ONLINE INTERFACES -- Printers Set Sites on Clients

Online interfaces to customers are the printing industry's latest take on the self-service trend. The basic concept is not new, but the way printers are now executing it differs from the wave of eProduction/eCommerce ASP ventures that enveloped the graphic arts during the dotcom bubble.

A key difference is that these solutions are being rolled out by individual printers using infrastructures they control. Those at the forefront are moving beyond offering bits and pieces—such as simply supporting online file submission or even proofing and preflighting—to developing a comprehensive and unified strategy for interacting with clients online.