AI Tools for Wide-format Printers

The hottest buzzword in the world right now is probably “AI”. You can’t even blink, it seems, without encountering an article about how AI will solve all your problems, or fix your revenue, or marry you and have wedded bliss forever. Okay, maybe not that last part.

For printers in general and wide-format printers in particular, AI is finding its way into areas including automation and business development. I rounded up some of the latest tools out there that are designed to help you run your business better. No one tool is a perfect fit for every company, and this space is changing so rapidly that what works today might not be the right fit tomorrow. Also your best tools might not even be released yet, but may be very soon.

That’s why every expert I’ve heard is stressing that AI isn’t something you can set and forget. It is an evolving suite of tools and ideas, and if you want to stay ahead of the proverbial game, you must continue to innovate, try new things, and always be on the lookout for new options that may or may not be better than what you’re currently using.

With that in mind, here is a look at some of the current tools available, many of which were on display during the recent PRINTING United Expo.

Clients First Business Solutions: PrintVIS

Estimation isn’t just for offset printing. Wide-format printers are discovering that having a solid estimating team can mean the difference between thin and healthy margins on every job by ensuring they know their costs up front.

PrintVIS is a tool specifically designed for the print industry, to help automate and streamline the estimating process. Marketing around the product claims it can reduce the time to produce quotes by as much as 50%, reduce lead times by up to 30%, and save up to 20% on inventory costs via improved tracking and forecasting. If you’re looking for an all-around estimating tool that can help streamline this important function in a modern print business — or introduce it to your shop for the first time — this is one to check out.

DirectMail2.0: DM20.ai

Though currently in beta testing, this tool is more for those doing mail campaigns than wide-format projects, but with convergence, pushing shops to expand into more applications and verticals to expand their reach into every customer account, don’t overlook AI tools that target other segments.
In this case, the tool is aimed at taking the years of data a PSP has compiled, and then using AI to analyze potential future campaigns and give real-time feedback into areas such as the audience size, the right zip codes, the messaging, and more. The product aims to help lift response rates by using a LLM trained on real direct mail data. If this is a segment you’re considering breaking into alongside your wide-format work, this could be a fantastic way to get a running start.

GelatoConnect: AI Estimator

Another estimation tool to check out. This one promises estimates in just 15 seconds, and full customer-ready quotes in five minutes, which can mean the difference between winning a client because you got in quickly and with a solid quote, or losing them because you took too long to pull everything together, and someone else won the business in the meantime.

Particularly for wide-format printers that don’t currently focus much on estimating, or do not have a dedicated person for the role, this kind of tool can be a proverbial game-changer. It allows anyone to become a master estimator without sacrificing a great deal of time or energy to get there. And, for those who do have an estimator on staff, a tool like this can help free up their time for higher-value work. You know: like actually talking to clients and winning the business.

GoMake

The jury is still out as to whether it’s a better approach to have different specialized AI tools for different functions, or one tool that can do it all — and every operation will land in a different place along this continuum. But for those interested in a more all-in-one tool, this is a good option to check out.
With modules for workflow, pricing, production, sales, inventory, and even e-commerce, this tool has the ability to do it all. If a company is looking for something to help it completely transform the way it operates, and unlocking productivity and freeing up time and energy to pursue new applications and verticals, this is certainly one worth a hard look.

Significans Automation: S-Launch

Before you can automate from end-to-end, you first have to start by automating the jobs coming through the door to start the whole process. This tool focuses on that workflow, from the estimating through to the order creation and then becoming a job in the system.

The company has other tools that can expand the use of AI and automation further into the operation, but this makes for a great starting point for those who want to eventually go to an AI-driven, whole-operation effort, but who want to start small with introducing AI into targeted segments of the business, where it can have the most immediate impact first.

SpencerMetrics: CONNECT

If you’re looking for a comprehensive solution to monitor and provide real-time feedback on how jobs are moving through your facilities, and how productive and profitable they are, this system could be a good solution for you. The company claims it can integrate with nearly any type of equipment from any manufacturer and provide real-time dashboards along with detailed analytics that give you an overview of everything.
As they saying goes, you can’t improve what you don’t track, and this tool makes it possible to track anything and everything. Users can tailor what information they want to see, and who can access what, so it’s not just an owner’s tool, but something the entire staff could potentially use to not only monitor things like uptime and maintenance, but also keep track of their own productivity on any given shift.