Sales Group, CSRs and/or Account Coordinators on just how important this change is. EDUCATE your W2P users and become the expert. 

Success in W2P will bring more than a blue ribbon at the county fair. Success will establish lasting client relationships based on a value, not a commodity. Success will lead to future capabilities and growth for your organization. So to paraphrase Hommer Zuckerman, "a lot of you have asked me, 'how could this have happened?'. I don't know, but it has happened... at a time when we really don't see many miraculous things. Maybe we do. Maybe they're all right there around us everyday, we just don't know where to look. There's no denying that W2P... is part of something that's bigger than all of us. And life for a printer just a whole lot better with it. It really is some PRINT."