Finding a simpler way to print – Print21 magazine article

One of the most sophisticated W2P systems currently operating in the industry has been created locally by a print management company – and print is just one part of what it has to offer. Simon Enticknap finds out more.

Based on the NSW Central Coast, the print management company, E-Bisprint, has been working in the online environment since 1997 when it first set up a W2P site for business cards aimed mainly at the trade sector. It was not a runaway success, admits managing director, Paul Freeman, (pictured) probably because it was a bit ahead of its time, but it gave the company a taste of what it could do online and, since then, it has continued to pioneer new developments.

The result is that today it offers a whole range of W2P portals for its clients to help them manage their print requirements and drive efficiencies throughout the production and delivery chain. The company’s motto is ‘A simpler way’ and that is what it aims to do for businesses wanting to order print material. Looking at some of the examples which Freeman and Catherine Gibson, business development manager, present at the company’s head office in Tuggerah, it quickly becomes apparent just how far-reaching the web interface has become in terms of managing print requirements.

A good example is the portal which the company operates for the Best Western chain of hotels in Australasia. Prior to its implementation, individual hotels would order their print separately, leading to wide variations in quality and design as well as being inefficient and costly. Now, users can log in to a central site and order their print, using branded templates to which they can add personal data, or order warehoused items.

The E-Bisprint system, called Streamline, offers a very flexible and sophisticated means of personalising information; business cards are a typical item but it is also possible to redesign documents online (without changing the branding) and customise different elements. Another example for a financial services company enables individual advisors to create their own newsletters using pre-written articles and images or enter their own content, and automatically generate fully laid-out A4-size newsletters ready for print. The advisers can also design their own print advertisements, again with certain fixed design elements, resize them automatically and supply them to newspapers via Quickcut. This saves time and money, and ensures a consistent result without imposing a one-size-fits-all solution.

Clear and transparent
Accountability and transparency are other important components of the system, enabling clients to manage approvals, track jobs, check on stocked items etc. Depending on the client’s requirements, they can also monitor how well E-Bisprint is tracking against established KPIs at any moment in time. Although there are common elements, each client’s portal looks different and uses the client’s own names for its print items rather than forcing them to use standard terminology.

On the supply side, E-Bisprint also uses an online portal to put work out for tender, enabling suppliers to log in and quote for the work that suits them. Different criteria, such as turnaround time or if digital output is required, can be applied to each job in the selection process and unsuccessful tenderers are given feedback on why they missed out (or by how much on price) so they can adjust their quotes accordingly. When a print job is ready to go, it is sent through to the printer and, at each stage, it is possible to track where it is in the production process right through to delivery.

The Streamline software has all been locally developed – the company has a policy of employing IT trainees from the local community to provide opportunities for young people with talent – and is constantly being updated; some clients have been through two or three generations of the system.

“There’s a lot of intelligence that can be built into these systems, but the clients are not always ready for it,” explains Freeman, adding that he’s “lost count” of how much has been invested in the software over the years but estimates that it runs into millions of dollars – a fact which causes some amusement when he hears printers complain that print management companies contribute nothing to the industry. Over the past six years, he estimates the system has handled 80,000 quotations with much of the work generated going to small- to medium-sized printers who otherwise would not have had access to such a sophisticated W2P tool.

Having developed the system, the 20-year old company now finds it relatively easy to deploy it in new directions, for instance into warehousing and fulfilment. The tracking and stock monitoring capabilities of the system appeal to customers such as government agencies where every item sent out has to be accounted for at any particular moment in time and where security is essential. In these instances, print may be just one element of the service provided, demonstrating the extent to which it has become part of the whole e-procurement and distribution market.

Paul Freeman is a member of the Print Services and Distribution Association in the US and regularly travels there for conferences on the latest developments. He says he is always impressed by what US print distributors are doing as they tend to be further advanced in their online solutions, but he believes that the E-Bisprint solution stacks up well against anything available overseas.