Why Top Printers Choose PrintVis and Business Central
Running a print manufacturing business isn’t easy. These days, customers expect quotes fast—sometimes within the hour. Deadlines are tighter than ever, and it’s getting harder to keep margins where they need to be. And if you’re still using older systems or tools that don’t talk to each other, all of that becomes even more challenging.
At Sabre Limited, we’ve worked with print shops across North America for years, helping them implement Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and PrintVis. Along the way, we’ve noticed that the most successful companies tend to share a few habits. They approach things a bit differently—and it shows in their results.
What Is a Print MIS?
If you’re in the print industry, you’ve probably heard the term “Print MIS” tossed around—but what does it actually mean?
At its core, a Print MIS (short for Management Information System) is software designed specifically for the day-to-day operations of a print shop. That means it’s built to handle things like quoting, scheduling, managing inventory, tracking production, and getting invoices out the door.
What makes it different from a regular ERP or business software is that it understands how print shops work. It knows that every job can be a little different. It can handle things like ganging, custom layouts, and all the unique parts of print production that don’t fit neatly into a standard business system.
What Is PrintVis?
PrintVis is a Print MIS solution built on top of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. It combines the power and flexibility of a modern ERP with features designed specifically for the print and packaging industry.
PrintVis covers the full lifecycle of a print job: from estimating and order intake to planning, production, shipping, and invoicing. Because it runs on Business Central, it also includes robust financials, inventory, and purchasing features out of the box.
Learn about PrintVis license pricing to get a better understanding of the investment.
Why PrintVis Over Other MIS Options?
There are plenty of MIS systems on the market, but few offer the end-to-end integration that PrintVis does. Other systems may offer strong estimating or production planning tools, but lack tight financial and inventory integration, leading to silos and extra manual work.
Some key advantages of PrintVis include:
- Built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (a world-class ERP platform)
- Scalable from small digital shops to large offset or packaging printers
- Cloud-based, modern interface with mobile access
- Regular updates and strong Microsoft ecosystem support
Common Print Pain Points—And How PrintVis Solves Them”
Pain: “We’re constantly chasing missing files and job specs.”
Solution: Centralized job ticketing and document storage in PrintVis.
Pain: “Our quotes take too long and aren’t consistent.”
Solution: Prebuilt estimating templates tailored to each product type.
Pain: “We always seem to have too much or too little inventory.”
Solution: Built-in MRP tools that align material orders with actual demand.
5 Benefits of PrintVis from the Top-Performing Print Manufacturers
Here’s what the top performers are doing, and how PrintVis helps them stay ahead.
1. They Quote Fast and Accurately
If you’re not the first to send a quote, chances are you won’t win the job. Speed matters. But accuracy does too, especially in an industry where quoting mistakes can eat into your profit.
The best print shops use estimating templates in PrintVis to make quoting fast, repeatable, and reliable. Even complex jobs with multiple parts or custom specs can be handled in minutes. In some cases, we’ve seen estimating time cut by 75 percent or more.
If you’re still building quotes from scratch every time, you’re probably losing both time and money.
2. They Automate Enterprise Orders
Web portals are fine for small or one-off jobs, but enterprise clients want more. They expect to submit an order through their system and have it flow straight into yours without any manual steps.
With PrintVis and Business Central, that’s possible. Orders can be received via XML, JDF, or ERP-to-ERP integration and then automatically move through production, scheduling, and invoicing. No manual entry. No rekeying. No confusion.
3. They Charge for Prepress Work
Prepress tasks like file fixing, proofing, or resizing take time. But many print shops don’t bill for them, which means they’re giving away labor for free.
With PrintVis, it’s easy to track prepress hours and add them as line items on an invoice. Customers don’t push back, because they understand it’s part of the job. And that added billing can turn into real revenue.
4. They Use MRP to Clean Up Inventory
Plenty of print manufacturers say they buy materials “just in time” for jobs. But when we visit their shops, the shelves often tell a different story. Extra rolls of substrate, outdated stock, and expensive materials sitting untouched.
Top performers use the Material Requirements Planning (MRP) tools in PrintVis to plan smarter. They consolidate orders, buy in bulk when it makes sense, and suggest standard materials to customers during quoting to simplify purchasing.
This helps reduce waste, lower costs, and free up valuable space on the floor.
5. They Keep Their Data Clean and Use It
Data is one of the most powerful tools a print shop can have—if it’s accurate and accessible.
With PrintVis running inside Business Central, every quote, job, invoice, and material record is stored in one place. That means better job costing, cleaner reports, and faster decisions. Shops that use legacy MIS systems or spreadsheets often spend more time fixing data than using it.
The best print shops don’t just sit on their data—they use it every day to keep things running smoothly. It helps them catch problems early, make better calls, and constantly improve how they work.
Want to learn more about what print manufacturers say about PrintVis? Read our comprehensive article on the tips from the best performing print manufacturers.
Don’t Just Take Our Word, See What Our Customers Say
“Sabre’s knowledge and background gave us confidence from the start. Thanks to their support, we implemented shop floor data collection in both the press and bindery, moved scheduling online, and gained full visibility into our jobs. It’s saved us time, improved efficiency, and helped us increase capacity.”
– Michael Cox, Production Manager at Midway Press LTD
“We were looking forward to having the system being integrated in all our business, from accounting to production to shipping, warehouse, management, where everything is linked together. Particularly with PrintVis, is that when you’re in Business Central, you don’t know that you’re in PrintVis. It’s all interconnected, it’s the same interface.”
– Valerie Audet-Nadon, General Manager at Faspac
Explore more customer success stories from manufacturers who partnered with Sabre Limited to implement PrintVis and Business Central—and loved the results.
So, what really separates a good print shop from a great one?
It’s the behind-the-scenes stuff. The systems that make life easier. The tools that actually talk to each other. The kind of setup that keeps jobs moving without all the manual scrambling.
If you’re still stuck with disconnected systems or old software that slows everything down, it doesn’t have to stay that way. With PrintVis and Business Central, you can pull everything—quotes, inventory, scheduling, billing—into one place that just works.
If you want to see what that could look like for your team, we’re here when you’re ready.
