Web to Print and Waste Management

Just about yesterday, I had an interesting conversation with a traditional printer. During our small talk he referred to something called ‘manager’s secret factory’. Given my love for fiction, I instantly got vivid images of some underground tunnel from where his floor manager operated a hidden print business. But that’s not what it was!

He explained that ‘manager’s secret factory’ was this situation where his print business generated so much waste that when sold off, it earned a hefty amount for the floor manager. Our printer equated it to his floor manager operating a parallel business.

Now the problem for our printer here was that he was finding it difficult to manage waste of his print business – both from pre-press and production. He had silently accepted this ‘secret factory’ situation and was trying to make peace with it, while controlling his operating cost on all other levels.

Web to Print – the Antidote to Wastage

So I instantly prescribed a web to print software like OnPrintShop as an antidote to his problem. With web to print he can easily migrate his pre-press process onto a web browser and automate it. His designers then have to simply design product templates in InDesign and upload them onto the system. His customers can access these designs through his website, select a template, input their personal details, and place an order. The entire process eliminates the use of paper reducing wastage. Furthermore, since his customers fill in their personal details, they proofread it in digital format. This means almost no corrections coming from the customers in design and typo. The software generates a 300DPI print ready PDF file which can be transmitted via email. This means he can save on stationary for mailing purposes.

As for his customers, they can have their designs stored in a digital format in their customer account. In case of reprint, they have to just log in, select the design and place a reprint order – saving on redesigning wastage.

Thus, there is no real need for our traditional printer to bow down to the uncontrollable wastage generated by his business processes. A web to print software for printers like OnPrintShop can easily get rid of this so-called ‘secret factory’.