What to Look For in a Web to Print Portal

The web-to-print market is already worth more than $34 billion and continues to grow at over 5% annually.*

This growth represents a major growth opportunity. But you won’t benefit from it if you keep doing print the traditional way.

Success in the modern print industry depends on delivering the seamless online experience that today’s customers expect — a market that continues to grow given an increase in demend for digital transformation and product personalization. This presents a major opportunity for print businesses to capitalize on the momentum through web to print solutions.

Contents

• How Ecommerce and AI Are Transforming Commercial Print
• AI’s Role in Web-to-Print
• Essential Features of a Modern Web-to-Print Portal
• Benefits of Implementing a Web-to-Print Portal
• Best Practices for Maximizing Your Web-to-Print Portal
• Future-Proofing Your Print Business with Advanced Technology

How Ecommerce and AI Are Transforming Commercial Print

The commercial print industry is undergoing a profound transformation driven by changing customer expectations, the rise of ecommerce personalization, and the growing influence of AI in design and ordering workflows.

Shoppers have shifted online, lured by the speed and convenience of digital storefronts. However, they still value the personal touch and expert assistance offered by local print providers. Insights from HP, a Graphic Communications partner, reinforce this growing trend.

Print has always adapted. From the days of submitting files via FTP and walking into a print shop with designs saved on floppy disks, to now implementing fully automated cloud-based workflows, the industry is no stranger to adopting new technologies.

For readers newer to the concept, what is web to print software offers a quick primer.

AI’s Role in Web-to-Print

• Creative enhancements made simple: AI automatically fixes common design challenges. Low-resolution images are upscaled, backgrounds can be removed or replaced, and new graphics can ebe generated from text prompts. Through integrations like Picsart, customers also gain access to familiar online editing tools inside their storefront—making it easier to create professional, print-ready designs without leaving the portal.
• Smarter personalization: With tools like SmartCanvas and MarketDirect VDP, AI ensures layouts look balanced, data is accurate, and personalized campaigns can scale easily, whether it’s direct mail, business cards, or cross-media campaigns.
• Efficiency behind the scenes: AI supports pre-flighting - catching issues before print jobs can hit production - and can suggest complimentary products in B2C storefronts automatically.

These capabilities mean customers get a smoother, more creative experience, while print providers enjoy fewer errors, faster turnaround, and more profitable personalization.

However, this is a fast-moving area. As print technology evolves, more AI-powered capabilities are being tested—covering everything from estimating and scheduling to predictive demand planning and automated campaign generation.

While these tools aren’t yet fully available, they signal a significant change in the industry. Check out Graphic Communications Labs for details on emerging technologies.

Essential Features of a Modern Web-to-Print Portal

A modern web-to-print portal is more than a storefront:; it’s the bridge between customer expectations and the print services that fulfill them. By combining personalization, automation, and intelligent design tools, these platforms make it possible for printers to deliver both consistency and creativity at scale.

• Customization & Personalization
  Customers increasingly want to custom print everything. With intuitive templates and guided editing tools, end-users can add names, images, or location-specific details to create personalized printed products.

• Online Ordering & Fulfillment
  Buyers expect the ability to browse, quote, pay, and track shipping all in one place. Integrating your storefront with a Print MIS system, such as PrintSmith Vision, allows orders to flow seamlessly from production to delivery, reducing the steps required to push out product.

• Template-Based Design
  Pre-built templates remove creative bottlenecks and ensure visual consistency—empowering local teams to self-serve while staying on-brand for brochures, business cards, and other marketing materials.

• Variable Data Printing (VDP)
  Advanced variable data printing software enables unique details—names, offers, QR codes—across hundreds or thousands of items, turning print into a targeted, measurable channel.

• SEO-Friendly Storefronts
  Modern web-to-print portals increasingly support SEO best practices such as customizable metadata, clean URLs, mobile optimization, analytics integration, and content-rich product pages. These capabilities not only improve search visibility but also make storefronts easier for customers to discover and navigate.

Benefits of Implementing a Web-to-Print Portal

Implementing a web-to-print portal offers far-reaching benefits beyond operational efficiency. For many providers, it’s the gateway to expanding from B2B into B2C—meeting customers wherever they want to engage. For a modern printing company, a web-to-print portal extends reach and reduces manual overhead.

For those weighing options, a web to print software comparison is a valuable step. Looking at factors like ease of integration, scalability, and user experience can reveal which solution will best support growth today and into the future. For more detailed insights, see our webinar on pivoting from B2B to B2C.

Best Practices for Maximizing Your Web-to-Print Portal

• Integrate with your MIS for automation

  The real power of a portal comes when it connects directly to your MIS. By integrating orders with production workflows, printing work can move automatically from storefront to press, reducing manual entry, minimizing errors, and freeing your team to focus on higher-value work.

• Refresh and optimize your template library

  Templates are often the first touchpoint customers have with your brand. Keep them updated to reflect new campaigns, evolving product ranges, or seasonal opportunities. A strong library also makes it easier for corporate customers to stay on brand without constant support from your design team.

• Invest in customer and staff training

  Even the most intuitive portal benefits from onboarding. Train print customers to use personalization features, proofing tools, and tracking dashboards.
  
  At the same time, ensure internal teams understand how to leverage automation and analytics. This dual investment increases adoption and ROI.

• Use data and independent reviews to refine decisions

  Web-to-print portals generate valuable insights — from abandoned carts to popular templates. Reviewing this data helps you improve products, set margins, and scale pricing strategies. And when choosing the right solution, independent feedback matters: see Capterra’s overview of MarketDirect StoreFront for an independent perspective.

• Promote your portal proactively

  Don’t assume customers will find and use the portal on their own. Promote it as part of your sales and account management process, highlight time and cost savings, and showcase new features.

  Positioning the portal as a value-added service strengthens customer relationships and loyalty.

  For more ideas on how to promote your portal, explore our guide to web-to-print marketing strategies.

Future-Proofing Your Print Business with Advanced Technology

To stay ahead, printers need more than the latest tools — they need a partner that continually invests in research and development. Innovation in areas like AI, automation, and data-driven workflows is reshaping what’s possible: from professional-quality designs that anyone can use, to intelligent production processes that cut turnaround times and unlock personalization at scale.

Discover more at Graphic Communications Labs, where our ongoing R&D efforts illustrate how innovation is core to our approach. By developing and testing new capabilities — from AI-assisted creative tools to next-generation workflow automation — we bring innovations to market quickly, helping printers adapt faster, seize new opportunities, and stay leaders rather than followers.

* Expert Market Research | Web-to-Print (W2P) Market Size and Share Outlook - Forecast Trends and Growth Analysis Report (2025-2034)