White Papers/Articles

The Top 3 Priorities When Buying Print Software

There is this dance that buyers and sellers do, often referred to as “the sales process” by the sellers. It might be the weirdest and most difficult process to evaluate on a rational/logical basis.

WhatTheyThink writer Jen Matt reveals the three most important priorities to consider when evaluating new print MIS software.

Who Is Your Print Administrator?

I would say the number one reason some printers are successful with their Print MIS solutions while others are in a constant state of frustration really comes down to whether they have a designated internal Print MIS/ERP expert or not.

Manifestations of Fear

Software implementations evoke fear in the minds of your employees—these fears are manifested in a variety of ways. You should be looking for fear, not reacting to the symptoms of fear that cause all kinds of issues with print software implementations.

Hidden Secrets

The implementation of print software is as important as the software itself. With every software tool, there is a foundational knowledge that will help you be more self-sufficient.

In this article, Jennifer Matt discusses what you need to know to ensure a more successful print software implementation.

All or Nothing with Print Software

Are you in the middle of implementing software? Do you have underutilized software in your print business (100% of printers do)?

When buying and implementing print software, start with the simple jobs software does well, implement and learn. Do not get stuck in a myriad of “use case exceptions” as an excuse to do nothing. You will never get ROI and you’ll never find software that can do everything.

All Roads Should Lead to Rome: Managing Multiple Order Acquisition Pathways

Today’s print buyers increasingly expect the print ordering process to be quick and as simple as possible; the way they increasingly order everything else. Industry Analyst, Richard Romano, of PrintPlanet.com outlines in this article how to better achieve efficiency when catering to print buyers and why you don’t want different jobs to be running on multiple tracks through your shop—be it production, MIS, or otherwise.

Not Every Print Job Deserves An Estimate

This latest article from industry commentator Jennifer Matt, first published on WhatTheyThink.com, discussed the idea that not every order that enters your print shop should be treated the same. She suggests that you should support at least 3 different types of workflow – Self Service, Light Service and Full Service – based on the number of times workers have to touch an order. How you spend your people’s time, where you apply it and how that ultimately benefits the customer is a key element in your success.

Prioritizing Software Investments for Improved Profitability

Most printing companies understand the need to invest in various types of software as they continue to evolve their business models and infrastructure to better address current market realities. But how should these investments be prioritized? Is a web-to-print storefront the first step? Should you work on the back end first? Or perhaps there is a way to address both at once? This white paper explores the pros and cons of various implementations and includes real-world stories from three print service providers who have successfully made and implemented these types of investment decisions, with positive results.

InPlant Graphics Article on PressWise Customer

This article from InPlant Graphics magazine looks at how one PressWise customer – the East Baton Rouge school system – has tamed their ‘Wild West’ order management process with PressWise, reduced the manual touches involved in producing each job, and given each team member access to real-time jon information. The net result is a printing department that can service the entire school district more efficiently and provide a much higher level of service than ever before – and one that is well positioned for future growth.

Make Great Software Decisions

A great, and also amusing, article by Jennifer Matt, the managing editor of WhatTheyThink’s The Web and Print blog, that discusses the things that you should be thinking about before making a major software purchase decision, such as a Print MIS. She talks about the mistakes that are often made, and what you can do to make sure they don’t happen to you. By Jennifer Matt 

Print Workflow and The Cloud: Why SaaS Is Here to Stay

This white paper discusses how printing firms can take advantage of the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model and cloud computing to ease the investment burden; take advantage of scalable, integrated solutions; and minimize the need for on-site computing resources and staff. It defines and describes the SaaS model and cloud computing, both in general terms and in the context of a printing business, and provides an analysis of how these modern technologies can best be leveraged to deliver the requisite cost efficiencies, effectiveness and productivity so vital to today’s printing firms. By Cary Sherburne

What They Think - A Real Commitment To Change

Written by renowned industry commentator Jennifer Matt, this article was first published on WhatTheyThink.com. It discusses the concept of change within a print organization, and how a commitment to real change requires real risk because you have to be all-in for it to work. Jennifer explains that too many technology projects fail because nobody was committed to bring forth the change necessary for success. By Jennifer Matt

More Jobs. Less Work. The ROI of Print Workflow Automation

This White Paper presents several examples of very different print service providers who have generously shared real-world results to demonstrate how transitioning to a fully integrated, software-as-a-service (SaaS) order-to-invoice workflow can deliver fast ROI and boost productivity and margins. These case studies also demonstrate that workflow is not one-size-fits-all, and a modular approach that lets users implement those portions of the solution that make the most sense for them is also an important aspect of today’s modern workflow solutions. By Cary Sherburne

Leveraging Affordable New Technology to Boost Efficiency and Profits

Each year at Graph Expo/Print, the largest graphic arts trade show in North America, the Must See ‘ems panel of experts identifies the technological keys to success for printing businesses in the current environment. In this white paper, Cary Sherburne discusses how printing organizations can leverage today’s technology infrastructure to affordably address all three critical areas identified by the Must See `ems panel. Find out how you can attain business growth through improved productivity and throughput without the need to add additional human resources. By Cary Sherburne