The growth of the Internet has opened up multiple avenues for startups to enhance their business offerings and increase revenue from online channels. Web-to-print is one of the industries that is still in its infancy, slowly gaining momentum as more and more offline printing companies are embracing the Internet.
However, it is growing at a fast pace. If you’re starting a web-to-print business, or thinking of expanding your physical print shop to provide online services, you need to clearly understand what you’re getting into.
Let’s look at the pros and cons of the web-to-print process.
Advantage
Ease of transaction
No need to take time off to go to the printing office and order your goodies. Web-to-print allows customers to buy what they want with just a few clicks. It also becomes easier for the print shop as they don’t have to explain everything to every customer. All information, templates and products are online. They just have to order the orders accordingly.
Reduce costs
Printing cost is reduced without compromising product quality. The printer can now concentrate only on the products instead of renovating his shop and other things that are required when dealing face to face with the customer.
faster process
The printing process becomes much faster when everything is handled automatically. The printer receives the order, prints it, and sends it to the customer. There are no intermediate processes involved. The printer does not have to accumulate orders until the customer picks up their order.
wide market
While offline printers can only reach nearby customers or a few fixed customers, web-to-print enables the business to transact across local, state and international boundaries. Printers can accept orders from anywhere in the world, provided they can manage the appropriate shipping facilities.
Disadvantages
Although printing from the web certainly increases your sales and generates incredible income, there are also some disadvantages associated with the process of printing from the web. Let’s see the main ones:
Missing the expert touch
When a printer is offline, the customer can go and work with the printing software professional to get the desired design. Since the printer is an expert in editing, the work is much more refined and desirable to many clients. On the other hand, web-to-print can only offer templates that customers need to modify accordingly. Lack of expert recommendations on designs in web-to-print processes.
Expensive for small printers
The web-to-print service often requires the use of digital systems. Also, your limited access to server system software and solution could end up being a hindrance. Given the cost of resources needed to run a successful e-commerce business, it may not be a better fit for small-scale printers.
simple products
The entire process, including the products offered, has to be simple. For more complex custom items, it would be difficult to estimate product costs given the finish and additional charges the job might require. Web-to-print businesses can only be successful for companies looking to sell simple products like mugs, t-shirts, stationery, apparel, etc.
