Spectrum-built product that automates complex print estimation across Flexo, Gravure, and Digital — replacing spreadsheets with one-click decisions impress estimate product.
Industry
Manufacturing
Services
Technologies
Spectrum product · print converters partnered with Spectrum to address operational and technology gaps in manufacturing. Converters relied on error-prone spreadsheets for estimating — slow quotes and inconsistent margins across presses and substrates. Spectrum applied a phased delivery model — Product evolution since 2016 — aligning stakeholders, compliance needs, and production cadence. Since 2016, Spectrum has delivered similar programs with managed teams and fixed-cost options.
Converters relied on error-prone spreadsheets for estimating — slow quotes and inconsistent margins across presses and substrates.
Estimators used fragile models with version drift across plants.
Complex Flexo/Gravure/Digital rules took hours per job.
Leadership lacked real-time visibility into quote profitability.
Job cards were retyped — introducing errors on the floor.
Estimators trusted spreadsheets because the business rules lived in their heads — not in software. We encoded Flexo, Gravure, and Digital logic with finance guardrails so one click produces a quote leadership can trust.
Press-type libraries, substrates, and finishing steps are data — not hidden cells. Finance set margin floors and exception thresholds; estimators see warnings before they underbid. When paper prices moved, operations updated tables once instead of emailing new macro versions to six plants.
The quote builder fits on one screen: job characteristics, warnings, and margin impact update live. New hires learn faster because the system explains why a combination is invalid instead of silently returning #REF!. Plant managers finally compare quotes apples-to-apples across plants.
Accepted quotes export production cards the floor already understands — no retyping order length or color stations. Integration with scheduling is batch today, but the handoff error rate dropped because numbers originate from the same rules engine that priced the job. Leadership sees quote-level margin in dashboards, not end-of-quarter surprises.
Quote generation
Margin visibility
Production output
Press-type rules, finance guardrails, and production exports share one rules engine — estimators and plant managers read the same numbers.
Flexo, Gravure, and Digital libraries encode substrates, finishing, and margin floors maintained by finance. Changes propagate once — plants are not emailed ad hoc macro versions.
Single-screen UX recalculates margin impact live and blocks invalid combinations with explanations instead of silent spreadsheet errors.
Job cards export in formats the floor already uses; scheduling integration receives the same quantities that priced the quote. Leadership dashboards read quote-level margin in near real time.
Spectrum addressed bottlenecks and compliance needs while keeping delivery incremental and measurable.
Delivered and measured in production with stakeholder sign-off.
Delivered and measured in production with stakeholder sign-off.
Delivered and measured in production with stakeholder sign-off.
Estimators generate quotes and job-ready production cards from one rules engine — margin visibility is live instead of end-of-quarter surprises.
Quote generation
Margin visibility
Re-entry to production
Tell us about your goals. We respond within one business day.
Typical engagement · Product evolution since 2016
AI extraction and rules engine for AP invoices — matching PO lines, flagging exceptions, and posting to ERP with full audit trails ai automation.
Manufacturing
Intelligent Invoice Processing Automation
Start your transformation
Custom software, AI automation, and delivery teams — confidential scoping and a same-day response from our architects.
Prefer a discovery call first?
Book AI Readiness Audit