Web-to-Print Industry Trends You Can’t Miss Out in 2020

The printing industry has experienced a huge growth over the past decade with the web-to-print software market valued at USD 867.3 million. It is further forecast to grow at a rate of 7.62% until 2025.

Therefore, print store owners must gird up their loins to cater to ever-increasing customer demands in a highly competitive printing market. And embracing the latest trends in the web-to-print software industry is a must for that,

So, read on to know the following trends that you should adopt in 2020.

Automation

A delay in a print job can lead to customers doubting about a business owner’s competence in meeting deadlines and fulfilling their demands. Hence, keeping up with market demands and customers’ orders has become indispensable. And automation of the web-to-print software industry can help you stay efficient and competitive.

With the advent of automation in every process, the industry has managed to enhance the experience of all the parties involved. Consumers need not go through the manual ordering process and can load and send photos via any channel. Moreover, business owners can also make edits in run-time easily.

The objective of this automation is to minimize the dependency on manual processes. Not only auto-creation of designs but also the wholesale and production processes too have become possible.

3-D Printing Technology

3-D printing is one of the most sought after technologies these days. With the global market of the 3-D printing industry forecast to grow up to nearly USD 50 billion by 2025, it’s become even more popular than subtractive printing.

Besides being speedier, it is easily accessible. And web-to-print software can easily cater to entrepreneurs’ demands in various industries. Be it healthcare, automotive, education, robotics or any other such industry, 3-D print technology is a common popular option.

Variable Data Interface

A print e-store can also easily accommodate run-time changes in customers’ requirements.

Let’s understand it with an example.

Suppose a customer has ordered printing of 200 invitation cards. However, when they checked again, they found that there was a typo in the bride’s name. Instead of having to call you and getting it rectified, they can simply correct the typo in the print-ready file. And web-to-print software can easily acknowledge and update it.

This is the importance of variable data interface. Instead of having to go through multiple channels and operators, customers can easily change information in no time. This technology saves both customers’ and business owners’ time.

Personalization Options

Retaining one’s brand image is the key to survival in today’s competitive era. And the print industry has responded to this fact by adopting personalization.

Personalization no more restricts itself to design. It rather expands to the printing format, specs, and even more details as per service providers’ requirements. Customers can simply input their preferences and the web-to-print system can recognize the input. And a product design software can provide that personalization.

Integration with a Fulfillment Partner

Once a customer places an order and completes an online transaction is complete, next comes the shipping. For that, an in-house shipping team or a fulfillment partner is crucial.

With just a click on the ‘Order Now’ button, the system sends the request to a fulfillment partner to ship the order(s) to a particular customer. The real-time connection, a fairly new concept, has fared well so far.

With live tracking, customers get real-time updates on order statuses, with shipment partners are accountable for orders they fulfill from their end, a business owner needs not worry about customers’ grievances regarding shipping.

Voice Control and Command

The web-to-print industry, to make solutions even more efficient and customer-centric, has introduced voice integrations into their models.

Just picture how easy it would be for customers specifying their requirements simply through voice commands and getting the product printed. This new innovative technology is a big breakthrough in the print industry.

Online Printing Portals

No matter whether it is a small business or a big entrepreneur, web-to-print software technology is a widely popular choice among all. Further, customers are also finding this service awesome! This clearly shows that this technology has got a bright future ahead.

In the wake of this emerging technology, a number of online printing portals have come up. With a web-to-print storefront, customers can now offer full-fledged customization freedom to customers. You can partner with an online printing portal and offer convenience and ease of transaction to your customers.

This new option has a promising feature and can attract more customers for a steady growth in business.

To Wrap Up

Web-to-Print technology is the future of the printing industry. What seemed to be impossible in the print industry is now becoming a reality with ever-innovating technology.

And with a large number of trends flooding the web-to-print technology, it is high time every W2P store owner adopted all of them.

Only when you keep all the latest technologies in your arsenal, you can stay on top of customers’ satisfaction. And see your business grow and thrive in the ‘new’ future.

Mr. Pratik Shah is Creative Head at Brush Your Ideas, Web-to-Print technology solution provider that offers Custom Product Design Software as well as Web-to-Print Storefront Solutions.