WORKFLOW AUTOMATION
FOR PHOTO
AI powered automation for everything - from photobooks to calendars, giftware to apparel, cards to coasters
ZenSmart for Photo - making diverse manufacturing easy
Two forces define photo product manufacturing – range diversity and seasonality. Print and finishing workflow count is high and each peak season the pressure is “on”. The combination means that manufacturing to maximum profitability is challenging.
ZenSmart unifies workflows, from upload to shipping. It optimizes work submission, automates routing to press-finishing workflow, manages every finishing stage, and tracks each job in real time. It provides precision at scale. Visibility with control and AI Insight. Built for photo production’s unique demands—where quality, speed, and volume must coexist.
7-step automation
- Order intake from 40+ sources, add more with AI-Start
- Smart queueing across brands & sources
- Auto batching & printing with pick lists and non printed product support
- Smart imposition and press load balancing
- Barcode-driven production for digital, wide format, DTF/DTG, embroidery, laser etching & canvas/wall
- Quality control with auto reprint
- Ship with least-cost automation
Connect to any MIS or any industry leading e-commerce source
From Gooten to Cloudprinter, OrderDesk to Printify, Shopify and brand APIs - all can be harmonized into a single consistent order stream.
Seamlessly manufacture 'big' SKU ranges with many product options
Manage 'big' ranges, even millions of unique SKU-option combinations with elegant ease.
Control every movement of every component with 100% visibility
The wide range of press-finishing combinations are united with clear line of sight to every movement of every item in production.
Get total SLA visibility and never miss a customer deadline
Use powerful work in progress views of your orders including items tracking behind schedule to stay on top of your SLA deadlines.
Combine different products within orders for least cost shipping
Seamlessly handle orders with multiple different product types and efficiently hold them in pre-dispatch before releasing the entire order.
Ship to least cost - driven by powerful ship rules you control
Run cheapest-cost to SLA reverse auctions automatically to drive down your shipping costs.
ZenSmart Photo How it works
Photo industry specific features and functions created to power your business forward
1
ZenSmart pulls orders from your MIS / OMS system and any Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, Gooten, Cloudprinter, Taopix and (many, many) other web to print sources
Features
- ZenSmart AI-Start connects to your MIS or other order source and automatically imports, synchronizes and connects products to how you manufacture
- Shopify, ShipStation, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Amazon, Etsy, Printify, Gooten, Cloudprinter and many more all integrated and ready to go
- Automated processing of all orders and standardizing
- Unlimited store connections
Which means
- Production live in as little as 1 day
Even with many thousands of SKU's - all your work is perfectly queued, totally automating what can be manufactured together by due date
2
Features
- Automated queuing by product code, due date, substrate, cover type, brand, geography or pick your own criteria
- Complete control over queuing
- Change is as easy as a click
Which means
- It’s your platform and you are in control
- Manufacture using long run efficiency even when order item count is as small as 1
- Better grouping of work means higher efficiency and lower cost
3
Your queues are closed to make batches based on your least cost-to-SLA rules. Create perfect batches to optimize downstream workflow and save you big $
Features
- Batches are formed automatically driven by time, substrate, quantity or other rules to form perfect batches
- Automatically send to press based on your rules; or
- Any press supported ranging from sheet fed HP Indigos through to enterprise level Canon Prostream web printer, UV to Laser Engraver, Screen & DTG – all via hot folder or JDF
- Easily swap work between presses
- When batches are closed aligned picking lists, thermal labels and work tickets are created – all automatically
Which means
- Swap work between press type (controlled by substrate/job rules) with a single click
- Prevent wrong workflows being selected
- Cut labor costs
Batches are imposed just-in-time. That means you can move work around your workflows. Press down time = no problem.
4
Features
- Setup impositions for each press type and finishing workflow
- Swap from SRA3 to SRA3+, B2 or Web-fed printing with a single click
- Seamless support for guillotine, Hunkeler, Tecnau or other automated cutting solution
- Total control over Batch and Job Sheet. Use color logic to identify due dates, special orders and workflows – all under your control
Which means
- Seamless imposition means lower pre-press costs
- Remove labor for file preparation
- Co-printed thermal labels or barcoded work means perfect job identification
5
Card, photo, photobook, calendar or giftware - your work is elegantly routed through the factory. Every action monitored. Any variation fully controlled.
Features
- Simple scan apps run on almost any device
- Staff only see Scan Apps they need to see
- Staff (or machines) scan at each process stage
- Clear on-screen instructions
Which means
- Every item in every job is 100% visible at every stage
- No guessing, every job is clearly instructed
- Staff and machine performance is totally tracked
- Drive down cost
Cover-text match with a single click. Optimized matching slot allocation.
6
Features
- Scan text or cover block to match work
- Item level or batch scan for super-fast matching
- Jobs sent to matching holes based on size and quantity
- Optimized walking patterns
Which means
- No more visual matching!
- Speed order processing
- Reduce wages costs
7
Quality issues? 1 click reprint whether it be a page, unit or the whole order. No problem - 100% accountable and tracked.
Features
- A simple barcode scan fails any defective item
- Failed items auto-batch according to your rules
- Machine and person responsibility for all fails are clearly visible
- Set budgetary limits for fails
Which means
- Strictly control fail levels
- Find the source of fails easily
- Improve procedures to cut costs
Least cost ship with our integrated carriers or your current logistic solution
8
Features
- Big library of existing carrier integrations
- Least cost live auctions
- Pre-manifesting for super fast shipping
- Scan to ship – controlled by your automated ship rules
Which means
- Cut your shipping costs
- Ensure ship team productivity
- Clearly see status of orders by due date
Setup with ease, administer with minimal effort
Part of running a great workflow automation platform is controlling how you manufacture and how you adapt to changes and innovation in your organization.
ZenSmart has a sophisticated set of tools
and easy to use interfaces to make
implementation easy and then adapt your
implementation over time.
Connect your order source and let AI-Start onboard your products
Features
- AI-Start learns all your products, product meta-data from any of the existing order integrations (Shopify, PrintIQ, CloudPrinter, Printify, Gooten, Cin7, and many more including many major consumer brands)
- Adds all your SKU-product workflow combinations automatically
- Enables super-fast addition of any new proprietary order source
Which means
- Add “big” ranges automatically
- Go live in as little as 1-day
Use pre-configured workflows or add new ones by drag and drop
Features
- Create new product workflows with just a few clicks
- Amend workflows by simple drag and drop
Dye-Sub, UV-LED, Screen to Film workflows pre-loaded - Automatically queue and batch to different production workflows with your business rules
- Switch jobs from Dye-Sub to UV-LED and other combinations with a single click
Which means
- Route work automatically
- Reduce labor costs
- Make changes to workflow with no headaches
No need to send to an external imposition solution with ZenSmart Imposition Designer
Features
- Design any page layout
- Build your recipes for each production type
- Auto generate batch and job sheets
Which means
- No need for an external imposition app
- Automate directly to industry leading RIPs, Presses to automate Digital print (Sheet and Web fed), Wide Format, DTG, DTF, Dye-Sub, Laser Engraving and Embroidery devices
Least cost business rules are easy to define in Ship Designer
Features
- Rich library of integrations with Fedex, UPS, Royal Mail, DPD, DHL, ShipStation, Shipcaddie and many more
- Run live reverse auctions to find least cost ship options
- Automated order inclusion reminders
- Automated change rules by date
Which means
- Cut your shipping costs
- Shipping becomes a 1-scan operation – no knowledge required just automated business rules followed
- Cut labor costs
- Onboard new staff fast
Every scan, every process creates data. Data that defines the who, what, where and when of manufacture.
It provides the foundation for incredible insight, insight to solve problems, insight to take your business to the next level, insight to drive profit
Integrated BI, reporting & AI agent provides deep insight
Take team performance to the next level through the power of information
Features
- Easy to modify – make relevant dashboards even for small teams in your business
Optimized for cheap web-tv’s
Automatically refresh – everyone gets the latest data
Which means
- Keeps everyone continuously informed
- Powerful impact on culture
- Enables management by walking around
Never let an order miss its deadline with WIP Panel
Features
- Powerful view of everything in production
Filter for different products or attributes, instantly see what is overdue and due today
Filter for items “stuck” taking too long at any workflow stage
Which means
- Total performance oversight
- Never let an item go over service level
- Cut your costs and keep your customers happier
- Outperform your competition
Have the answers at your finger tips with AI-Insight
Features
- Ai powered chatbot
- Ask “any” question – questions about people, VIPs, SLA performance, machine downtime – anything at all
- Fully conversational
Which means
- Instant access to the info you have to know about
- Easy to use – don’t build a report – just ask a question
FAQ
How does ZenSmart manage the complexity of personalized photo books, prints, and calendars and so many different workflows?
This is the core functionality of the ZenSmart platform. Every product type has its own Flow. A Flow is the way that you manufacture a product. A Flow can be flexible and even have branches. For example you can have the text block of a 11×8.5 Photocover Photobook print on a web fed HP Indigo and auto cut on a Tecnau with switching to a Ricoh 9250 cut sheet press with Polar Guillotine for redundancy. The cover follows its own flow with the 2 components coming together in Cover-Text match. All your other products also have their own flow. ZenSmart automatically takes your orders, works out which product-flows to use and then queues, batches, imposes and sends to print. It’s all automated and zero-touch for maximum cost savings.
What features support seasonality and peak-load readiness for photo product production?
ZenSmart enables data driven rules to drive batching and shipping rules that are optimized for the dates of peak production and even weekly order cycles. Powerful reporting enables you to see trends by many different criteria ranging from SKUs to product style or paper codes or fabric cover color to provide information to drive optimal inventory for peak. Views of staff and machine performance help identify performance trends to guide machine capacity and people resourcing decisions.
Can ZenSmart handle high product variety and deep customization at scale?
How does ZenSmart integrate with photo platforms and retail partner order sources?
There are many integrations already available covering most of the major e-commerce, marketplace and web-to-print. For example if you are supporting B2B2C you can even direct connect to Brand stores running platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce amongst others. Retail partners running their own systems are also supported with some of the World’s major brands integrated plus aggregator platforms such as Gooten and Cloudprinter and web to print from Taopix and more. Any others can be readily added, just reach out, we are happy to talk about adding others.
How does ZenSmart improve labor efficiency and SLA performance in photo manufacturing?
In ZenSmart we track the who, what, where and when of every single item in production. That means we can see production bottlenecks, low and high performance regardless of whether its related to people or machines. All this provides rich information that is the basis of improving how you manufacture and removing cost from your business.
Find out how ZenSmart can create a smart, flexible manufacturing automation outcome for your business with big reduction to your costs.... or just get some advice!
Let's Talk 🙂
Whether you’re just exploring automation, looking for advice, or ready to book a ZenSmart appointment – we’re always up for a chat. Reach out and let’s talk.
Our Purpose
We have delivered print on demand automation solutions that have made a profound difference to some of the largest and most diverse factories in the world. Our vision is to make this capability available to all print on demand sites, from photo to merchandise, apparel to giftware – and sites from big to small, without the big up-front price tag. Your success will be our success.
Our details
Pictureworks Group Pty Ltd
ABN 28 119 011 933
trading as ZenSmart and ZenWorks LLC, a Delaware Corporation
Head Office:
Level 2 / 696 Bourke Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
AUSTRALIA
sales@zensmart.ai
