[1] Companies and software solutions that deal in web-to-print use standard e-commerce and online services like hosting, website design, and cross-media marketing.
Some web-to-print sites offer online print products that replace editing tools like Adobe InDesign where buyers can author work and alter the typeface, copy, images, and layout.
Web-to-print systems are also expanding to handle personalization and distribution of other marketing materials such as presentations, seminars, logo items, and even email and other electronic media.
This change is driven by enterprise clients seeking a single repository/tool to manage all marketing efforts including print.
These templates are then posted online for later customization by end-users and automated production by a print house or commercial printer.
Commercial web-to-print applications can include both print on demand (POD) or pre-printed materials that are pulled from inventory.
VDP pre-dates web-to-print although at that time the design process was carried out via close collaboration with the printer for documents such as invoices.
The term has become ubiquitous, as businesses have picked upon the "Web2Print" phrase to name software designed specifically to manage the web-to-print process.
Many vendors also utilize workflow managers that combine the connectivity of web-to-print with organization tools that simplify the complex printing process.
Most proprietary and trade name software that was developed with web-to-print projects in mind remains prohibitively expensive for this sector.
SaaS solutions are generally delivered through a purely online environment — allowing them to take advantage of relatively low cost per seat, cross-platform compatibility, multi-user collaboration, and live database integration for product and digital asset management (DAM).
Products provide such ability by allowing elements within a template to be moved, inserted, and deleted by end-users following strict rules established by the administrator of the system.
An inhibiting factor for print companies when it comes to implementing web-to-print are the technical/personnel challenges associated with the deployment of e-commerce storefronts due to a lack of trained resources.