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PrintSmith Vision
Your Affordable Print Shop Management Software
Recommended
Celina G.
Printing, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 1-2 years
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It has been helpful for creating estimates, but falls very short. In order to create good estimates one needs to understand the labor to complete the tasks of a job. The Time Tracker in PrintSmith does not allow one to state when a job has been completed. The report does not break down the time by job task. I have been trying to no avail to get help in creating an appropriate report from PrintSmith support team and am getting nowhere. No one answers phones. PrintSmith Support does not respond to emails.
It was a promise to really help us, but falls short and there is a lack of customer support. This product falls very short. In order to create good estimates one needs to understand the labor to complete the tasks of a job. The Time Tracker in PrintSmith does not allow one to state when a job has been completed. The report does not break down the time by job task. I have been trying to no avail to get help in creating an appropriate report from PrintSmith support team and am getting nowhere. No one answers phones. PrintSmith Support does not respond to emails.
Really bad support alls very short. I have been trying to no avail to get help in creating an appropriate report from PrintSmith support team and am getting nowhere. No one answers phones. PrintSmith Support does not respond to emails.
Melinda A.
Printing, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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PrintSmith does estimating and job management quite well. Inventory has been recently implemented but we're finding as have others that it doesn't work properly yet. For what it is, it works better than lesser systems but it doesn't do everything needed.
It does what a small printshop needs to do - tracks information way better than doing so manually. Set up is fairly simple but takes some time to understand and become familiar with. In my years of working with many different EFI products (Hagen, Monarch, Epace, Printsmith) it's difficult to get someone on the phone who really understands printing and what is being asked. As an example - a field...
Many of the features don't work as they are supposed to (inventory is one) - there is not an easy way to interface with EFI regarding the status of the software or bugs - one can log into a list serve and see the issues but who knows when something might work right. Before working at Ferris another company where I managed used PrintSmith as well. Similar issues. It does some things well, other things...
Ruffin M.
Printing, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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While the new user interface makes PrintSmith much more appealing than a lot of other basic MIS options out there, there are enough issues with PrintSmith poorly handling different aspects of production that leave me with mixed feelings about the platform. It might be fine for small shops with limited production capabilities, but probably not the best/most efficient solution for handling production processes other than digital and offset printing.
The html5 update was long needed and helped put PrintSmith ahead of the competition when it comes to user interface. We use the EFI-hosted option which makes it a breeze to access from not only anywhere in the shop, but also makes it so much easier to access remotely. There are also integration options for Fiery RIP's if you take the time to set it up.
PrintSmith does a terrible job with handling production processes other than digital and offset printing. The way it processes wide format and merchandise production is clunky at best and leaves you wondering if the engineers ever even bothered to take into consideration the way that shops actually handle pricing and production. There are many strange (and often very cumbersome) quirks throughout the platform that make it seem like EFI doesn't care too much about refining PrintSmith to operate intuitively or smoothly and that they're more focused on making the platform simply appear versatile and easy.
Nathaniel G.
Printing, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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We started with one of the older versions about 25 years ago. we did at one time try a competitor before our upgrade to Vision. we dumped the new software 6 months into implementation as it was going to take another 18 months to implement it and would take a dedicated person for that time. Instead we took a week and upgraded to Vision and have never looked back...well other then to make the payments on the software we scraped...
I like the ease of use and set up. how it makes my company run more efficiently and helps gain and track profitability.
i cannot say there are too many cons with the software. If we come by a problem or glitch, we let the support know and they work their best to correct it or show us where we were looking at it wrong.
Jeffrey R.
Printing, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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My experience level with this software is quite high, along with knowledge of the system, so with that said it is an improving product. Fast track is an improvement on the Vision platform but EFI is only seeing the tip of the iceberg of what it can do.
The best feature is the new ShipExpress integration. The ease of use over the years has gotten better for the experience Print industry professional.
Relying on Report Writer to create some of the basic operations that should be included in the working platform in the form of a dashboard. Report Utilities is an example of an improvement but as the information does not link to the next level of information that should be available, especially as you are trying to manage your AR.
Erik S.
Printing, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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While PrintSmith Vision gets the job done, it can be an unpleasant experience. Printsmith Classic was a much better software and was incredibly fast. We could build quotes in real time while talking to a customer. Can't do that with Vision. It's too slow, unreliable and buggy. I hope this gets fixed in the new version.
It's the only software option available for the print industry that isn't outrageously priced. It does a good job of maintaining a database of clients, building quotes and managing projects.
This software is clunky, slow, and buggy. An unpleasant user experience and has always felt like a downgrade from PrintSmith Classic. Simple updates are a pain and we never receive notifications that there is a new update. PS Vision updates have never supported current operating systems, and are typically a few OS versions behind. EFI made the unfortunate decision to develop Vision in Flash which at the time everyone knew was losing support in favor of HTML5. This is most likely why it's so buggy. Hopefully they get the new version right but early versions of "Fast Track" leave me uneasy and lacking confidence because many important features we used in Classic and Vision are not available (for example dragging jobs and line items over from other invoices and estimates).
JOE D.
Printing, 51-200 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Our overall experience has been very good.
PrintSmith is flexible enough to not only provide good quotes, etc. for print on paper but also to help us enter orders for non-paper products like screen printing.
When we upgraded to Vision, PrintSmith has not kept the scanning of job tickets so it will function like under PrintSmith Classic. This is very important in our print shops to help us with production management. We are disappointed that PrintSmith has not made it a priority to address. We have been using PrintSmith since 2002 and have not had an issue like this until the Vision upgrade. Please consider how you can help us with this.
Darryl D.
Printing, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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We had 30+ years of PrintSmith Classic data and it imported in to Vision seamlessly.
The upgrades like Tracker and Report Writer seem to be priced significantly higher than we would expect. We would actually expect them to be part of the actual base program. The constant updates to transition away from Flash should have taken place as a single upgrade instead of having to use company resources on multiple occasions. Also, transitioning from Classic to Legacy and then ultimately to...
Neal C.
Printing, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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We started using PrintSmith Classic in 2001. A few years ago we switched to PrintSmith Vision. The way the programmers ported the functionality to a browser based version was nothing short of amazing. Then, they created a completely new user interface to run with HTML5, which is even easier to use, more powerful, and more responsive to the user. EFI support has been excellent.
PrintSmith Vision includes every element needed to manage our digital printing operation, including estimating, invoicing, stock management, scheduling, shipping and delivery, and more. I love the way we're able to prepare estimates quickly and easily, and then convert them into invoices for actual job production. Once you get good at using the software, you learn how to create estimates/invoices so they contain all of the information needed for: the invoice the customer sees; the job tickets that each department of your production staff sees; the info needed to order stock; the info needed to ship or deliver the job and create packing slips.
There's very little that I don't like about PrintSmith Vision. There is a lot to learn and setup, but that is because the software does so much.
Cathy C.
Nonprofit Organization Management, 201-500 employees
Used daily for less than 6 months
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EFI is always awesome and on their game. If you need support from a group of people, you have the best with EFI. Even over other products, other companies, EFI is at the top with support. They know their job, too. Rarely do you spend hours or days on the phone with them. They fix you up right away.
We didn't lose our history, we are still supported by EFI, it still has the same functions just located somewhere else. I really Like that EFI for the first time in 20 years put a space between Fast and Track. And spelled both words correctly. It's about time. And easier to find when doing an internet search.
I don't mind the buttons, but definitely don't like: Looking all over God's country to find what had been easier to locate with drop down windows. DISLIKE the confirm my change to bindery addition (everyone of them, every time), then confirm it again on returning to job window on the second tab, confirm the change or no change to account information on the first tab, then going to third tab to save...
dietrich h.
Education Management, 501-1,000 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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I was able to remove an outdated server, and replace it with a hosted solution that does the same functions for less than the cost of keeping a server running on prem.
We had been using PrintSmith for 10+ years, and had a very old version. We had a server with a USB device that served as the key, and would remote in to do jobs. Our print team was very reluctant to change cause it just worked, and had for a decade. So the upgrade process was a multi stage that could have been a real nightmare. But working with the EFI team we got them into our old environment they pulled the data upgraded everything and then deployed it into our new Vision environment. Than they did training for the user so they would understand how it has changed.
EFI had some growing pains with Flash and it no longer being used. That seems to be resolved.
Robert G.
Printing, 51-200 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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I have used it for over 20 years now and I have been able to master the program over those years. I find it does the job and the positives far outweigh the negatives.
I like the updates to the software after they've taken in suggestions and requests for changes. They actually listen to customer input and make changes based on the number of requests received.
The functionality is sometimes clunky and they way the paper is calculated is backwards. I don't like the up's/on's formula they use for calculating the number of pages on a stapled or glue bound books.
Annette F.
Printing, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Vision is very different from old Print Smith Classic -- mostly for the better but still wish some Classic functions could have been maintained. Feels like more input is needed from actual printshop users to make functionality better streamlined -- Vision is a powerful tool with a lot of potential, but still needs tweaking.
Transfer of data from Classic to Vision went smoothly; overall user friendly design; allows for broad range of digital & offset print functions; tech support is helpful
lags if your internet connection is not stellar; forms & reports are difficult to create & standard forms are not designed optimally; having to switch to Legacy for some functions is slow & frustrating; still finding glitches which makes me question integrity of the estimates I'm producing, especially if pulling from previously filed jobs; stock definitions are not easily maintained
Amy S.
Printing, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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EFIs team is amazing to work with. They are very responsive and knowledgeable with the products that they sell. One on one training is well worth the cost and they help you customize the product to your needs.
Vision is a great software and very versatile when it comes to estimating a project. It allows you to not only estimate a project but take it into production and then bill out at the end. It also has a good integration with Digital Storefront allowing easy access for clients to place orders.
Vision can be challenging to learn if you do not have a printing background, so that is very help when it comes to operating the software. Also the integration with Digital Storefront is very time consuming and not as easy as expected.
Verified reviewer
Printing, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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The quick reporting, estimating, invoicing, are all great features. Job history is great too. I like that it comes in segments that work for small businesses like mine, so I'm not paying for a bunch of features I don't use.
Now that it is all web based (I also used PrintSmith Classic) it would be nice if updating the software version was automatic.
Del S.
Hospital & Health Care, 10,001+ employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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we've had some bumpy rides starting up. The longer you work with the product and the upgrades are made the more comfortable you become. For a system at its price point the value is there. I think that most would pay just a bit more to have a bit more ease of use.
I appreciate that this product while it can stand alone and support a print shop. The most important thing about this software is that it integrates with MDSF which is our virtual print shop "front door".
My teams least favorite thing about the software is the limitations we have as it relates to making modifications for ease of use for an in Plant Operation.
Susan C.
Printing, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Serves our needs, but definitely not the best software support I've ever gotten.
This software provides account and order history to help us provide better quality customer service. It has replaced boxes and boxes of paperwork and helped us to keep jobs on our radar and eliminate duplication of effort or lost jobs.
It is not intuitive enough for counter/front line staff to use effectively in a small operation. It is not intuitive for removing / catching duplicates or editing existing data. When asked to watch the training software for Fast Track, employees had a hard time understanding what the software was doing or how it would improve their work. It is missing a significant functionality to allow access to the data in the software, which can only be remedied by adding and expensive add-on "report writer" which consists of thousands of "reports" as opposed to data file extracts.
Danielle R.
Printing, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Overall, we would appreciate a better response on the customer service side and be able to talk to someone that can help us migrate as well as figure out these issues with the new system.
The new Fast Track puts things in front of you for easy access.
Inconvenient to go from Legacy to Fast Track to access items not available in the new system yet. Customer service is lacking - requests to have someone call is answered with instructions on how to do it yourself and our request is immediately closed out. We finally had someone call us from overseas (India) and he was unable to get us operational on a new computer. At square one again as far as moving Printsmith to another computer. Reports are not as user friendly in the new Fast Track side. Can't easily retrieve Daily Sales and Monthly Sales as we were able to in the Legacy side. Would like a feature to turn off seeing every part in Work in Progress, to name a few.
ron m.
Printing, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Excellent support services. Thank you!
The users ability to make unique changes that complement a specific application. I can customize features that are unique to the way we do business. Such as, turning products on that we use and eliminating the viewable items that we do not use.
We need to have merchant services more streamlined into the software to support the new way our customers pay. We now deliver all of our products but the person who needs to pay the invoice is not available upon delivery. Thus, an emailed invoice with an integrated secure online pay is necessary. I also want to send a paid invoice with the words PAID on it. Customers want to see a receipt of payment but the invoice by itself does not show that it has been paid. Yes, a statement works but our clients just need a paid invoice receipt.
William M.
Printing, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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EFI has constantly evolved PrintSmith Vision, adding features and functionality. When I've had problems tech support has been there to fix it.
The ability to write up estimates for many various printing and bindery functions. Then able to convert them to Job Tickets and then invoices. After that able to track payments and receivables and merge that info with accounting programs. History of Customer orders along with contact info. Able to handle pricing from the smallest to very large complex printing jobs.
PrintSmith Vision is currently being rewritten in html, so there are functions that I'm used to that need to be incorporated in this newest version. But I already like many of the new features that are available.
Michael P.
Printing, 51-200 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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The PrintSmith Vision team works to deliver a good product with a good support team. Partnering with them allows the PrintSmith team to be as responsive as possible.
PrintSmith Vision offers a reasonable cost click-for-print MIS system for users to be able to manage estimating, invoicing, AR and account management. The system allows for configurations and changes to fit the user and allows the user to add costing and pricing details which are specific to their business and market.
The inability to import or export data directly out of the system without using the API or user interface. Many of the menus or input resources do not have an import feature for data or the ability to export data in a print or CSV format quickly and without extra effort
Mary S.
Marketing and Advertising, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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[SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] are GREAT!
I grew up on PrintSmith for my business. Over the years EFI has referred many prospects to me for references. Now we purchased DSF and have a really powerful workflow: DSF > PrintSmith > Fiery. I like the way EFI is constantly working to integrate products which will increase our revenue and profits.
When the software goes down, it really goes down! We struggled for a year after hiring EFI to port our products to a new server (Azure). We had a contract with EFI [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] and I ended up asking [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN], respecfully, for a credit of $9332.20 because of my fiasco. I still haven't heard from him.
Victoria O.
Printing, 1-10 employees
Used daily for 6-12 months
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Overall, I find keeping track of orders and estimates much easier than our previous setup. Pricing has become more consistent and easier to create.
I find the software pretty easy to use and learn. It requires the same information to be input as our previous system, but it takes out a lot of the manual calculations and streamlines the estimating/order writing process.
There are minor things that I've run across, such as not being able to easily switch an invoice to an estimate (and vice versa) if you've accidentally pressed the wrong option. It's pretty technical, in that writing definitions is a chore.
Michael c.
Museums and Institutions, 1,001-5,000 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Generally good. It took awhile and some dollars spend to get it up to it's potential.
Vision offers a top down view of our print operations.
Difficult to set up. Overly complicated at times. Biased towards offset printing over digital and wide format. User interface not friendly, though getting better. Billing too complicated and lengthy
Jamen Z.
Printing, 11-50 employees
Used daily for 2+ years
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Overall, I believe PrintSmith Vision is a great product. I have used it since 2006 and have seen the improvements and care the tech team has, they are great!
The software is usually pretty simple to use. Most things are where you expect them, and as an admin I love the ability to customize and alter how the program estimates and processes some data.
Some functions are limited and or not there. When you click "notify the customer" all it does is pull up the contact card of customer. The function should include a email notification option, the software already does the same with estimates and invoices, shouldn't be to difficult to add. Also add multiple email account options, so invoices can come from "invoices@whatever.com" and estimates from estimates@whatever.com", notifications from.... so on...you get my point.