Printing / signage / screen printing / promo products software, built around EPA, OSHA and custom-job quote → work-order → production-status board

Arkathos gives a printing a workspace tailored to how the work actually runs — This workspace is built around custom-job production — quote the job, source the substrates, print/produce, and ring up taxable goods. Arkathos tailors a printing workspace around 5 agents: Sentinel, Treasury, Armory, mint-warden, Herald.

Compliance a printing can't afford to miss

Watchtower tracks every license, bond, insurance policy, and continuing-education requirement for a printing, with renewal cadences and staged reminders so nothing lapses.

• A printing must maintain a Business registration (LLC/Corp formation + annual/biennial report), through the State Secretary of State / Division of Revenue, which renews every year.
• A printing must maintain a General Business License, which renews every year.
• A printing must maintain a Electric Sign Contractor License (installation of electric/illuminated signs), through the State licensing agency (e.g., Texas TDLR Electrical Sign Contractor; California CSLB C-45), which renews every year.
• A printing must maintain a Sales & Use Tax / Seller's Permit, through the State Dept of Revenue, which has no fixed renewal cycle.
• A printing must maintain a Electrician / Sign Electrician License (electrical connection of signs), through the State or local electrical licensing board (e.g., NJ Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors; TX TDLR; NYC DOB), which renews every 3 years.
• A printing must maintain a Resale / Exemption Certificate (B2B reseller accounts), through the State Dept of Revenue, which has no fixed renewal cycle.
• A printing must maintain a Sign / Building Permit (per installation), through the Local municipal building / zoning / code enforcement department, which has no fixed renewal cycle.
• A printing must maintain a Sign Contractor License (install work), through the State Contractor Licensing Board, which renews every two years.
• A printing must maintain a Air Quality / Air Emissions Permit (VOC & HAP from inks, solvents, coatings), through the State environmental agency / U.S. EPA (Clean Air Act; NESHAP 40 CFR 63 Subpart KK), which renews every 5 years.
• A printing must maintain a Electrical Contractor License (lighted/channel-letter signs), through the State Contractor Licensing Board, which renews every two years.
• The Electrical Contractor License (lighted/channel-letter signs) carries a continuing-education requirement of 8 hours every two years (4h National Electrical Code update, 4h Electrical safety / general).
• A printing must maintain a RCRA Hazardous Waste Generator EPA ID / Notification (screen-reclaim & solvent waste), through the U.S. EPA / authorized state environmental agency (RCRA, EPA Form 8700-12), which has no fixed renewal cycle.
• A printing must maintain a General Liability Insurance, through the Private insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A printing must maintain a Sign / Building & Electrical Install Permit, through the Local Building Dept, which has no fixed renewal cycle.
• A printing must maintain a Hazardous Waste Generator Registration (inks/solvents), through the State Environmental Agency / EPA, which renews every year.
• A printing must maintain a Workers' Compensation Insurance, through the State-regulated workers' comp / private insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A printing must maintain a Professional Liability / Errors & Omissions Insurance (design & installation errors), through the Private insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A printing must maintain a Commercial Property Insurance (equipment / inventory), which renews every year.
• A printing must maintain a Cyber Liability Insurance, through the Private insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A printing must maintain a Commercial Auto Insurance (delivery / install vehicles), which renews every year.
• A printing must maintain a Contractor License / Surety Bond, through the Surety company (bond amount set by state; e.g., CA CSLB $25,000, NJ electrical business permit $1,000), which renews every year.

Everything Arkathos runs for a printing

These are the agents set up first for a printing — and because it's one platform, every plan includes all 16 Arkathos agents. Also included whenever you need them: Guardhouse, Quartermaster, Scribe, Courier, War Room, Marshall, Mint Warden, Vault Keeper, Watchtower, Bulletin Board, Client Portal.

• Sentinel — Contact & lead management, Deal / estimate pipeline, Task & follow-up tracking, SMS & email outreach, Pipeline reporting.
• Treasury — Invoicing & payment collection, Expense tracking, Accounting & bookkeeping, Business tax prep & filing, Recurring billing & subscriptions, Financial dashboards & reports.
• Armory — Inventory & stock tracking, Supplier & purchase orders, Receipt scanning (OCR), Waste & shrink tracking, Low-stock alerts.
• Herald — SEO & get-found content, Social media scheduling, Email & newsletter campaigns, Brand voice & content studio, Review & reputation growth, AI-overview & directory visibility.

Your tailored printing workspace

These are net-new, printing-specific capabilities — not a generic CRM bolted onto your industry.

• Custom-job quote → work-order → production-status board (Sentinel): Parametric quoting (size × substrate × quantity × decoration), a proof-approval gate, and a job board with stages (quoted → approved → in-production → ready → delivered). The defining workflow of a job-shop that estimates/Tasks don't capture.
• Resale/exemption certificate management on B2B invoices (Treasury): Capture, store, and expire reseller/exemption certificates per customer and auto-suppress sales tax on qualifying B2B sales while charging it on retail — central to a tangible-goods seller with reseller accounts.
• Substrate/ink COGS + per-job material consumption (Armory): Deduct blanks/ink/vinyl from stock on job completion and roll material cost into a per-job COGS figure feeding pricing and margin.
• Sign-install work order + sign/electrical permit tracking (Dispatch): Install routing for bucket-truck/ladder crews plus a municipal sign-permit, zoning/setback, and electrical-permit + inspection log (lighted/channel-letter signs need licensed electrical work and OSHA fall-protection).
• Proof-approval e-sign with art-ownership/indemnity terms (Scribe): Customer-signed proof approval carrying art-ownership and IP-indemnity language, since the shop cannot reproduce trademarked/licensed artwork without authorization.

The agents and tabs you get

Sentinel for a printing surfaces Overview, Contacts, Tasks, Chat. Treasury for a printing surfaces Invoices, Draft estimate, Sales tax, Pipeline, Chat. Armory for a printing surfaces Items, Suppliers, Quick Count, Chat. Herald for a printing surfaces Compose, Get found, Directories, ✦Studio, Schedule, Chat, Brand voice.

Frequently asked questions

best software for screen printing business

Common picks are Printavo, YoPrint, InkSoft, ShopWorks, DecoNetwork and Teesom, covering quoting, art approval, scheduling and invoicing. Arkathos bundles those plus finances, CRM, payroll and marketing in one flat-priced platform.

how much does print shop management software cost per month

Dedicated print-shop platforms typically start around $49/month (Printavo Starter) and climb to $149+ once you add users. Many tier by seat; Arkathos uses flat pricing with no per-seat fees.

do i need software for screen printing or just use quickbooks

QuickBooks handles accounting but not order processing, art proofs or production scheduling, so most shops pair it with print-specific software. Arkathos combines bookkeeping, invoicing and shop workflow so you don't juggle two systems.

how to price screen printing jobs

Price on blank garment cost, ink colors, screen setups, print locations, quantity tiers and rush fees; a common markup is 150-200% of blank cost. Quoting tools and pricing matrices automate this per job.

best sign shop estimating software

Ordant, EstiMate, shopVOX, Printmatics and SquareCoil handle sign estimating, order management and install coordination. Arkathos also covers estimating plus CRM, scheduling, payroll and tax compliance for sign shops.

software for promotional products distributors

commonsku, SAGE, ASI ESP+, Facilisgroup and Brikl are the main promo-distributor tools for supplier research, quoting, electronic POs and order management. Many charge per user; Arkathos is flat-priced.

screen printing artwork approval and proofing software

Online proofing tools like shopVOX, ProofStuff, Ashore and Approval Studio let customers review and digitally sign off on art before production, cutting email revision cycles. Most shop-management suites build this in.

free screen printing shop management software for small shop

Teesom offers a genuinely free tier (all features, one user, capped monthly orders); shopVOX and others give 14-day trials. As you scale, all-in-one platforms like Arkathos consolidate the tools.

screen printing production scheduling job board software

Visual Kanban-style job boards in YoPrint, Printavo, shopVOX and Teesom track each order through production stages with color-coded urgency. Arkathos adds scheduling alongside finances, CRM and payroll.

What licenses and insurance does a printing need?

Arkathos tracks 20 items for a printing, including Business registration (LLC/Corp formation + annual/biennial report), General Business License, Electric Sign Contractor License (installation of electric/illuminated signs), Sales & Use Tax / Seller's Permit. Each renewal and expiration is monitored in Watchtower with staged reminders.

What continuing education is required for a printing?

The Electrical Contractor License (lighted/channel-letter signs) carries a continuing-education requirement of 8 hours every two years (4h National Electrical Code update, 4h Electrical safety / general). Watchtower logs hours by category and flags shortfalls before the deadline.

Which Arkathos agents does a printing get?

Arkathos tailors a printing workspace around 5 agents: Sentinel, Treasury, Armory, mint-warden, Herald.

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