Getting the Most Out of Your Online Print Portal

October 14, 2015

So you’ve added an online resource for ordering and managing your printed projects. Whatever you call it — Web-to-print, print commerce, online document management — these web-based portals allow you to streamline ordering, more tightly manage your inventory, and improve your costs.

Some companies centralize control by requiring all of their employees to use the portal.portal. Others simply store their documents online for easy access, customization, and ordering ad hoc. However you use these solutions, there are some simple steps you can take to get the most out of them.

Make the link accessible.

How do you access the system? Place the link in an area of your website that users are regularly accessing throughout the course of their day. Make it easy to find.

Have a launch plan.

Don’t assume that just because the solution is there, people will use it. Set up a plan to let employees know about the system, educate them on how to navigate it, and continually promote it within the company.

Add it to your onboarding process.

When people get hired within your company, include the print portal as part of their onboarding. If they start using the system from the outset, they’ll keep doing it.

Be responsive to how people are using the system.

If you already manage your documents online, ask people how they use it and how you can make the process easier. Is the site easy to navigate? Does it contain the documents employees need and use? (Many portals contain old and outdated documents that are rarely or never used.) Do you need to add new documents? If so, which ones?

Have a champion inside the company.

Have someone inside the company whose job it is to continually champion the system. Maybe that’s someone inside your communications department. Maybe it’s a “super user” inside each department. Maybe it’s you!

Companies that regularly utilize their print portals experience significant benefits from streamlined ordering, lower costs, less waste, and better brand management. But those benefits can only be achieved if the system is actively used. These five steps will go a long way toward helping you maximize the benefits of these powerful tools.

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