It's hard to imagine a world without online printing. Thanks to increasing Internet speeds, an attractive price tag and a shift in consumer shopping habits, this technology, often referred to as web-to-print (W2P), is normal practice for a variety of business models. But Refael Royz, co-founder and CEO of B2C Print LTD, remembers when even the simplest tasks required a lot of troubleshooting.
"High tech was always in my family's blood and at that time, automated printing and creating easy ordering processes for end-users was a goal that many companies had tried to achieve," he said.
Royz, who previously managed sales distribution channels and sales crews for companies across the board, put his technical skills to the test in 2005. His hard work—and bloodline—paid off when he and current partner Amir Shaltiel founded B2C Print LTD, a company that Royz credits as being the "first to offer SAAS web-to-print solutions."
"We have worked very hard, and together with the help of a few investors and a great crew, we have managed to grow and establish a worldwide distribution, as well as become a leader in the web-to-print market," Royz said.
Today, B2C Print LTD serves hundreds of customers in 56 countries with headquarters in New York, Portugal, Israel and Mexico. Read on as Royz talks shop.
Print+Promo (P+P): How do you set goals for yourself? For your business?
Refael Royz (RR): In this market that is changing daily, you must be open-minded to changes and "listen" to the market. I've been visiting clients on a weekly basis, listening to their difficulties, goals, changes they see and their customers' demands. I'm happy that we have so many customers who are willing to share their thoughts so we can make progress together.
P+P: How does the economy continue to affect the industry?
RR: I think that the economy affected the market very hard. Print providers' profits are getting lower, many have been fired and many have closed their businesses. End-customers' demands for services and technologies never stop, and I believe that in five years the businesses that will survive in our market are the ones that will realize where the business is going and which new technologies they must adopt into their business. Web-to-print is growing every year at greater than 20 percent, and in the printing market that's a clear sign of success at meeting customers' needs. End-users want good prices, an easy ordering process and advanced technologies.
P+P: What do you expect to be some of the biggest challenges the industry will face?
RR: I think that the biggest challenge is changing the way the industry markets itself. Print providers are not used to marketing themselves properly. Ten years ago, if you had printing equipment, even without any marketing, the equipment was enough to get jobs coming in and create a profitable business. Today, the industry needs to realize that it needs to market itself and supply its customers with great customer service and technologies in order to keep the business going.
P+P: What keeps you up at night?
RR: Since we are very close to our customers, I get a lot of market feedback from my sales and support managers. Ideas and finding solutions to help keep this industry surviving is definitely a challenge that keeps me up at night.
P+P: What do you think is the most exciting, cutting-edge thing your company is doing right now? Why?
RR: We are now supplying our customers with a new system that combines all the services that end-users need, specifically B2B and B2C. These start with conservative printed products, wide format products ordering, online job pricing and more—all combined into a one-stop shop where print providers can generate good profits.
P+P: What would people be surprised to learn about you—hobbies, special interests, etc.?
RR: I always enjoyed arts. I have been drawing since I was 4 years old and won a few contests when I was young. I'm also a big cooking fan, but since I have always been a technology geek, my greatest enjoyment is investigating new technologies and reading about them—that's where I'm spending 15-20 hours every week.