Benefits and things to consider when choosing a web-to-print solution

Let the photos do the talking. The full photo gallery of sights and highlights from Graph Expo 2010.

Graph Expo just wrapped up in Chicago, and after walking around the show and speaking to customers, I've come to the conclusion that the need for print in the digital age is alive and well and innovating itself at a staggering rate. Customers were here in big numbers looking for new techniques and technologies that would continue to push the limits of what they can do with ink on paper, plastic, metal, wood, glass and many other substrates.

If you have invested in a fully automated web-to-print solution with financial database, congratulations, all the points in this article should be covered by your system. If your web-to-print solution is more of an online order and delivery system, you will need to help out your manufacturing system.

The following items need to be part of a web-to-print solution for it to succeed and profit.

How has photo booth technology changed?

We just returned from Graph Expo in Chicago. It was a very good show with a constant stream of visitors roaming the aisles and plenty of business transactions taking place. Agfa, Xerox, Konica Minolta, HP, Fujifilm, EFI and many others too numerous to mention, launched new products and showcased many innovations.

In this issue, we would like to try a unique approach to summarizing Graph Expo for you. I hope the previous month's column gave you a good sense of the types of technologies to be showcased. This month, we're giving you a taste of what the show actually looked like – a bit more visual. If you missed the show, perhaps you will feel you attended!

TransPromo printing has received a fair amount of attention in the past few years, and continues to be promoted by vendors and industry consultants as an excellent growth opportunity for printers in times of diminishing revenues. However, it seems that while opportunity is knocking for both printers and marketers, not many are answering the call just yet.

Print World: The World of Shorter-Run Printing is the biggest show of its kind in North America. Especially with the expanding implementation of digital presses, the shorter-run market is rapidly growing. In 2008, the show welcomed nearly 10,000 attendees. This year, from November 20-22, Print World will be presented at the Direct Energy Centre in downtown Toronto with over 125,000 square feet of exhibition space.