Many print companies have tried web to print, and a number consider themselves once bitten, twice shy. Alan Atterbury of print and publishing technology consultancy, CMP Insight, argues that it is time for printers to think differently about their web to print investment.
Web to print is often seen as a panacea to the problems of the printing industry; a simple and demonstrable move forward into the new digital era, that will instantly excite existing customers and open a flood gate of new ones. However, seeing these new technologies through rose-tinted glasses often results in wasted time and money, damage to reputation and, worst of all, reduced turnover and profit. There are, however, several success stories where there has been a clear strategy, backed by proper resources, to achieve realistic goals; these are the exception and not the rule.
As all the vendors will readily tell you, when executed correctly a web to print strategy can deliver great opportunities. It can provide a completely new revenue stream that is not based purely on price, and so produce higher levels of profitability, greater security of revenue, and all from a smaller cash requirement, compared to say buying a new press; in essence it promises the golden goose. But before we get too carried away and start spending money, let us just think about what is happening in the market place.
The reduction in the size of the printing industry over the last five years has been caused by a variety of factors: the use of electronic publishing, e-commerce, and mobile communications certainly; but above all else it is caused by the change in behaviour and expectation of the consumer public, which in turn changes the needs, expectations and behaviour of corporate print buyers.
In addition, the print buyers themselves are different. They are no longer professional print buyers who understand the different technical processes, but are people for whom buying print is just a small part of their activities and so will not dwell on the details of the production processes. Instead they expect to click and move on to the next task and expect you to deliver on time, every time, without giving it a moment’s thought. This then poses the first dilemma for those considering web to print: are you ready, willing and able to sell to these ‘amateur’ buyers? If this is the path you choose, then there are major challenges that you will face.
In the beginning
When most people start this journey they begin looking at software; they trawl the web, read the trade press, and maybe attend some of the seminars held by different software vendors. However, the most challenging part lies not with the technology but resides internally within your company. The biggest and most expensive part of using web to print is not the changes in press configuration or working practises; it is the hidden costs of changes in sales technique and investing in branding; above all else it is the change in the culture of the company, as reflected by those people in it. It is these latter items that are repeatedly over-looked and which have the biggest price tag by far.
The changes to the culture are many fold and often quite subtle, but there are some elements that can be addressed head on. There is a danger in such a mature industry as print that views, opinions and practices become entrenched and are passed on from person to person, without ever being reviewed in the light of new circumstances. However, people from other sectors have different attitudes and methods of problem solving, which can challenge the existing wisdoms and so invigorate a company and its relationships with its customers.
There are other accepted wisdoms that need to be challenged, such as ‘the god of recovery’. A press standing idle is not necessarily a bad thing, it may simply mean that your customers are buying non-print items or items held in stock that may be making you more profit despite a press not turning. This is one of the dichotomies that web to print can introduce, and that may make company owners very uncomfortable; but if they persevere they will see the rewards on the balance sheet.
So let us take a look at the web to print solutions that are on offer. Now, I’m not going to go into detail here as it will take too long, but I thought it would be worth giving some general pointers on what to consider. The first thing to observe is that this market is now well established and no longer consists of just a few specialist companies, it is now diverse and mature and has a bewildering variety of offerings from both the UK and around the world. The market ranges from hosted solutions costing a few hundred pounds a month to more sophisticated server side solutions reaching in to many tens of thousands of pounds.
Both approaches have their merits. If you choose a hosted solution the up side is that you do not need to worry about all the technical issues associated with managed servers or data communications, but you will reduce profitability by paying click charges on every item sold or produced. In contrast, if you choose a server based product you will avoid click charges, retain profit and have greater flexibility in your offerings, but you will need the infrastructure and expertise to support it. Both have their pros and cons so which one you choose will depend on your commitment to web to print and the particular resources available to your business.
As for which specific product to choose, well the first thing to state is perhaps the obvious one: ‘you get what you pay for’. If you think you can spend a minimal amount of money and achieve everything on your wish list then you will be sorely disappointed. Having said that, I see nothing wrong with using these entry level products as a low cost way to start, which will enable you to refine your requirements and so make more informed decisions later on.
Here is a list of some of the things to consider when choosing a product:
• What market are you focusing on – aviation, education, medicine, finance, government? Each may preclude certain software solutions.
• What technical skills do you have within the business already? Be honest, if you don’t have any, then you will need to acquire them.
• What technical infrastructure do you have – server capacity, disaster recovery,
divergent communications?
• What technology is the product built on? Are the skills needed to use it readily available in the workforce?
• What are the terms of the vendor’s software license – duration, data protection, compliance, liabilities, confidentiality, jurisdiction?
There is one other thing to consider. The technical construction behind many of the products is very similar: in principle a database at the back end and some form of scripting language that controls the customer’s experience at the front end; but there is a very clear differentiator between the vendors. As you venture in to web to print, the one thing that I can assure you is that at some point you will need help; to complete a project, close a deal or resolve a problem; and it is at this point that the support and commitment of the software vendor will be tested. After all, you are not just buying a piece of software, you are buying in to a service offering and starting a relationship with a third party supplier and it is this element that should be high on your selection criteria.
So in summary, web to print does indeed offer tremendous opportunities to companies at a time of great hardship, but jumping in with both feet without a realistic set of goals and a clear plan as to how you will achieve them will only result in failure. So here is a simple list of tasks for you to work through:
1. Decide what sort of printing company you want to be; high turnover, low added value or full service agency. Sitting in the middle maybe something that the market will not afford you in the years ahead.
2.Talk to your customers, do not start telling them about web to print, just ask questions and look for opportunities to add value. This market research will help you with your planning and product selection. It will also identify if you have the consultative sales skills to enable you to truly sell solutions and not just ink on paper.
3. Imagine this as a start-up business and write a business plan. What are the capital requirements, marketing strategies, and key development stages?
4. Asses the skills you have internally and identify those that you will need to acquire.
5. Gather people around you, both internal and external, who have the skills, experience and talent to help you succeed.
**Alan Atterbury has a unique blend of technology, business and sales skills gained from a career covering engineering, research, publishing and technology. Cross Media Publishing was formed in 1996 at the start of the internet and electronic media revolution and has built a customer base consisting of printers, publishers, financial institutions and corporates as well as fledgling businesses and SMEs.
