By Melissa Donovan
Part 2 of 2
Web to print (W2P) is all over, whether one realizes it or not. Both businesses and consumers benefit from retail storefronts that enable ease of ordering of customizable products from t-shirts to posters and prints. In part one of this series, we spotlighted Galloree of Charlotte, NC. The custom merchandising company uses a W2P system to interface with consumers ordering personalized products. In addition, it offers unbranded retail storefronts for businesses off of its main W2P platform, and then prints their products as well.
We continue our W2P series with another spotlight on a Rochester, NY-based print service provider (PSP).
W2P is The Business
CatPrint was established in 2004 as a digital printing company focused on customer service and digital technologies. Today its staff of 16 offers short-run digital printing to graphic designers, agencies, and Web developers worldwide. Some of the products it prints include postcards, invitations, business cards, greeting cards, posters, booklets, brochures, envelopes, flyers, and stickers.
Developed to provide a service for customers in the Web market, CatPrint exclusively uses Xerox Corporation iGen4 presses and built its W2P solution closely around the iGen platform.
“While W2P is our business, there certainly was a huge learning curve in developing our custom platform. Our current architecture is a third generation design and represents many years of experience in print, software development, and production management,” shares Matt Saginario, customer service representative/social media coordinator, CatPrint.
The proprietary W2P system was developed in house and managed by internal developers. It is run on Ruby-on-Rails and Sinatra servers and based entirely in the cloud. All of the company’s operational software is hosted in the cloud as well, including accounting, help desk, mail, and documentation.
With no brick-and-mortar storefront, all of the PSP’s jobs are submitted via the Internet. The W2P storefront is designed with this in mind, offering no order minimums, custom job sizes, an array of paper stocks, and a simple two-step order process.
According to Saginario, Web-based file submission is the company’s core business. “Files can be submitted by uploading to the site, where they are stored in the client’s file directory. Any image files emailed to CatPrint are also added automatically to the sender’s file directory. All of the files are then preflighted during the upload process, and about 50 separate checks are made for file quality,” he continues.
Once preflight is complete, customers have the option of receiving a soft or hard copy proof. For soft proofing, a preflighted image with crop marks is emailed. If a hard copy proof is requested, a single printed copy is mailed to customer via U.S. mail.
For those customers requiring custom W2P solutions, CatPrint provides PrintSprocket API. A Web developer can provide automatic print submission directly into the CatPrint production queue. PrintSprocket is able to handle all facets of the submission process, including payment collection.
CatPrint continues to grow the business by adding and developing its W2P solution. While it currently does not offer design wizards or templates, it plans to have a system in place for the 2014 holiday season. The addition should bring in new business to the already busy Web-based PSP.
Click here to read part one of this exclusive online series, Looking at W2P from Both Sides Now.
Click on the link above to get more information on the vendors mentioned in this article.
Oct2014, Digital Output DOW2P1410
