The short answer. PrintVis is a print MIS built inside Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, used by 350+ printers, most of them in commercial print, packaging and labels. If you want a general print MIS with full finance in one system, compare PrintVis with ePS Pace, Monarch, Tharstern and Technique. If you run a newspaper plant and want edition and insert planning, one copy count from press to mailroom, reel tracking and invoicing per edition, look at Print365, a Print MIS/ERP built for newspaper plants.
What PrintVis does, and where it fits best
PrintVis comes from NovaVision Software A/S, founded in 1997 in Denmark, with its headquarters in Odder and offices in Decatur and Cleveland in the US (PrintVis). It says it serves 350+ customers worldwide (PrintVis customers).
The whole system lives inside Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, so estimating, planning and job costing share one database and one general ledger with finance (PrintVis). You buy and implement it through a network of PrintVis partners (How to buy), licensed per user per month (Wye Print, PrintVis partner).
Its modules, as PrintVis lists them (Features):
- Estimating and quoting, built around one estimation engine.
- Order management and case management.
- Planning and scheduling.
- Shop floor management: consumption and time from production, and basic counts from older presses through a MOXA I/O module (Shop floor).
- Inventory and purchasing.
- Job costing: the quote compared with actual consumption on the job (Job costing).
- Financial management through Business Central, plus JDF integration.
PrintVis has a newspaper page. It covers multi web press configuration, web synchronisation in a component, scrap calculation, last minute page changes and forecasting paper draw (PrintVis newspaper print). The customer cases it publishes are packaging, label, folding carton, wide format and commercial printers (PrintVis customers).
So PrintVis fits best when you want one Microsoft based system for print and finance, and your work is mostly commercial, packaging or label jobs.
The alternatives, by the job you want done
Pick the row that matches your plant. Each description comes from the vendor's own product page, linked in the first column.
| System (vendor, base) | Built for | Platform | Estimating and job costing | Production data | Newspaper specifics | Finance and invoicing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PrintVis (NovaVision Software, Odder) | Commercial, packaging, label, large format; newspaper page | Inside Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central | Yes: quote against actual per job | Shop floor capture, basic press counts via MOXA I/O, JDF | Multi web components, scrap calculation, paper forecasting | Business Central general ledger |
| Pace (ePS) | Mid size commercial printers | Cloud hosted, browser based | Yes | Production scheduling | Not described | Integrated accounting |
| Monarch (ePS) | High volume, multi site commercial printers | Enterprise print ERP | Yes: job costing and profitability | Via separate Auto-Count 4D | Not described | Yes |
| Tharstern (ePS) | Commercial, mailing, signage printers | Cloud or on site | Yes | Tablets on the shop floor | Not described | Through to invoicing |
| Technique (ePS) | Book, magazine and periodical printers | Not stated | Estimating and quoting | Job tracking and scheduling | Paper requirement recalculation | Invoicing and accounting |
| Print365 (MWM Group, Stockholm) | Newspaper printing plants | Own EU hosted SaaS, open APIs to your finance system | Yes: pre and post calculation per job | CopyTrack, press to mailroom, live | Publishing and insert calendar, ReelTrack, multi site planning | Automated invoicing per customer and interval |
For press side planning and presetting (EAE, ABB, alfa), see our comparison of ppi Media alternatives.
Where Print365 fits
Print365 is built around the newspaper night: editions, inserts, reels, presses and the mailroom. It handles 12 million copies a day across around 60 printing plants for 20+ customers in nine countries, among them Schibsted, Bonnier, Tamedia, Mediaprint and Amedia (Print365 facts).
What you get, in three tiers you can grow through:
- Print365 Go: see every copy. CopyTrack counts approved copies, waste and stops from press to mailroom. ReelTrack follows each reel, with EUDR data from the e-manifest. Most plants are live within weeks (Print365 Go).
- Print365 Pro: quote to invoice. Production planning across every press, site and shift, pre calculation, post calculation per job and invoices drafted straight from completed production (Print365 Pro). See how to calculate the real job cost per edition.
- Print365 Integrated: the whole plan. Publishing calendar for every product, edition and plant, insert calendar with roll and pallet tags, and a portal where publishers and advertisers order and check data themselves (Print365 Integrated).
Your finance system stays where it is. Print365 runs as its own SaaS and hands invoices and costs to it through open APIs, so your accountants keep the ledger they know. Offset and digital print are planned from the same view.
If most of your volume is commercial print and you want print and finance in one Microsoft system, PrintVis is a strong fit. If most of your nights are editions, Print365 is built for exactly that.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to PrintVis?
It depends on your work. For a general commercial print MIS, compare ePS Pace, Monarch and Tharstern. For a newspaper plant with editions, inserts and a mailroom, compare Print365.
Is PrintVis built on Business Central?
Yes. PrintVis is built inside Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, so it shares one database and general ledger with finance. It is bought and implemented through PrintVis partners.
Does PrintVis work for newspaper printing?
PrintVis has a newspaper page covering multi web presses, scrap calculation and paper forecasting. Its published customer cases are packaging, label and commercial printers, so ask for a newspaper reference in your region.
Can Print365 work with Business Central?
Yes. Print365 runs as its own SaaS and connects to finance systems through open APIs, so invoices and costs flow into the ledger you already use.
How long does it take to go live?
Most Print365 Go plants are live within weeks. A full Print365 project takes 3 to 6 months, and 6 to 12 months with customer specific integrations (Print365 facts).
Ask these three questions before you choose
- What share of your volume is editions, and what share is commercial jobs?
- Where do your copy counts come from today, press, mailroom or both, and who reconciles them?
- Which finance system keeps the ledger, and how do invoices reach it?
If editions carry most of your volume, start with the system built for them. Book a 30 minute call and walk us through your last edition: Book a demo.