A survey of 126 printers, carried out by the BPIF and software provider Vpress, found that almost half had not obtained the expected return on investment from their web-to-print system, with a third feeling that they needed more training than was being offered by their provider.

Two-thirds also felt that they were not effectively selling the benefits of web-to-print to end users.

Overall, 80% of those surveyed said that web-to-print was advantageous and most expected more than 50% of their business to be done via a web-to-print solution in two years time.

Marketing and key account manager Emma Mortiboy said: "We were surprised at how many printers are using their web-to-print system for just one client and not rolling it out across the business, which is very simple to do.

"There is a clear need for more training and support for web-to-print users."