In the pre-internet era, ordering business cards required driving to your local print shop, placing your order, coming back to proof your design and then picking up your business cards the following week. Printing a new business card was a big deal! In the year 2000 film American Psycho, which was set in 1987 Manhattan, New York, there is a memorable scene in which the vice presidents of Pierce & Pierce are sharing their new business card designs. Although the film was largely satirical of the late 80s corporate culture, the scene accurately depicted the process of ordering business cards in a pre-internet era when Bateman, played by Christian Bale, announces, “Picked them[business cards] up from the printer's yesterday.” Even a big player on Wall Street like Bateman had to pick up his own business cards! However, in today’s convenient internet driven world, most anyone can order business cards from the comfort of their home or office computer. The online printing revolution has already taken place, but did anybody notice?
Online Printing Revolution Offers:
1. Convenience. As demonstrated in our movie example, placing a print order is more convenient than ever. Customers can order, proof and pay online and then have their order mailed to their doorstep or directly to their clients. In fact, online printing companies like UPrinting.com even offer mailing lists and services for direct mail marketing.
2. Price. In most cases, online prices are much cheaper than their offline counterparts. This is because online companies do not need to maintain a brick and mortar location in every city and state. In fact, most online companies can consolidate their resources, production and personnel into a few strategic locations. This lowers overhead and translates into lower prices for higher profit. Online printing is no different. In most cases, the price of printing business cards online is a fraction of printing them locally.
3. Eco-Friendly. The convenience of conducting business online has a supplementary benefit: driving is not required. Due to the fact that there is a limited amount of physical transportation for each order, online printing can truly reduce green house gas emissions. In addition, online printers have the luxury of promoting green products such as recycled paper stocks, aqueous gloss coatings and vegetable/soy-based inks. Smaller print houses would struggle to offer so many options!
4. Consistency. Automated computer systems and extensive databases used by online printers mean that every order can be replicated with ease. No need to worry about your refill batch of business card turning out different from your first batch. All the information and files will be saved online!
There are many benefits of online printing that many business people take for granted. However, it is important to know where we started and how far we’ve come to understand where we are going. What do you believe is in the future for online printing, print marketing and graphic design?
Samuel Nam is the search marketing manager of Online Printing Company, UPrinting.com.
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