In the previous article “Who Moved My Print? Digital First in Printing Industry!” We discussed about the threat coming our way due to the online printing / digital way of ordering prints.
Almost a decade ago, when web to print software started gaining momentum, it was merely seen as an online mode to generate orders. Most of the printing companies where not eager to consider it because they were busy executing jobs from their existing customers.
Meanwhile, the end consumer too was happy with their existing printing companies till online printing companies started offering dirt-cheap rates and the ease of ordering. Surprisingly, most of these so-called online printing companies were originally software companies. They later turned into full-fledged printing companies when they started generating enough volumes to install printing machines of their own.
SMEs and Corporate clients started sending their trial orders to these online printing companies and started loving the ease of ordering and total TAT. They realized that by switching to web to print for ordering prints, they could save a lot on printing costs they bear with traditional offset printing methods.
This started the SHIFT OF BUSINESS from one printing company to another printing company. This meant switching to a w2p powered online printing store became a necessity and not a fad. It became a mode to retain their existing customers and to STOP THE SHIFT OF PRINT BUSINESS!
This industry has come to the point that it's no more thinking about w2p as a new venture. Questions like “What am I going to gain out of it?” are long answered. Instead printers realize that “If I don't offer the web to print powered online printing site to my existing client what am I going to lose?”
Agreed, but what about the cost for print shop software? To answer it straight, monthly cost be as less as US$99 to US$299+ without binding contracts or steep setup fees (though it varies from vendor-to-vendor).
Refer to our article Setting Up Web-To-Print – Is it an Additional Investment or just an incremental Operational Expense? wherein we have explained the benefits that W2P brings and that the cost should be considered as that of any other utility bill you pay for running your business.
Point is, the monthly cost (in some cases it is a fraction of electricity bill you pay for running a printing press) at which you can now Run and Manage web to print solutions / online printing. Don't ask, “What's the gain?” Instead, ask, “What's the loss?”
In the worst scenario, even if you don't generate a single retail order, you will only lose US$99 to US$299 a month. However, a lack of this facility might permanently shift your existing client's business to printing companies providing their services online, which could be a really BIG LOSS!
Understand this as an additional ordering method for your existing clients, at a nominal cost, like any other utility bill. Hence, there is no direct reason for them to shift to other printing companies.
And when you have your own web to print storefront, you also have the possibilities of getting new clients or possibly those who want to shift from their existing printing company as they want a printer who can offer them the facility of online print ordering. So, we say, “If there is nothing to gain, surely there is nothing to LOSE!”