We recently attended DSCOOP as part of the start of DMP FLO Suite sales in the USA. The audience of DSCOOP was not the most normal croud (all of them with digital presses and all of them highly qualified), we did notice some things that are fundamentally different from web2print in Europe.
Web2print Storefront
For starters, almost everyone we spoke to already had a storefront for their digital presses. In some cases this is part of the MIS, but in many cases it is a web2print application. This application typically contains some simple variable database publishing capabilities, but the main purpose usually is to order files (ofter by uploading them as a PDF), and entering all information to handle the order. Variable data functionalities are usually oriented around stationary supplies. And while the storefront can be customized for individual customers, this is usually limited to some general settings and look & feel.
Most of the storefronts are quite advanced in their administrative capabilities. Complete and complex orders can be made and handled completely automatically.
Custom applications / Large accounts
Surprisingly, not a lot of emphasis is placed upon the large accounts. We would have expected to see it otherwise in the country of the big franchises. Rather than focus on the big customers (and making sure that an entire restaurant chain orders prints from the printer), the focus is placed on labour-reducing storefronts.
And while those storefronts can be adapted in many ways, they are typically not suited for the completely customized workflow of a large account. Every bank, restaurant, real estate organization, ... has very specific needs and requests. And because of the amount of print orders they can produce, they usually feel that those requests should be met.
InDesign Server
With a few exceptions, the database publishing part of the web2print applications seems to be limited to stationary supplies like business cards and letter heads. In some very limited ways, InDesign Server is used. But advanced stuff (like product-driven flyers, brochures, let alone complete catalogs) seem to be missing. Using InDesign Server for online text corrections in documents seems to be completely unheard of.
Cross Media Publishing
Similarly, there is only little use of cross media publishing solutions, yet. This is probably related to the point about the large accounts. Setting up cross media publishing applications, where a product database (or any other information) is published to different sorts of output, is by definition more specific to the individual customer. But once it is working, only one database needs to be used to publish to print, to the website, to plasma screens, to CD, etc. Even publishing to print can be done in a variety of ways. A single product record can be used to create a poster, a flyer, a catalog, and so on.
Prepress workflow automation / Crossroads
Our attendance at DSCOOP was as a part of the Crossroads initiative. Crossroads is the partner program of Enfocus Switch. While American web2print vendors are obviously much more open than their European counterparts (see one of my next blogs), this type of advanced prepress workflow automation seems to be lacking. Web2print applications seem to be mostly used as the input of a prepress or production workflow, and have not yet been used as a driving engine within the workflow.
Conclusion
The American web2print users seem to have focussed first on a wide audience, whereas the European printers immediately started the competition for the large end customers. Regardless of which is the best approach, it is a situation that we can appreciate. Because it means there are huge oportunities for us in this new market.