[How to] Automate your Print Shop to Increase Productivity, Revenue, and Profits

Do you spend your entire day doing the same repetitive tasks of managing your orders??Then you are not alone. The majority of print shops experience this daily and are unable to achieve the growth they are capable of.

According to NAPCO Research, 64% of printers are facing labor shortages, and 61% are facing problems regarding Material Shortages. Just looking at those numbers, we can say that these are not ideal conditions for running a profitable print shop. Furthermore, print companies rely on manual methods to process orders, such as using Excel spreadsheets to track orders, as well as manual quoting and design proofing.

To avoid those kinds of issues, you need to look into automating your print shop. This means taking over the tedious and mundane activities that are currently done by humans. So, you can save time while increasing productivity.

Automation is also beneficial because it allows employees to focus on higher-value activities. For example, if you're an online printer, you could create a template for each product. When someone purchases one of your products, you can print the appropriate file rather than wasting time designing it yourself.

Historically, Print Providers did not have the option to optimize workflow with Automation, but as technology advances, the print industry scenario is rapidly changing. It is benefiting the Smart Digital Print Shop substantially and hurting the growth of traditional print shops with little to no automation.

How Automation can help your Printing Business?

According to the same NAPCO research, 62% of commercial printers believe that Automation is the most critical element in keeping the operation profitable.

In today's world, the printing industry is multiplying year by year. On average, sales are increased by 13.9% from the start of the year. Because of this growth, many companies are forced to look at ways to increase their productivity. One way that they can do this is by automating certain processes.

Automation in the Print industry isn’t a new concept. Many Printers have already implemented some kind of print workflow or automation software. Furthermore, as per the NAPCO study, 52% of Printers will invest heavily in implementing Automation in 2023.

Advantages of Implementing Automation:

• Address the labor shortage
• Increased Productivity
• Fewer Errors.
• Greater scalability.
• Multiple channel possibilities.
• Happy Customers
• Lower Business Costs
• Effective Store Floor Management

How to Automate Your Print Shop Business Successfully?

Many businesses have struggled to find enough workers in the last few years. This is especially true in the Printing industry. As a result, many Printers have started looking for ways to automate their operations. The biggest issue with this concept is that Automation is usually expensive, but the advantages of automation out ways its cost by a lot.

Start with Problem Recognition:

Identifying key issues and priorities is the most important stage in implementing Automation. How might implementing automation change your business? And what are you losing by failing to implement? Begin gathering data, do a business audit, and create a list of the challenges you face regularly. The following is a summary of print shops' most common challenges.

Common Challenges faced by Print Shops

From Quotes and Estimation through Shipping and Reordering, there are several chances to utilize Automation to save time and resources.

Here is the list of common obstacles and repetitive jobs that a print business faces regularly:

• Estimation & Quotes
• Designing and Design Proofing
• Invoicing and payment
• Managing multiple channels
• Order & Shipping Status Updates
• Managing Customer Data
• Reordering
• Vendor Administration
• Shop Floor Administration

What can you do to solve these Challenges?

Some of these are customer-facing challenges and require a platform where they can design their products, browse through different templates, and track their orders. Some customers prefer to pay online via card, and some prefer to pay after the delivery. All these challenges can be solved by implementing web to print software solution.

The Non-Customer facing challenges like managing customer data, payment and invoice generation, and auto email order updates need more than a simple web-2-print solution.

Print Order Management system can automate the whole order fulfillment cycle, optimizing the flow of orders from estimation to delivery of the product.

Web 2 Print E-Commerce Storefront:

According to recent studies , 80% of customers are more likely to buy from a company that offers some level of personalization. Having a basic informative website is no longer sufficient. As 31% of Customers say, Online Ordering is the top criterion for selecting a print Provider. On top of that, customers want to personalize their products based on their needs and receive order updates at every level of the order fulfillment process.

In addition, not having an interactive website in 2025 is frowned upon by customers as it presents them as out of touch with technology. It also diminishes the likelihood of securing an order by 21X due to the delay in delivering quotations and estimates.

Print Order Management System:

Using a print order management system is one of the greatest ways to automate your print company. The Print Order Management System (POMS) is a digital method of managing the lifecycle of a print order. POMS keeps track of all information and processes, such as design and approval, order entry, invoice and payment, fulfillment, and after-sales service.

A POMS provides visibility to both the company and the buyer?keeping?clients up to date on their orders and automating repetitive activities for businesses. The Print?Order management system's life cycle begins when a consumer puts in an order and concludes when they receive their goods or service.

According to a recent McKinsey survey, 72% of B2B enterprises that sell through seven or more channels increased their market share. A similar situation exists in print businesses. The majority of print shops receive orders via a variety of sales channels, including walk-ins, phone calls, emails, an e-commerce store, and occasionally third-party platforms. Print order management systems can integrate all available sales channels that a print company uses to automate as many repetitive operations as possible.

OnPrintShop created Web2Print with Print Order Management to address Common Issues and improve the Order Management Cycle. Web2Print on OnPrintShop can centrally manage all sales channels, such as walk-ins, emails, and e-commerce. With features such as the Design Proofing Tool, Auto Invoice Generator, and Auto Order Updates via Email/SMS, OnPrintShop Web to Print reduces the need for your critical personnel to perform repetitive work.

Choosing the Right Web-2-Print Provider with a Strong Print Order Management System

After identifying important issues in your daily activities, the next step is to find the best Web-2-Print service to fix all or most of your problems. There are around 20 different Web to Print service providers. Every W2P Provider will have advantages and disadvantages. So, do thorough research and choose the best W2P Provider for your needs.

A competent W2P Provider will have solutions for the majority of your difficulties and must adapt to the Print industry's continual developments. Furthermore, there should be some degree of customization accessible, as each print business is unique in its own manner and cannot be catered to with a one-size-fits-all approach. Also, you should look into the possibility of custom development and integration with your existing Print MIS and other software you currently use for Accounting/CRM or shipping integration if you have an Online Web to Print Storefront.

OnPrintShop Web to Print can be linked with your existing Print Management Information System, and there are over 300 third-party integrations available for Workflow, Accounting/CRM, Marketing, Email/SMS, Payment, and Shipping Providers.

Conclusion:

Web2Print with strong Print Order Management is a must in 2025 if you are a Print Service Provider. You need to change the mindset of don’t fix it if not broken. Web to Print reduces repetitive work substantially by automating repetitive tasks and provides a positive customer experience by letting your customer in the front seat.

OnPrintShop has considerable experience delivering solutions for Fortune 500 companies. It offers web-to-print and an integrated order management solution and has provided services to the printing industry since 2006. With 24/7 individualized service, OnPrintShop respects the printing issues of its customers and streamlines print operations.

To know more about OnPrintShop, consultation or to optimize your Print Order Management, feel free to Experience it Yourself