The verdict in three sentences
A 55 person printer producing 1,400 quotes a month in spreadsheets answers too slowly, misjudges make-ready and only learns its real job margin at month end. The heart of the project is an estimating engine that costs paper, plates, make-ready, passes and finishing in under 3 minutes, linked to press scheduling and proof tracking. A custom build of this scope ships in about 4 months and pays back from the rise in quote conversion alone.
The picture in a 55 person print shop
The managing director runs a plant in Park Royal with 2 offset presses (a B1 4 colour and a B2 2 colour), 2 production digital presses, a guillotine, a folder and a perfect binder. Clients include agencies, retailers, universities and financial firms in the City.
| Indicator | Current situation | Target after project |
|---|---|---|
| Average response time to a quote request | 26 hours | 2 hours |
| Time to build one quote | 18 min | 3 min |
| Quote conversion rate | 22 % | 28 to 30 % |
| Gap between planned and used paper | 9 % | under 4 % |
| Jobs delivered late | 17 % | under 6 % |
| Proofs waiting without follow up | 30 to 40 a week | automatic reminder at 24 h |
| Job margin known | at month end close | on delivery day |
These are 2026 orders of magnitude from UK printers of comparable size.
Off-the-shelf MIS or custom build
UK print MIS products are mature and offer JDF connectivity. They are priced for full adoption, which means long configuration and a licence model that grows with users and modules.
| Option | Indicative cost | Timeline | Strengths | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise print MIS licence | 40,000 to 120,000 GBP plus annual support (2026 order of magnitude) | 6 to 12 months | Very complete, JDF connectors | Cost, heavy configuration |
| Cloud MIS subscription | 400 to 1,500 GBP per month | 2 to 4 months | Fast start | Limited flexibility |
| Kolonell custom, simple application | 2,500,000 to 4,000,000 FCFA (3,810 to 6,100 EUR) | 2 months | Estimating engine only | No scheduling |
| Kolonell custom, medium application | 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR) | 4 months | Estimating, 4 press scheduling, proofs, deliveries | No JDF press link |
| Kolonell custom, complex application | 7,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (10,670 to 22,870+ EUR) | 5 to 7 months | Full scope, paper stock, job costing, client portal | Structuring project |
| Kolonell maintenance | 35,000 / 75,000 / 120,000 FCFA per month (53 / 114 / 183 EUR) | ongoing | Fixes and updates | Tier by criticality |
Shop floor tablets, hosting and specific connectors are priced in the quote.
The functions that change profitability
Estimating engine. From finished size, page count, stock, colours and finishing, the software selects the press, calculates imposition, sheets with make-ready waste, plates, press time and binding. It compares offset and digital automatically: below roughly 500 copies, digital often wins.
Scheduling 4 presses. Visual plan per machine, drag and drop jobs, grouping runs on the same stock to cut make-readies. Operators log start, finish and actual waste on a tablet.
Proofs. The client receives a PDF proof with an approval link, can annotate and sign off online. With no reply in 24 hours, a reminder goes out and the account manager is alerted.
Deliveries. Delivery notes generated, London routes and couriers booked, proof of delivery signed on a phone.
Job margin. Selling price compared with actual cost (paper used, press time, outwork) on delivery day. Invoices carry 20 % VAT and sync with Xero or Sage.
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Mini case study
Tom, managing director of a 55 person printer in London, chooses a medium application delivered in 4 months.
- Quoting time: 1,400 x 15 min = 350 hours a month, freeing 2 estimators for sales.
- Conversion: moving from 22 % to 27 % on 1,400 quotes adds 70 jobs a month. At an average job value of 900 GBP, that is 63,000 GBP of extra monthly revenue.
- With a 30 % contribution margin, the gain is about 18,900 GBP a month.
- Paper: cutting the overrun from 9 % to 4 % on a 90,000 GBP monthly paper budget saves 4,500 GBP a month.
A project in the 6,100 to 10,670 EUR range, plus 114 EUR of monthly maintenance, is covered within the first month of improved trading, even if the assumptions are halved.
FAQ
Does the engine handle paper prices that change often?
Yes. Merchant prices are updated by import or entry, and each quote keeps the price of its issue date. A 10 % paper price rise flows straight into new quotes.
Can the presses be connected directly?
JDF or JMF links belong to a complex application and depend on models. Initially, tablet entry by operators takes under 30 seconds per job.
Can it run alongside our accounting software?
Yes, invoices and customers sync with Xero, Sage or QuickBooks, so finance keeps its tools.
How long to start?
About 4 months: estimating by month 2, scheduling by month 3, proofs and deliveries by month 4. Estimators are trained in 2 half days.
Who owns the code?
You do. Source code and data are handed over, hosting can stay in the UK.
Let's scope your project. We start from your 20 most frequent quotes and your press line-up to define an estimating engine and schedule delivered in stages. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
