The Print Industry’s Biggest Bottleneck: Closed APIs

If you have ever tried to connect software in the print world, you already know how frustrating it can be.

Most of the major MIS systems like PrintSmith, Pace, Avanti, and Monarch charge extra just to turn on their API. In PrintSmith’s case, it is $325 per month for their Advanced API Kit. That fee is not for support or new features. It is simply for the ability to access your own data.

For small and mid-sized shops, that price is a dealbreaker. So teams stay stuck doing the same manual work every day, typing order details from customer emails into their MIS.

APIs should not be paywalled.

In most industries, APIs are what allow progress. They let new tools connect, automate, and improve how businesses operate.

In print, it works in reverse. The older systems have turned API access into a revenue line instead of an innovation tool. That choice slows down the entire industry.

Every shop I talk to says the same thing. Customers email in orders. Someone on the team then spends about fifteen minutes picking out the specs, confirming details, and retyping everything into their system. Multiply that by hundreds of emails each month and the wasted time is massive.

There is so much potential to fix this. Tools like B2 Portal can automatically extract and structure that information. Ideally, the full unlock would be pushing that structured data straight into the MIS. But with closed APIs and added fees, that becomes a major hurdle.

How we are approaching it

At B2 Portal, we decided to start solving the part of the problem that can be solved today. Our tool does not rely on API access. You simply forward us the customer email, and we handle the rest. We parse the information, structure it, and generate a fast, accurate estimate based on the past estimates you upload into the system.

Why integrations still matter

Even though B2 Portal works without any API access, I know long term we need direct integrations. The full power of automation is unlocked when structured data can flow straight into the MIS without any extra steps.

Right now, I am focusing on PrintSmith and CoreBridge, so if you are a user, and you already have API access turned on, I would love to talk with you. I am looking for a few early users who are open to letting us test the integration. Your feedback would help shape what the next generation of automation looks like for the print industry.

Reach out to me directly if you have API keys and want to explore this with me: jackson@b2portal.com