An on-line information and artwork portal has been commissioned by print communications group Worldwide Online Printing, which says the new service will help Australian print buyers easily find print options and creative services.

 

The portal, developed in Melbourne by SkyMedia, came on-line following a study by Worldwide Online Printing, which found as few as one in eight people used printed directories to find supplies of design and print-related products and services.

 

Worldwide's senior marketing coordinator, Katharina Kotte said almost half of Australia's print buyers used the internet to find a local printer - and most were relying on Google to narrow their search.

 

She says, "Finding relevant, easy to understand information about creative services and print options is just too hard,

and we felt we had to begin our online project with a long, hard look at who was out there searching - and for what.

 

"We turned to specialist web writers at Wordplay Media to produce more than 200,000 words of content optimised to meet the needs of the prevailing search algorithms, and used it to create the information-rich portal which we're confident will capture a large share of search traffic."

 

Functions on the site enable information-seekers to quickly find out which of Worldwide's 88 centres is most local to them - and then plot the quickest way to get there.

 

Each centre has its own microsite which is used to promote specific offers and discounts. Online print management and artwork upload functions makes placing print orders quick and simple.

 

The site also includes a quote request function, which pre-populates its forms with the most popular variations of each product set, and the site provides fast access to handy templates, tips and advice on creating artwork and branding, as well as helpful information on the technical side of printing.