Printing Industry Commentary & Analysis

Print MIS Product Spotlight: Lift Software

Published June 24, 2021

Lift Software Print MIS/ERP was invented inside a large wide format printer. That alone will tell you a lot about how Lift perceived the challenges of running a print business. For most Print MIS solutions, supporting wide format has been an add-on to a more traditionally focused offset or digital print manufacturing focus. For Lift it is clearly a deep specialty.

Software Enabled Automation: What? Why? and How?

Published June 16, 2021

Software has evolved to allow automation with developers. Print businesses can take advantage of this if they invest in technical leadership and give them a seat at the decision-making table.

Document Your Processes—or Continue to Wing It?

Published June 9, 2021

The documentation of your repeating processes will change your business in so many ways. No matter how inefficient you might be today, the simple act of documenting processes and committing to iterative improvements will turn your business into a continuous improvement engine.

Print Software Feature Overlap

Published June 2, 2021

Software solutions have features that overlap and are outright solving the exact same issues. Just be careful of the tendency to assume that a small feature means more than it really does. Be wary of where the feature gets done in your workflows.

What Problem are You Asking Print Software to Solve?

Published May 26, 2021

Lots of activity, little in the way of results is often the situation when your culture jumps to solutions without defining the problem first. Pause, say the problem out loud. Ask others to say it in their own words. Don’t move to the “how” until you all agree on the “what.”

Designating Your Print Software Expert(s)

Published May 19, 2021

Who is in charge of your print software solutions? The small step of simply assigning an individual goes a long way towards truly owning the software tools that run your business.

Print MIS Product Spotlight: Sabre Limited/Reseller of PrintVis

Published May 12, 2021

The PrintVis Print MIS/ERP is an offering that combines a globally recognized ERP system from Microsoft (Dynamics 365 Business Central), with the print industry specific addon from PrintVis, and in this article we’re featuring Sabre Limited as the implementation partner.

Software Success: Equal Parts Strategy and Execution

Published May 5, 2021

Where are you headed? What is your strategic goal? Then who is going to execute on all the tasks required to reach that goal. Strategy + execution plays a part in almost every project you take on in your business—especially print software projects.

Replace Training & Support with Learning

Published April 28, 2021

Training is not learning. Training is something you hire other people to do to you. Learning is something that you do. Start building a learning culture now in your print business; it is the only defense to the acceleration of change in our industry.

Print MIS Data Integrity Matters

Published April 21, 2021

The integrity of your print business data is a foundational building block of your business. It impacts how fast you can move. Lack of data integrity is like an anchor your business has to drag around—it slows almost every aspect of your business down.

Buying a New Print MIS is Not Your First Step

Published April 14, 2021

Replacing your Print MIS might be one of the most important projects you take on in the history of your business. Shopping is not the first step. Assessing your data and your processes is ideally done before you start interacting with software sales representatives.

It’s the Technology Laggards That Cost You the Most

Published April 7, 2021

Laggards are people in your company who have stopped learning and actually insist on doing their job in the same way they have been doing it, and for one reason: it’s the way they’ve been doing it. Investing in your laggards to drive software utilization is a good investment.

Print Business Front Office Modernization: Part 5—Payment

Published March 24, 2021

You getting paid is as much a part of your customer’s experience as placing the order. Make every effort to streamline how much customer time you consume. A vendor that is easy to do business with creates loyal customers.

Print Business Front Office Modernization: Part 4—Artwork

Published March 17, 2021

You can’t start printing until you have approved artwork, but you don’t have complete control over this step in the process. You can optimize your press and finishing processes down to the second, yet you might wait three full days for artwork approval. The best you can do is make it as easy as possible for the customer to respond in a timely manner. Don’t confuse them, don’t make them work, and don’t underestimate convenience.

Print Business Front Office Modernization: Part 3—Orders

Published March 10, 2021

How are orders managed before they hit the press? In this third part of a five-part series, Jennifer Matt defines the complete order process from initial inquiry to invoice payment. This means a great deal of the process happens in the carpeted area of your print business.

Print Business Front Office Modernization: Part 2—Prospects and Customers

Published March 3, 2021

Think about your front office in terms of what “objects'' you need to manage there. In part 2 of a five-part series, we discuss customers and prospects. This means tracking sales activities and inserting more valuable information (both quantitative and qualitative) into your Print MIS regarding your customers.

Print Business Front Office Modernization: Part 1—Guiding Principles

Published February 24, 2021

This article, the first of a five-part series on the modernization of your print business front office, starts with some guiding principles and then discuss the various “objects” that are managed by the carpeted area of your plant.

Considering a Non-Print-Specific MIS/ERP

Published February 17, 2021

If you run a print manufacturing business, chances are you should invest in a print-specific MIS/ERP solution. However, proceed carefully if you insist on adopting a generic MIS/ERP software solution. Don’t get caught up in paying for customizations that are expected features for a print business.

So Your Print Sales Team Isn’t Very Technical

Published February 10, 2021

Technical skills are important in every functional area of your print business and sales is no exception. Every salesperson needs to be able to calmly and strategically uncover business challenges and communicate these challenges to your technical resources without limiting potential solutions or setting unreasonable expectations with the customer.

Print Software and 2021’s Business Trends

Published February 3, 2021

Working from home, data as an asset, and automation: three business trends and their specific impact on print businesses.

Customer Segmentation in Your Print Business

Published January 27, 2021

Understanding your customer segmentation and even more importantly the “jobs” the printed products do for your customers can help you better target your sales efforts. Diversity is a hedge against catastrophic market segment collapse (another lesson of COVID-19).

Print Software Feature Requests: You’re a Priority, Just Not the Only Priority

Published January 20, 2021

Feature requests are popular. The default response to new software to ask for it to be changed to fit the way you specifically think it should fit into your specific environment. “Change your processes to optimize your use of the software” is the one statement that would save the print industry millions of dollars.

A Dynamic Print Business

Published January 13, 2021

The printing industry is becoming more dynamic—not just as it relates to COVID-19 but in general. Everything is moving and increasing in velocity. Our ability to thrive in this environment requires a dynamic business approach, one that is characterized by constant change. A business must adjust according to its current conditions. This is a path to systemizing a dynamic business, one that is characterized by constant change—but a constant change that doesn’t leave your people behind.

IT Integrations with Your Customer’s ERP

Published January 6, 2021

Integrate with your customers’ systems so that your technologies have relationships just like your people have relationships. The more ties that bind you and your customers together, the less likely you will divorce!

COVID-19 Sales Strategy: Think of Your Customer’s Customer

Published December 16, 2020

Selling during the pandemic is like selling during a widespread economic downturn. You have to figure out the market segments who are least impacted or, in COVID-19’s case. find the companies who are positively impacted. Directing your sales efforts is critical to closing new business.

The Future of Print Customer Service

Published December 9, 2020

The future of your customer service department still involves skilled labor. In fact, the labor is more skilled than it is today and it will be able to handle more volume because of the self-service tools your customers will have access to. Customer service will turn into customer success—a proactive element to drive more business and maintain loyalty thru convenience.

A Good Year for Software: The New Infrastructure of Your Print Business

Published December 8, 2020

WhatTheyThink Print Software section editor Jennifer Matt looks back at the year 2020 in software, some of the trends that emerged from the pandemic, and how software has become an important element in helping print companies adapt and pivot.

Our Customers Don’t Want to Order Online

Published December 2, 2020

Humans resist change, even when it provides them real value. If you need a group of humans to change, you have to think about your approach in order to optimize the outcomes. This applies to your existing customers and how they engage with your business.

COVID-19 Sales Strategy: Think of Your Customer’s Customer

Published November 11, 2020

Selling during the pandemic is like selling during a widespread economic downturn. You have to figure out the market segments that are least impacted or, in COVID-19’s case, find the companies that are positively impacted. Directing your sales efforts is critical to closing new business.

User Adoption and a Useful Crisis (COVID-19)

Published November 4, 2020

A crisis is also an opportunity, and COVID-19 is no exception. The rate of adaptation taking place is one of the most powerful forces at play in 2020. Entire populations are expanding their comfort zones with online tools, remote learning, and working from home.

The Death of Paper-Based Processes

Published October 28, 2020

Your business processes need to move off of paper and into software. This was important before COVID-19, and like everything else, COVID-19 has simply accelerated this trend. Paper is no longer a viable business process medium.

Selling Print is Never Going Back to Normal

Published October 21, 2020

Sales is never going back to normal. The pandemic didn’t create anything new—it simply accelerated what was already happening. Evolve your sales team now; donuts and face to face meetings aren’t coming back.

Web-to-Print Product Spotlight: Propago

Published October 14, 2020

Most web-to-print software solutions are built inside software companies. Propago was built inside a large commercial printer. This is a unique origin story for a software platform and it tells us a lot about how and why features made it into the Propago product. Print Software Section Editor Jennifer Matt takes a close look at Propago’s web-to-print solution.

Decision Fatigue in Software Implementations

Published October 7, 2020

Making decisions wears us out, even easy decisions like what to wear, what to eat for breakfast. Decision fatigue is something we need to manage especially when it comes to projects that require lots and lots of decisions (like Print MIS implementations).

Selling Web-to-Print Portals

Published September 30, 2020

Web-to-print portals are the enabling technology behind a “print program” which can elevate your relationship with your customers from transactional to relational. That relationship becomes “stickier” when technology is embedded into the customer’s organization.

One Login Per Customer!

Published September 23, 2020

Don’t make your customers think. Don’t make your customers administer multiple logins in order to do business with you. Don’t make your online engagement a burden on your customers.

Successful Print Software Implementation Mindset

Published September 16, 2020

Don’t have a mindset like a lighthouse. Have a mindset like a fast, nimble, ship with the most advanced navigation systems. When navigating the waters of the print manufacturing industry, stationary businesses will not survive.

Adult Learning at Your Print Business

Published September 9, 2020

Like it or not, all work involves learning. Not like our education system, but self-directed, project-based learning. You have to be a self-learner and as a leader you have to hold your people accountable for self-learning.

Process Creators vs. Process Followers

Published September 2, 2020

As your business matures and grows, you will need to improve your processes. As software invades every corner of your business, your processes have to change to adapt to the new reality. You need to know who in your company is a process creator.

Online Ordering Adoption Begins with Customer Service

Published August 26, 2020

Your customer service team is the place to start online ordering adoption. You can practice your sales pitch on them and then teach them how to pitch your customers into a self-service workflow.

The COVID-19 Era Is a Time to Contract and Rebuild Your Print Business

Published August 19, 2020

COVID-19 is a challenge and an opportunity to rebuild and make changes to your business that would otherwise be met with the standard “this is how we’ve always done it” line of resistance.

Identifying Important Data Decisions

Published August 12, 2020

Data decisions get made everyday in your print business. Here are three examples of important data decisions that we can all learn from.

Web-to-Print’s Primary Value is Customer Convenience

Published August 5, 2020

Online ordering is about customer convenience. How do you leverage technology and self service to make it easier for your customers to do business with you?

Systemize the Predictable in Your Print Business

Published July 29, 2020

Your business is made up of two kinds of processes: predictable ones and exceptions. A well-run business has codified or systematized the predictable business processes so that the humans working in the business apply all their skills to the exceptions.

Partnering to Expand Your Customer Solutions

Published July 22, 2020

Partnering can solve challenges that you don’t feel comfortable taking on initially. A partnership also helps you grow your expertise in an area so that when you do expand, you’ll make much better investment decisions.

IT Infrastructure and Software Performance

Published July 15, 2020

More and more, the productivity of your company is based on the ability to efficiently work in the software applications that run your business. Don’t hamstring your mission-critical software applications by starving them of the resources they require.

Estimating: Your Customers Least Favorite Aspect of Print Buying

Published July 9, 2020

Getting your customer’s pricing is a critical measure of customer satisfaction. Your customer might not be outwardly complaining, but many print customers are migrating to online solutions that provide immediate pricing. Not every job you produce deserves a manual estimate.

Projects: Getting Stuff Done in Your Print Business

Published June 24, 2020

Every business has projects. Every business treats them differently. The range is enormous; from no project methodology to bureaucratic craziness. Print businesses of all sizes would benefit from a simple project methodology because it can quickly eliminate the most common reasons why things just don’t get done.

The Print Software Evaluation Process

Published June 17, 2020

Evaluating print software is a process that desperately needs to evolve. Step back and look at the business objectives of the evaluation as a starting point to reinventing your approach to purchasing software.

COVID-19's Impact on the Print Sales Process

Published June 10, 2020

So many trends are being amplified or accelerated by COVID-19; the evolution of the sales process is one of them. Your customers are being asked again to do more with fewer people and less time. They need vendors/partners that can help alleviate the pressure.

The Print Industry After COVID-19

Published June 3, 2020

COVID-19 economic symptoms include the weakening of the “we’ve always done it this way defense”—which will have some positive impacts on outdated printer workflows and some negative impacts when customers evaluate print spend under new market conditions.

The Opportunity of a Crisis (like COVID-19)

Published May 27, 2020

There will be a new, new normal after the height of COVID-19 passes. It will be even more reliant on software technologies to connect your employees, your customers, and your suppliers. The time to evolve to this new reality (often referred to as digital transformation) is now—crisis evolution cuts through a lot of the resistance.

The Real Work of Software Optimization

Published May 20, 2020

Learning is the real work of software optimization. Once you really learn the application you own it. Once you own it, then you have the chance of reaching its full potential inside your organization.

COVID-19 Should be Driving Your Digital Transformation

Published May 13, 2020

Crisis creates an environment for rapid innovation. The digital transformation of all business sectors was in progress before COVID-19, and the crisis will continue to separate the digital haves and have-nots.

The Who, What, and Why of Print Software

Published May 6, 2020

Some basic questions—who? what? and most importantly why?—of print software will greatly increase your chances of optimizing your print software investments.

Understanding the Primary Objective of Print Software

Published April 29, 2020

Understanding what the primary objective or challenge that a print software claims to solve is an important factor for shopping for print software solutions. You have challenges, print software vendors have solutions (in the form of products). The better defined the challenge, the better the chance of alignment and return on investment.

Email is Not an Online Print Ordering Solution

Published April 22, 2020

We are going to come out of COVID-19 into a different economy and a different print industry. Many of the changes taking place now will persist, even after we’re all vaccinated or have developed widespread herd immunity. Your customers will return with fewer people resources—a competitive advantage will be for vendors who can save customers time.

Overcoming Resistance to Learning New Software Tools

Published April 8, 2020

Adult learning is hard especially when you’re transitioning from a toolset that your people have been comfortably using for years. Do not give the resistance any power and do not try to force the new system to work like the old one—you will pay dearly for that in the form of lost productivity.

April Fools & Utilizing Top Talent During COVID-19

Published April 1, 2020

First an April fools laugh, then some more insight on how to deploy your best resources during the COVID-19 pause in capitalism.

Strategic Optimization During COVID-19

Published March 25, 2020

Documenting your core workflows can be a good strategic use of key resources who might not be fully occupied working from home.

Printers Need More Selling During Print Software Implementations

Published March 11, 2020

The sales process should extend into the implementation of print software because all humans need to be persuaded of the merits so that they can become enthusiastic about the new toolset.

Elevating Foundational Print Software Decisions

Published March 4, 2020

There are a lot of decisions to be made around print software; it might surprise you which ones I think are the most important.

Solving All Your Print Software Challenges at Once

Published February 26, 2020

It's easy to get into a panic when you wake up to the reality that your approach to software in your print business requires a major overall. It probably took you years to get into this state; don’t freak out because it could take years to crawl out of it. The best thing to do is to calmly prioritize and then start making incremental progress.

Print Software Strategic Planning

Published February 12, 2020

Your software investments deserve big picture, strategic planning. It’s time to step back and assess your core business processes and how software helps, hinders, optimizes, or ideally automates the steps required everyday to deliver on your customer promises.

The Carpeted Area of Your Print Business

Published February 5, 2020

We have spent decades focusing and optimizing the production floor (where there is no carpet). It is time to focus our energies on the carpeted areas of the business which impact customer’s perceptions of our business.

Solving Print Business Challenges with Software

Published January 29, 2020

Describe your business challenges: be specific, be precise. Then let go of any attachment to the “how this business challenge gets solved by print software.” You want your business challenges solved. One of the fastest ways to solve them is to describe them accurately and then to be open to all the possible solutions.

Purchasing a Web-to-Print Solution

Published January 22, 2020

You purchase software to solve business problems. When evaluating software, keep your focus on the challenges you want to solve. This will keep you open-minded about all the possible ways your challenges might be solved, rather than attachment to one specific solution.

Optimize the Print Software You Own

Published January 15, 2020

Treat software like printing press hardware: assume your people and your processes have to change to optimize the new software rather than staying attached to how you think the software should work.

Meritocracy-Based Business Decisions

Published January 8, 2020

Technology is invading every corner of the print industry, and many print business owners are novices when it comes to technology. How do you make good business decisions when you are not the subject matter expert? Whom do you listen to? How do you know they are qualified? Run your business like a meritocracy.

Most Adults Don’t Learn Until They Have To

Published December 18, 2019

People in your organization have to keep learning new things so that you can continue to optimize your business using new tools (mostly software). Leadership’s job is to deliver the “have to” part of the learning equation.

What is Your Print Business Differentiation?

Published December 11, 2019

What do you provide for your sales team to get the upper hand in the marketplace? Do you have differentiation? Are you investing in something that will not only win new customers but keep existing ones?

The Print Customer’s Narrative

Published December 4, 2019

A customer narrative documents the experience of doing business with you—from the sales process all the way through invoicing—from the customer’s perspective.

Selling Print vs. Selling Web-to-Print Software

Published November 20, 2019

Your print sales people need a different perspective when selling web-to-print solutions. They need to understand short vs long term benefits as well as how the customer’s convenience is driving loyalty.

Print Industry M&A and Print Software

Published November 13, 2019

The merger of software technology stacks and strategy is a key component to any two businesses coming together. It takes time, effort, and patience as technology is uniquely embedded in a business. Be strategic about what you address and when you address it. Not everything should change right away.

Waiting for Software to Change to Fit Your Business

Published November 6, 2019

Software feels malleable. New features come out. Trade shows are packed full of vendors showing the bright new thing that might lure you into the sales process. Complex software (Print MIS) does not change fast (because it shouldn’t), and the sooner you realize that changing your business is a better strategy, the faster you’ll get to the ROI and business differentiation that a Print MIS can deliver.

Training vs. Learning with Print Software

Published October 30, 2019

The number one thing we hear when we engage with a printer who is having trouble with their print software (Print MIS, Web-to-Print, or Pre-Press automation) is “we didn’t get trained.” Ironically, more training is rarely the solution to this common complaint.

Solving Software Challenges With Tin Foil

Published October 23, 2019

You have a bias for what solutions work; that bias is based on what has worked for you in the past. If you’re a print business owner, buying new stuff feels like a solid way to solve challenges of hiring new employees. Solving print software challenges requires expertise in print software.

A Cloud-Based Software Mindset

Published October 16, 2019

We live in a connected world. The artifacts (documents, spreadsheets, etc.) we create for business should be stored centrally with controlled access in the cloud. Isolated artifacts on employees’ computers slow projects down and make research into past projects nearly impossible.

Print Software ROI

Published October 9, 2019

Getting the return on investment for print software takes a lot more work by the people at the printer than you are led to believe in the software sales process.

Prioritizing Online Tools for Existing Customers

Published October 2, 2019

The dream of an online business that delivers profitable revenue from strangers is a good dream to have. It simply takes a lot of work to be successful at it. I have seen too many printers spend too much time focusing on the software and forgetting that internet traffic is not free or easy to get.

Why Software is Challenging and Expensive

Published September 25, 2019

Building good software requires a very desirable skill set in our current economy. Virtually every single company on the planet needs to utilize software in order to increase their efficiency and reach more customers.

Perspectives from Outside Your Print Business

Published September 18, 2019

Getting outside perspectives into your print business is important, especially when implementing a Print MIS or other print software. You want people who see a wide variety of print businesses to weigh in on best practices.

Solving Print Software Challenges by Borrowing from Other Features

Published September 11, 2019

Define the challenge you're trying to solve before you jump into a shortcut that borrows from another feature in your Print MIS or web-to-print. If you borrow too much, you’re implementation of the software will get detached from the vendor’s product roadmap—which can be expensive and painful.

The Migrating Value Chain: Print Production to Software

Published September 4, 2019

The value in the print industry today is migrating from the production floor to the mobile device of your customers. How are you investing in providing your customer access to your business from their phone?

Making Brutal Software Feature Decisions

Published August 28, 2019

Print software is a pile of features that solve business process challenges. You have to learn how to prioritize what’s the next most important feature in the software by comparing its impact against all the other features.

The Trap of One More Software Feature

Published August 21, 2019

Don’t let a feature stop you from implementing what works for you today. Don’t let the people in your organization that are good at looking for all the ways something won’t work win. Implement what works and then find ways around the missing features. Waiting is keeping your business in neutral.

The Primary Reason Print Software Gets Thrown Out

Published August 14, 2019

Print software gets thrown out by printers primarily because of factors that are 100% in the printer’s control.

Strategic vs. Tactical Print Employees

Published August 7, 2019

Your print business has two kinds of challenges: the challenge of getting jobs out the door (tactical) and the business of continuing to strategically evolve so you maintain relevance and competitive advantage in the marketplace.

RFPs Are Not a Good Way to Procure Print Software

Published July 24, 2019

Learning is the most important part of software procurement decisions. The vendor needs to learn about you (to assess if you are a good fit for their solution) and you need to learn about the vendor. An RFP doesn’t facilitate any learning.

The Event the Print Industry Needs

Published July 17, 2019

A learning event vs. a selling event—that is the event the print industry needs. An event where you go to solve your challenges through active collaboration, open-minded because nobody is trying to sell you anything.

Email Is a Terrible Way to Communicate (Internally)

Published July 10, 2019

Internal communication deserves better tools than email. Real collaboration happens best when more, not fewer, people are involved. Taking internal communication out of email reduces the cognitive overhead of deciding whom to communicate with.

Pricing Software Tools That Enable Print Programs

Published June 26, 2019

Your print sales team has to evolve to understand and be able to sell the value of the software that enables print demand from business processes. Every printer should have a direct revenue line for their software.

Hidden Labor Costs of Bad Data

Published June 19, 2019

The level of trust you have in the data in your Print MIS impacts all aspects of your business. When printers get their Print MIS to be “trustworthy,” they can move a whole lot faster, with less labor costs, and be more responsive to the never-ending request for more data from all stakeholders in your business.

Choose to Measure Time Spent in Your Print Business

Published June 5, 2019

Everyday, most of us choose the most important thing to work on. The employees in the carpeted area of your print business are making these decisions everyday. Do you know what they are prioritizing? Do you know how they are spending their time? You should measure time just like you measure revenues, profits, and costs.

How Timing Impacts Strategic Print Software Decisions

Published May 29, 2019

Being strategic about print software is nearly impossible when you are in a crisis. Too many print software decisions are made under duress. When you have the discipline to plan before the crisis, you are being strategic.

Print MIS Product Spotlight: Avanti’s Slingshot

Published May 22, 2019

Jennifer Matt reviews Slingshot by Avanti, and feels that its integrated warehouse management, multiple approaches to scheduling, and approach to implementation are its core strengths.

Yesterday’s Workflow Tools: Spreadsheets, Email, and PDFs

Published May 15, 2019

The toolset for solving business workflow challenges has completely changed in the last decade. If the only tool(s) you’re deploying are email, spreadsheets, and/or PDFs, you are using yesterday’s tools to solve today’s challenges.

How Clean Is Your Print Business Data?

Published May 8, 2019

All print business owners want more data about their businesses so they can make better decisions. It isn’t about reporting packages or business intelligence tools—it’s really about how your business generates data on a daily basis.

Solve Problems Your Customers Care About

Published May 1, 2019

I wish all customers’ top priority was purchasing high-quality print; it isn’t. Your customer’s have upstream problems. The printers who go upstream and solve these problems will be rewarded as manufacturers downstream.

A Culture of Accountability to Learning in Your Print Business

Published April 24, 2019

Learning is the experience of trying to do something without parental supervision. It is not watching a trainer do something and shaking your head that you understand. Holding your people accountable for learning activities is the most important part of improving user adoption of new tools in your print business.

Articles by Jennifer Matt