Distribute and print is an application that has struggled to emerge for almost 20 years. Almost as soon as digital printing and Internet transfers of data became possible, printers and their customers saw the potential for this service.

The primary advantage offered by distribute and print is convenience—something all printers would like to provide to their clients. The desired result is increased customer loyalty.

Theoretically, it works this way. Say, for example, your shop is in Dallas and one of your biggest customers is traveling to Los Angeles to make a presentation. You could print the materials and let the client deal with transporting them. You could even print them and ship them for the client. But what if something happens during shipment? What if the client needs a last minute change? That's where distribute and print shines. You send the client's electronic files to a partner company in Los Angeles where they are output and delivered locally to your client. And those last minute changes? All the client has to do is send you the change, you relay it to your network partner and the client has everything delivered accurately and on time.

Another common application is providing printed products for a company that has far-flung locations and wants orders to originate from its headquarters. The printer that has the corporate account would disseminate the files to members of the network near each of the field locations for output.

This gives your clients the impression that you are much more than just a local printer who can churn out business cards and four-color brochures. Your company is connected and you can take care of their needs anywhere in the country—or the world. You're an asset. Why would they even consider changing printers?

The drawback is that in order to successfully deliver on the promise of distribute and print, your company has to be part of a network of some sort. Several quick printing franchises have successfully capitalized on their built-in networks. FedEx Kinko's actively promotes its File, Print FedEx Kinko's service. There are even options for independents, but they are not as seamless as belonging to an existing network.

Embracing distribute and print also necessitates laying a groundwork of rules and trust to get beyond any paranoia you may have that others in the network may be out to take your customers. In some past attempts to create distribute and print networks for independent printers, this has been one of the major obstacles.

Being the Hero

Despite the all the pitfalls, the distribute and print model has the potential to be the very epitome of what quick printing is all about. The best way to explain this is to look at a real world situation that illustrates a clockwork example of distribute and print in action.