Pre-media

The technology behind web-to-print production is nothing new, it's been around for years. What has hampered development of the sector is the level of uptake. Simon Creasey reports.

When the shutters were closed on the Messe’s cavernous halls in June the debate began in earnest: was it an inkjet Drupa or a workflow Drupa? Four years ago it had most definitely been a JDF Drupa but this time around, in hindsight, no one in the market sector had really appeared to dominate proceedings. In the build up to the exhibition many had anticipated that Drupa 2008 would see web-to-print (W2P) finally come of age with the vast majority of digital press manufacturers showcasing the technology working in tandem with their hardware.

However, relatively few product upgrades were unveiled in Düsseldorf itself by software suppliers with most companies choosing to unveil new versions or applications either before or after the two-week print jamboree.

Indeed, with take up of W2P still at relatively modest levels (particularly in the UK) it seems like the industry might have to wait another four years before the technology truly comes of age. One of the major obstacles facing W2P software providers at the moment, which was underlined by the experience of exhibitors at the show, is that there are still far too many printers who don’t fully understand the technology and what it can do for their business.

As a spokesman for one leading W2P supplier explains: "We had a lot of people coming up to our stand at the show to ask us about our product but many of them didn’t have a clue about how the technology works. They think that it’s like Photoshop – you simply stick a CD into your computer and suddenly you’ve got a web-shop and a PayPal account and you’re off and running, but it’s not as straight forward as that."

Part of the problem with the market’s misconception of the technology is that currently two definitions of W2P exist, which somewhat clouds the sector. There’s an interpretation of W2P as a system that entails ordering – and paying for – printed items over the internet, and then the alternative understanding is that of a system that provides a client with an online interface in which they can upload their work. 

Mature technology
Whichever definition you align yourself with, the technology behind both versions of W2P is very mature, even if the sector is still in its relative infancy (it first started making waves in the late 1990s). Just type the words ‘web-to-print’ into the search engine of your choice and you will be presented with numerous different solutions all offering the same basic service but with different levels of functionality.

Many of these products were on show in Düsseldorf. For example, EFI showcased Digital StoreFront 3.0, the major upgrade of its W2P software, which was unveiled last year. The company achieved record sales of the product at the show picking up more than 20 new European customers.   

Another major draw was the debut of version five of Press-sense’s popular iWay package. New features of the revamped product,  available later this year, included a simplified and enhanced menu structure, organisation of data, application setup, and new account-creation tools. Pricing schemes and production queues have also been improved: the pricing model can now examine multiple production options, such as offset or digital, automatically selecting the lowest price. In what was a busy show for the Israeli software developer, the firm also announced that three new partners had adopted its software. HP, Infoprint Solutions and Presstek joined industry giants Xerox and Océ who are already using the firm’s technology.
Another W2P partnership unveiled in the run up to the show saw KBA team up with Hiflex. The result, christened ‘KBA Complete’, showcases KBA’s waterless 74 Karat working with Hiflex’s W2P package. The Dutch software company also used the exhibition halls to show off the benefits of using its MIS and W2P solutions on the Hiflex ‘iPhone portal’, which allows users remote access to estimating, CRM and JDF/JMF production status through Apple’s ultra-cool gadget.

Despite all of these new innovations, which drew in the crowds, some people feel that these developments are fairly meanginless unless the W2P sector can persuade more people to adopt the technology.

"We need to get back to basics," believes Marian Stefani, managing director of RedTie, UK-based developer of the RTT W2P system. "At the end of the day you can all bring new features out, but that’s nuts because the industry is hardly adopting it."

Education needed
Stefani, whose company exhibited at Drupa for the first time, argues that when W2P is enjoying high uptake, software firms will be differentiated by the functionality of their products, but for the time being at least she feels the industry should be looking to educate printers about the benefits of W2P to boost take-up figures.

"The message we hear from printers is the same: ‘We know all about it, we think it’s great but we’re scared – how are we going to do it?’" explains Stefani. "This is not just about printers buying a system – it’s about educating the customer about how they can use it, what benefits they will get from it and how they can sell it."

Clearly it’s going to take an industry-wide initiative, and not just the actions of one company, to help buck the current trend. A Canon commissioned InfoTrends study, published in October 2007, underlined the extent of the problem that Stefani alludes to.

While the study showed that W2P installations throughout Europe are set to grow by 68% in the next five years, somewhat worryingly the UK sat in the bottom third of W2P adopters in Europe, with 60% of UK print companies polled suggesting that they would still be avoiding W2P by 2010.

Perhaps even more alarmingly the study also revealed that 40% of UK print professionals are still unsure what W2P actually means.

While these statistics may be worrying for W2P software providers, some in the sector, such as Press-sense European sales director Ken Whild, believe that the current perilous state of the economy could see knowledge of W2P, and in turn adoption rates, pick up. "At the moment, thanks to the credit crunch, the key driver is affordability. People buying print want to be able to do it easily and quickly and as such they want lower prices and this is where W2P should come in."

Whild is a firm believer that W2P is about to come of age and, despite the current relatively modest take-up statistics, he feels that the UK is moving forward at the right rate of adoption at present and that this rate will be further helped by the rapidly changing shape of the printing industry.

As Whild points out, when employed correctly W2P is all about business change. So those that invest in it hoping that it will in itself generate new business will probably fail miserably, whereas those that tie investment in a W2P system with a shift in business model or marketing strategy are the ones that are more likely to succeed.

INVESTING IN W2P: WHAT TO CONSIDER

For those printers who are contemplating taking the plunge into the world of web-to-print (W2P), there are a number of factors that should be taken into account before purchasing a system.

Bertin Sorgenfrey, head of international marketing at Dalim Software, which launched a new virtual library product at Drupa for magazine proofing and approval and whose products sit at the other end of the W2P market – more print-to-web than W2P – offers two valuable pieces of advice for printers looking to invest in W2P kit.

"The printer must first ask ‘do I have the customer base for this?’ Unfortunately, this is something that most print shop operators ignore. The system must also offer good usability - W2P is all about making it as easy as possible for somebody to use the system."

Marian Stefani, managing director at RedTie, says that given the amount of choice available on the market another crucial factor is making sure that the system you buy is the right one for your individual business’s needs.

"We see printers with expensive systems in place who have never used them," she explains. "We have never seen anybody who has bought our system use all of the functionality that we offer. W2p suppliers have all built good things into their products that do great stuff but we almost say dumb it down. It’s not about adding more functionality – it’s about getting started."

Stefani says that printers need to be aware that installing a W2P system doesn’t necessarily require vast amounts of IT skills and technical support, but is as much about sales support.

"We sell the product to the sales and marketing teams of printers and they then pass it onto their technical team because they think that it’s a technical issue and somewhere between those two points they lose focus on how to sell it."

And herein lies the key: there’s little point investing in an all-singing, all-dancing W2P system if you don’t know how to sell its benefits to your customers.

Stefani says that she has made it her company’s mission to help printers learn how to sell W2P to their customers and only those companies that master this trick will reap the financial rewards.