Press Update…

No, it’s not a shot from the ‘Man at Oxfam’  spring/summer catalogue 1979. It is in fact the cover shot from the Feb ish of The Print Business Magazine, where Webmarteers Simon and Craig explain how Webmart is helping the print industry. And after locking and loading grins and settling down onto our 70′s-style black vinyl settee, they expound enthusiastically on all manner of subjects – from how we are building trusting relationships with Printers – how we bring new opportunity to printers to maximise their client-relationships – to how technology can bring sustainability to print pricing and how we bring much more than just print to our clients.

All good stuff. Except that after an hour and a half of feverish gesticulation and heart-felt oratory, coupled with the unfortunate interplay of man-made fibre and unearthed vinyl settee, not only did Simon’s hair start sparking, but the static built up to such an extent that even the military-wing of the Bicester girl-guides and their industrial cutting-gear couldn’t separate them.

And so there they remain to this day. Still talking enthusiastically about print, but with their grins a little strained, and their polyester tops looking slightly soiled.

Check out what they said either here (http://www.printmag.co.uk/) when it’s published online – or by downloading the pdf: Webmart – The Print Business February 2010

Webmart Around the World?

We’re now opening discussions with our first potential licensees to spread the goodness of the Webmart business model and technology around the world.

Having spent 12 years developing the software and the expertise, we thought it’s about time we looked into franchising the business model & technology.  However with potentially complex legal hurdles to overcome in the different territories – and, as always, looking at new and more efficient ways to solve problems – we decided that a much better way is to simply license out our tech instead. We reasoned that since our business model and processes are enshrined within our software, it’s actually much easier for all concerned to offer a simple licensing agreement. By licensing the software, licensors then effectively get an award-winning Print Management business-in-a-box.

And one of the great things about our software is that we were effectively 10 years ahead of the great Software as a Service (SaaS) revolution. All our software works through your browser, meaning you and your team get access anywhere there’s the internet. We take care of all that troublesome back-end systems nonsense that you really don’t want to be bothered with.

Of course, we still need to find licensors with the right stuff. We’re not willing to  licence  our software to just anyone. Licensors need to display the commitment to customer and supplier-care that we do, and be into greenprint and sustainability like we are. All this is great for business, great for building trusting relationships – and of course minimises the impact on the planet.

But once these boxes have been ticked – as Viz might put it – simply plug in people and watch the work flood in!

EcoPrint Update

Don’t you just love it when clients really ‘get it’?

We’ve put so much time and effort into making Webmart the greenest Print Manager in the land, that we were heartened when client Ball Colegrave challenged us to turn their print green.  Ball Colegrave are a wholesale distributor of seeds and plants to commercial growers  and Local Authorities. And since businesses don’t get much greener than theirs, they wanted to make sure their print matched their plants!

So Senior Print Consultant Mark ‘Robbo’ Robinson stepped up to the plate, knowing we’ve invested heavily in all the right areas: carbon-offsetting (for print process and transportation); FSC & PEFC accreditation (making sure the paper is from sustainable and Eco-sources); Inks (vegetable-oil based); Water-based varnish (rather than solvent-based) & biodegradable laminates (so the waste product will rot down more quickly). Mark got to work to make sure our print suppliers understood exactly what the client required and making sure the right printers were found – people who we know and trust to do a great job but never at the expense of quality.

And the end-result? Well, the client was delighted with the job and  found that the Eco version was actually cheaper than their non-eco alternative! A fantastic result for all and surely a real taste of how we’ll all be buying print in the future? I mean, if it’s cheaper, sustainable and carbon-neutral AND gives great results – why wouldn’t you???

If you want to chat through how Webmart Print Management can make your life easier and your print Eco-tastic, Mark’s the man to call and will be delighted to tell you exactly how you can do it.