Case Study - Pageflex

Case Study
May 2012
Intomedia: Offering Expertise on All Aspects of
Web-to-Print
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CASE STUDY
Intomedia: Offering Expertise on All Aspects of Web-to-Print
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3
About Intomedia ........................................................................................................................ 3
What is Web-to-Print? ............................................................................................................... 3
Growth in Two Core Areas ......................................................................................................... 5
Building the Web-to-Print System ............................................................................................ 5
Intomedia’s Web-to-Print Offering ........................................................................................... 5
Intoprint Marketing Portal .................................................................................................... 5
Intoprint Toolbox ................................................................................................................... 8
Intoprint Shop ........................................................................................................................ 9
Intoprint Production .............................................................................................................. 9
Solid Services Back the Offering ................................................................................................ 9
InfoTrends’ Opinion ................................................................................................................... 10
About the Authors ...................................................................................................................... 11
List of Figures
Figure 1: Intomedia’s View of Web-to-Print Business Models ................................................ 4
Figure 2: Screen Shot of Intoprint’s Configurator Color Selector ........................................... 6
Figure 3: Synaxon’s Customized Intoprint Marketing Portal .................................................. 7
Figure 4: Korsch’s Customized Calendar Line .......................................................................... 8
Figure 5: Meyer-Wagenfeld Provides Web-to-Print for Doctors ............................................. 8
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CASE STUDY
Intomedia: Offering Expertise on All Aspects of Web-to-Print
Introduction
The Internet has rewritten the way companies and individuals interact, collaborate, and
conduct business; it has also created new business opportunities in the print supply chain
for firms to capture new business and improve workflow efficiency. Recognizing a big
opportunity in harnessing the Web to drive online print ordering, improve
communication workflows, and streamline production processes, Sebastian Jopen
founded Intomedia GmbH. Jopen’s goal was to build a company that provided print
service providers, print buyers, marketers, publishers, franchises, associations, and
enterprises of all types and sizes with customized, ready-to-use Web-to-print solutions.
Many printing firms
lack the IT expertise
to fully leverage
Web-to-print.
Intomedia steps up
to bridge the gap.
About Intomedia
Jopen started Intomedia GmbH (www.intomedia.de) in 2005. He conceived the idea for a
new business while working in the digital print department of Bosch-Druck, a leading
German offset and digital printing company.
When the tools for online print ordering began
to emerge, Jopen recognized that many
printing firms didn’t have the information
technology (IT) expertise in place to fully
leverage the advantages of the technology. He
saw an opportunity to launch a company that
offered expertise on all Web-to-print services Sebastian Jopen, Director, IntoMedia Gmbh
for producers and buyers of print.
Intomedia currently has eight employees, including three project managers, two software
developers, and sales/graphics experts. The company generates sales of €500,000; 60%
of these sales are from Web-to-print integration applications, while the remaining 40% is
split equally between production management and custom development services.
The company creates Web-to-print applications in business-to-business markets and
business-to-consumer markets. It serves printers, publishers, academia, associations,
print buyers, and businesses of all types and sizes. Sebastian Jopen states, “Our motto is
‘ready-to-use Web-to-print’ and we provide our clients with customized Internet
solutions. Our services make it possible for customers to prepare, order, and produce
printed documents efficiently, conveniently, and cost-effectively from a Web browser.”
What is Web-to-Print?
Web-to-print solutions are Internet browser-based software applications that facilitate
commerce, collaboration, and/or customer service interaction between those who buy
printed products and those who produce/sell them. These solutions encompass the entire
delivery system, including page design, job file submission, online calculation, job
tracking, soft proofing, online payment, online shipping, and inventory management.
Print buyers rely on these systems to increase automation, improve operational
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CASE STUDY
Intomedia: Offering Expertise on All Aspects of Web-to-Print
efficiency, better control brand management, enhance customer retention, and remove
costs and time from the print procurement process.
According to Jopen, the core goal of Web-to-print is to streamline the production and
approval processes of standardized products to lower costs. An Internet browser is used
to define templates, fill them with content provided by the user, and place the print order.
To frame the benefits of Web-to-print models and the company’s offering, Intomedia
GmbH and management consultancy GC Graphic Consult (Munich) created a graphic to
show the different models and where they fit in terms of application focus and user
groups. Intomedia offers print e-procurement portals, marketing portals, marketing
provider applications, and special interest portals.
Figure 1: Intomedia’s View of Web-to-Print Business Models
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CASE STUDY
Intomedia: Offering Expertise on All Aspects of Web-to-Print
Growth in Two Core Areas
Jopen believes that Web-to-print applications are in the early stages. He sees many
possibilities for growing the company’s business, and explains that the company has two
core growth strategies:
1. To expand its professional services in the printing and enterprise markets.
Intomedia has two
growth strategies:
To expand its
professional services
and to bring
additional offerings
to SMBs.
2. To grow and scale the usage if its products in the small and medium-sized
business (SMB) market. Jopen notes, “This market offers great opportunity to
provide businesses with easy-to-use online tools for designing and producing
marketing materials. The tools that are currently available in Germany to create
and design communication products are too complicated for non-professionals.
We want to simplify this process by providing easy-to-use tools for configuring
designs, while managing and controlling assets.”
Building the Web-to-Print System
A key component of building the business was to find a platform to build and support
Web-to-print solutions for heterogeneous customers. Jopen recalls, “Many Web-to-print
solutions providers developed their own systems when we first started out. We
researched the market to find a suitable core technology that was flexible enough to build
our business around, and we ultimately choose Pageflex.”
Intomedia powers its offering with Pageflex Storefront for portal creation and Pageflex
Persona Cross Media Suite for database-driven variable data production. “Pageflex offers
us great flexibility in serving the diverse needs of our client bases,” Jopen states. “It is a
robust and extensible core technology that allows us to build-in our own components and
extensions.”.
Intomedia’s Web-to-Print Offering
Intomedia offers integration of Web-to-print applications, custom development
supported by Pageflex products, and end-to-end Web-to-print-to-fulfillment solutions.
The company offers four core products, which are outlined below.
Intoprint Marketing Portal
The Intoprint Marketing Portal is a software-as-a-service Web-to-print solution for
configuring and ordering various forms of marketing materials. It accommodates
everything from promotional materials and office documents to information such as
flyers and brochures. It can also handle point-of-sale materials, posters, advertising
boards, and other advertisements of varying formats. The product is a central Web-toprint
and print e-procurement solution for larger companies; it supports distribution
networks with customized marketing materials. It can be used by various industry
segments, franchises, or dealer networks. End-users can produce materials without
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CASE STUDY
Intomedia: Offering Expertise on All Aspects of Web-to-Print
formal training—a simple user interface enables complex adjustments and maintains
brand guidelines.
The foundation of the solution is Pageflex’s Publishing Server, a server-based variable
data composition platform that offers extensive editing of print products (including direct
editing of Adobe-In Design) and rules-based dynamic customization of documents.
At the core of the user interface is the Intoprint Configurator. It enables intuitive editing
of substantial documents. It expands on the standard functions of Pageflex Storefront and
offers:
GUI-Components: Tab, Accordion, Popup, Tree
Extended Controls: Rich Text Editor, Price Field, Calendar Picker, Visual Chooser,
Text Chainer, etc.
Extended Previews: Page Thumbnail, Zoomer, Approval
Plugins: Color Selector, Font Selector, Address Selector, Image Editor
Figure 2: Screen Shot of Intoprint’s Configurator Color Selector
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CASE STUDY
Intomedia: Offering Expertise on All Aspects of Web-to-Print
Germany-based Synaxon AG, a company that offers information technology franchise
solutions, is an example of a company that is currently using the Intoprint Marketing
Portal. Synaxon uses Intomedia’s product to offer its PC Specialist franchisees access to
all marketing materials from a central platform. The marketing portal enables PC
Specialist locations to configure and order online a wide range of printed products,
including flyers, letterheads, business cards, point-of-sale materials, customer magazines,
posters, and other advertising materials.
Figure 3: Synaxon’s Customized Intoprint Marketing Portal
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CASE STUDY
Intomedia: Offering Expertise on All Aspects of Web-to-Print
Intoprint Toolbox
Designed for use by smaller firms, the Intoprint Toolbox is a scaled-down version of the
Marketing Portal product. Powered by Pageflex Storefront, Toolbox enables users to
choose product templates from a catalog and then fill in content fields with text and
graphics, change layouts, or choose colors. When finished, the user can put the final
product in a shopping cart and finalize the order. Korsch, a calendar publisher based in
Germany, uses Intoprint Toolbox to create products for individual calendar shops at
www.myfotokalender.de.
Figure 4: Korsch’s Customized Calendar Line
Germany-based Meyer-Wagenfeld, a provider of marketing materials for doctors, is
another user of Intoprint Toolbox. Jopen notes, “Our application enables doctors to
customize, configure, and order their own marketing materials when they need them.”
Figure 5: Meyer-Wagenfeld Provides Web-to-Print for Doctors
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CASE STUDY
Intomedia: Offering Expertise on All Aspects of Web-to-Print
Intoprint Shop
Intoprint Shop is a module-based Web-to-print offering. It targets firms that are
currently supporting online shopping but want to add print products to the mix, as well as
firms with very specialized requirements that need a flexible platform to customize
implementations.
Intoprint Production
Intoprint Production is a management system for high-volume Web-to-print businesses;
it acts as the backbone for printing firms that handle large numbers of low-revenue
orders. It manages the entire workflow from order intake to commissioning and
shipment. Features include:
Automated data integration from different customer systems
Optimization of production batching and triggering of prepress workflows
Recording and tracking of products throughout the entire production process
Quality control during post processing and managing post productions
Synchronization of shopping carts (commissioning, multi-item shipping) and transfer
of orders to fulfillment
Bosch-Druck turned to Intoprint Production two years ago to remove production barriers
that were impeding its digital print growth. According to Bosch-Druck Managing Partner
Dr. Rüdiger Schmidt, “Our workflow was missing critical components for further
automation in prepress, and we couldn’t accurately track products in production.
Intoprint production enabled us to reduce lead time, increase quality, and improve
processes. Customers have seen the difference and we are back on track for growth.”
Solid Services Back the Offering
Intomedia supports its Web-to-print offering with a variety of services including:
Consulting: Implementing a Web-to-Print solution requires defining the
implementation strategy based on a solid needs assessment, project development
strategy, and selection of appropriate technologies. Intomedia works with clients to
find the best and most economical solution.
Implementation: The company offers its clients a “ready-to-use” Web-to-print
solution that addresses everything to ensure user acceptance, from adapting
corporate design to building templates to integration into the clients’ business
processes.
Development: Development of individual components and systems is an essential
part of a Web-to-print project. Intomedia provides a range of options including its
own developers; technology partners (such as Pageflex); and technologies like .NET,
C#, PHP, and AJAX.
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CASE STUDY
Intomedia: Offering Expertise on All Aspects of Web-to-Print
Service and Support: Intomedia supports all product user groups, providing
project managers with answers to technical questions as well as offering a hotline to
support end-users.
Maintenance and Further Development: Usable templates are the lifeblood of a
Web-to-print platform. Intomedia adapts and optimizes layouts from customers for
Web-to-Print. Additionally, the company keeps a watchful eye on technological
advances to help customers plan for the future.
InfoTrends’ Opinion
Intomedia was founded to fill a market void. The Internet was changing the print supply
chain, but printing companies did not have the technology expertise to pursue potential
advantages. Company founder Sebastian Jopen recognized the opportunity for a company
that could bridge the gap for printers by opening up new customized services and
applications to organizations that buy print. Offering flexible and robust Web-to-print
solutions to customers was a core foundation of the company and its technology
infrastructure. The end result is a company that lives up to its motto of “ready-to-use
Web-to-Print,” while also being positioned for growth by expanding into new and
untapped markets.
This material is prepared specifically for clients of InfoTrends. The opinions expressed represent our interpretation and
analysis of information generally available to the public or released by responsible individuals in the subject companies.
We believe that the sources of information on which our material is based are reliable and we have applied our best
professional judgment to the data obtained.
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CASE STUDY
Intomedia: Offering Expertise on All Aspects of Web-to-Print
About the Authors
Barb Pellow
Group Director
barb_pellow@infotrends.com
+1 781-616-2161
A digital printing and publishing pioneer as well as marketing expert, Barbara Pellow
helps companies develop multi-media strategies. She assists companies in creating
strategies to launch new products, building strategic marketing plans, and educating
their sales force on delivering value.
Lisa Cross
Associate Director
lisa_cross@infotrends.com
+1 781-616-2192
Lisa Cross is Associate Director of InfoTrends’ Business Development Strategies service.
She is responsible for conducting market research, supporting market forecast estimates,
managing custom consulting projects, and reporting on industry events.
Comments or Questions?
© InfoTrends 2012 11