Business Card Web to print

ajr

ajr

Well-known member
Please help!

We have just landed a big contract with a Bank, as per usual our sales guy has given them the B******T.

WE need a solution to generate business cards online. For example there would be a standard template and the client would just type in their contact details and generate a pdf for proofing and printing. Our sales guy told them no problem.

Does anyone now of a solution that can do this, my boss thinks I can get something from PC world I told him NO!

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks

AjR
 
We also use PageFlex. It really is a great program. In fact, most of our client's corporate packages are now variable templates online. They fill em out, we print em! No typesetting or proofing anymore!!!!
 
We have been doing this very thing for a number of years already. Printers Presence is good, but you have very little control, in other words, they do all the programming. Any time you have even a small change, you have to send it in to them and wait for them to make the change (plus they charge a fee). The solution we have gone to is PAGE DNA. This is a fully customizable solution, and all programming is done in house. I am a control freak, so I much prefer this type of interface. Be warned that it can get fairly complicated and may not be for the faint of heart. Can be alot to tackle, but it works really well.

PageDNA / Always-On Print

Larry
 
I use XMPie.

Very effective and robust. Probably more power than you need, but could lead you to new avenues of revenue. Learning curve is quite steep, but once your up there you can do almost anything with the software.

Great solution if you have the $ and the IT knowledge.
 
Go to: SoEasyToPrint - Business Cards - Postcards
This is a web to print system we had custom built and will give all that you are needing and more. The system is for sale, or we can work out a lease to buy. We have to sell the system due to an illiness my Husband has just been diagnosed with.
Call 512 778-5861 if you are interested after looking at the web site. It includes the web site, domain name, custom built web to print system (front end and back end), a large ($10.000) Dell Server. Only serious buyers please.
Thanks
Susan Bush
CEo/Owner
SoEasyToPrint.com
512 778-5861
or Don Bush when available
 
Biz Card Site

Biz Card Site

That is an easy problem to solve. If you have Acrobat 8 or 9 there is an app there called Live Cycle Designer. Just create your banks standard business card layout and with a little know how you can add drop down boxes for department names and branch locations and many other options to solve your needs. All on a PC
It will generate an xml file that will populate the template once emailed to you that will produce a PDF ready for press. It is easier IMHO to print shells of cards beforehand due to PMS color matching and just use a copier or press to output the new cards with contact info etc.
Have the bank set up a site on their server where the user signs in and fills the template out and add a button to email to you. That takes the need for you to purchase a server and host the site yourself.
Some web2print servers are so pricey and over rated. With a good coder and server you can do it all.
Best of luck
OG
 
[email protected] said:
It will generate an xml file that will populate the template once emailed to you that will produce a PDF ready for press. It is easier IMHO to print shells of cards beforehand due to PMS color matching and just use a copier or press to output the new cards with contact info etc.
OG
Click to expand...

But the advantage of using a true web to print solution is that the customer can view a pdf proof immediately, thus negating the approval process, that your solution will still incur. This saves time and money for a shop...especially a small one.
 
W2p

W2p

Thanks for your excellent reply. But I still disagree. The shop will still have to incur a cost for his chosen web to print solution whether it is his own server or a server provided by a W2P company. The cost of W2P software is just outrageously expensive if you buy it or use a service.
I believe if you use a service they are able to see your customers names and I for one try to keep my customers private and to myself.
The method I suggest is very inexpensive to the printer for the bank biz cards and will provide cost savings. Not to mention the security fears having bank employees have to log in to some server just to output a business card.
The bank will provide the business card pdf template site and just send the xml to populate the template to the printer. Advantage is bank sends xml the spelling and proofing is on their back. Printer looks at PDF and checks for errors also. The more humans that see a proof the better.
Remember it is just a plain business card shell that requires text not art work etc. The main cost is if they must purchase Acrobat 8 or 9.
OG
 
I guess I see your point to a certain extent. But the OP WAS looking for a web to print solution. Yes your solution is by far the cheaper dollarwise, but man hour wise it is the most expensive. The prepress department, will have to flow in the xml data to Acrobat (or it can be automated), then send a pdf proof back to the client, wait for approval, then generate production files that get sent to the platesetter. Which is fine if you are doing onesy, twosy amounts of business cards. But it is still billable time taken away from your pre-press department. Also, you will be doing this all probably on a unsecured webpage (yuk).

The other advantage of a true web-to-print solution is in reruns. All orders placed by a customer are kept on the server. So if they need additional cards they do not have to retype in all the information. Just select the person's card and either re-order or edit then resubmit.

Plus, most WTP solutions will auto generate an invoice or PO, offer job tracking and inventory. Banks love these features. I disagree about the statement of the more humans that look at the business card the better. I think it is the opposite. You make more money off of the business card with the less amount of humans looking at it. I mean it is a business card...how much profit are in them to begin with....the less you have to touch them, the better.

The way we have ours set up, the customer places the order...it automatically generates a pdf proof that the customer approves, and then dumps to our server where it is populated directly into our production layouts based on each customers shells. All the prepress department has to do is release it to the platesetter. No muss, no fuss.

The costs incurred on startup of a WTP solution might seem alot upfront, but I can't even begin to tell you how much time is saved daily in the prepress department since we implemented our WTP solution 2 years ago. All of our major clients have an online site where they can order their printing items. One of our clients orders 20-30 BC per week. That is 20-30 proofs we do not have to send out, wait for approval, then place into a production file in order to print. And that is just one of our clients....we have about 100 of our clients on our WTP solution. Thats alot of work that is automated, freeing up our prepress to do what they do best...fix crappy designer files to actually print. Our prepress department is no longer "The Black Hole" of the company.
 
We have been using Printable Technologies product for the past 3 years w/ a fortune 500 company....
It works. I wouldn't rave about their product, but their service has gotten a lot better in the past 12 months (used to be pretty shitty).
Expensive, but, still cheaper than the alternatives. Those monthly/quarterly fee's add up over time, trust me. The upgrade path takes lessons from Quark/Adobe, too, so.. Be prepared. If we had more business for it, I would recommend getting one of the roll-your-own flavors (press sense, etc.), but if you do end up on Printables.... I can recommend a great Thai place near their offices! LOL!

- Mac
 
tgreer.com has the right idea.
Web to Print doesn't have to be expensive to get into; all the technology to do it is readily available in open source or open formats like PS or PDF.

In my experience, web to print is something that is done to solve a specific problem, and most of the canned solutions just don't cut it anyway, for this small reason or that small reason or the canned websites they are integrated with.

The systems that offer all kinds of design flexibility, too, miss out on what templating is intended to do in corporate branding situations at least: restrict design decisions rather than enable them. Creating web-based DTP is rather silly.

There is an open source PDF web-to-print plugin framework in development to integrate with ResourceSpace asset management. It is an experiment with how these things can be done without the expensive document-creation servers. With it, you can figure out how to use any php-friendly engine you like: PDFlib, FPDF, PSlib, to create your own PDF template programs. You can't get around custom coding, really. Even the best canned solutions are quite complex when it comes to rules and customization, and the limitations of relying on them will kill your competitiveness.
 
WTP Solutions

WTP Solutions

Newbie here!

We've recently (about 6 months ago) installed Xerox's Free Flow Web-To-Print solutions for customers wanting to do exactly what you are describing. A couple of our customers have locations around the country and want their end-users to be able to order corporate "identity" pieces. (including brochures, post card, flyers and such) We set up the original page 1 up from a print ready PDF and create fields that they can either enter their information or upload a database file. Free Flow will then format (put in imposition) based on what the output size and device is. (we use a Xerox iGen3) It's a very slick operation with great potential! It is probably a bit pricey (was not involved in the purchase so I don't know how much) but very efficient and simple to use. Xerox will give you a week of on-site training when you buy one. It will also create billing information files to make AP happy. You can create a file for just about anything.

The big thing is; when you have your templates set up, it practically runs itself. It can also be set up to email the customer (or anyone else) through just about every stage of the operation.

Hope this helps!
 
My advice... take the money you plan to spend on a web to print solution and contract a hitman to whack the sales rep who landed this crappy account. NOBODY makes any money on business cards, except BCT or AWT, and I guarantee you they wouldn't touch this account. The only reason most printers agree to print BC's is so they can get the "juicy" larger 4 color runs, but most banks don't print high end work, and they have their own internal print department for their hideous form printing.

Also, aren't the banks completely broke right now? Oh, that's right... they just got 700 billion from you and me. Must be nice. How about a bail out for printers?

We made the mistake of getting into online print procurement about ten years ago. It's been a complete disaster and hasn't made a dime. It doesn't generate sales, requires expensive upgrades, and only attracts accounts who want to take advantage of your online investment, then they send their "juicy" work to the lowest bid in town.

It's a cruel world. Whack the rep.
 
Web2Print

Web2Print

TribalSketch is a Web to Print storefront solution that is customer focused and packaged in a "You Host it - You Own It" model at a very affordable price. It is live at HH Imaging Design Set and Mercer Design Set - everything at these sites are designed by and powered by TribalSketch as is our initial project at Photoalbum.com. Discount Digital Scrapbooking.

TribalSketch is destined to be a complete web front end to drive online business to printing companies. We have setup several links for what we call "staging" versions of sites that can be accessed for demonstrations. These can be found at HH Imaging Design Set and Mercer Design Set. We would like to invite you to have a look and please contact us to arrange a complete demo including the administrative side of this project.
�*
�*TribalSketch is different from "Traditional" print management systems and Print web sites in several ways. First TribalSketch has been developed from the start with the user perspective in mind, instead of being an existing print management system with a "Web Front end" being shoe horned in.
�*
So what is TribalSketch?
a. A Professionally designed web site.�* We start by working with you to build a website that matches your needs and goals or to integrate seamlessly with your existing website design.
b. Online Page Layout. TribalSketch enables your users to create their print designs right in their browser. Working in any Flash enabled browser the online page layout tool is both full featured and easy to use. Combined with upload capabilities and support for a broad range of file formats, including PDF-EPS, users can upload and build final layouts right in their browser.
c. Support for online design of non-rectangular shapes! This new feature now allows printers to provide users the ability to design labels and other irregular shaped objects right in their browser.
d. Online "Flip Proof". This unique real "Paper" looking proof lets your users flip through the pages or sides of their design in a real interactive fashion. As part of the "Viral" aspect of the site users can "share" their Flip Proofs online or post them to their website or blog. These will link back to your site.
e. Design and Proof management. To encourage repeat use of your site, TribalSketch manages your users ongoing and completed designs. Users can come back time and time again, reuse old designs or create new designs from old ones.
f. A Web 2.0 Viral Marketing site. Using the latest web 2.0 technologies TribalSketch is built to provide your users with an experience they will enjoy and tell their friends about. The various viral technologies and tools will help your users bring you more business and improve your search engine rankings as well.
g. Estimating Online. TribalSketch Online Estimating Tool provides a simple easy to use backend and front end. You enter your pricing and options to the backend admin interface and your users enjoy finding just the right price using the interactive pricing tool integrated in the site. Pricing can be open to all - or only to registered users as you choose.
h. Ongoing Feature Additions and Enhancements. Become a member of our team and help us drive this product forward. Our customers are significant contributors to the project. Contact us today to find out what new features are coming next!

--
David Lewis
President
Lucid Dream Software, Inc.
847-202-8424
skype: luciddavid
 
We have had Now Technology (nowtg.com). The reason I went with them vs. the others: price. They charge a small set up fee and then a small monthly fee. That is it. You don't have to lay out $30,000 immediately. That is the biggest problem with web2print solutions today. It is very hard to find a client that can generate enough revenue to justify shelling out $30,000.
 
You do not need just 1 client to justify that kind of expense. You will find that once the system is in place, you start popping up online, all of your key customer's collateral. Mostly all of our big clients now have a site that they can order their printing collateral.

Where it saves:
• No more pulling jobs off of the archive
• No more typesetting
• No more waiting on proofs
• No more back and forth with proofs
• Download jobs right into production files

This leaves ALOT more time in the pre-press department to do real work.

Example: Just today a client sent in an order for 60 business cards that use 4 different variations, their letterhead with new phone numbers, and new envelopes.

In the past, one would have to typeset all 60 cards using the right variation (4 variations and 3 logo choices), send them out to get approval...fix changes...yada, yada. Usually takes days. With our system...I pushed a button and the business cards dropped into our production templates, the letterhead dropped into a production file 2 up, and the envelope was ready to go onto our jet press.

1 minute prepress time. Output to our punched plates....Hang and Bang in under 5 minutes!

Time is money...and our PageFlex system has saved us tons!
 
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