ControlP will launch a special three-month free trial of its eprintinternet e-commerce system at Print UK.

Signing up to the system would normally cost 3,000.

This is a risk-free way for printers to gain the benefits of e-commerce for their businesses, explained business development director Peter Henry. In print, margins are traditionally low, but this technology gives printers an opportunity to sell more, increase customer loyalty and increase margins through streamlined workflows.

Few printers have actively adopted e-commerce, although many are aware of its importance: 40% of respondents to PrintWeeks Investment Survey earlier this year said they planned to invest in e-commerce this year, while Piras Impact of E-commerce on the UK Print and Publishing Industries showed 45% of printers expected to improve customer service through e-comms, and 53% expected to improve efficiency.

ControlP cited eprintinternet user MCI Trade Print of Tonbridge as an example of the benefits. Managing director Julian Marsh said the firm had gained new work as a result.

We deal with ad agencies and print brokers, and some of our customers were saying that they were going all-digital and wanted to communicate with us in that way. We put eprint in and have probably trebled the amount of work we do for those customers.

It makes life that little bit easier, customers love it and staff prefer it too, it definitely cuts down on paperwork, he added.

Contact: ControlP 020 7833 5250; www.controlp.co.uk.

Story by Jo Francis