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Small printing companies optimise processes with Keyline printshop management software

Tuesday 01. September 2020 - More and more small printing companies are recognising the benefits of modern software for print shop management. A current example is GC Digitaldruck in Munich - the three-man operation has opted for Keyline from Zaikio. Every small business knows this - if jobs just keep flooding in, things will soon stop. When it comes to invoicing, things can get tight.

This is what happened to GC Digitaldruck in Munich. Says owner Guido Coenen: “We were simply so busy last autumn that we hardly had time to write invoices. That was a wake-up call for us to reorganise.
So far the three-man team has used five programmes to handle jobs from order acceptance to dispatch. Data often had to be copied back and forth – a time-consuming and error-prone procedure.
Guido Coenen opted for Keyline print shop management software. Now everything is centralised and standardised in one application – and invoicing is almost automatic. What is more, the team now has all the job data at a glance: Every production step is mapped in Keyline.
Change of heart for small print enterprises
“We see a change of heart in small printing houses. While they previously did not consider the use of management solutions to be necessary, more and more are now realising that an application like Keyline enhances competitiveness,” says Sebastian Krüger, sales manager at Keyline developer Zaikio. One of the reasons for this is the significantly higher efficiency and flexibility thanks to centralisation and standardisation – more can be achieved with the same team strength. Krüger: “This is also an important point in view of the shortage of skilled workers”.
Open and uncomplicated
Thanks to its open architecture, Keyline can be easily implemented in existing and future management and production environments in printing plants. Via appropriate interfaces, the software is able to accept data from other programs and devices, interpret it and use it to control processes.
Manageable costs, fast implementation
Just as important for small print enterprises: Keyline is offered as a software-as-a-service solution, so there are no high investment costs for a software licence. Monthly usage costs, in business terms operating costs, depend on the number of active accounts that connect to Keyline on average every day.
In addition, Keyline is so clearly structured and easy to use that implementation can be completed in a few weeks, if not days. As Keyline is a cloud-based application, the test phase already runs under real conditions. Says Krüger: “Small print enterprises in particular simply cannot afford lengthy implementation and familiarisation phases.