Web to Print, W2P, Web2Print

I have been working in a creative environment for many years now. I have also worked within in house printing companies and companies that outsource printing. Either way, W2P has been around from what I can remember back in the late 90's, early 2000's. It is an interesting topic and i wanted to share some info on this technology.

Web-to-print or Web2Print is remote publishing, most commonly used in commercial prepress. Web-to-print allows a print house, client and a graphic designer to create, edit and approved computer based templates during the prepress phase. Customers have access to online print portals anytime! Customers can view samples, access the files, find guidelines for file prep, generate quotes, and receive and approve proofs. Online submission of work is can be more accurate than sitting down with a real live person. Ordering multiple jobs is also easier and quicker. Improved customer retention!

The general public and commercial users can access public or private catalogs made from the print house. The customer can then choose a template where they can then alter the fonts, copy, image, layout and then approve the template for printing. It may also be available for customers to submit their own templates for print production. The master file is typically a pdf that is used for press.
Some examples of Web-to-print materials are business cards, brochures, stationary and presentations, seminars logos, and others that can be printed in full color or in black and white on various paper styles and presses.

Web-to-Print: Hard Lessons learned, by Eric Cagle, PIworld.com (June 2011)

Some information that I found important from this article was:

·         Online print procurement has been evolving for 15 years

·         Web-to-print more commonly used for larger companies, while smaller companies opted for inexpensive other options

·         Larger companies with many offices, sales personnel, distributors, agents etc., needed to utilized this option to give local users access to customized content

http://www.piworld.com/article/printers-web-to-print

http://americanprinter.com/work-flow/a-to-z-wp-1201/