At least 60 print-related Internet companies offer services in-plants can use. Find out how they can help your operation. The Internet has changed much more than the way we tell jokes, spread rumors and waste time at work. It's also reformulated the speed at which businesses must operate. New companies used to take years to work up business models, secure funding, market themselves, hire a staff and enter the market. Now that whole process has to happen within months—even weeks. The ability to transmit messages, text, graphics and more instantaneously has also created new business operations—operations that can help businesses squeeze the potholes
Software - Web-to-print
In-plants are in the unique position of being both printers and print buyers. Because of this, E-commerce can be twice as helpful. In-plants can use auction sites to expand their customer base by taking in commercial work to fill their extra capacity. At the same time they can act as customers and find commercial printers to print their overflow work. If you have an existing relationship with an outside printer, you can use E-commerce solutions like Collabria.com, Noosh.com or Impresse.com to strengthen that relationship and make your workflow more efficient. You can also use these systems to manage the workflow between your customers
Web sites are a great way to advertise, improve customer service and show that your in-plant is on the cutting edge of technology. The Internet is no longer the wave of the future—that wave has already crashed upon the shore. And if you missed that wave and still haven't put your in-plant out in the sea of Web sites, consider yourself shark bait. Many in-plants already have made a strong stroke into the depths of the Internet, not only to advertise their services, but also to take customer orders and offer better customer service. The Internet provides a quick and easy way for customers