How Does Web-to-Print Improve Your Printing Tasks?
Do you need to regularly print items for your company’s operations, marketing, and other purposes? If yes, web-to-print or remote publishing can help you do the job effectively and systematically!
Unlike printing items in-house, these solutions help you outsource tasks to an efficient vendor like PostGrid. Thus, you save time, money, and resources and boost your overall printing efficiency.
But what is Web2Print, and how does it work?
This blog reveals the significance of having an effective and affordable printing solution handy. Also, it lets you know the pros and cons of web printing services so you can make an informed choice.
Let us begin!
What Is Web-to-Print?
In 2020, Canada produced 2,259,000 tonnes of printing paper! It isn’t surprising that individuals and offices print hundreds and thousands of paper sheets yearly for various reasons—making web-to-print more helpful!
For instance, businesses print several transactional documents, like bills, customer statements, proforma invoices, etc.
Using Web2Print solutions like PostGrid helps them print anything they want on demand! Thus, they don’t need to worry about setting up the necessary equipment or asking their staff to complete the job.
Also, these automated services help a company maintain brand consistency. By printing every document or marketing mailer via the same vendor, they ensure the quality remains the same.
How Does Web2Print Work?
Typically, web-to-print solutions help companies print compliance, transactional, and marketing items, including:
- Contract agreements and renewals.
- Cheques.
- Business associate agreements.
- Terms and conditions sheets.
- Invoices.
- Marketing mailers, like postcards, flyers, etc.
- Appreciation letters.
- Items for event promotion items like leaflets, business cards, banners, etc.
- Notices and circulars.
- Business pamphlets.
- Corporate gifting items, like t-shirts, pens, mugs, etc.
You can place orders for these items online over a web browser, which is why it is known as Web2Print or remote publishing.
A web-to-print service provider offers a custom-made store (similar to an eCommerce platform like Amazon). You can select the materials you need and add them to your cart. The browser is pre-tailored to suit your requirements, so you can browse items you usually use.
Companies can use the platform’s pre-built templates to create their brand items from scratch. Or they can upload their usual designs and work around them! Either way, there are options to save and create templates according to your preferences, making web-to-print solutions a must-have for your brand.
Thus, businesses can modify their artwork and content without contacting a printer ten times. Also, they don’t need to wait days or weeks to get their materials because Web2Print usually provides fast turnaround times.
Why Must Businesses Incorporate Web-to-Print Into Their Daily Operations?
If you are still not confident about how Web2Print can change the face of your marketing and printing tasks, here are some more benefits you must consider:
Guaranteed Branding Consistency
You can add several customizations to your printed materials using web-to-print, like your brand name, logo, tagline, etc. Also, you may use the same colours as your logo to create brand recognition and maintain consistency.
When you use web-to-print, you can follow similar quality standards for every campaign, ensuring consistent branding. It helps you leave a good impression on your audience and establish valuable company-customer bonds.
Eliminate Unnecessary Expenses
Most web-to-print solutions like PostGrid help you print items on the go, meaning you don’t need to stock up on perishables, like:
- Printing paper.
- Ink cartridges.
- Labels and postage stamps for mailing, etc.
PostGrid’s print and mail API helps you print your items and ship them simultaneously. Thus, you can save further on buying envelopes and address labels.
Order Items At Any Time
One of the primary benefits of Web2Print is that you can place orders from any part of the world whenever needed. Thus, you don’t need to be available in the office to order something or visit the printer’s office to negotiate rates. Everything is online, and all you need to do is make some selections on your screen.
Reduce Turnaround Times
As said earlier, web-to-print services make your job faster and more efficient. For example, suppose you want to send a hundred personalized letters to your customers. A Web2Print browser helps speed up variable data printing and lets you make your items mail-ready only in a few days.
For instance, PostGrid print and mail solutions offer dedicated SLAs, so you print your materials in only two business days.
Manage Orders and Reuse Templates
You can reuse one or all templates whenever the need arises. And the best part is that you may view everything in one place. Thus, you can save time on design, formats, and other aspects because everything is right in front of you.
Any user can log into your web-to-print account from anywhere and place orders. Also, others can view and manage these orders from their respective devices, aligning your sales and marketing activities effectively.
Keep Your Data Confidential
Businesses can print their sensitive documents and marketing items confidentially using PostGrid’s Web2Print solutions. Our API and automation software are PIPEDA, HIPAA, and SOC-2 compliant, letting you keep your data private and secure.
Hardships You May Face While Employing Web-to-Print
Every solution has a list of advantages and disadvantages. You must decide if the upsides are worth the few cons you may face.
Below we have mentioned a few disadvantages of using web-to-print solutions for your business:
Difficulty to Set Up
Please note that you may need to upload your templates, customer details for personalization, item types, etc., to your account. Since most Web2Print vendors offer their solutions on an online browser, it is hard to set up your printing activities at first.
However, PostGrid’s web-to-print services work differently. You can use our API integrations to connect our solutions with your existing workflows. Thus, you can automate the entire process of fetching customer data and creating items.
Additionally, there is no clash between the different browsers and platforms you already use because PostGrid works in a unified environment.
Complicated Operations
Many businesses complain that they can’t get the best out of their web-to-print accounts. The reason could be that they cannot find the required options or are unaware of most features. Though the basic functionality is the same, you may take a while to get accustomed to the different aspects, like customization, creating templates, ordering items, etc.
High Rates
The costs can be another reason companies hesitate to use Web2Print regularly. You may get some discounts if you place bulk orders, but on-demand printing can cost you a lot.
Thus, PostGrid offers all-inclusive rates, irrespective of whether you order one item or a million. Also, you can avail yourself of several postal discounts by presorting your mailers and adding tracking codes in advance.
You can choose between our Starter and Enterprise plan to use our web-to-print services. The Starter plan is our free version, wherein you only need to pay for what you send—no set-up costs, minimal fees, or hidden charges.
More About How PostGrid’s Print and Mail Solutions Boost Your Web Printing Activities
Our web-to-print API is ideal for companies from several industries, including:
- Healthcare.
- Financial Services.
- Real estate.
- Education.
- Insurance
- Nonprofits.
- Retail and E-Commerce, etc.
Businesses use PostGrid to automate their printing and shipping tasks and save up to 75% of their costs. Also, it allows them to track their sent mail in real time and access accurate Web2Print campaign reports.
Here is a case study of how PostGrid helps its clients employ web-to-print effortlessly:
A company in the insurance sector wanted an effective Web2Print vendor to help them print their documents in real-time. They were looking for quick, simple, and cost-efficient solutions that could work alongside their customer management tools.
Thus, they contacted one of our account specialists and discussed their needs, which were:
- Send bulk mailings with laser-focused personalization several times a month with quick turnaround times.
- Use web-to-print to produce critical documents, like insurance letters, cancellation notices, renewal declarations, billing statements, etc.
- Experiment with different templates to see which one suits their brand image more aptly.
- Verify customer details before accepting applications, claims processing, sending mail, and other activities.
PostGrid’s Web2Print API helped the company send 6,000 items monthly without disruptions or inefficiencies. Also, it allows them to send different mail formats effortlessly with the same levels of speed, consistency, and convenience.
The next thing our web-to-print solutions helped the client with was- A/B testing. They created several templates and conducted a campaign with different sections. Surprisingly, a few designs got more responses than the others—implying that using eye-catching formats for transactional mail is also effective.
Additionally, our address verification solutions enabled them to cross-check every customer’s address in advance—helping them avoid mail returns and lost items.
To Summarize
All businesses need an efficient web-to-print solution to automate their printing tasks and improve their items’ quality. Also, using these online services allow them to save enough time and money to focus on other operations.
PostGrid’s Web2Print API and automation software ensure businesses that they produce and ship their items on time and flexibly. Sign up now to learn more!
