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.

Comment below to have your say on this story.

If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.  

Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter