Zaandam, The Netherlands -- Managing the consistent use of its brand is a critical objective for any company. Every company selling its products via a network of resellers or running a number of subsidiaries, though, knows the problems of maintaining that consistency. Resellers and employees work with unauthorized templates or create their own documents using the wrong fonts or logos. As a result, the look and feel of brochures, ads, letterhead or business cards is different and does not match the corporate design guidelines. WoodWing Software’s Web-to-Print solution Brand Station solves that problem by limiting the “freedom to design,” leading to a controlled environment for the creation of printed materials.

Erik Schut, President of WoodWing Software, says, “Whereas most of the current Web-to-Print solutions are separate systems, Brand Station integrates transparently with our Enterprise content publishing platform, providing robust workflow, media asset management and multi-channel publishing at the same time. Brand Station is very easy to install and to use. Users only need a Web browser. As our solutions are based on open-source standards, they are more cost-effective than most of the other products on the market.”

WoodWing offers comprehensive information (including videos and images) about Brand Station at www.woodwing.com/en/brand-station.

Web-to-Print ensures brand consistency and saves money
The advantages of Web-to-Print are numerous. In addition to the brand consistency they provide, there is less repetitive and manual work to be done, resulting in considerable quality improvements, cost reductions and time savings. Web-to-Print solutions are used by many print buyers, specifically by marketing and human resources departments. For communication agencies and service providers, Web-to-Print solutions are a means to broaden their service range, to strengthen the relationship and to offer the best price and quality to their customers.

The Web-to-Print process
The Web-to-Print process involves a brand owner, designers and brand users. Designers create templates according to the corporate identity. The brand owner approves the templates and provides them via the Web to a controlled group of brand users (e.g. the subsidiaries). These users can access the templates through their Web browser and generate high-quality, print-ready files without needing an in-depth knowledge of print production. Brand users cannot change the design; they can only customize the templates with their own information. A brand owner can request an optional approval step for every document. Finally, Brand Station delivers the print-ready files to the brand user in various file formats, including JPG, PDF or EPS; more formats can be added easily.

Web-to-Print gains acceptance by print buyers and print service providers
Based on the cost and consistency benefits, Web-to-Print is gaining widespread acceptance. According to a study by InfoTrends covering the United States, about 66% of companies buying printed materials used Web-to-Print services in 2008, up from 11% in 2000. About 50% of print service providers say they provide some form of Web-to-Print services, up from just 5% in 2000. The most telling statistic: an additional 30% of print service providers indicated that they plan to invest in Web-to-Print within the next two years. For the United States, InfoTrends forecasts a volume of $224 million for the print e-business software market in 2010, up from $99 million in 2005.

For Western Europe, InfoTrends reports that about 30% of print service providers have deployed a Web-to-Print solution, and another 20% considering implementing such a solution within the next five years. The researchers also expect that the volume of printed documents submitted through a Web-to-Print solution will more than double by 2010.

Availability
Brand Station will become available in August 2009 via licensing, as well as in a subscription model.