Web-to-Print: Solution for Corporate Branding, Brand Consistency, and more

Saks Fifth Avenue Print On Demand Variable Data Printing Trunk Show Invitations

Web to Print Solution for Saks Fifth Avenue


The Challenge: In the summer of 2006, we were challenged by Saks to provide an answer as to how fifty-six individual department stores could create and order customized trunk show invitations and get them into the mail within 48 hours of approval while guaranteeing consistency in quality and corporate branding standards.

The Solution: CRW's web-enabled Workstream™ system with Digital Asset Management Software.

CRW Graphics created a customized website that allowed individual stores to create invitations online, 24-hours per day, and seven days a week. The site met Saks' workflow process, business rules and branding standards while allowing the stores flexibility to create an attractive invitation tailored to an individual event.

The Future:

To meet Saks' ever-growing need for more complex, customizable marketing materials, for easier workflow, for automated mailing and for additional design tools, Saks' Invitations on Demand Workstream site has been substantially improved. Our team of award winning in-house programmers introduced the following developments:

Improv 2.0 - CRW's newest template is a complete design tool for creating templates, customizing and versioning documents as well as creating variable data documents. It has the following additional features:

  • Created templates that exist as digital assets that may be used over and over.
  • Awareness of its environment so that information from user accounts will automatically populate documents such as business cards and letterhead.
  • An integrated Digital Asset Management System.
  • A drop and drag function so that graphics and their related texts can be placed into documents; text can be reused or edited.
  • Fonts, once created by designer, can be used even if not in user's computer.
  • Complete color library.
  • Multiple security levels.
  • Import of PDF files.

QuickMail - CRW's fully automated mailing system features:

  1. Easy to use available data as a mailing list; can work from Excel, Access, Outlook, ACT, Goldmine, virtually any application.
  2. Upload an unlimited number of lists.
  3. Automatic, free Delivery Point Validation and list maintenance capabilities
    • After DPV, provides a list quality report
    • Ability to "cleanup" lists by editing records online
    • Ability to add new records to lists
  4. Multi-list automated operations including:
    • Merge/purge operations.
    • De-duplication operation.
    • National Change of Address.
    • Conditional filtering provides for fine-tuning lists to select recipients - allowing control over number of pieces mailed.
  5. Geo-coding allows for "nearest" selections and "radius" selections for zip code mailing.
  6. Automatic unique Personal URL generation.
  7. List licensing tracked at the record level - allows for mixing rented and house lists without violating licensing terms.
  8. Complete integration into Improv 2.0 for easy Variable Data driven document creation.
  9. Postal sorting optimized for specific campaign needs (ie. 1st class/standard mail).
  10. Online postage estimates.
  11. Lists as digital assets that can be stored and reused.

From a simple 2-page invitation in 2006, the Saks Invitations on Demand web-to-print site now meets more marketing communications needs by offering its users over 24 different products including printed invitations, postcards, e-vites, posters, and signage. The site features a choice of 1200 hi-res digital assets and over 135 different template designs.

Tom Caputo writes, "I just wanted to drop a note and tell you how much I appreciate the effort and support I'm getting from everyone at CRW. The system looks great and the enhancements are going to be well received. That's a rave from me."

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