What Is PrintVis? Print Management Software for Business Central
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is widely used by manufacturers to manage finance, inventory, and supply chain operations. However, for print and packaging manufacturers, standard ERP functionality often falls short when it comes to estimating complex jobs, tracking production costs accurately, and managing press-level scheduling.
This is where PrintVis comes in.
PrintVis is a Print Management Information System (Print MIS) built specifically for print manufacturers and embedded directly inside Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Rather than integrating with Business Central as a separate system, PrintVis runs natively within it, extending the ERP with print-specific workflows.
Why Print Manufacturers Need More Than Standard ERP
Business Central provides a strong foundation for general manufacturing and financial management, but print production introduces additional complexity that generic ERP systems are not designed to handle on their own.
Common gaps include:
- Complex estimating based on materials, press time, and finishing steps
- Job-level costing that reflects real production activity
- Visual scheduling across presses and work centers
- Tracking waste, spoilage, and material usage by job
Many print businesses attempt to fill these gaps with standalone Print MIS tools. While this can work initially, it often creates long-term challenges around data consistency and financial visibility.
PrintVis vs Standalone Print MIS
Traditional Print MIS systems typically sit outside the ERP and exchange data through integrations. Over time, this leads to issues such as:
- Duplicate customer, item, and job data
- Delayed or inconsistent profitability reporting
- Manual reconciliation between production and accounting
- Limited reporting across departments
PrintVis was designed to eliminate this separation. Because it operates inside Business Central, it uses the same database, chart of accounts, and reporting engine. Estimating, production, inventory, and financials are all part of a single system of record.
Core Capabilities PrintVis Adds to Business Central
PrintVis extends Business Central with print-specific functionality across the full job lifecycle:
- Estimating and Quoting: Rule-based estimating built for print workflows, creating a direct link between quoted and actual job costs.
- Production Planning and Scheduling: Visual scheduling tools that provide real-time insight into capacity, press utilization, and job sequencing.
- Shop Floor Data Collection: Electronic job tickets capture labor, materials, and job status as work is performed.
- Job Costing and Profitability: Labor, machine time, materials, and subcontracted services are tracked at the job level and reflected immediately in financials.
- Inventory and Purchasing: Material requirements are driven directly by job data, improving accuracy and reducing last-minute purchasing.
Because these capabilities run natively inside Business Central, production activity updates financial data automatically without synchronization delays.
Who PrintVis Is Best Suited For
PrintVis is typically a strong fit for print and packaging manufacturers with moderate to high operational complexity, including:
- Commercial printers managing high job volumes and frequent changeovers
- Label, folding carton, and flexible packaging manufacturers
- Businesses that require accurate, real-time job profitability reporting
- Organizations looking to unify production and finance within a single ERP
Very small print shops with simple workflows or businesses seeking only a lightweight estimating tool may find PrintVis more robust than necessary.
Implementation Considerations
Because PrintVis introduces structured workflows across estimating, production, inventory, and accounting, implementation success depends heavily on process alignment.
Effective projects focus on:
- Mapping real shop-floor workflows into the system
- Standardizing estimating and costing logic
- Preparing clean, accurate data for migration
- Training users on how production decisions impact financial reporting
Partner experience with both Business Central and print manufacturing plays a significant role in adoption and long-term success.
Learn More About PrintVis and Business Central for Print Manufacturing
This article provides a high-level overview of how PrintVis extends Business Central for print manufacturers. A more detailed breakdown of features, comparisons, implementation phases, FAQs, and best-fit scenarios is available here:
