Print Shop Software for Small Businesses: 5 Things You Should Know

Print shop software for small businesses is available and developing quickly. It is affordable, powerful, flexible, and is a management tool you shouldn’t overlook. As the role of printing continues to evolve in our digital world, new opportunities for growth are emerging. The more efficiently you run your print shop, the more time you will gain to take advantage of these
opportunities.

Here are five things you should know about print shop software for small businesses.

It doesn’t cost a lot to get started.

Cloud-based systems can be purchased on subscription basis. Packages for 5 to 15 users range in cost from about $300 to $500 month. This includes ongoing, automatic upgrades and training, tech support, and online file storage. Because you don’t have to make a hefty investment in servers or upgraded computers, you can start whenever you are ready.

It’s more powerful and flexible than you think.

Users can access the cloud-based software through tablets, smartphones, and the laptops they use every day. You can quote jobs and keep tabs on the status of jobs wherever you happen to be. As your company grows, you can add new users and modules that add capabilities such as web-to-print storefronts, proof approvals, or customer relationship management.

It can grow with your business.

With the right print-management software, you can grow your business in whatever direction makes sense for your company. For example, if you started out as a screen-printing business, you can easily expand into other types of printing such as wide-format printing on roll-to-roll or flatbed inkjet printers or short-run digital printing.on toner-based presses. The software can be
modified to create estimates for many types of printing jobs.

The tech support can be top-notch.

Software developers that cater to multi-million-dollar print companies can’t spend much time listening to the concerns of small-business owners. Software developers that serve small- to mid-sized print shops truly value your business. We know that you don’t have a big IT staff in-house. So we will go the extra mile to resolve any technical issues that arise. We are open to suggestions and want to make it easier for you to modify the system to meet the needs of your print shop.

For example, Ordant’s technical team has written custom pricing formulas for owners of grand-format inkjet printers. We have also helped customers integrate with third-party software they use for different parts of their business. It’s not helpful to have islands of automation that that can’t communicate with each other.

Small businesses have an advantage.

Small businesses are more nimble than big firms. With fewer barriers to implementation, you can use the right print-shop management program as a platform for efficient expansion. Many big print shops were founded long before the transition to digital printing kicked into high gear. Changing the fundamental business practices in big printing firms has been a long and
sometimes painful process. Big shops were accustomed to routinely getting bigger jobs and longer lead times for estimating, scheduling, and delivering jobs. They started automating their estimating and order management processes when it became clear they had to handle a higher volume of short-run jobs from a variety of customers.

Your small print shop was probably “born digital.” Even if you use manual screen printing presses, you have always used computers and inkjet printers during design and prepress. Because your small print shop has a smaller fleet of equipment and strong relationships with a smaller base of clients, it’s easier to get a well-designed print-business management system up and running.

Final Thoughts

Running a small printing business is hard. Your small staff faces new sets of challenges and problems every day. If the right software can help your day-to-day business operations run like a well-oiled machine, you and your staff will have more time to deal with new challenges, or learn how to develop and sell new products.

Today, most customers expect it to be easy to get quotes or order products online.Small print shops must be prepared to meet these expectations.

Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a fortune to start streamlining functions related to quoting jobs, accepting orders, planning daily schedules, tracking jobs in process, shipping, and invoicing jobs.

Cloud-based systems, such as Ordant software, are surprisingly easy to implement and learn. Schedule a demonstration at ordant.com and we’ll show you how simple it can be.

You also may like
Subscribe to our newsletter
Get the latest software updates, company news, and insights delivered right to your inbox.
First and Last Name*
Email*
Industries
Digital Printing
Read More
Large Format
Read More
Signage
Read More
Screen Printing
Read More
Sublimation
Read More
Vehicle Wrap
Read More
Apparel
Read More
Features
Job
Onboarding
Read More
Prepress
& Workflow
Read More
Inventory
& Purchasing
Read More
Sales, Marketing
& Service
Read More
Shipping
& Reporting
Read More