RECURSOS
It has never been more important for university web stores to provide high-quality and cost-effective print services that are personalized and unique. The days of simple printed materials have been replaced by trendy, fashionable college apparel, intricate posters and flyers and modern invitations and business cards.
Whether it’s a student looking to sport their university’s newest attire, a faculty member who needs business cards for an upcoming conference, or a staff member who wants to create new brochures and flyers for a special event, university storefronts can be the answer for printed materials.
In part one and part two of our education blog series, we looked at how cross-media campaigns can attract new students and maintain meaningful relationships with alumni. Below, we will look at the different types of personalized print and cross media services that universities such as the fictional Gallant University can offer in their Web-to-print storefront powered by StoreFlow:
Invitations: Let’s walk through an example of how to create a personalized invitation that could be mailed to alumni for a 100 Year Gala. First, users would select the type of invitation that best meets their needs from the options provided. Next, they would select product details such as paper type, pricing and quantity. Paper types include premium, matte, recycled and gloss – the different options make it simple to tailor the invitations to meet the look and feel of the event. Then, users have the option to upload a recipient list or select recipients from a data source. Once the list of alumni is ready to go, all details are finalized through the preview option to ensure correct spelling and design of the invitation. Through the step-by-step process, the storefront makes it easy for users to create personalized invitations for special events and determine who the invites will be distributed to.
Cross-Media Campaigns: Looking for a personalized cross-media campaign? The university storefront can help users create a step-by-step campaign for alumni lecture series. First, the user provides information and a photo of the guest speaker. Next, event logistics such as the date, time and location are added to the campaign. Then, the user can upload a recipient list or use a previous list of prospective students, current students and alumni to attend a lecture series. Each recipient will receive a personalized postcard with a link to an online reservation page. The campaign can be emailed to a personalized URL (PURL) or printed.
Stationary and Brochures: Tailoring information to prospective students can be an effective and impactful way to draw top talent to a university. At the Gallant University storefront, interested students can customize, order or download a personalized prospectus that contains information tailored to the areas of study they’re most interested in. Admissions staff can also bulk order personalized university information using a prospective student recipient list. Ready-to-order university letterhead and matching envelopes are immediately available on the storefront, offering faculty and other employees of Gallant fast way to make their documents official. StoreFlow Cloud enables users to easily upload and order their own static documents, or select and order variable or static documents from a storefront catalog. Users can also intermix both variable and static pages within the same document, enabling a rich set of products from flyers and brochures to stationery and more.
Business Cards: Business cards ordered through the university storefront are customizable with XMPie uEdit HD. With this application, users have options to modify text features including size, font and color while using the online editor. The process is simple – the user enters in their personal information and the preview option will provide a visualization of what the finished product will look like. Any changes the user wants to incorporate can be made during each step of the review process, making it simple to catch any errors before the cards are published.
Catalogs, Posters and Flyers: The Gallant University storefront also makes it easy for employees and faculty to create signage for career centers, college fairs and other events. Catalogs, posters and flyers are created from document templates built using uCreate Print, which runs natively inside Adobe InDesign. Simply select a template, specify which variables a customer can modify, and define production and fulfillment parameters.
Theses and Dissertations: Students and faculty members can upload their documents, add covers and select binding options to build their finished theses and dissertations all in the university storefront. A final document that looks professional and polished will stand out amongst the rest and reflect the time and effort that was put into the materials for grade “A” results. Adding personalized covers, dynamic tabs, and other customized options allows for unprecedented versatility and added value in fulfilling the production of orders.
Branded Gear: The university storefront also serves as a one-stop-shop for all apparel and merchandise needs. With options from shirts and hats to mugs, pens and backpacks, students, faculty and staff have various options to wear and promote their university.
Packaging: StoreFlow works seamlessly with the CHILI Publisher online document editor to create a complete e-commerce experience to select, customize and order packaging products.
The same university storefront can be available to all students, faculty and staff. However, different users can be given different permissions. This allows the storefront administrator to tailor services to particular people based on different criteria.
University storefronts need to be a complete source for quality printing in order to meet the growing print demands of students, faculty and staff. By offering print and copying best practices and producing a wide variety of materials to support educational and promotional needs, university print services will continue to be a cornerstone on any college campus.
Does your university storefront provide web-to-print services that stand out? Tell us about it below!
If you are interested in learning more about this web-to-print store and would like to see a demo, please fill out a request using the ‘Got Questions?’ form below.
