The web to print landscape is constantly evolving as new technologies enter the market and the needs of customers continue to change. Keeping up with web to print trends will help your print shop stay ahead of the curve and achieve success.
1. eCommerce and Online Ordering
One of the biggest print industry trends we’re seeing is the prominence of eCommerce. People are shopping online more and more. If you’re not offering an online solution for your customers, don’t be surprised if they end up taking their business elsewhere.
To demonstrate this trend from a personal lens, the graph below shows order volume across a large cross-section of PageDNA’s customers in aggregate. As you can see, even with the COVID-19 pandemic, online ordering continues to increase – and it’s not going to slow down anytime soon. Even so, many production print teams are unprepared to meet the increasing demand for online ordering.
2. Smaller (Less Profitable) Job Sizes
Many years ago, one large print job could provide significant revenue. However, technological advances in today’s market mean that digital presses can quickly print highly customized orders in small batches. As these smaller orders become more popular, each individual job is less profitable.
If a printer wants to earn enough profit to continue operating, they’ll need to find ways to handle these smaller-sized jobs with increased efficiency. Luckily, this is PageDNA’s specialty.
A strong web to print software, like PageDNA, is a game-changing tool that allows you to manage smaller jobs (quoting, checking artwork, collecting payment, and customer service) while maintaining a healthy profit.
3. Fast and Efficient Service Delivery
Customers today want the seemingly impossible: fast, affordable, and high-quality printing services. While providing a service that meets these standards and still earning revenue may seem pie in the sky, it’s possible with automation.
Investing in web to print is the best way to meet your customers where they are. It makes ordering print easier and faster. Customers can easily create and track orders, receive quotes, and track their designs through approval. Meanwhile, you give them everything they’re looking for without cutting quality, price, or speed.
4. Increased Demand for Personalization
This trend shouldn’t really be surprising. After all, printing is a person-first business, and putting the customer first will almost always lead to success. But how can you provide a customized approach when you have hundreds of clients? The answer is multi-tenancy.
PageDNA’s multi-tenancy allows every B2B customer (and even retail shoppers) to log in at the same place but have a completely different experience. With these capabilities, each customer gets a unique ordering page where they see:
- Their logo at the top of the page
- Their own users and roles
- Unique products and configuration options (e.g., business cards and their imprinted locations)
- Different options for shipment, payment, and taxes
- Approval options
5. Staffing Shortages
Even with the cost of labor going up, it’s becoming harder and harder to find, hire, and retain manufacturing staff. While finding a team you love to work with is important, bringing in technology can help your team do more with the resources you have.
6. Resource Optimization
Inflation is real. Prices are going up on seemingly everything – paper, labor, ink, and more. In the print industry, where margins are already tight, production print teams need to do more with less. Thankfully, web to print software is a force multiplier. But what does that mean?
A force multiplier is something that gives your team the ability to achieve greatness without having to expend too many resources. You can think of web to print as a force multiplier because it allows you to:
- Streamline ordering for customers
- Reduce administrative burden for the print shop
- Create automated workflows
- Do more with less
7. Security and Data Privacy
In a world where online hackers are constantly searching for ways to infiltrate vulnerable systems, having strong data privacy and security systems is key to a successful web to print strategy.
Implementing strong systems will give your customers peace of mind when placing orders via your online storefront. Today, many customers even demand their eCommerce provider stays up to date on security measures.
Many software products achieve strong security and data protection by housing their software on the cloud. One of the strongest advantages of the cloud is its advanced security measures. Because they run on a commercial-grade platform, cloud-based systems often have security management from a professional, such as a vCISO.
At PageDNA, we house everything on the cloud, and our full-time vCISO’s job includes managing your system’s security.
8. Data Analytics and Performance Measurement
One of the most critical pieces of running a storefront – whether it’s online or brick-and-mortar – is being able to measure success. While producing is important, tracking is what will truly help you grow.
PageDNA’s Reporting Feature allows for ad-hoc and scheduled reporting that helps your team garner and share important information on trends, seasonality, delivery timeframes, inventory, and more!
Get Ahead (and Stay Ahead) With PageDNA
Now that you know the trends in web to print, it’s time to take advantage! Reach out to sales@PageDNA.com to learn more about how web to print can help your production print team succeed.
