Historically, print shops have been establishments serving small businesses in local and regional communities. But, with the emergence of online printers, there's a whole new realm of possibilities available to you that wasn't previously an option.
Discounted pricing, short run printing, shorter turnarounds and more personalization are just a few of the benefits of digital printing. Perhaps the best thing about online printers is that they're setup to handle the specific needs of both small and large businesses, skilled at both printing small format and printing large format, while consistently delivering a high quality product at amazing speeds.
Advantage #1: Online Printers Provide Highly Personalized Experiences for You and Your Customers
Many online printing companies offer calendar management for setting up printing and shipping timetables in advance. If your company or small business sends out a catalog on the first of every other month then you can set this up electronically over the web.
Just submit the documents, place your order, and pay the invoice...all on a schedule without even leaving your home. Remember, you can't do this at your local brick-and-mortar shop!
Online printers also offer you the ability to create a personalized experience for your customers and recipients. Such technology is so much more advanced than traditional printing plates With the help of digital presses, online printers can easily add personalized elements into your products with pre press automation, all at the same speed as printing without personalization, and with more traditional methods with offset printing.
To do this, printers employ a technology called variable data printing that enables digital presses to print individual personalized printed pieces that have data that is switched out "variable data" that differs from copy to copy.
Whether you're sending out mailers to potential customers or flyers to existing clients, you have the ability to add customized fields. This practice has proven effective and is a widely used approach for grabbing the attention of your recipients through relatively more economical marketing materials.
But, how do printers get the names of recipients?
There are a few different ways to provide the information for custom jobs. Firstly, it depends on whether or not you're targeting current customers or going after potential new customers. If you want to send to customers who you already have in your database, then the most common (and easiest) way to send their information is through a digital file from your system.
The online printer can then use that information to create your personalized materials. If you want to target new customers, then you have the ability to purchase filtered (targeted) lists and apply the information to your print job. For instance, if you want to send postcards to a local neighborhood called “Grand Oaks” then you could greet them on the postcard
by adding “Hi Grand Oaks Resident."
Advantage #2: Online Printers Give Special Perks like Discount Shipping and Short Turnaround
Online companies are sometimes able to offer discount shipping when local printers cannot do the same. The option to take advantage of perks like this is only available with online printers because their margins are not as tight. Why is that the case?
Online printers are able to offer these discounts because of larger workloads. When printers have more people using the same type of printing process, they're able to create larger printing runs. These larger printing runs mean that less work goes into setting up multiple print jobs, translating into savings for you.
In addition, the less work a printer does, the lower the costs become for them and those savings also get passed down to you.
Discount shipping and shipping on short notice are advantages that are only possible when shopping on the web. If you need a smaller order (short run) on short notice then you'll be able to get that done online. If you have a larger order and a little more flexibility with time, then you'll be able to get that done as well.
SAVINGS TIP: The more prepared you are when going to print and the more flexibility you have, the lower your costs will go. If you have everything together and you have a good idea of what you need, then that will provide a more streamlined process for you and your printer.
Likewise, if you plan ahead and start the printing process well in advance, or if you don't need your printing at a specific time, you'll be able to avoid some other printers' set up fees and take advantage of special discounts because it gives the printer
more ability to print your products in a convenient fashion.
Advantage #3: Online Printers Make Proofing Easy with Order Previews
A third benefit to these online companies is that you can preview your orders, with selected binding, before you place them. Unfortunately, there are local printers that still do not offer this to customers in digital form.
The best options are sites with interactive building tools that let you create a final product in real time, but even the most basic preview services with online companies are years ahead of traditional printing businesses.
All businesses should also set up an offsite server (or cloud). Cloud storage is the ability to upload and download documents on a remote server. This is an exciting option for businesses because it adds a versatile and responsive tool for business owners.
Remote storage centers are far less likely to suffer lost data from hardware failures, and you'll never again have to worry about forgetting a document at home or the office—if you have access to the internet anywhere in the world
then nothing is ever left behind.
Online account options are great in a world where mobile operations have become so commonplace. Owners and employees work Monday through Friday, but are often also expected to be available to send or receive emails, to shoot over a file or a proof, or to access a document on demand. With online account options you can not only access your cloud storage remotely but you can also place orders, request printing services, pay invoices and manage profile details.
Contact Conquest Graphics at 800-707-9903 to get started with your printing today.
Start reaping the benefits of digital printing services today...
