the faq

vision...refinement...guidance...advancement

It all started with a vision...what could computer technology provide for Print Shop Management? We refined that view over the past 25 years in partnership with our customers. We provide guidance and instruction as needs arise. We continue to make advancements utilizing new technologies to apply the original vision in new and exciting ways..

the faq about Printer's Plus

Tell me something about the Printer's Plus Company?
Printer’s Plus began 25 years ago, and was the very first Management Information System for Printers, ever. We have a reputation for vision, advancement and unequaled support. We consider our customers co-designers of our system, and have made many custom program updates for individual customers. For more information, see "the company.pdf".

Tell me something about the Printer’s Plus Customers?
We have customers who are quick copy shops, customers who have medium sized commercial shops, and customers with large commercial or in-house operations. Printer’s Plus customers are treated as one of the team. There have been over 1600 installations of Printer’s Plus in the U.S. We are not a huge company, and we know our customers. You will not get lost in the shuffle with Printer’s Plus. For more information, see "the customers.pdf".

Tell me something about the Printer’s Plus System?
Printer’s Plus is a module driven system, providing everything needed to fully automate the management systems of a print shop. It is designed to grow with you, and is fully customizable to fit the needs of every customer. For more information, see "the system.pdf".

How much does Printer’s Plus cost?
We have three basic packages based on the size of your print shop. Each is all-inclusive, so we won’t nickel and dime you to death. Our prices start at under $3000 for a simple copy shop system for up to 5 workstations. Our basic packages are customizable also, so if you don’t see what you want, let us know and we will create a package just for you. For more information contact us.

What tools are available for prospective customers?
There are several ways for you to become familiar with our system. Our downloadable pdf’s provide details in writing for you to read and share. Visit our website to find them. Our Guided Tour download is the best! It is a 20 minute audio and visual presentation that provides an overview of the company and the system. It is a unique way to learn about us. So contact us for a Guided Tour download; then sit back, grab a bag of popcorn and enjoy! We have a fully functional demo that we can provide for you to actually try out the Real Deal. We will provide you instruction on how to get started and you can take it from there. Contact us for a free download of the fully functional demo. We also provide a webinar; a web-based, real-time web seminar. By relying on the two most common business tools in use today, the telephone and the web browser, Printer’s Plus makes it easy for you to observe, ask questions and interact with one of our support personnel as we take a short tour of the daily operations of Printer’s Plus. Contact us to schedule a webinar.

Is your system customizable to fit my needs?
Absolutely! We can mix and match the modules to create a system just for you. And if you don’t see a report, or option that you are interested in, let us know and we will accommodate your needs by adding to our enhancement list or doing a custom programming change at a very competitive rate.

What are your hardware requirements?
We are a windows based system, and are compatible with Windows 2000/XP/Vista. Depending on your installation, there are other, more detailed requirements for a server or a workstation. Our system is designed to use the TCP/IP protocol, so it is functional on any Windows network. We can support hundreds of users at a time. Find "the requirements" on our website, or contact us for more details.

Tell me something about your customer support?
We give our customers lots of information. We have a comprehensive Reference Guide, available by a clicking a help button on the main menu screen. We provide monthly Newsletters to keep our customers up to date on the latest developments and productivity enhancing techniques. Our phone/email support can be contracted quarterly, or done on a charge per call basis. We have a one hour minimum response time to customer calls. We also provide a remote access assistance, so that our technical support personnel can log into your computer and provide first hand support.

Is Printer’s Plus compatible with third-party General Ledger packages?
With Printer’s Plus you can pick your own third party general ledger package. Unlike our competitors that give you a list of packages to choose from, we adopt our software to work with the package you want to use. Of course we interface with the most common packages such as Quickbooks, Peachtree, MYOB, etc… but the final choice is yours.

How about export capabilities? Where does the information go from here?
All reports that you generate in Printer’s Plus can be exported and used in other software packages such as Microsoft Excel, Access, Fox Pro, etc. You can also export/import customer information to any contact management software such as ACT. By the way, you can also print, email or fax any report, quote, invoice, statement or document in the Printer’s Plus system. Now that’s flexibility!

What training options do you have for new customers?
We also provide our webinars for training of new customers. The webinars may be tailored to the particular questions or concerns our customers might have. This tool provides an effective training opportunity at a very low cost.

How often is your system updated? Any chance I can get a custom report designed?
We provide major releases several times a year. We often poll our customers for changes that they would like to see in the system, and we build a list of future enhancements from that input. We consider our customers co-designers with our team. We also offer custom programming updates at competitive rates.

I’ve been using a competitor’s product. Can you convert the database for me?
We do offer a conversion service, contact us for more details.

Can your system go with my sales force on the road?
Yes, our system can be installed on a laptop and taken on the road to be used as a portable OrderPad. And with internet access, the laptop can be a fully functional workstation.

Do you have eCommerce capability?
YES! When the internet gained popularity in the 1990’s, Printer’s Plus was the first to offer a fully-integrated eCommerce solution. We realized that the Internet offered a great opportunity to expand your existing sales with the potential for growth beyond your geographic boundaries. In 2007 we released a completely re-vamped version of eCommerce, reflecting our customers views on the wave of the future for this exciting new way to do business. Printer’s Plus eCommerce is user-friendly and convenient for your customers. They will be able to create new orders, view history orders, place a reorder, check the status of current orders, and release inventory at their convenience, 24 – 7. The system is fully integrated to Printer’s Plus and does not require you to re-enter the order as many of our competitors do. Printer’s Plus eCommerce is quick and easy to set up and use. The module provides a branded web page, a virtual storefront on the internet. Having this capability will draw customers who are computer-savvy and looking for printers who are too. Contact us for more information or for a specialized eCommerce webinar.

Tell me about your backup service, how will I protect my valuable database?
After using the Printer’s Plus system for a few months you will wonder how you ever managed without it! We want to make sure your investment and valuable data information remains secure, reliable, and backed up. Printer’s Plus software has a built-in data backup function with many options available to you. The backup can be performed manually by you at anytime or can be scheduled to occur daily at any time of the day or night. If for any reason your data has not been backed up in five or more consecutive days, a warning message is displayed the next time you log into the system. We also offer a daily online backup service. With the online service, your backup is automatically uploaded to our secure web server. The backups are verified weekly by a Printer’s Plus support technician to ensure not only that the backup occurred but that the backup contains the correct files and no data is corrupted. What does this mean for you, the printer? Confidence! Confidence that your investment and data are secure even in the event of computer failure, fire, flood, or theft. Prices for the automatic backup service start at just $1 a day.

Setting accurate prices is key to my profitability. What tools do you provide to help me in setting prices?
The Standard Cost Module is a very important one in the Printer’s Plus system. This module is where your costs and markups are kept. Our basic pricing philosophy for printing is a cost-plus philosophy. We provide an extensive tutorial and a Burden rate worksheet to help our customers precisely adjust the system in the area of pricing. The application Price Book Tuning—Production Variables allows you to experiment with the various factors to achieve your desired prices. This application is like a scratch pad, you can view the results of your changes before you record them permanently. You have the capability to change prices based on the markup rate, the production variables, or you can add a matrix so the prices are adjusted based on quantity. Flexibility is always the bottom line with Printer’s Plus!