Web-to-print, also known as Web2Print, remote publishing or print e-commerce is commercial printing using web sites. Companies and software solutions that deal in web-to-print use standard e-commerce and online services like hosting, website design, and cross-media marketing.
Partners and customers may submit print jobs, do online pre-press reviews/previews, design things like postcards directly on a website using rich user interfaces, direct cross-media marketing and offer services such as variable data printing, photo printing, booklets, and marketing campaigns.
Overview
Web-to-print sites are available for commercial users or to the general public. A common offering from print houses is public or private online storefronts or catalogues.
Web-to-print increasingly calls for a
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
(PDF) workflow environment with output provided by
digital printing
Digital printing is a method of printing from a digital-based image directly to a variety of media. It usually refers to professional printing where small-run jobs from desktop publishing and other digital sources are printed using large-format ...
; although there is certainly no requirement that fulfillment be accomplished using digital production equipment; web-to-print is also used today by printers with both offset and digital production facilities.
Prepress reviews can be done online, allowing a print house, a client, and possibly a graphic designer to create, edit, and approve computer-based
online
In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...
artwork.
Some web-to-print sites offer online print products that replace editing tools like Adobe InDesign where buyers can author work and alter the typeface, copy, images, and layout. These products often include a library of templates for product types, such as post cards, posters, flyers etc.
It is frequently possible for clients to upload their own unique content for automated print production. This may be termed Ad Hoc printing. When a digital press is used for the final output, the template usually is transformed into a PDF file that serves as the ‘master plate’ for the digital press. In more traditional printing processes, like
offset printing
Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on t ...
, the template is used to create a plate or plates that are used to produce the final printed product.
Web-to-print sites often provide approval mechanism so that managers can approve print requests by their employees.
Materials produced by a web-to-print process include
business card
Business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual. They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. A business card typically includes the giver's name, company or business aff ...
s,
brochures
A brochure is originally an informative paper document (often also used for advertising) that can be folded into a template, pamphlet, or leaflet. A brochure can also be a set of related unfolded papers put into a pocket folder or packet or ca ...
, and
stationery
Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand (e.g., letter paper) ...
, among other printed matter, that can be printed in
full color
The RGB color model is an additive color, additive color model in which the red, green and blue primary colors of light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of t ...
or in black and white on various papers and on various presses.
Web-to-print systems are also expanding to handle personalization and distribution of other marketing materials such as presentations, seminars, logo items, and even email and other electronic media. This change is driven by enterprise clients seeking a single repository/tool to manage all marketing efforts including print.
Comparisons and differences
The front-end of the web-to-print process is similar to
desktop publishing
Desktop publishing (DTP) is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal ("desktop") computer. It was first used almost exclusively for print publications, but now it also assists in the creation of various forms of online c ...
(DTP) in that individuals or graphic designers use desktop publishing software to create pre-defined templates. These templates are then posted online for later customization by end-users and automated production by a print house or commercial printer. Unlike DTP, web-to-print can bypass the use of traditional design tools by the end-user as the templates utilized in this process are based upon a
WYSIWYG
In computing, WYSIWYG ( ), an acronym for What You See Is What You Get, is a system in which editing software allows content to be edited in a form that resembles its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product, such as a printed d ...
(often browser-based) interface that can be edited and approved by a client and by the print house without a graphic designer’s assistance.
Commercial web-to-print applications can include both
print on demand
Print on demand (POD) is a printing technology and business process in which book copies (or other documents, packaging or materials) are not printed until the company receives an order, allowing prints of single or small quantities. While oth ...
(POD) or pre-printed materials that are pulled from inventory. POD documents can have static content or include elements of
variable data printing Variable data printing (VDP) (also known as variable information printing (VIP) or variable imaging (VI)) is a form of digital printing, including on-demand printing, in which elements such as text, graphics and images may be changed from one pri ...
(VDP), a form of POD that is mainly used for personalization of marketing materials with product or customer data that is pulled from a
database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...
. VDP is geared toward
mass customization
In marketing, manufacturing, call centre operations, and management, mass customization makes use of flexible computer-aided systems to produce custom output. Such systems combine the low unit costs of mass production processes with the flexibility ...
, whereas web-to-print focuses only on changes made from order to order. VDP pre-dates web-to-print although at that time the design process was carried out via close collaboration with the printer for documents such as invoices.
Origin of the phrase
The origin of the phrase "web to print" is unknown, but an online public example was made by Jim Frew when he used of the phrase in an online article entitled, "From Web to Print," for
Webmonkey
Webmonkey was an online tutorial website composed of various articles on building webpages from backend to frontend. The site covered many aspects of developing on the web like programming, database, multimedia, and setting up web storefronts. The ...
, an online resource for web designers, on 9 February 1999.
This article was geared toward web designers who wanted to know more about DTP and the printing process from commercial, technical, and design aspects. However, the trademark for the phrase actually belongs to Belmark, Inc., a label printing company in De Pere, Wisconsin. Belmark was initially granted this trademark in 1999 and renewed it in January 2011.
The use of the term "web-to-print" from the perspective of a transition between web-driven technology to printed matter means that the term "web" connotes the
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet.
Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...
(WWW), rather than the web that is used as a term for a web rotary press developed by
William Bullock. Bullock’s web press revolutionized newspaper printing, and the WWW is now used to alter how corporations and individuals create commercial and personal printed matter.
The term has become ubiquitous, as businesses have picked upon the "Web2Print" phrase to name software designed specifically to manage the web-to-print process.
Graphic design
Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...
and
web design
Web design encompasses many different skills and disciplines in the production and maintenance of websites. The different areas of web design include web graphic design; user interface design (UI design); authoring, including standardised code an ...
firms that have branched out into print services also use the term to subhead their company trade name, or they use the phrase as a subheading for
public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...
materials.
History
DTP’s history provides the groundwork for current web-to-print expansion, and the onset of
e-commerce
E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manageme ...
between 1998 and 2000 created an environment for web-to-print to prosper. However, web-to-print and the framework for it had been well established by commercial developments in some years before this. For instance Xerox Corporation (one of the companies that has been attributed to the origins of the Internet) had a commercial product available for sale in 1995 called InterDoc, which is described as software that allowed printing departments to receive and produce digital file submissions from customers over the Internet.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages to the use of a web-to-print system include the ability for print houses, graphic designers, corporate clients, and the general public to access a private or public online catalog where last-minute changes to a prepress template are possible. Within this process, the client can approve the materials without the need for a face-to-face meeting with the printer. Additionally, templates allow print customers to control
brand management
In marketing, brand management begins with an analysis on how a brand is currently perceived in the market, proceeds to planning how the brand should be perceived if it is to achieve its objectives and continues with ensuring that the brand is per ...
and content, as portions of a constantly used template can remain consistent throughout a series of print projects. Many vendors also utilize workflow managers that combine the connectivity of web-to-print with organization tools that simplify the complex printing process. This system is often cost-effective for clients and time-effective for print houses.
The disadvantage to this system as it exists today is that small- to mid-sized print houses and print
broker
A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be confu ...
s are limited in their access to software and server system solutions for a web-to-print service offering to clients. To mitigate this, some vendors are using tool editors that allow users to use only the tools that are most important to their business. Most proprietary and trade name software that was developed with web-to-print projects in mind remains prohibitively expensive for this sector. Additionally, these systems often require the use of digital systems that only a larger print house would maintain.
Recent developments
The main challenge for web-to-print expansion is centered on both the affordability of this solution and software and hardware companies' abilities to converge desktop vector-graphic tools with server technologies designed expressly for a web-to-print goal. While specific software set the stage for major print houses to offer web-to-print services to corporate clients and to the general public,
brand name
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
software companies have nudged into this business to offer mid- to high-range solutions.
To address the prohibitive cost of traditional web-to-print software solutions (software, systems, periodic software upgrades, technical staff, ...) noted earlier, providers offer web-to-print as "hosted" or
software as a service
Software as a service (SaaS ) is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. SaaS is also known as "on-demand software" and Web-based/Web-hosted software.
SaaS is con ...
(SaaS) solutions. Using this model application creation, maintenance, enhancement, technical support, application upgrades, and hosting, are provided as an out-sourced service. Since the software, systems, and support resources are spread over a larger client base, costs can be reduced significantly. This makes it possible for any print house or print broker to offer professional web-to-print applications and services with only a modest investment of time and capital.
SaaS
Software as a service (SaaS ) is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. SaaS is also known as "on-demand software" and Web-based/Web-hosted software.
SaaS is cons ...
solutions are generally delivered through a purely online environment — allowing them to take advantage of relatively low cost per seat,
cross-platform
In computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several computing platforms. Some cross-platform software r ...
compatibility, multi-user collaboration, and live database integration for product and
digital asset management
Digital asset management (DAM) and the implementation of its use as a computer application is required in the collection of digital assets to ensure that the owner, and possibly their delegates, can perform operations on the data files.
Termin ...
(DAM).
Another option is to find out small and simplified solutions that are able to handle online designing, proofing, quote, invoicing & order management of small & medium size print shop.
Another niche in web-to-print solutions that is seen by some as being an indicator of things to come is the provision of
WYSIWYG
In computing, WYSIWYG ( ), an acronym for What You See Is What You Get, is a system in which editing software allows content to be edited in a form that resembles its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product, such as a printed d ...
design support. Products provide such ability by allowing elements within a template to be moved, inserted, and deleted by end-users following strict rules established by the administrator of the system. This
WYSIWYG
In computing, WYSIWYG ( ), an acronym for What You See Is What You Get, is a system in which editing software allows content to be edited in a form that resembles its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product, such as a printed d ...
generally supported by
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia Computing platform, software platform used for production of Flash animation, animations, rich web applications, application software, desktop applications, mobile apps, mo ...
technology which gives freedom from browser and OS dependency. This type of system begins to blur the lines between Desktop Publishing applications and web-to-print systems, and lets non-designers edit and proof customized artwork within a 'safe' environment.
A new development in the web-to-print world is mobile applications. Followed by the increased usage of smartphones, and the ability to create better software for mobile devices, the ability to use web-to-print services from responsive-design website or even native applications is now available.
An inhibiting factor for print companies when it comes to implementing web-to-print are the technical/personnel challenges associated with the deployment of e-commerce storefronts due to a lack of trained resources. This in turn has given rise to a new breed of companies which offer specific consultancy services enabling print companies to expediently execute upon their web-to-print strategy by outsourcing the design and development of their storefronts whilst also gaining a range of associated services such as sales training. Software companies that sell web-to-print solutions are also becoming ever more aware of the need to add value and educate their audiences in respect of web-to-print strategy so as to aid their sales processes, ensuring that once a web-to-print platform is sold, it can also be successfully deployed.
Up until 2018, there has been a rise in demand for digital printing and web-to-print in particular. However, experts predict possible instability of growth of web-to-print industry in the years to come due to fluctuations in raw material prices, disadvantages of web-to-print, and limitations of
PDF
Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
.
See also
*
Dynamic publishing
Dynamics (from Greek δυναμικός ''dynamikos'' "powerful", from δύναμις ''dynamis'' "power") or dynamic may refer to:
Physics and engineering
* Dynamics (mechanics)
** Aerodynamics, the study of the motion of air
** Analytical dyna ...
References
{{Self-publishing, state=expanded
Digital press