Industry · Manufacturing

Print ERP that turns estimates into profitable jobs

Print businesses quote hundreds of jobs a week, each with different stock, quantities, colours and finishing. Estimating speed wins work; estimating accuracy keeps the business alive. And once a job is won, it moves through prepress, proofing, press, finishing and dispatch on tight deadlines.

Discuss Print ERP Implementation roadmap

M01Estimating & Sales
M02Manufacturing (Jobs)
M03Inventory
M04Purchasing
M05Accounting
M06Customer Portal

Context

ERP in printing

A print ERP connects the estimate, the job ticket and the cost so you can see — job by job — whether you are making money.

01Operational challenges

What usually breaks before the ERP project starts

Slow, inconsistent estimates

Estimators use different spreadsheets and assumptions, producing inconsistent prices.

Proof approval delays

Jobs wait for customer approval with no visibility or reminders.

Press scheduling by whiteboard

Presses and finishing equipment scheduled manually, with frequent conflicts.

Paper stock surprises

Jobs reach press and the specified stock is not on the shelf.

02Core flows

How the ERP should handle each part of the business

Sales flow: Estimates calculated from stock, sheet or roll size, imposition, colours, press time, finishing and delivery; repeat jobs reordered from history; web-to-print orders flow in automatically.
Procurement: Paper purchased against jobs or replenished by grade and size; outsourced finishing purchased per job.
Inventory: Paper stock by grade, weight, size and finish; inks and consumables; customer-owned stock held separately.
Warehouse: Finished jobs packed, labelled and dispatched, including split deliveries to multiple addresses.
Manufacturing: Job tickets with operations for prepress, plating, printing and finishing on specific equipment.
Accounting: Job costing comparing estimated and actual paper, press time and labour; invoicing on dispatch.
CRM: Customer accounts with brand assets, artwork history and reorder patterns.

03Industry workflows

Workflows specific to printing

Estimate to job ticket

Approved estimates generate job tickets with materials and operations.

Proofing

Proofs sent for online approval, with reminders and approval history.

Gang runs

Compatible jobs combined on one sheet to save press time and paper.

Split delivery

One job shipped to many addresses with individual delivery notes.

04 — Reporting

Reports that should come out of the system, not a spreadsheet

Estimate vs actual by job
Press utilisation and makeready time
Quote conversion rate
Jobs awaiting approval
Paper stock by grade and size
Margin by customer and product type

05 — Compliance

Compliance considerations

Requirements include forest certification chain-of-custody (FSC, PEFC) for certified paper, data protection for variable data printing, and security printing controls in some sectors. Lot tracking of certified stock supports chain-of-custody claims.

Regulatory requirements vary by jurisdiction. We configure the system to support your obligations; confirm specific rules with your auditor or compliance advisor.

06 — Integrations

Systems the ERP needs to talk to

Web-to-print storefronts, prepress workflow software, press and finishing machine data, and carrier systems are typical integrations.

07AI opportunities

Where AI is genuinely useful here

Practical uses that sit on top of clean ERP data. None of them replace getting the core transactions right first.

Spec extraction

Read emailed quote requests and pre-fill estimate specifications.

Artwork preflight notes

Summarise common artwork issues before prepress review.

Reorder prompts

Suggest reorders to customers based on their historical cycles.

08ERP modules

Modules a typical deployment includes

M01Estimating & Sales
M02Manufacturing (Jobs)
M03Inventory
M04Purchasing
M05Accounting
M06Customer Portal
M07eCommerce
M08Delivery

09Roadmap

Implementation roadmap

01
Estimating rules
Standardise costs, rates and calculation logic.
02
Jobs and stock
Job tickets, paper inventory and purchasing.
03
Scheduling and proofing
Equipment scheduling and online approvals.
04
Web-to-print
Online ordering integrated into job creation.

10Common mistakes

Mistakes we see repeatedly

Estimating outside the ERP

Separate estimating tools break the link to job costing.

Ignoring makeready

Makeready time is a major cost and must be estimated and measured.

Untracked customer stock

Customer-supplied paper must be held separately from your own.

No actuals capture

Without press time capture, job costing is just the estimate again.

Explore further

Related services, solutions and platforms

Services

Solutions

ERP platform

Insights

Frequently asked questions

Can the ERP calculate print estimates?

Estimating logic for imposition, press time and finishing often requires configuration or extension; we build it around your rate structure.

Can customers approve proofs online?

Yes, through a customer portal with approval and comment history.

Does it integrate with web-to-print?

Web-to-print orders can create sales orders and job tickets automatically via integration.

Similar industries

Industries with related workflows

ManufacturingBOMs, routings, MRP, shop-floor control, costing and traceability for discrete and mixed-mode manufacturers.Metal FabricationJob-shop ERP for quoting, nesting-driven material planning, routings, heat numbers and job costing.Plastic ManufacturingERP for injection moulding and extrusion: resin and regrind, tooling, cavities, cycle times and scrap.

Next step

Do your estimates match your costs?

We will show you estimate-to-job costing in a print workflow.

Discuss Print ERP All industries