Your recommendation on Management Informaiton Systems (MIS)

[craiglpress]

Shuttleworth MIS

Shuttleworth MIS

As mentioned earlier in the thread it depends on how big you are and how big you want to get. We are a commercial printer and finisher (book binding) in South Africa -[ Caxton ]- CTP printers Cape Town and run Shuttleworth MIS. See Shuttleworth Business Systems - Perfect for Print.
My 2c
Regards
Vaughn

Vaughn,

Our company has been helping printing and packaging companies in the US and Canada evaluate, select, and implement MIS systems for 18 years. Is Shuttleworth now avaialble in the US or Canada? MIS Software Consulting for the Printing and Packaging Industry

 

[ems]

Has anyone heard of SmartQuotes? There doesn't seem to be much information or reviews on the internet.

 

[smharney]

Kburas I am looking inot a class action suit over hiflex's "smoke and mirrors" are you the owner of your buiness?

 

[kantblue]

Digital components

Digital components

Hi Ritter
I notice you comment that "Digital components are very weak on almost all of the systems I've seen."

We use Tharstern here and even though it does seem to have a number of digital print options I'm finding it quite difficult to sort out in a meaningful way.

At the moment we are using a simple spreadsheet to calculate digital prices and this works well for us, but we are trying to process everything through Tharstern.

The problem is that the spreadsheet is quite simple to get a price out of, but in Tharstern it seems to be more difficult to setup and create/cost an estimate.

Did you find any of the systems were better than others when it comes to digital printing?

kantblue

 

[PeterGriffin]

In case you are not aware of our services we have a extensive MIS called SolPrint with options for the small print organisation using the SolPrint rental hosted solution with every delievered via the "Cloud" or the main SolPrint MIS with 30 + modules available. For more info please visit our website SolPrint - Print Management Information System, Print MIS

 

[Stephen Marsh]

We are a mid-sized commercial printer trying to move on to the next level - automating what we have been doing manually (yes.. lots of hand work) like estimating, creating job tickets, handling shipping and logistics, invoicing, etc...

We have been looking into products from HIFLEX and EFI (ePace) but I wanted to know if there's anything out there that is reliable for smaller companies and the price range is - acceptable. We have tried implementing products from Printer's Plan and Franklin Estimating few years ago but have failed.

Basically, the biggest need we have here is getting an automated estimating system where prices can be generated with several clicks. And everthing else (like making job tickets, invoicing, handling shipping, etc) can all start from the price quote we generated. In other words, we need a reliable MIS involving our basic workflow - Estimating - PrePress - Press - Bindery - Shipping - Invoicing.

We are currently using Prinergy in PrePress, Akiyama Presses, MBO folders and QuickBooks for Accounting.

Any recommendations? Please advise.

As the Australian distributor for Accura Print-MIS, I would suggest that you check out the following link. The basic core module covers all of what you mention you are looking for.

Accura Print Estimating - Order Processing - Job Costing - Stock Control - CRM - The Print MIS System of Choice


Regards,

Stephen Marsh

 

[ERIC1542]

MIS solutions

MIS solutions

We are a small commercial shop in the US- 20 employees. Printer's Plan and Printsmith are two of the systems we are considering. What type of issues did you have with Printer's Plan? I've seen some of the negative re Printsmith. In dealing with Printsmith, the basic legalese is alarming. Does anyone have knowledge about Print-Quotes Software?

We are going from the Franklin Catalog so we are thinking that we may want to leapfrog to a more web-based system. Also what about going from hourly budgeted rates to a market based rate ( what it will bear)?

Thanks for any input.

 

[ChrisOAS]

Best solution for you: Intraprint

Best solution for you: Intraprint

Hi,

I would like to offer to show you what Intraprint can do for you. I have been an estimator and done installation and training for a number of software firms (for many years) on the market today and we offer the most flexible solution on the market today I can honestly say together with an online offering that can do things no other software can do. You can reach me at: 416-841-8322 or you can write me at [email protected]. Thanks for your time and have a great day!

Best regards,
Chris

 

[Bowner]

Is there any MIS that isn't only for printing workflow? So far was able to find one at www.netsuite.com and the pricing posted at www.crmexposed.com/compare-netsuite-products-pricing.php

 

[pcmodem]

Just glancing at Netsuite, I doubt it would fit the bill for a commercial printer. Estimating for commercial printing is unique.

That being said, there is a different piece of software which does work with printing companies and other industries as well. It was in the article you reference, Epicor ERP Software Solutions | Retail Software | Epicor

 

[ChrisOAS]

What workflow are you looking t track? Intraprint tracks other than just the printing

What workflow are you looking t track? Intraprint tracks other than just the printing

Is there any MIS that isn't only for printing workflow? So far was able to find one at www.netsuite.com and the pricing posted at www.crmexposed.com/compare-netsuite-products-pricing.php

What workflow are you looking to track? Intraprint tracks other than just the printing...

[email protected]
416-841-8322

 

[Bowner]

I'm trying to bring under control the document management, scanning and backup business.
Just quit the printing business and want to keep the activity-based costing model.

 

[ChrisOAS]

Hi,

I would like to suggest Intraprint, it has a high level of automation in Estimating (it is at the very least one of the most automated systems in the industry) you can in fact customize the level of automation you want - meaning the system molds itself around your company's needs and not the other way around. Although I recently switched to handling sales for Intraprint I did implementation and training for many years not only for Intraprint, but for other software firms involved in the printing industry as well. I have also consulted to and/or worked with the software of a number of our competitors - this in addition to having a background as a print estimator - so I am very confident in recommending our solution to you. And no smoke and mirrors with me - I show you exactly what you want to see when we do a demo. Feel free to contact me at [email protected] or 416-841-8322. Best ', Chris

 

[tomatron]

ChrisOAS,

We are a 90 employee commercial printer offering offset, digital offset, UV offset, wide format, and die sublimation on fabric. This is our features wish list:
Optimized estimating
Web to print
Press production
Bindery, finishing
Order entry and job ticket
Invoicing, accounting, payroll
Direct mail
Inventory
Fulfillment
and die sublimation
I realize this is a tall order and maybe no one has all this but I just started researching for a new MIS as we have been using PSI for at least 15 years now, so long overdue!!
Which of these can Intraprint not do?

 

[kristie]

I would not suggest epace. We switched from PrintSmith to epace in 2009 and we are still trying to get it set up and working correctly. We purchased it along with DSF, as we have a large web presence, and needed something that would take our orders from the W2P into the MIS with accuracy. Not happening. We did the initial installation with the help of EFI install team. Nothing worked the way it was supposed to, we complained, asked service for help, and kept getting told that everything was working fine. Finally, we quit paying the maintenance (after asking for 2 years for help) and finally got someone's attention. They gave us a new implementer and she found that our system was set up completely wrong. The items we were sending to service were real bugs, not our imagination.
Shipping does not work correctly in epace. Billing is crazy and inconsistent. You set up your accounting codes and it does not matter. The dollars do not go into the right bucket, and you have to change the distribution of sales on every invoice. We have been working with our new person for almost 6 months, and we are still 6 months away from being set up correctly. There are many features in epace that make it seem like a dream MIS, but they don't work as advertised.
Ask the sales rep to allow you to speak with someone who has a similar shop to yours and has been using epace for at least 1 year. We asked, but were told that they would get back to us, and we were patient, we did a years worth of research, demo's etc. We purchased the software, and the same month that we purchased it, they did a dramatic change, and all the features that we wanted were not functioning the way they were supposed to.
We have still not gotten them to give us a contact person who is using the system and in a similar environment.
Be very wary of epace.

 

[ChrisOAS]

Recommending Intraprint Inc.

Recommending Intraprint Inc.

Intraprint's Estimating system is very powerful, very flexible and can be automated to a very high degree. Our prospects and clients alike have commented that Intraprint is more flexible and quite a bit more powerful than the systems you mention. Estimating in Intraprint drives all other modules such that once Estimating has been set up, 70% - 85% of the rest of your system is already set up. Intraprint also offers reasonable, competitive pricing. Please feel free to Google our website online or you can call me directly at (416) 841-8322. Best regards, Chris Schwendinger, Senior Consultant, Intraprint,

 

[OkiTech]

Hi Chris, I am in the market to upgrade out "post-it" workflow, we're small - 5 employees. I will call you Monday. But as it goes to you and pretty much everyone else offering this service... I do my research on evening hours, as I am sure many of us - while most business are closed for a phone call... It is kind of bizarre situation - think about it: All MIS and Web-to-Print providers offer their services and pretty much everyone pushes their product with some interpretation of the "Hey guys get you business working even while you don't, let your customers see the prices and products 24/7". Well, dear MIS and Web-to-print providers, most of you have great sites, why don't you let you sites work while you don't so your potential customers can see your services and
P-R-I-C-E-S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! while you closed. None of you should not be allowed to run Supermarket (I wish you to be successful at your business and would not need to step in to any other industry) but lets Imagine if theoretically it would happen, Pricetags would look like this: "Apples Extra Sweet please contact our representative for a price" and every product like that...

 

[toronar]

Well, dear MIS and Web-to-print providers, most of you have great sites, why don't you let you sites work while you don't so your potential customers can see your services and
P-R-I-C-E-S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! while you closed. None of you should not be allowed to run Supermarket (I wish you to be successful at your business and would not need to step in to any other industry) but lets Imagine if theoretically it would happen, Pricetags would look like this: "Apples Extra Sweet please contact our representative for a price" and every product like that...

But but but then they could not pull an Oracle sales meeting... quote:

Answer to salesperson: How much does X cost?
Salesperson: we need your financial data for the last 2 years and projected earnings for the next year to give you a price.

Or put another way: How much you got? We'll make a special deal where we leave you some money for food.

 

[WEB&PLATE]

i've studied a few MIS systems, and Tharstern promised to bring a fast and the best system to our company, they were a disaster, we paid them almost 10,000, they said they had ganging, that didnt work, it was far from accurate estimating, it took 3 times longer to do a quote than all the online systems, the online per month systems were far superior to Tharstern!, and in the end we ended up without a system, and tharstern offered us no help, but send us a letter saying they would take us to court unless we kept quite!

 

[WEB&PLATE]

PS, if anyone is looking at MIS, please feel free to contact me and i can suggest two systems that are excellent, remember if a company can't give you a 30 day demo, walk away!!!