If you're in charge of a printing company, the definition for web to print can be pretty simple: "Online tools to fill my presses". But you should probably be aware that there are a lot of variations on web to print software. Because your customers don't really care about your presses. They have other concerns.
Basic website
The first tool you might explore for web to print, is your normal website. How is it generating sales? It might take a lot of time and effort, but getting your website high in the Google rankings will most likely generate a lot of additional trafic. And writing some compelling content might actually convert some of that trafic to new business.
Website: supporting applications
In a next phase, tools can be added to your website. They don't often have to be very expensive. Simple file transfer or quoting applications are easy to implement, and will make the step from web to print significantly easier for your customers.
Online storefronts - general web to print
And to make things even easier, you could add an online storefront. Usually this can be provided by your MIS supplier. Storefronts might include anything from a simple PDF upload with basic quotations (and automatic creation of jobs in the MIS system), up to comple handling of all production and handling parameters. In this case, web to print can be stretched very far.
B2C web to print design
One way to increase trafic and business can be to allow end users to design their own printed materials. Posters, flyers, business cards, and many other types of materials can be designed online and increase the chance of success of the web to print application. If the web to print software targets consumers, online payment and handling of the orders are a must.
Business To Business web to print templates
Things are often a bit simpler for Business to Business web to print applications. A single user group can be targeted, and the return on investment can often be predicted in advance. Especially branch organisations are very thankfull customers of web to print solutions. Dozens or hundreds of store owners can use centralized templates in the web to print application, all resulting in predictable and fast output.
Business to business: Collaborative production tools
Similarly, you might target the production departments of your customer with a web to print application. These often contain only one or a couple of types of output. A perfect example is the creation of product catalogs. A web to print solution might be used by the product managers of your customer to follow the necessary steps in the lifecycle of this catalog: data entry, catalog creation, approval, ...
Conclusion
There are a lot of types of web to print. While it is rarely a good idea to try to offer all of them to your customers, you should at least be aware of their existence. Especially B2B web to print applications are very suited for ad hoc or project based development.