by DPS Magazine Staff
Commercial and direct mail printers struggle to manage high job volumes and frequent changeovers, while in-plants are under pressure to reduce costs and improve transparency and service levels.
“Large and multi-location providers often lack standardization and real-time production visibility, creating inefficiencies and limiting scalability,” says Kevin Roman, director of professional services, Production Print Pro Services, Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Printers today face more challenges than ever. “Faster turnaround times and rising order volumes, complexity in jobs and multiple output formats, manual bottlenecks, inconsistent prepress processes, and integration limitations, hardware and software compatibility across multiple devices—the list goes on. And each print business will have their own unique mix problems to solve,” admits Piet De Pauw, head of marketing, Enfocus.
“That’s why flexibility is the most important thing to look for in automation software—it means you can adapt and evolve alongside the industry.”
In many segments, integration is often a weak point. “Many print providers are running capable systems—MIS, workflow automation, prepress tools—and assume that simply having the software in place means they are already ahead. In reality, the bigger challenge is how effectively those systems are being used and whether they are truly connected. When data and files don’t move automatically between systems, people step in to bridge the gaps. That reliance on manual intervention slows production, introduces risk, and makes workflows fragile and difficult to scale, comments Alex Bowell, managing director, Infigo.
Breaking Down Silos
Many operations still have islands where estimating is separate from production, inventory separate from planning, and spreadsheets are everywhere.
Data fragmentation and siloed systems are a major production workflow challenge for modern print and packaging operations, especially those with multiple locations or legacy software. “When estimating, scheduling, production, inventory, and financial data live in separate systems—or worse, spreadsheets—teams lose real-time visibility into what’s actually happening on the shop floor,” says Mariusz Sosnowski, CEO, HiFlow Solutions.
Isolated data silos restrict access to actionable insights, making it difficult to optimize operations. “The solution lies in implementing clear strategies for data-driven integration layered on top of automation frameworks, enabling connected workflows, predictive analytics, and smarter decision making,” adds Roman.
Depending on a print provider’s current and long-term automation and integration goals, many challenges can arise. “Needs vary depending on the type of print business and/or amount of throughput,” admits Marc Raad, president, Significans Automation.
As a general rule, Raad feels the more printing and finishing devices along with disparate software solutions, the greater the need to simplify workflow processes. “Larger, more complex printing environments—e.g., hybrid shops that combine digital and offset—demand more agile and sophisticated solutions. However, seamless integration of all of a printer’s production-critical processes has always been the primary challenge.”
Rick Aberle, founder/CEO, Propago, adds that without automatic data flowing from storefront to production to fulfillment to billing, printers face excessive manual entry, duplicate records, and errors that slow production and damage client relationships.
Bowell sees the real opportunity in stepping back to identify bottlenecks, simplify processes, connect systems properly, and then automate with purpose rather than in isolation. “Ultimately, the challenge is moving from reactive workflows to predictable ones. Print businesses that continue to rely on manual fixes and workarounds will struggle to keep up, while those that focus on structured, connected automation are far better positioned to handle both growth and complexity.”
It is important to acknowledge that many print shops lack the in-house technical expertise to create workflow automation solutions. “This may lead to systems that are difficult and expensive to maintain, prone to errors, and ultimately fail to meet the short- and long-term needs of the business. The initial costs of developing customized workflow automation might also be significant, depending on what’s required,” admits Raad.
David Graves, CEO, Aleyant, explains that a lot of workflow solutions involve scripting that can be burdensome and involve added personnel or outsourcing. “You might have to setup your own infrastructure, such as a dedicated server, which adds several days to taking your solution live.”
Hans Sep, product line manager, Fiery, points to a shift from scripting to visual flow-based design, which allows production managers to build and modify workflows without IT involvement. “This addresses the capabilities gap directly—the people who understand what needs to happen can now implement it themselves.”
Today’s workflow tools also help breakdown information islands. Sep notes that native MQTT connectivity transforms print shops from isolated production facilities into connected nodes in larger enterprise systems where MIS receive real-time job status without polling or manual updates; customer portals show live progress, eliminating ‘where’s my job?’ calls; ERP triggers can initiate print workflows automatically; and multi-site operations get centralized visibility.
Roman says modern workflow automation reduces manual touchpoints through rules-based processing, system-to-system integration, and intelligent job routing. For example, Canon’s PRISMA solutions integrate MIS/ERP, data composition, print, and finishing while providing real-time production insights.
Intelligent job routing, centralized monitoring, and real-time visibility allow providers to identify issues earlier and resolve them more effectively. “In this environment, OL Automate functions as the orchestration layer; OL Connect manages intelligent document composition; Ricoh Correspondence Manager provides governance, tracking, and compliance; and Ricoh Hybrid Mail automates the decisioning between physical and digital delivery,” offers Chris Odden, director, Digital Transformation & Integrated Solutions, Software & Strategic Solutions, Commercial & Industrial Printing Group, Ricoh USA.
Complexity at Scale
As brands demand more personalized materials, traditional workflows buckle. “The challenge is both technical and operational. How do you profitably manage thousands of short-run, customized jobs without drowning in manual proofing, corrections, and coordination? Legacy workflows for long-run, static jobs can’t keep pace with mass personalization,” cautions Aberle. “Digital printing is the cornerstone of the revolution of profitability in short-run jobs, but the size of the delta is entirely dependent on the quality of the workflow infrastructure that powers this new paradigm.”
“As order volumes increase along with turnaround time expectations, many workflows are still held together by manual steps, emails, and last-minute checks that don’t scale,” adds Bowell.
Technical complexity also increases with personalization. “Managing dynamic variable data logic without specialized software becomes error-prone and unmanageable at scale. Furthermore, a disconnect between sales channels and production systems often creates a disjointed workflow where orders from ecommerce portals must be manually re-entered into the MIS. This not only introduces typos and data discrepancies but also slows down the entire operation,” cautions Dmitry Sevostyanov, CEO, Customer’s Canvas.
Thriving printers have automated labor-intensive processes, eliminated redundant entry, streamlined approvals, and optimized fulfillment. “The challenge is executing both technology investment and organizational change simultaneously,” shares Aberle.
There are volume-specific factors to consider. For example, Aberle believes small- to mid-volume environments—under 100 orders/month—tend to struggle with cost-benefit calculations and need affordable solutions without massive upfront investment.
Mid-volume providers often rely heavily on custom scripts and institutional knowledge, which makes automation difficult to scale and increases operational risk. “Exception handling and rework frequently become bottlenecks,” comments Odden.
For high-volume shops—around 500-plus orders/month—Aberle believes manual processes actively harm growth. “They need automation without disrupting production.”
Finally, multi-location operations face unique coordination challenges around inventory visibility, order routing, and standardizing processes across facilities, says Aberle.
Ben Parker, director of sales, Rochester Software Associates, finds that the biggest workflow challenges—like manual prepress and makeready bottlenecks, disconnected ordering systems and production workflows, labor shortages requiring higher automation, and integrating legacy transactional data into modern workflows—are mostly seen in high-volume, multi-device, and enterprise environments, but workflow solutions are used to overcome these challenges.
Large and enterprise providers face additional challenges related to governance, compliance, and system integration. “Managing multiple delivery channels from a single data source, integrating legacy platforms with modern workflows, and ensuring uptime and disaster recovery readiness are ongoing concerns,” comments Odden.
Nicole Miller, COO, Nordis Technologies, adds that growing security threats demand stringent digital and physical protocols and practices for data and record protection that must evolve to keep pace with changing risks, such as artificially intelligence (AI)-generated attacks.
Automation for the Win
Many modern solutions address workflow challenges and encourage integration and automation, often with the help of rules-based automation or AI.
Modern automation software addresses production workflow challenges by replacing disconnected, legacy, and manual processes with modern, integrated, intelligent systems that share data in real time. Workflow automation reduces handoffs and rekeying between estimating, planning, production, procurement, and finance, eliminating delays and errors, says Sosnowski.
AI enhances this foundation by improving estimating accuracy, predicting bottlenecks, prioritizing jobs dynamically, and flagging issues before they disrupt schedules, adds Sosnowski.
While challenges may vary by vertical, Sevostyanov sees universal pain points starting right at the intake stage. Inconsistent input data, whether it is low-resolution images for wide format or messy databases for direct mail, forces operators to waste time manually fixing files. This friction is often compounded by the approval cycle, where simple changes trigger endless email threads between clients and designers, delaying production and frustrating everyone involved.
In any automation solution, integration is key and the first step. “You have to be able to get data from a trusted source in order to program around that data—and build the workflows,” offers Mike Agness, EVP, Americas, Hybrid Software.
Aberle stresses that the automation revolution isn’t about replacing every system—it’s about connecting them intelligently. Modern platforms don’t rely on one method of data connection but rather a suite of tools that give print providers both flexibility and room to optimize as they grow. Pre-built connectors are designed to work seamlessly with popular software systems right from the jump. “A robust and continually enhanced set of RESTful APIs and custom-developed webhooks allow us to meet printers where their workflows are and support their automation ambitions, creating seamless data flow between previously siloed systems.”
“The most critical advancement is API-first integration. Instead of acting as a standalone silo, modern automation connects sales channels directly to production backends. This eliminates the ‘swivel-chair’ data entry problem, as order details flow automatically from the web portal into the MIS or ERP system without human intervention,” suggests Sevostyanov.
Solving Challenges with Workflow
Print providers in all segments continue to evolve, accepting shorter runs, more complex orders, and demands to hit tighter turnaround times, all among a skilled labor shortage, increasing costs, and an uncertain economical climate.
The solution? Workflow automation, which starts with the integration of siloed systems to simplify production, reduce errors, eliminate waste, and improve productivity.
Mar2026, DPS Magazine
