What is Web 2 Print and why does it matter

24th February 2014

What is Web-2-Print?

It is a term used in the printing industry on a regular basis, but does the average client understand what it is?

The answer is simple – probably not because it is such a random statement.

Web-2-print, seems simple enough, if you get an email on your computer then print it out to your printer – that’s technically web to print isn’t it? Well yes, but when Print Businesses use the term, it is more than that.

In the early days of the internet it was a way to keep up with the times and associate the old form of large scale printing to the rising popularity of the internet. Today it is much more than that. It is often mistaken for being strictly digital printing, but that is not the case. Web-2-print involves the entire process from an initial order, to a completed printed product in the clients hands.

First, each customer will have a dedicated ecommerce website with their specific branded material already loaded to purchase online. By logging in and clicking a few buttons, an order is placed (similarly to that of purchasing a product from ebay etc.) and that order is automatically sent to the pressroom for printing and ready to deliver all within a couple of days and without the need for interference from other staff. This speeds up the printing process so that the end customer can receive the best product as quickly as possible.

In turn, web-2-print is not how it is printed, as it can be either digital, large format or litho press, but instead it is the process of how it gets to be printed. In the end there’s a reason why the average business client may not know what web-2-print really entails because that is the whole purpose of it, it is meant to make the process as easy as possible in order to receive a great finished printed product. The stress and hassles are taken away from the client to make things a lot easier at their end.

It is a very easy way for clients to do their print shopping online, with a dedicated ecommerce site to order from, with their specifically selected trusted Print Supplier at the forefront.