Making Waves With MIS

While many sign-makers and related businesses already have some form of management information system (MIS) in place, it is important that they continue to monitor the market for new developments with this technology.

Failing to upgrade your existing MIS with new features or even replacing the older system altogether with a new, fresh solution, means you may miss out on new advancements. In turn, this will likely see you lose pace with competitors and put you at a disadvantage in what is already a highly competitive market.

In this feature, we take a closer look at MIS, analysing the benefits of upgrading to a new system or updating your existing MIS, and speak with specialist suppliers within this market to learn more about the latest and most popular solutions for sign-makers and wide-format print companies.

Heart of a Business

First up is Trevor Cocks, managing director of Accura MIS, which specialises in MIS for the print sector, which includes working with companies in wide-format print. According to Cocks, a good MIS should be at the heart of everything going on within a signage business, fostering the job throughout its lifecycle.
“A quality MIS should bring automation, cost-savings, and efficiencies through seamless integration and reducing administration time, repetition, and errors,” Cocks says, adding: “A quality MIS is essential to remain competitive in today’s quick turnaround, slim margin environment.

“It literally can be make-or-break. Of course, there must be quality of service behind the MIS, backed by print professionals who can deal with support queries in a timely manner.”

Cocks goes on to say that it is not quite as simple as rocking up at your local MIS supplier and taking home the first solution you see from the shelf. As is the case with hardware, any sort of investment should be properly thought through and researched to ensure it will solve any issues you are having.

“We see sign-makers purchasing simplistic, low-end products designed for small digital print-shops,” Cocks explains. “These do not offer the flexibility to be setup for the diverse range of processes needed in sign-making, which could include a wide variety of substrates, screen-printing, or wide-format, along with all the custom work, finishing, and installation that goes with the sector.

“A product may look cheap, but it won’t be cheap in the long run if it does not meet your needs, both now and into the future as you grow, it will be very costly.”

With this, Cocks offers some guidance on what sign-makers and wide-format printers should be looking for in a quality MIS. First, he advises seeking out a solution that is flexible when setting up all the print and post-print processes. It should also offer seamless integration from web to CRM to production MIS, as well as possibility for third-party integrations and scalability to grow with your own needs and goals.

Cocks also urges a focus on affordability so that return on investment can be realised quickly, in addition to ease of use so that all employees can play their part. Regular updates and support are also important. The supplier should be receptive to feedback on improving its product for the sign industry, as well as have a track record of customers in a similar field.

“Always make sure you do your due diligence on the supplier,” Cocks advises, adding: “This is just as important, if not more so, than product features. Our online MIS Buyer’s Guide will help you with the process.”

All of this, Cocks explains, can be found within Accura360, a modular solution that has been adapted for all print sectors and uniquely combines CRM, MIS, and Web2Print in one offering that is scalable and flexible. Accura already has more than 600 installations worldwide with this solution, including with companies working across the screen, signage, wide-format, and digital print markets.

Crucial Tool

Elsewhere, Rob Thurston, UK sales manager at PrintIQ, a cloud-based management workflow system, also talks about the importance of a quality MIS. He says it should be regarded as being crucial for both sign-making and printing businesses as it ensures streamlined workflows and accurate costings.

A quality MIS, Thurston says, helps automate complex processes and reduces manual effort and errors, which in turn enhances efficiency. On top of this, Thurston highlights improved decision-making by providing users with time insights into job status, production timelines, and financials.

Other benefits sounded out by Thurston include better customer satisfaction as a result of on-time delivery, better communication with customers, more scalability by allowing users to grow their business by handling larger volumes of work seamlessly, and improved cost control by accurately tracking expenses and helping identify areas for saving.

Some companies will choose the wrong MIS system that isn’t tailored to the specific needs of the sign industry

Leading on from this, Thurston picks out some of the most common mistakes that both sign-makers and wide-format print companies make when investing in and using MIS, saying that these are easily avoidable.

“Underutilisation of features is one of the more common issues we come across when we talk MIS with customers,” Thurston says, adding: “Many sign-makers fail to fully explore and use all functionalities, leaving potential improvements untapped.

“Some companies will choose the wrong MIS system that isn’t tailored to the specific needs of the sign industry. Others will fail to integrate their MIS with other systems such as CRM, accounting or workflow tools, which in turn leads to inefficiencies within the business.

“Perhaps the most common issue is ignoring regular updates; outdated systems can hinder performance and security, so it is crucial that you keep your MIS up to date as much as possible.”

On this, Thurston speaks about PrintIQ and the advanced and popular solutions it tailors for use across the print and signage industries. First up is PrintIQ Core, a cloud-based MIS designed for complete print workflow management, from estimating to invoicing.

Alongside this is IQWorkflow, a tool that both automates and simplifies complex production workflows. PrintIQ also offers IQConnect, which offers integration capabilities that connect the PrintIQ system with e-commerce platforms and third-party software.

Specific to the sign industry is a Large-Format Estimating Module, which Thurston explains allows users to handle unique quoting challenges in wide-format and custom signage projects. Clients across both sign and print can also make use of business intelligence tool for advanced analytics and reporting to help businesses make data-driven decisions.

“When investing in MIS, sign companies should look for industry-specific features such as support for large-format printing, custom job quoting, and material-specific workflows,” Thurston says, adding: “A user-friendly interface that simplifies complex processes is also a must.

“I would also recommend working with cloud-based solutions, which allow for access from anywhere, offering flexibility and scalability. Seamless integration with existing tools like design software, CRM, and accounting platforms should also be key, along with real-time reporting across dashboards and analytics to provide insights into business performance.”

Integration Importance

Also weighing in is Piet De Pauw, head of marketing at Enfocus, who says having access to a centralised platform that can manage orders, estimate costs, track production, and ensure smooth communication across departments helps businesses streamline operations. This, he adds, helps to reduce errors and provide critical insights into performance and profitability.

However, De Pauw says the true potential of a MIS is unlocked when it seamlessly integrates with other workflow tools, such as Enfocus Switch. He explains: “While the MIS excels at managing data and planning, tools like Switch enable you to automate the flow of that data across your production environment.

“For example, Switch can extract job data from the MIS to trigger automated workflows. It can deliver real-time production updates back to the MIS for precise tracking and reporting. It can also bridge the gap between the MIS and other production tools, ensuring the whole process runs optimally.

“This two-way communication ensures that your MIS becomes more than just a database – it becomes an active part of a fully automated and efficient workflow. A MIS on its own is a useful tool – a MIS complemented by Switch is a revolution.”

Offering words of advice to sign companies seeking a new solution, De Pauw says many sign-makers invest in a powerful MIS but fail to connect it to their production systems. This, he says, leads to manual data re-entry, increasing the risk of errors and wasting valuable time.

“The MIS should integrate seamlessly with other systems, such as workflow automation tools like Enfocus Switch,” he says, adding: “This allows for efficient data exchange between the MIS and production systems, minimising manual interventions and errors.

De Pauw also warns of ignoring real-time feedback, saying without real-time updates from production, the MIS becomes a static repository of outdated information. He comments: “That’s fine, but inefficient to access and use productively. By using Enfocus Switch to send live production data back to the MIS, sign-makers can ensure accurate tracking, better scheduling, and more informed decision-making.”

Finally, he notes the danger of overlooking customisation and scalability, saying some sign-makers rely on out-of-the-box MIS setups that do not align with their unique workflows. He explains by leveraging the flexibility of Enfocus Switch, sign-makers can customise how the MIS interacts with other systems, tailoring your automation to fit your specific needs.

Speaking more about Enfocus Switch, De Pauw continues: “Enfocus Switch was recently updated in our 2024 Fall update, making it more efficient than ever for MIS integration. We’ve improved scripting functionality with JDF support, enhanced the file clean-up, and squashed a few bugs to make the user experience smoother and faster.

“A quality MIS should adapt to the unique needs of the business and scale as the company grows. It should support both simple workflows and more complex, automated ones driven by tools like Switch. Sign companies should look to invest in an MIS that does not just organise their business but also empowers them to streamline workflows and scale operations effectively.”

Clearly, an MIS is something that should no longer be viewed as a luxury for sign businesses, but necessary if they are to keep pace with competitors in the busy modern market. However, as sounded out by all contributors to this feature, companies in the sign-making and wide-format print sectors shouldn’t throw their money at any MIS but instead carry out careful research of the market to ensure they invest in a solution that is compatible with their business and its specific requirements.