All About The Astonishing Evolution of The Printing Industry

Posted by Pratik Shah on April 11th, 2019

There used to be a time when printing was limited to paper, which was carried out using big machines and for quite a lot of money.

As things changed, the machines got smaller, and printing got cheaper and more versatile.

However, printing is no longer limited to bulky machines and specific paper, or even paper. We are printing things out of thin air now, with 3D printing. We are printing on all kinds of surfaces and for a much lesser cost!

No one would have imagined it would be this easy and accessible to print on things. What the evolution of printing did is that it opened up a whole new range of opportunities across various industries to expand their businesses.

It has become increasingly lucrative to add web to print element to your e-commerce stores that help you sell printable customized products.

If you are already thinking of adding a web-to-print solution to your store then here's a brief idea about the target audience.

Who can be your target audience?

If you are thinking of investing in a web to print design software to expand your business, then you should know that your target audience doesn't have to be a retail consumer. Even if your clientele is other businesses, you can definitely upsell the products that you already make with some customization.

The need for customized products is gaining momentum as you read this article. The various industries that you can target for customized products are the hotel industry, entertainment industry, event management industry, sports industry, aviation industry, and of course the regular retail buyer.

Products You can Offer to Various Industries:

Your business clients want customized products as well; hotels and airlines want toiletries packaged with their logo and name, as well as blankets and napkins, among various other things. The wedding industry is always looking to put a little personal touch of each wedding party, sometimes it's the initials of the couple, or a hashtag, or a logo, the list keeps changing. Event managers will want to put little event banners on water bottles, and accessory packages they give (based on whatever event they organize), etc.

The evolution of W2P

Customized printing revolutionized the gifting industry. There were small kiosks set up at gifting stores, where you could sit with the designer to pick something from their limited templates and customize it a little for a tote bag. This bag would then arrive in a few weeks. Not to mention, it was a premium item at a premium price point.

Web to print technology is in use much more widely now, anyone can print things on a number of products from anywhere. You don't even need a computer, let alone a special designer!

It is gaining importance in the market because of its ease and simplicity. You can simply pull out your mobile phone, access any store that provides web to print service, design the product you want, choose a payment method that is convenient for you and place your order.

Most decent websites will deliver your product in a day or two, depending on your location.

This means that people are more inclined towards customizing their products now. The market is full of innovative and great ideas to mass-produce everything and a whole lot of people want their own mark on top of those great ideas. They want their laptop and phone covers to match or complement each other, their t-shirts to say something clever about trending topics, their mugs to motivate and their initials on everything.

How to start your Web to Print Journey:

Moving into a web to print territory is not much of an issue if you already have an online store that sells one or many of these products. If you don't and are starting from scratch, it is again simple enough. You can choose from the various ready to use web to print stores available and go ahead with it.

With an existing store, you get the added benefit of your loyal customer base. They already like the quality of your products, so they are sure to see the added value that customization provides.

Web to print software enables the customer to do what they want. It lessens the hassle of sitting with a designer to get a photo printed on a mug or a t-shirt. If you're a storeowner, it lessens the time you spend on designing and making products.

You can instead focus on how to reach more customers and how to expand your business. All you have to do is provide a variety of products that your customers can print things on; then they can take care of the design element themselves, based on the parameters you have defined.

Summing it Up:

A customization tool will only add to your business revenue, whether your clients are businesses or a regular consumer. You can leverage the trend of customized products to your advantage right now and establish yourself as trusted printers and a one-stop solution for personalized products.