Agfa Graphics introduced :Apogee StoreFront to North America at Graph Expo 2012 held October 7-10 in Chicago. :Apogee Storefront is a new, cloud-based ecommerce solution that enables print service providers (PSPs) to market their services and products more efficiently.
Setting up online stores or “storefronts” for both printed and non-printed products is easy using :Apogee StoreFront. Stores can be used for business-to-business communication with customers or as public storefronts that attract a broader audience with additional services. :Apogee StoreFront helps commercial, digital and wide format printers become marketing service providers.
:The Apogee StoreFront cloud service is unique because it integrates seamlessly with the :Apogee Prepress workflow system that PSPs run on their local network. No additional hardware or software is required, nor do PSPs need to have expertise in web development, Internet security, HTML, or computer programming. :Apogee StoreFront can be maintained by existing staff, leaving PSPs to focus on extending their current offering, using :Apogee StoreFront to improve customer retention and develop new business opportunities. It is suitable for a wide range of print applications, offset as well as digital.
“:Apogee StoreFront is integrated with our Six Strings Classic Blues Lounge at Graph Expo,” explains Deborah Hutcheson, Director of Marketing, Agfa Graphics North America. “The manager of Six Strings is demonstrating how simple it is to reorder printed and non-printed items in a typical business environment from the back office.”
:Apogee StoreFront allows an internal approval cycle to be set up for all purchases and can track the stock levels of marketing collateral.
The integrated Online Editor in :Apogee StoreFront lets print buyers easily design or edit their own documents or translate or regionalize documents like business cards, stationery, or newsletters. Fully designed publications, such as brochures, catalogs, books, or posters, can also be added to stores, either as print-on-demand products or those delivered from stock.
“Print buyers have the option to upload files that they need printed,” says Hutcheson. “For an optimal data flow, :Apogee StoreFront uses standard file formats such as PDF and JDF to exchange information with print production systems.”
A broad range of products is supported, including on-demand, up-loadable, customizable or from-stock print items, as well as non-print products. Online stores can be public or private (B2B). :Apogee StoreFront provides a set of tools for B2B users, including approval cycles, an administrative dashboard, stock control, reorders, franchising and reporting. Multiple currencies and languages are supported, along with an integrated payment gateway, for a global solution.
