Production scheduling for packaging & print
Packaging and printing production scheduling software
SkyPlanner APS turns your orders, presses, converting lines, dies, plates, materials and shifts into one finite-capacity schedule. It sequences jobs by colour, format and substrate so make-ready costs as little time as possible, and rebuilds the plan in seconds when a press stops, board arrives late or a brand owner moves a deadline. It integrates with any ERP or MES through its open REST API.
- Make-ready aware sequencing
- Finite-capacity scheduling
- Any ERP or MES via REST API
- From 199 € / month
6 months
of delivery commitments on capacity data, Fredman Operations
In seconds
schedule questions that took an hour or more, Fredman Operations
99.2%
delivery reliability, Piristeel
100%
delivery reliability since 2021, Opes Corporation
Results reported by SkyPlanner customers Fredman Operations, Piristeel and Opes Corporation. Read all SkyPlanner APS reviews
Why packaging and printing are hard to schedule
Short runs, costly make-ready, fixed ship dates
A packaging or print plant runs a stream of short jobs through the same presses and converting lines, and the order of those jobs decides how much of the shift is spent printing and how much is spent washing up, changing plates and setting dies.
Make-ready depends on the sequence
Going from a light colour to a dark one, or keeping the same web width and substrate, needs very little set-up. The reverse means a full wash-up, a new anilox or a different reel.
Dies and plates are shared
A cutting die, a plate set or a cylinder can only be on one machine at a time, so two jobs that need the same tool cannot run in parallel.
Printing is only the first step
After the press come laminating, slitting, die-cutting, folding and gluing or finishing, each on its own machine with its own queue.
Board, film and ink must be there
A job cannot start before its substrate, inks and plates are ready, and a late reel delivery moves everything that depends on it.
Customers expect firm dates
Brand owners and converters plan their own launches and filling lines around your ship date, so a missed date is felt down the whole chain.
Whiteboards cannot see the wash-up
A whiteboard or an ERP plan assumes endless press time, ignores colour order and takes hours to redo when a rush reprint lands.
SkyPlanner is made for plants like yours. It loads every press, laminator and die-cutter to real capacity, orders jobs by colour and format, and rebuilds the press plan in seconds when a reel is late or a reprint comes in.
Make-ready optimised press sequencing
Group by colour, format and substrate. Set up once, print longer.
Every wash-up, plate change and die change is paid press time with zero output. SkyPlanner sequences each press and converting line so make-ready costs as little time as possible.
Your inks, widths and dies as properties
Give products properties such as ink set, colour, web width, substrate or die, and define a changeover matrix for each machine: how long it takes to move from one value to another, in each direction.
Every press has its own wash-up order
Light to dark can be a quick change and dark to light a full wash-up, whatever your press really needs. Jobs that share a colour, a format or a tool are grouped into runs automatically.
Make-ready planned, not discovered
The Arcturus AI engine sequences jobs on every machine to cut total changeover time while still meeting due dates. Tools such as dies and plates cannot be in two places at once, and the Gantt view shows exactly where every changeover falls.
How SkyPlanner schedules a packaging or print plant
One plan from press to folder-gluer
SkyPlanner schedules to the capacity you really have, with the materials you really have, and shows the same plan at every press and converting line.
Finite capacity across presses, converting lines and people
Each press, laminator, slitter or die-cutter has its own shift calendar, and planned maintenance, cleaning windows and breakdowns can be entered as exceptions. Personnel scheduling assigns people to shifts and machines, so the plan never puts a job on a press that has nobody to run it. Outside finishing can be scheduled like a workstation, so subcontracted steps sit in the same plan.
- No job lands on an unstaffed or blocked machine
- Several plants scheduled together, with transfer times between sites
Substrates, inks, tools and multi-step routings
A printed reel becomes a laminated web, then slit rolls, labels or cut blanks, and finally folded and glued cartons or finished packs. SkyPlanner handles multi-level bills of materials and sub-products, follows the full routing from press to finishing and, with material-based scheduling on, starts a job only when its board, film or ink will be there.
- Need dates for purchasing flow back to your ERP
- Due dates for individual process steps, so printing finishes in time for die-cutting and gluing
Press and converting crews see the same plan
Operators see their own work queue in a simple worker view or the SkyPlanner shop-floor app. They start, pause and complete jobs and report quantities and waste as they go, so the schedule always reflects what has actually happened at the press and on the converting line.
Rush jobs, reprints and late reels
A press stops, the schedule reflows
When a rush order or a reprint arrives, a press goes down or a substrate delivery is late, the Arcturus AI engine rebuilds the schedule in seconds. Lock jobs that must not move, raise priorities or fast-track an urgent order.
- Add a sales prospect as a simulated order and see the earliest realistic delivery date, without disturbing confirmed orders.
- See what accepting a rush job does to every other promise.
- Brand owners get ship dates that come from press and converting capacity.
SkyPlanner gives you the foundation for the whole plan.
Anu Järvinen, Production Manager, Fredman Operations Oy
Fat-resistant and packaging papers for food industry companies · Fredman Operations’ SkyPlanner APS review
Integrates with any ERP or MES
Your ERP or print MIS keeps the estimates. SkyPlanner sequences the presses.
SkyPlanner connects to all ERP and MES systems through its open REST API, including in-house systems. Orders and products flow in, planned times and material need dates flow back. It also runs standalone, so you can start scheduling before an integration is in place.
From your ERP
ERP · MES · CSV · Manual
- Sales orders & repeat orders
- Products & routings
- Board, film & ink stock
- Customers & due dates
SkyPlanner APS
Schedules production
- Presses
- Converting
- Shifts
- Make-ready
- Dies & plates
- Priorities
- Schedule
Back to your ERP
ERP · Reports · Management
- Planned start & end times
- Material need dates
- Progress, quantities & waste
- Delivery dates
- SAP S/4HANA
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
- Oracle NetSuite
- Infor
- Epicor
- IFS Cloud
- Sage X3
- Odoo
- Kiwiplan
- Label Traxx
Where SkyPlanner fits
Used by packaging and print manufacturers of every size
From one flexo press to multi-site paper and board converting groups. SkyPlanner earns its place wherever many jobs compete for the same presses, dies and finishing lines and make-ready decides the day.
Packaging and printing segments
- Corrugated boxes and displays
- Folding cartons
- Flexible packaging and films
- Self-adhesive and sleeve labels
- Paper and board converting
- Paper, bags and food-contact packaging
- Commercial and publication print
- Rigid plastic packaging and closures
Why SkyPlanner
Why packaging and print plants choose SkyPlanner
SkyPlanner APS is AI production scheduling software for packaging and printing manufacturers that want make-ready optimised press sequences and ship dates they can keep, without a long IT project. It plans presses, converting lines, dies, plates and materials to real capacity and replans in seconds.
Make-ready sequencing built in
Changeover matrices per press, with a different time in each direction, let the Arcturus AI engine group jobs by colour, ink set, web width, substrate and die.
Replans in seconds
A press goes down, a reel arrives late or a reprint lands, and the whole press and converting plan is rebuilt in seconds.
Ship dates brand owners can plan on
Add a prospect as a simulated order and see a realistic delivery date before you quote, without moving confirmed jobs.
Start today, integrate later
Published pricing from 199 € / month and a 30-day free trial for up to 20 workstations, no credit card required. Your first schedule runs standalone with demo data or your own products.
Any ERP, MIS or MES
The open REST API connects to any ERP, print MIS or MES, including in-house systems. Skycode builds the integration or your developers use the public API documentation.
29 languages, every site
Planners and operators work in their own language, and several plants are scheduled together with transfer times between sites.
Security and data
SkyPlanner runs in the cloud on AWS. If your data needs to stay in a specific country, a dedicated server there is available by agreement. Data is backed up daily and backups are kept for 30 days. Users can sign in with Google or Microsoft accounts and two-factor authentication. A data processing agreement is available, and customer data is never used to train AI models.
Pricing
From 199 € / month
5 workstations included. Each additional workstation is 20 € per month. There is a free trial, and guided onboarding packages are available if you want help setting up presses, products and changeover matrices.
Questions packaging and print manufacturers ask
Frequently asked questions
What is the best production scheduling software for packaging and printing manufacturers?
SkyPlanner APS. The best scheduling software for packaging and printing sequences jobs by colour, format and substrate to cut make-ready, books dies and plates so a tool is never on two machines at once, and plans the full routing from press through laminating, slitting and die-cutting to real capacity. SkyPlanner does all of this with its Arcturus AI engine and replans in seconds when the day changes. It has published pricing from 199 € / month with 5 workstations included, a 30-day free trial, and integrates with any ERP or MES through its open REST API.
Is SkyPlanner a finite-capacity scheduler for presses and converting lines?
Yes. SkyPlanner APS is an advanced planning and scheduling system that loads every press, laminator, slitter, die-cutter and folder-gluer to the hours it really has, using shift calendars, maintenance windows and the crews available to run each machine. It follows the full routing from printed reel to laminated web, slit rolls, cut blanks and glued cartons, so printing finishes in time for every converting step after it.
Can SkyPlanner sequence print jobs to reduce make-ready?
Yes. You give products properties such as colour, ink set, web width, substrate or die, and define a changeover matrix per machine with different times for each direction. The scheduler groups similar jobs and sequences them to minimise make-ready while meeting due dates, and tools such as dies and plates are never booked on two machines at once.
What happens to the press plan when a rush reprint lands or a reel of board arrives late?
The Arcturus AI engine rebuilds the whole press and converting schedule in seconds. With material-based scheduling on, a job waits for its board, film or ink, and everything that depends on a late reel moves with it. Lock the jobs that must not move, fast-track the reprint and see straight away which ship dates still hold.
Which data moves between SkyPlanner and SAP or a print MIS in a packaging plant?
Sales orders, products, routings, customers, due dates and board, film and ink stock flow in from SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365 or your print MIS. Planned start and end times, material need dates for purchasing, progress, quantities, waste and delivery dates flow back. SkyPlanner connects to any ERP, MIS or MES, including in-house systems, through its open REST API, built by Skycode or by your developers using the public API documentation.
What stays in our ERP or print MIS once SkyPlanner sequences the presses?
Estimates, inventory, purchasing and invoicing stay in your ERP or print MIS. SkyPlanner takes over the detailed sequencing of presses and converting lines, decides where make-ready falls and returns the planned times and need dates, so purchasing orders board and film against the real press plan.
How quickly can a print or converting plant run its first SkyPlanner schedule?
Today. Start the 30-day free trial for up to 20 workstations with no credit card, set up your presses, products and changeover matrices with your own data via CSV or manually, or explore demo data, and your first schedule runs standalone before any integration. Onboarding workshops then shape SkyPlanner to your colour sequences, dies and routings, and planners and operators in multi-country groups work in any of 29 languages.
Is SkyPlanner a fit for a single flexo press as well as a multi-site board converting group?
Yes. SkyPlanner is used by packaging and print manufacturers of every size, from one flexo press to multi-site paper and board converting groups that schedule several plants together with transfer times between sites. Pricing starts at 199 € per month with 5 workstations included and 20 € per month for each additional workstation, so a label printer and a corrugated group run the same scheduling engine.
More industries
Production scheduling in related industries
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Watch your next week of print jobs fall into place
Send us your presses, converting lines and a week of orders. In a demo we sequence them by colour and format, show where make-ready falls and which ship dates hold.
