Manual Print Approvals Are Costing You Time – Here’s How Odoo Handles It

If you’re in the print industry, you know the drill. Job approvals can be a nightmare. Approvals sit in inboxes, get lost in spreadsheets, or bounce endlessly between reviewers. It’s all too common for approvals to take forever – and when that happens, so does your production schedule.

How many times have you waited on a simple ‘yes,’ only to get it hours later—or worse, after someone already kicked off the print job? It’s the worst. And it costs you time, money, and sometimes, even client trust.

But manual print approvals don’t just waste time, they create confusion. How often have you worked with multiple versions of the same proof, just to have someone print the wrong one? Or how often have you had to double-check an approval, only to slow down production?

Here’s the kicker: you could avoid all this waiting and back-and-forth with a system that keeps everyone on the same page-one that tracks approvals in real time and always sends the right version to the printer.

This is where Odoo ERP comes in. It automates those approval workflows, so you’re not wasting time trying to figure out who’s approved what or which file is the final one. With Odoo, it’s all in one place. You get real-time updates, version control, and automatic notifications that make sure everybody’s on the same page, saving you time and reducing errors.

The Hidden Costs of Manual Print Approvals

If you’re still managing job approvals manually – chasing emails, digging through Excel sheets, and waiting for feedback – chances are, you’re losing more than just time. You’re losing money. And, in some cases, even your reputation.

Let’s break it down:

Problem 1: The Bottleneck of Approval Delays

We’ve all been there. A print job is ready to go, but the final approval is stuck somewhere. Maybe the marketing team is reviewing it, or the legal department is still going back and forth on the wording. Either way, it’s not moving.

Here’s the kicker: that approval delays the entire workflow. The machines are idle, and your team is sitting around, waiting for something that could have been done days ago. The more people involved, the more chances there are for delays. Every minute your production is on hold is lost revenue.

Problem 2: Version Confusion and Reprints

This is a big one. How often have you had the wrong version of a proof? Maybe someone sent the wrong file or miscommunicated which version to approve.

Here’s how it usually goes: Multiple people check the proofs, each using a different version-and in the end, someone sends the wrong one to print. That slip-up triggers a reprint, wasting materials (ink, paper, plates) and adding extra labor to clean up the mess.

One operator told me, “We printed the wrong proof last month. We had to scrap 500 units and it cost us a day of production. And no one knew what went wrong – until we dug through the email chain to figure it out.”

Fact: Manual approval workflows make version control a nightmare. It’s not just an inconvenience – it adds up. In fact, Studies found that businesses spend 38% more on rework when they skip automated approvals and leave version control out of the process.

Problem 3: Chasing Approvals and Wasted Labor

If your team is spending significant time chasing down approvals, following up on emails, and updating spreadsheets to reflect job statuses, that’s time lost. And here’s the thing: the more time they spend on administrative tasks, the less time they have to actually produce work.

Think about how much time you spend every week waiting for feedback on jobs. Instead of digging through emails or asking, ‘Did we get approval for this job?’ your team could use that time to move jobs forward or improve other workflows.

One plant manager I spoke to said, “Before ERP, I was chasing down approvals every single day. I’d spend hours just trying to get the final stamp of approval. Now with automated workflows, the process is smooth and everyone gets real-time notifications.”

It’s not just about saving a few minutes here and there – it’s about freeing up your team to focus on more important tasks.

How These Delays Add Up: Cost to Your Bottom Line

Here’s the reality: each approval delay doesn’t just cost you time. It costs you money.

• Idle time for machines is a direct cost.
  
• Wasted materials from reprints (ink, plates, paper) add up quickly.
  
• Labor costs: If your team is spending hours chasing approvals, they aren’t spending time on production or value-added tasks.
  

You might think, “It’s just a few delays here and there,” but when you add it all up, the impact is real.

Example: Let’s say your press runs at $18.29 per hour, and there’s an hour delay in approval every day. That’s $548.78 lost every month, just from waiting. Add in the cost of reprints, and that number climbs fast.

How These Approval Delays Hurt Your Bottom Line

You might not realize it, but those small approval delays are costing you more than just time. When a job’s approval takes longer than expected, the consequences pile up quickly, leading to wasted materials, missed deadlines, and unhappy clients.

1. Rework Costs: Wasted Paper, Ink, and Time

Every time a job gets reprinted because someone missed the approval deadline, you waste more than paper. Ink, plates, and machine time all go down the drain too. It’s not just about having to press again, it’s about the cost of materials that were used in vain.

One supervisor explained:
“Before we had a proper system in place, we often found ourselves printing jobs multiple times. A simple delay in approval meant we were burning paper, ink, and time that we couldn’t get back.”

In fact, print shops we spoke to estimated they wasted $60 to $95 worth of material per month just on reprints due to approval delays.

2. Missed Deadlines: The Price of Lost Trust

When teams miss approval deadlines, jobs fall behind. Missed jobs lead to missed deadlines, and that frustrates your clients.

Here’s a stat that should hit home: 79% of customers say they’d leave a supplier after one bad experience with late delivery. That’s the kind of damage delays can cause.

Even worse, those missed deadlines mean lost revenue. If you’re constantly playing catch-up, clients will go elsewhere – they won’t wait for you to fix the delays.

3. Labor Inefficiency: Time Spent Chasing Approvals

Then there’s the time your team wastes chasing approvals. It’s a simple issue, but it adds up. Print operators, supervisors, and prepress teams often spend more time waiting for approvals than actually working on the jobs themselves.

As one prepress supervisor mentioned, “I can spend hours just chasing someone down to approve the job. That’s time I could be using to set up the next run or checking on the quality of the job already in production.”

Operators can spend up to 30% of their time just waiting on approvals – time they could use to keep the print run on track.

The Bigger Impact on Your Profit

It’s easy to overlook small delays. But when you add up the rework costs, missed deadlines, and wasted labor, they start to take a real toll on your bottom line. You can’t keep pushing jobs through a system that’s slow, messy, and outdated.

You might feel like you’re always “busy,” but that’s not the same as being productive. The longer approval delays continue, the more resources you waste – and the fewer jobs you actually get done on time.

The Hidden Benefits of Odoo ERP

Now, here’s where Odoo ERP steps in. With automated approval workflows and real-time version control, you get rid of all these delays and mistakes. No more waiting on emails or rechecking old spreadsheets.

Instead, with Odoo, every version of the proof is tracked automatically. Approvals happen instantly, and everyone has access to the latest version of the file – no confusion, no waiting.

1. How Odoo ERP Transforms Print Approval Workflows

When your job approval process is stuck in emails and spreadsheets, you’re constantly running into bottlenecks. It’s not just a matter of speed – it’s the whole system that’s broken. With Odoo ERP, however, the approval process becomes smooth, quick, and reliable.

Let’s break down exactly how Odoo tackles the major issues caused by manual workflows and streamlines the entire print approval process.

2. Version Control: No More Confusion

The problem with manual approval workflows is that it’s too easy to work off the wrong version of a file. Maybe an older proof makes it to production. Or maybe the press operator just grabs what they see on their desk without checking. Either way, it leads to confusion and reprints.

Odoo solves this by automatically tracking every version of your artwork and ensuring that everyone is on the same page. When a new proof is uploaded or approved, Odoo logs it, and everyone has access to the latest version.

For example, once a job is approved, the approval version is locked in the system, and only that version gets sent to production. This automatically eliminates confusion over file versions, ensuring that reprints caused by outdated artwork become a thing of the past.

3. Automated Approval Workflow: Speeding Up the Process

The next hurdle is approval delays. When your approval process happens via emails, spreadsheets, or verbal sign-offs, it becomes easy to lose track of approvals or have them drag on for days. In some print plants, approval cycles can last 3–5 days, and that’s wasted time.

With Odoo, the approval process becomes automated. When a job is ready for approval, the system automatically sends out a request to the right person. Once approved, the system instantly notifies the next team member and updates the job status – so everyone stays in the loop without needing to send emails or make calls.

For instance, as soon as artwork is uploaded, an automatic email or notification is sent to the approver. The approver doesn’t have to search through emails or spreadsheets to find the job. They just click on the approval request and confirm, all within Odoo.

4. Real-Time Updates Across Teams: No More Waiting on Emails

The biggest frustration in print shops with manual workflows is waiting for updates. You might get an approval, but it’s stuck in someone’s inbox or a group chat. With Odoo, everyone gets real-time updates. Whether you’re in prepress, production, or dispatch, you know exactly where each job stands.

Here’s how it works:

• The prepress team uploads artwork into Odoo.
  
• The system sends out approval requests to the relevant stakeholders.
  
• Once approved, the job is automatically updated, and the next team member is alerted. No more waiting on follow-up emails or calls to confirm approval status.
  

When every department has access to the same, real-time data, the process becomes streamlined. No one has to chase anyone down to get information. Instead, they focus on the tasks at hand.

The Result? Faster Approvals and Fewer Errors

The beauty of Odoo is that it doesn’t just eliminate manual steps – it eliminates human error. With automated workflows, version control, and real-time updates, everyone works from the same set of information. This ensures jobs get done faster and with fewer mistakes.

• No more version confusion
  
• No more manual approval tracking
  
• No more waiting for emails or updates
  

All of these issues that have traditionally slowed down your print approval process? They’re resolved. And when your approval workflows are running smoothly, it’s easier to focus on what really matters: delivering quality work, on time, every time.

The Benefits of Odoo ERP: Speed, Accuracy, and Cost Savings

Let’s get to the point: ERP works. But what does it actually do for you, the team, and the bottom line?

The truth is, it’s not just about speeding things up – it’s about making the whole process simpler. Here’s how Odoo ERP brings real benefits to your print shop. Not just on paper, but on the ground, in the day-to-day operations.

1. Speed: Less Waiting, More Doing

Imagine you’re on the shop floor. You’re waiting for the go-ahead on a print job, but you don’t know if it’s cleared. Maybe the approval’s sitting in someone’s inbox, or you’re trying to figure out if the job is the right version. Meanwhile, the press is sitting idle, waiting for confirmation.

Odoo takes care of all that. Instead of chasing down approvals or checking emails, everything happens automatically. When the job’s ready, it gets approved. When it’s approved, the system tells everyone else. No more “Is it cleared?” or “Has anyone heard back?” questions.

“Before implementing Odoo, we struggled with tracking approvals across various systems. The time spent chasing down approvals was excessive. With Odoo, the entire process is now automated, and we’ve seen a noticeable improvement in efficiency.” – Adrien Ulens, Deputy CEO, Gogoprint

It’s simple. Less waiting. More doing. And in a busy print shop, that’s everything.

2. Accuracy: No More Mistakes, No More Reprints

You know the feeling when you find out the job printed the wrong version? Or when someone missed a detail, and now you have to start over? It’s frustrating. And it wastes time and money.

With Odoo, version control isn’t a problem anymore. Every time a file is uploaded or changed, Odoo logs it. So, no one ever prints the wrong version again. It’s automatic – no confusion, no wasted materials.

This is about getting it right the first time. Fewer errors = more profit.

3. Cost Savings: Less Waste, More Jobs Done

Think about all the waste that happens in a typical print job: reprints, wrong files, machine downtime. It adds up, and it doesn’t just hit your material budget. It hits your bottom line.

By automating approval workflows, removing confusion, and ensuring everyone is on the same page, Odoo ERP helps you cut out all that waste. Less downtime means more work gets done. Fewer reprints mean fewer resources are wasted. It’s as simple as that.

One plant using Odoo reported a 30% drop in rework costs within just a couple of months. They weren’t rushing to fix problems anymore. The work was already done right the first time.

“Before Odoo, we were juggling multiple systems that didn’t communicate. Now everything is in one place. Our accounting process has been reduced from four hours to one, giving us more time to focus on growing the business.” – Jen Mickey, ERP Administrator, American Print Consultants

With fewer mistakes and more jobs moving through the press, you’re not just working faster – you’re working smarter.

4. More Jobs, Less Hassle

When you take out the back-and-forth and confusion, the whole system just works. Odoo doesn’t just help you work faster; it helps your team work more effectively.

No more delays, no more wondering if the approval is in. When everything is streamlined, the press runs smoothly, and everyone knows exactly what they’re supposed to be doing. You’ll get more jobs done in less time, and you’ll have happier clients because you’re delivering on time.

It’s about shifting from chaos to control. With Odoo, you stop scrambling to catch up and start running at full speed. And the work just gets done.

5. The Big Picture: Less Stress, More Production

When you remove the mess of emails, sticky notes, and manual processes, everything flows more smoothly. No more waiting. No more confusion. Just a well-oiled machine where jobs move seamlessly from one team to the next. More jobs, done on time, with fewer mistakes.

The best part? The time and resources you save let you focus on growing your business, not fixing problems. It’s about working smarter, not harder.

Tired of Chasing Approvals? Let’s Fix That.

If you’re like most print shops, manual approval workflows are slowing you down. Between the emails, follow-ups, and constant back-and-forth, it’s no wonder that approvals seem to drag on forever. And all that wasted time? It’s costing you.

But what if there was a way to make approvals happen instantly? What if you could get rid of the guessing games and get jobs moving faster?

Odoo ERP takes care of all that for you. With automated approval requests and real-time updates, you’ll never wonder whether a job is approved or not again. It’s all tracked in one place, and everyone knows what’s happening. No more waiting around. No more confusion.

Schedule a free consultation today, and let’s talk about how ERP can make your workflow smoother.

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