Buckle up for a recap of an epic 2023 journey where we redefined the game in personalized product solutions. From expanding our global presence to unveiling AI features that connect the Printing Industry to groundbreaking technology set to shape the future of personalization. This year, we’ve truly started a journey to redefine the personalized product landscape. Ready to dive into the highlights?
Top Printbox changes
Let’s kick things off with a bang! Here are some stellar highlights from our list of game-changing product updates in 2023. We’re curious – which one’s your favorite?
Masterpiece AI – Generative Awesomeness:
Our latest solution launched in mid-2023 with one main goal in mind: to bridge the gap between printing businesses and booming generative AI technology by enabling the industry to offer new kinds of personalized products. We are extremely proud that in just a few months this year, we were able to go from solely an idea to implementing the live solution together with some of our clients in their stores. With Masterpiece AI, any store can start selling outstanding products personalized with AI-generated images created by users themselves. We believe that this is a great new market niche worth hopping into before it’s saturated. Regarding the next steps for Masterpiece AI, we are working on making this one-of-a-kind solution the best on the market at guiding users to get precisely the AI-generated awesomeness they desire. So far, users interacting with Masterpiece AI have:
- Elegant and modern UI: that makes it easy for users to set the parameters and find every option they need to create their AI masterpiece.
- Options to quickly modify the image: alter the prompt inside the editor anytime it’s needed, choose the dominant color, pick your favorite image style, and see multiple outcomes at once to compare pictures to select the best one effortlessly.
- Support for 30+ languages: let users write prompts with their ideas in their own words using their native language.
If you are interested in learning more about generative AI, check out our other article about generative AI and how it can help you grow print-on-demand business by clicking here.
Smart Creation – Getting Smarter Every Year:
Even with the new AI baby on board, we still deeply care about our other fantastic solution – Smart Creation, which is able to turn hundreds of user photos into a beautiful and cohesive photo book in just a few clicks. Here are the top three changes introduced to Smart Creation this year to make it more precise at selecting users’ photos and perfectly arranging them in their photo albums.
- Using more complex page designs more frequently.
- Grouping photos, even with randomized filenames and no metadata attached to them.
- Creating complex covers with perfectly fitted images.
Better Designing Process
Sometimes, the process of creating personalized products may become wearisome and time-consuming, especially when the user needs to create a special gift as soon as possible (we’ve all been there). That’s why, year by year, we strive to make the whole process more fun and easy. Besides improving our editors, backend and other solutions, we have picked some of our favorite changes we implemented this year:
- WishAI: write wishes for any occasion in seconds with the help of AI. Get inspired by the ready-to-use wishes. Change the name, occasion or tone of the wishes until you find the perfect one.
- More Customizable Calendars: A new type of calendar has been introduced – a weekly calendar with a vertical grid configuration. This year, users also received the ability to customize their own special days and holidays in the calendars more easily, marking them with a color of their choosing.
- Users’ Feedback in Advanced Editor: data is a backbone for the development process and the decision-making. That’s why we added a simple way for users to let us know about their experience while using Advanced Editor. That way, we can pinpoint the exact moments the user marked as great or.. not so great – to learn and make the experience even more smooth.
- QR code uploader: It has gotten a very nice update. It shows you all the photos you’ve already sent to the editor right on the phone, making it easier for users to select the missing ones. And it looks good 🙂
Industry trends for the upcoming 2024
Throughout the year, we’ve seen some changes in the industry and in the world around us. Here are the most influential trends we’ve observed market-wide. The first trend is AI and automation, and while it might be obvious, it is very true and pushes the industry into the less known, new and exciting territory. Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation in the printing industry have already been applied to streamline processes and enhance efficiency in many businesses. It’s being leveraged for design assistance, automating repetitive tasks, and improving production workflows, ultimately reducing costs and increasing productivity. Looking at the results and ideas of new applications for it, it won’t stop there. This trend will impact how we work and do business well into 2024 as the technology is rapidly being developed and improved.
This means we’ll also see new types of personalized products. As we mentioned already, you can, for example, start selling AI-generated canvases and other products with us right now. Then what will the 2024 bring? No one knows for sure, but we are keeping the finger on the pulse in order to respond to market needs quickly and precisely.
Another trend that has been present for some time already but still makes waves and is slowly but surely changing the way we operate daily is eco-conscious printing. Nowadays, it’s not only about the joint effort to make the world a better and cleaner place but also about substantial pressure from consumers. Growing awareness of environmental issues is driving the demand for sustainable and eco-friendly printing practices. Adopting eco-friendly materials, energy-efficient processes, and promoting sustainability in the print business make for environmentally responsible products that respond to this rising demand.
Traveling the globe: have we met before?
Check out the map of our international travels and events we visited this year. It’s always a great experience full of learning, discussing during the print industry events, and meeting with specialists and enthusiasts from all corners of the globe. Hey, if you are also a live events enthusiast, catch us during the 2024 print industry events!
Rapid expansion: over 100 professionals in Printbox
In April 2023, we celebrated an important company milestone: Printbox became a group of over 100 dedicated professionals! This is a testament to our commitment to excellence. We’ve fortified our capabilities, fostering a culture of continuous innovation and ensuring enhanced customer support.
What’s coming next?
We are working all year round to make Printbox the best software to sell photo products as well as other personalized products. This means that we are already preparing for 2024 with a roadmap full of new features and maybe even some bigger releases. We don’t want to ruin a surprise, but stick around or click here to subscribe to our Newsletter to be the first to know. We are very excited about the upcoming year and hope you are too, we’d like to wish you all the best in 2024!
