EFI Pace

Where it wins

Print estimating depth

Print estimating is one of the hardest things for a general ERP to do well. Substrate cost varies by roll size and grade. Ink cost varies by coverage and color count. Plate cost varies by print run. Press time depends on the specific press the job will run on, which depends on the substrate, which depends on the format. Post-press finishing (cutting, folding, binding, laminating, foiling) has its own cost model. Pace handles all of this natively, with the conditional logic that real print quotes require. Shops moving off spreadsheets usually see immediate gains in estimate accuracy and turnaround time, which is the most visible early win of a Pace deployment.

Press scheduling and capacity planning

Print scheduling isn’t just “what runs when.” Changeover time between substrates is significant. Color matching across a job sequence affects setup. Some presses can’t run certain substrates or formats. Pace’s scheduling module respects these constraints and lets a planner optimize across multiple presses, shifts, and crews. Compared to running scheduling in Excel or a generic ERP’s MRP module, the difference in throughput is measurable. This is one of the reasons multi-plant operations standardize on Pace rather than letting each plant pick its own MIS.

Shop floor data collection

Pace integrates with prepress workflows (JDF/JMF), press controllers, and shop floor terminals. Job tickets flow from estimating into production with the print-specific data the floor actually needs. Operators clock in and out of jobs, record waste, log press counts, and feed back actuals that update job costs and inform future estimates. Most print shops that take shop floor data seriously end up needing Pace or a comparable print MIS. General ERPs require significant customization to capture the same data with the same fidelity, and the customization rarely survives upgrades.

Vertical knowledge baked into the workflow

The product was built by people who knew print. The data model reflects it. Job tickets capture substrate, ink, plate, and finishing data without custom fields. Reports speak in pieces, signatures, impressions, and waste percentages, not abstract units. Estimating defaults and pricing logic reflect industry norms. Standard chart of accounts maps to print P&L categories without restructuring. Compared to forcing a general ERP to model print, Pace lands faster, stays more accurate, and survives staff turnover better because the language matches what print operators already use.

Implementation reality

Typical timeline

Pace implementations typically run 6 to 12 months for a single-plant deployment, longer for multi-plant. The estimating module usually goes live first because that’s where most shops are bleeding the worst. Scheduling, shop floor, and finance follow in phases. Implementations that try to go live with everything at once usually slip. The disciplined approach is a phased rollout with explicit cutover dates for each module, accepting that the old system runs in parallel for a few months while the new one stabilizes. The post-go-live cliff hits Pace implementations the same way it hits any ERP, with the added wrinkle that print shops often discover their estimating assumptions were wrong only after the first quarter of real production data flows back. See The Post-Go-Live Cliff for the months one through six patterns to watch for.

Implementation team requirements

Pace needs an estimating lead who knows the shop’s pricing logic cold, a production lead who can map current scheduling practice to Pace’s model, and an IT lead who’ll own integrations and ongoing admin. Most implementations also need a finance lead engaged from the start, even though finance modules go live later. EPS or a Pace implementation partner handles configuration and training. Your internal team handles process design, data prep, and adoption. Expect power users to commit 30 to 50 percent of their time during build and parallel testing, and the project lead to be effectively full-time during the cutover window. Underinvesting here is the single most common reason Pace implementations land badly.

True cost range

The vendor quote covers software license, implementation services, training, and first-year support. Beyond that, expect significant cost in data migration from the previous system (especially if it’s a legacy Access database, a Hagen/Logic/PrintCafe deployment, or homegrown spreadsheets), integration with prepress workflow and press controllers, and possibly a separate accounting integration if the shop pairs Pace with a general ledger system. The vendor quote is the smallest piece of the actual spend. See What ERP Vendors Don’t Tell You About the True Cost of Implementation for the framework, or run your numbers through the ERP True-Cost Calculator. Integration with the press floor and prepress systems is where Pace TCO usually blows out. See The Integration Tax for that pattern.

On-prem deployment adds another layer the vendor quote doesn’t include. Server hardware, OS and database licensing, backup infrastructure, and the IT headcount to keep it running are all on you. Over a five-year horizon the on-prem total cost meaningfully exceeds cloud-hosted once you score the full stack, even before counting downtime risk and disaster recovery overhead.

Third-party add-ons that aren’t in the demo

Several functional areas that look like core ERP features are actually third-party integrations Pace doesn’t include in the base license. Sales tax calculation (Avalara, Vertex) once you have multi-state or international exposure. Shipping rate engines and label printing for real outbound freight, not just occasional UPS shipments. Credit card processing if you take card payments through the system. Document delivery and e-invoicing platforms for clients that require them. Each one has its own per-transaction or annual cost, and each one usually surfaces after contract signature rather than during the sales cycle. Build the full list of integrations you’ll need and ask the vendor explicitly what’s included versus what’s add-on before you sign.

Selection questions to ask

• What print processes do you actually run, and do you need Pace’s standard modules or specific add-ons (digital, wide format, packaging, labels, mailing)? The base license rarely covers everything a real shop does.
• How will Pace integrate with your existing prepress workflow (Esko, Kodak, Fujifilm, Heidelberg Prinect) and your press controllers? Native, supported, or custom-built? The cost varies by an order of magnitude.
• What’s the shop floor data collection plan? Operator terminals, mobile, or none? Real-time press counters or end-of-shift entry? Each path has a different implementation cost and a different long-term value.
• How will accounting work? Pace’s built-in GL, AR, and AP, or a separate accounting system (Sage Intacct, QuickBooks Enterprise, a general ERP) integrated to Pace? Most multi-plant or PE-backed shops end up with the latter.
• On-prem or cloud-hosted? The cost, IT requirements, customization story, and disaster recovery profile differ meaningfully between the two.
• What’s the data migration plan from your current system, and how much of the historical data is worth keeping? Most Pace implementations slip on data, not configuration.
• Who’s your implementation partner: EPS direct, a regional Pace partner, or a third-party print-MIS consultancy? Each has different incentives, response times, and post-go-live availability.
• What’s been promised about Pace’s roadmap under EPS ownership? Investment cadence, cloud-first features, and the consolidation story across the four EPS print MIS products (Pace, Monarch, Radius, PrintSmith) all deserve direct answers.
• What’s the sandbox or test environment story for ongoing changes after go-live? You’ll need one, and the cost should be in the deal from day one.
• What are the renewal terms? Pace contracts have historically been multi-year, and renewal pricing should be negotiated into the original deal, not left for the renewal cycle.