Web-to-print: Most and Least Worthwhile Investment

Web-to-print is among the top four workflow software investments over the last three years, but in a recent survey, a number of companies claim it has been their least worthwhile investment.

According to a press release from AMSP/NAPL/NAQP, the association’s recent Workflow Investment Survey 2014 showed 40 of the more than 325 respondents claimed Web-to-print was as the bottom of their list of worthwhile investments. At the same time, though, 150 respondents called Web-to-print their most worthwhile investment.

Approximately 20 percent of the survey participants were representatives from in-plants, with commercial printers making up the remainder. Survey results are reported in the association’s white paper, Workflow: Where, Why, and What Companies are Investing, co-authored by Senior Consultant Howie Fenton. Both the survey and white paper were sponsored by Xerox.

In the press release, Fenton says he was surprised by the negative feedback Web-to-print received from some respondents. Fenton says one reason Web-to-print failed in some situations could be that the service was poorly sold. Another potential reason, he says, could be that it was challenging for customers to use because of difficulties in implementing the technology.

Prepress PDF, print MIS and variable-data printing joined Web-to-print at the top of the list of top workflow software investments.

According to Fenton, the survey showed Web-to-print, print MIS and e-publishing proved to be important for both commercial and in-plant printers. Variable-data printing, cross-media marketing and search engine optimization proved to be more suited for commercial operations specifically. Read the full press release here.