Web-to-Print in Package Printing

Web-to-print (W2P) refers broadly to the practice of doing print business using a variety of Web-based tools (homegrown and otherwise) that promote print providers' tighter integration and closer collaboration with customers. With the growing application of digital technology in the packaging industry, commercial print providers increasingly have sought to expand their W2P offerings into packaging applications.

Generally speaking, W2P for packaging describes the combination of Internet-enabled solutions with flexible production aimed at reducing costs, administrative overhead, and obsolete inventory, while delivering relevant brand messages timed for maximum market impact. W2P applications are especially useful in handling the personalization and distribution of packaging materials in niche markets.

Essential elements of most W2P applications for packaging include e-procurement via electronic storefront, online database management, electronic file submission and file management, online template design, email proofing, automatic preflighting, online job tracking, and additional workflow automation—all designed to enable brand owners to manage their brands conveniently and securely.

Applying technology advances

Central Florida Press (CFP) in Orlando is a G7 Master-qualified printer and one of the largest, multi-faceted commercial printers in the southeastern U.S. Founded in 1983, it became a division of The MATLET Group, an NMSDC Corporate Plus® group of large Certified Minority Business Enterprises in 2005. The Group provides general commercial and folding carton packaging printing and services to Fortune 100 customers nationwide. Headquartered in Pawtucket, R.I., The MATLET Group also owns Packaging Graphics in Pawtucket and NOVA Marketing Services, a St. Louis-based fulfillment division.

Over the past 10 to 15 years, CFP has taken advantage of select technological advances that have changed the printing industry, including the creation of proprietary automated systems such as Web-to-print, to significantly reduce production time. Earlier this year the company installed a Bobst diecutting machine for paper and/or board products, and recently placed an order for a HP Indigo digital press that will enable The MATLET Group businesses to produce both commercial and folding carton digital printing, which the company views as a growth area. Both investments will eliminate the company's reliance on outsourcing digital work.

CFP produces a wide range of printed materials for scores of casual dining, tour and travel, and leisure entertainment brands, including booklets and menus, POP/POS, and other promotional items, some via W2P, using personalized customer data entered via Web portal. The company also produces brochures, direct mail, and annual reports, folding cartons, clamshells, and blister packs on an on-demand basis. At present, the company runs about 95 percent of jobs by conventionally, including using a 10-color, 18-unit ROLAND 700 DirectDrive press.

If that sounds like a tall order, said CFP's Senior VP of Sales John Glick, "We are able to predict usage and stay nimble enough to answer customer demand." With the manroland press, for example, "We've done as many as 168 makereadies on a Saturday—600 versions, with 500-1,000 sheets per version.

For the time being, The Matlet Group's W2P activities take place exclusively at CFP. After the new HP Indigo press is installed, W2P's share of the production pie is likely to grow significantly.

Until the introduction of HP's B2 machine at drupa, Glick explained, "The challenge on the digital side was the limitations imposed by format size. We expect the new press to become the linchpin of a major push by The Matlet Group's on-demand packaging, including a greater extension of our homegrown software and W2P technology into packaging."

Thus far, CFP's success in W2P has been driven by the company's expertise in versioning, defined as customization or personalization based on differences in geographical, linguistic, and/or regulatory content.

"Runs are getting shorter based on personalization as the differentiator," Glick said. "We help our customers by giving them the tools that will enable them to automate and manage their brands by reducing and simplifying their versions, and by controlling inventory and logistics."

CFP's W2P efforts are supported by a variety of proprietary software developed internally to automate the process. The company maintains a large number of design relationships, as a result of which "we get the overall design files from the customer and populate and manage them. It takes about 8 seconds for us to create the individual files as opposed to 45 minutes for our customers," Glick said.

At CFP, the process begins when the customer/brand owner accesses CFP's Web site via a customized Web interface and enters the exact specifications for the desired job, choosing (for example), among design templates for boxes, cartons, or displays. As soon as the system registers the required approvals, a ready-to-print file is sent automatically to CFP's production team. CFP also has developed a W2P Toolkit that supports targeted messaging and LSM (local store marketing) initiatives. The Toolkit makes it easy to log on, look at past performance or sales volume, select marketing materials, customize, review a PDF for approval, print, and ship. This tool gives CFP and its customers the flexibility to support both local and targeted marketing efforts.

"It's absolutely essential to differentiate yourself in the market," Glick said of its W2P initiative. "That said, what's necessary today is vastly different from what will be necessary 18 months from now. We're chasing a holy grail; all we can do is push forward in an effort to increase our customers' revenue while decreasing their costs. It's our job to bring the technology to our customers and demonstrate the benefit. If we do anything else, we're kidding ourselves." pP