Business card production gets faster, cheaper and easier online
By Sharon R. Cole and Demian Faunt
IT'S NOT EASY to trace the history of the business card. Having established an almost icon status, not many people can remember a time when its appearance has deviated too far from a 2x31&Mac218;2&Mac253; slice of white, plate-stock paper. A seemingly simple construction, these handy cards were known in the printing industry for creating tedious work that reaped little reward. In fact, many manufacturers and distributors classified them as an add-on sale.
But times have changed, and those in the forms business are being sold on the idea that it's just not your father's business cardor print jobanymore.
This new attitude toward business card production has been brought on by, none other than, technological advancements. Thanks to the long arm of the Internet, a once time-consuming and costly project is now faster, cheaper and easier.
"Business cards haven't really been a product that we marketed alone. Generally we've looked at them as an add-on sale, so we handled them as a program rather than just a business card order," said Tony Intagliata, vice president of sales for the Maryland Heights, Missouri-based Jerome Group. "But the Internet is changing the whole method of how business cards are produced."
And the change is for the better, according to most in the printing world.
Bill Breed, president, Megabyte Express, Austin, Texas, converted to online card production a few months ago and touts the new system as being super efficient. For him, the most attractive difference is the fact that manufacturers, distributors and customers need not spend enormous amounts of time faxing revisions and corrections back and forth.
"Online ordering has become a huge time-saver for us by making production a simple and select process that takes half the time of traditional printing processes," Breed noted. In the past, he explained, his company would first receive the customer's specifications for new cards. That information would then be faxed to the manufacturer who had to typeset it. Then the manufacturer would check its typesetting by faxing a copy of it back to the customer. If there was a correction, the cycle would begin again.
This multiple transference of information is completely eliminated with online ordering. Said Breed, "Now it is only the customer who is keying in the information he or she wants printed on the card. And they bear sole responsibility for that." In essence, Breed said that the distributor has little to do with the pre-printing process.
Before production, the distributor needs only to provide the manufacturer with a copy of a customer's card. The card is then scanned to create a template online. At that point, customers can access their own templates and, through a pull-up menu prompt, can input specific informationsuch as an employee's name, phone and e-maildirectly online.
"Many Web sites allow the customer to pull out a proof and send it electronically, or fax or print a copy and get approval to begin production minutes after receiving the order," said Intagliata. "The approved proof is then sent straight to the manufacturer who begins production of the card and notifies the card design company [or distributor] that an order had been placed," he added.
This rapid processing has reduced the turnaround time for printing cards, not to mention the significant decrease in print errors.
Pete Posk, marketing vice president, BCT, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., said that for his distributors' corporate accounts, cards can actually be ordered, printed and shipped in 24 hours.
"We have shell cardsor cards pre-printed with a company logoalready set up for our corporate accounts. When we receive an online order from them we just draw from their inventory and, after they're printed, we can ship them overnight."
For BCT, the business-to-business Internet model is a once in a lifetime opportunity for drastic growth. It has given the 25-year-old company its first explosion of business that also happens to provide a winning situation for everyone involved, said Posk.
"Now [distributors] want business card accounts because they can make extra money, they don't have the risk they used to have and they collect an annuity with virtually little effort," he said. "Our 88 manufacturers are happy because they get the business and the process is easier for the end-user as well," he added.
Business cards make up 70 percent of BCT's $110 million in wholesale revenue. The company's Internet site was launched a year and a half ago and, in that time, 170,000 Internet orders, primarily for business cards, were received70,000 of which were gained after June 2000.
The bulk of BCT's orders come from distributors' corporate accountsaccounts that, before the Internet, were not as accessible.
"Part of the reason our site, orderprinting.com, is so popular is because many companies have decreased their in-house purchasing agents and have added forms distributors and print brokers. At the same time, they want one-stop shopping," Posk said. "The beauty of our site is that each company's account is privately labeled, so the end-user feels like he or she is communicating with his or her distributor." He added that customers can even order products that need to be printed by other manufacturers.
For example, an end-user can log onto the site and order business cards, letterhead and mugs. Each product order is then forwarded to the appropriate manufacturer, and the distributor receives a report of his or her customer's activity.
BCT's Internet model is successful. It currently accommodates 3,700 corporate accounts, growing at a rate of 250 accounts per month, according to Posk.
Certainly the Internet has made dealing with business cards a hot ticket item for distributors. Said Posk, "Business cards are how competitors get their foot in the doorand distributors don't want to turn away an opportunity that could lead to more money and a more secure account."
- Companies:
- Megabyte Express
- The Jerome Group LLC
- People:
- Pete Posk
- Sharon R. Cole