Why Manual Workflows Are Holding Your Print Business Back

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It’s a familiar scenario. A client calls demanding to know what the progress is on their job. But your colleague who has been dealing with the client is on holiday.

A stressful few hours ensue: rifling through paper job tickets stacked on desks, chasing down files or approvals, and navigating the chaos caused by outdated manual workflows.

To tell the client the job is going to be a few days late. It’s the norm in many General Commercial Printers, but it’s not a sustainable way to run your print business.

If your team spends more time juggling tasks than completing jobs, then it could be that manual processes are holding you back.

The Hidden Cost of Manual Workflows

Manual workflows often look harmless because they’re so embedded in day-to-day operations. But behind the scenes, they drain resources:

· Admin-heavy processes pull staff away from billable tasks

· Jobs are delayed due to approval loops and unclear specs

· Version control issues lead to costly reprints

· Planning is reactive rather than strategic

According to one industry report, inefficient manual job processing and workflow mismanagement cause commercial printers to lose 10–20% of their annual revenue. These costs rarely show up on invoices, but they quietly erode your profitability.

Manual Workflows Don’t Scale

One of the biggest drawbacks of manual systems is the inability to scale. As order volume increases, your team ends up buried in admin. Growth requires either longer hours or more hires.

Growth that is unsustainable.

By contrast, workflow automation through web-to-print enables printers to grow capacity without proportionally increasing headcount. Automation turns high-frequency, low-value tasks into background processes, freeing up your team to handle strategic or creative work.

How Manual Processes Frustrate Your Team

Your skilled team members should be focused on quality and customer service, not hunting for email attachments or updating spreadsheets. Manual workflows often demand constant multitasking and verbal communication to stay on track. Over time, this leads to burnout, errors, and high turnover. Data shows that the average desk worker spends about 2.5 hours per day, or roughly 30% of a workday, just searching for and gathering information.

Digital tools reduce that friction. When your team can access live job status, proofing, and artwork from a centralized system, they spend less time managing chaos and more time delivering value.

You Can’t See What’s Going Wrong

Without real-time tracking and reporting, it’s nearly impossible to identify bottlenecks. Jobs fall behind schedule without warning. Estimating accuracy is inconsistent. And managers are stuck firefighting instead of improving performance.

Data visibility is the foundation for meaningful improvement. With a digital production workflow, you can:

· Track job progress live

· See where delays consistently occur

· Optimize scheduling and resource allocation

· Provide customers with accurate timelines

It’s about more than efficiency, it’s about having control.

It’s Holding Back the Customer Experience

Today’s customers expect Amazon-like ease: instant updates, transparent timelines, and digital self-service. Manual workflows make it harder to meet those expectations. According to a study by SalesForce, 80% of B2B buyers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products or services. If proofing delays, inconsistent updates, or last-minute surprises are a regular occurrence, even loyal clients may start looking elsewhere.

Worse still, a single mistake in communication or missed deadline can cost more than just a job – it can cause reputational damage and lose you a lucrative contract.

Time to Rethink the Way You Work

Manual processes might have served you well during the early stages of your growth. They’re flexible, familiar, and don’t require new tech investments. But they aren’t built for scale.

And as customer expectations rise and competition intensifies, relying on inefficient processes will leave you behind. According to Keypoint Intelligence, 47% of print service providers say that workflow automation is their top investment priority over the next 12 months. That’s because those who invest now will be better equipped to handle complex orders, shorter deadlines, and higher customer expectations without compromising profit margins.

The First Step Toward Transformation

Digital transformation doesn’t have to mean a complete overhaul. Start with one friction point: maybe it’s proofing, quoting, or job ticketing. Identify where manual tasks cause delays or frustration and focus your energy there.

Small, smart steps lead to strategic change. And once your team sees the time saved and errors reduced, change becomes instinctive.

Find out more

To uncover where you could be leaking profits, download our new guide “Workflow Bottlenecks: The Hidden Cost in Print Operations and How to Fix Them”.

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