Web-to-Print: The Next Generation

(NPES International E-commerce Website, August 07 2008) When a complex subject needs to be summed up succinctly, buzzwords designed to convey the essence memorably are never far away. Unfortunately, however, they are also simplifications and sometimes confusing. The term web-to-print is no exception and, despite much discussion in the trade press, for many it is still unclear exactly what is meant by it. Quite a few people think of web-to-print as simply an alternative method of delivering data to a print service provider: Instead of e-mail or FTP file transfer, one uses a web-to-print solution. Others believe the ordering of static printed products over the Internet to be web-to-print. But, even though both might form part of a web-to-print system, by themselves they are far from constituting one.

The industry expert and consultant Bernd Zipper has played a leading role in the spread and promotion of this young technology in Germany through his web-to-print forum and his numerous publications. In his study of the web-to-print market published in conjunction with the BVDM (The German Printing and Media Industries Federation) he has taken a close look at the very varied range of solutions and he has distilled his experience to produce the following definition, 'Web-to-print is the server-supported online generation of individualized documents integrated with commercial processes in the print and media environment'.
One important aspect of web-to-print is clearly the possibility of individually entering content into documents without using a complicated setting or layout program. Networking via the Internet or Intranet makes it possible to do this conveniently from an ordinary workstation and this is ideal in the corporate world. The user is connected to the web-to-print system using the normal web browser and no special tools need to be installed. This also means that there is no time consuming maintenance for administrators when updates are released.

In the simplest instances - of the kind that characterized the first attempts at web-to-print at the end of the 90s - printed matter such as business cards and letterheads is produced; but, with the development of ever more sophisticated systems that incorporate complex sets of rules, nowadays virtually any kind of promotional material from a folder to a brochure can be handled.

Web-to-print has been applied with particular success in fields such as translation management, when, for example, the brochures of an international company need to be produced in multiple languages, or in brand management, since the web-to-print system is able to ensure strict adherence to corporate identity (CI) guidelines. However, there are countless other scenarios, which, broadly speaking can be divided into B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to consumer).

Looking backwards, looking forwards
Web to print has a short but eventful history. The first attempts were made in the mid 90s, when it was known by other names. Following the bursting of the Internet bubble and the stock market crash of 2000, its development initially faltered during the ensuing years of recession. Internet connections perhaps also needed to reach the speeds that are now taken for granted in order for web-to-print to gain greater acceptance.

Today, there is a whole multitude of web-to-print suppliers and the market is booming. Just the study referred to previously by Zipper and the BVDM describes over 60 solutions, with a large proportion of them originating from the DACH region. Times, however, are unlikely to remain quite so rosy. Experts anticipate a process of consolidation over the next few years. Most of the solutions have been developed and are marketed by small and medium-sized companies, often with fewer than 20 employees. Quite a few of these firms have been founded in the last few years. As a user it pays to keep on asking oneself what sort of background and history a supplier has, since this simplifies the classification of what is on offer.

Typically, one finds web-to-print suppliers are drawn from the ranks of print service providers with IT experience (for example Contentserv), advertising agencies with software experience (for example I-Brams, formerly of the Peter Schmidt Group), or alternatively software and database specialists that over many years have become familiar with the requirements of the print and media industry (for intence Boretius Software & EDV-Beratung and its Trivet. Net product).

It is also long since industry majors and suppliers of digital presses such as Kodak, Konica-Minolta, Canon and Oce were without web-to-print solutions to offer their customers, either in the form of ones they have developed themselves or proven packages sourced from partners. So, for example, one finds EFI products from Canon, whilst Oce offers the Trivet.Net system amongst others.

Given that web-to-print is on everybody's lips - one might almost speak of hype - there is of course a temptation for various fellow travellers to seek to arrogate the magic term in order to benefit from its modern and state-of-the-art aura. In reality, some of these products only travel part of the way to real web-to-print. A plain online shop for static printed products quite simply sells itself more effectively as a web-to-print solution.

Technologies and trends
In technological terms, typical web-to print-systems comprise a server, which acts as the central point for communications, and a frontend, usually a web browser, via which the user interacts with the server. The server's components include a database, which holds large amounts of information centrally and in structured form. Well-known examples of such databases are My-SQL, as well as database systems from Oracle and Microsoft. In most cases InDesign Server, the Quark Publishing Server, Viva IP from Viva Software or the Thomas Merz PDF Lib are used for the publishing server, which generates the laid out pages from the information the user submits, usually in the form of completed templates. The web-to-print system supplier links these components together with the aid of programming languages such as PHP and ASP-NET and with the aide of web technologies like HTML and CSS (Cascading Stylesheets). Publishing servers perform two important tasks. Firstly, they generate an exact preview of the layout for display in the web browser, allowing the user to check his or her entries, and, secondly, they are responsible for generating the print ready copy, often in the form of a PDF.

At the frontend there are some clear trends. New technologies such as Ajax, Flash/Flex, Air and SilverLight are making operation via the web browser considerably more friendly and more like that of pure desktop programs [see the 'RIAs are on the way' article]. The interesting options that these developments open up will undoubtedly be on show from numerous web-to-print suppliers at Drupa.