Whether you’re an internal print shop or a commercial printer, operational efficiency is constantly at the top of your mind. Luckily, ongoing improvements in technology have helped printers keep pace in an industry where operating margins remain thin.
Knowing about and understanding the different types of technology available to printers can mean the difference between fortune and frustration. In this blog, we’ll discuss one of the most important tools available to printers today: web to print delivered in an SaaS model.
What Is SaaS?
SaaS stands for “Software as a Service”. It’s a term that describes cloud-based, commercial-grade systems hosted on a centralized platform outside your organization, like the cloud.
Cloud-based systems allow your employees to securely access software from anywhere with an internet connection. Some popular examples of SaaS platforms include Gmail, Microsoft 365, and Netflix.
Web to Print SaaS
Web to print SaaS is cloud-based software designed explicitly for print shop eCommerce needs. It allows print businesses to streamline processes and sell their products online without the hassle, costs, and risks of maintaining both an internal software and hardware platform.
Similar to other SaaS platforms, users can securely access their web to print SaaS 24/7/365, whether they are in or out of the office.
SaaS vs. On-Premise Web Print Software
You can think of on-premise software as a traditional “shrink-wrapped” software – sold in a package, installed by you, and managed by you, meaning you’re responsible for any patches or upgrades. The main difference between SaaS and on-premise software is that on-premise software is hosted and maintained by your print shop (on the premises).
There are two primary categories of on-premise web to print software: commercial and self-created.
Commercial On-Premise Software
Commercial on-premise web to print software involves buying a service or software that your company then has to maintain internally. Of course, there are downsides to this. For one, you and your team will have a new job on top of your current one – as you’re now in charge of upkeep, security patch installation, and hardware.
Plus, leaving your print shop to maintain an entire platform can result in risks, especially if that maintenance is delayed. Not to mention all the time and money your team needs to spend on doing the actual maintenance. It also detracts from the main focus of your work – printing and providing great service!
Unlike on-premise web to print software, web to print SaaS is hosted entirely in the cloud, meaning you aren’t responsible for maintaining it. Instead, the company you buy the software from will manage everything so you can spend more time creating, selling, and printing.
Self-Created Internal Web to Print Software
Some print shops have created their own homegrown software solutions – typically something simple, created by IT. While these systems might seem cost-efficient, they normally only scratch the surface of everything a dedicated SaaS web to print solution can do.
A commercial-grade web to print SaaS does more than just accept online orders and shoot off an email. It can also take those orders, automatically push them into your workflow, and show you a dashboard of all active jobs.
On the customer front, your customers can see live proofing of their typeset items and live pricing and pre-flighting for jobs. And that’s just the start! You can also use this software to quickly make system-wide changes – adding new templates and changing pricing with just a few clicks.
Web to print SaaS also has the advantage of being more secure because it is a commercial-grade platform, meaning there is often security management from a vCISO. And the best part? You don’t have to do any of the work to maintain it.
Benefits of Cloud-Based Web to Print Software
A cloud-based web to print system offers print shops several benefits, both to your team and customer base.
- A purpose-driven print software system that is professionally hosted and managed
- Fewer security risks
- Easier ordering for purchasers
- Automatic workflow integration
- Live pricing and job tracking
- Ability to add templates
Reduced Total Cost of Ownership
You may think you’re too far in to switch to a web to print SaaS. But, no matter how much you’ve spent on other software, it’s never too late to explore other options. You may be surprised to learn that switching to a cloud-based web to print software can actually lower your total cost of business.
With a cloud-based web to print platform, hundreds of firms subscribe to the same software, meaning you pay less overall to get a more powerful and secure product. Broader adoption of a web to print SaaS product also means you’ll get new features and support automatically and more frequently. And, because so many others are also subscribing, everyone pays less yet gets more.
You’ll also save on all the efficiencies that using a web to print SaaS creates. Everyone cares about operational efficiency. With web to print SaaS, that efficiency becomes an added bonus on top of all the other great things it offers.
PageDNA’s Web to Print SaaS
Thousands of brands and hundreds of print shops use PageDNA’s web to print SaaS every day – and the list is growing! Joining us means you get a professionally specialized product that is secure, powerful, and always on the cutting edge of technology.
At PageDNA, our customers automatically get a new and improved version of our product every month at no extra cost. We also distribute a newsletter sharing information on these new updates. We’ve been doing this month after month for more than 25 years now.
Here are some of the other features that make working with us a unique experience:
- Single sign-on (SSO) capabilities
- Easy-to-use tools
- Full support from start-up to product launch (and beyond)
- Convert your internal customers’ Microsoft Office files to a PDF
- Provide your customers with real-time proofing, for example, when ordering a business card
- Support for reorders
- Multi-tenant capabilities
- Collect and verify internal chargeback codes
While your business is focused on printing, we’re focused on making great technology. At PageDNA, we love helping print shops improve their processes using our unique cloud-based software.
Schedule a Web to Print SaaS Demo
If you’re ready to make the change to the cloud, we’re ready to help. Reach out to sales@PageDNA.com to learn more and schedule your demo today!
