Know exactly what happens
on your press floor
Real-time data collection for flexo and packaging presses. Track time, footage, materials, and color without changing how your operators work.
The operator HMI: live speed, goal tracking, and job management right at the press
Three modes to meet you where you're at.
Start simple and add capabilities as your team is ready, or go all-in from day one.
Auto Mode
Install the sensor and walk away. The system detects press movement automatically and categorizes time into setup, running, and idle. No tablet, no operator input required.
- Automatic setup/run/idle detection
- Real-time footage tracking
- No tablet needed
- No operator training
Manual Mode
Add a tablet at the press. Operators enter a job number, manage materials, and control job state with full material traceability, color matching, and shift notes.
- Everything in Auto, plus:
- Operator-controlled job start/stop
- Material scanning & traceability
- Color matching & shift notes
Ticket Mode
Scan Botson tickets to pull in full job specs including tool number, substrate, colors, and dimensions. Operators see exactly what they need at the press, and every metric ties back to the ticket.
- Everything in Manual, plus:
- Scan ticket barcode/QR for instant job specs
- Job details displayed at the press
- Goal bars from ticket estimates
The press floor is a black box...until now.
You know production could be better. But without real data, every decision is a guess.
"Where does the time go?"
Setup times vary wildly between operators and shifts. Downtime goes unrecorded. You're estimating jobs based on gut feel instead of real data, and it's costing you.
"Which material was on that job?"
A customer calls about a defect from last week. Which roll of substrate was running? Without traceability, you're digging through handwritten logs, if they even exist.
"What happened last shift?"
Shift changes are a black hole. Critical context gets lost between crews. Problems repeat because no one documented what went wrong or what was working.
"Is the color even close?"
Color consistency depends on the operator's eye and the lighting on the floor. Without objective measurement at the press, you don't know until the customer tells you.
Every answer, in real time
Botson Data Collection turns your press floor into a source of truth, automatically.
Automatic Time & Footage Tracking
A small sensor on your press measures footage in real time. Combined with the operator's tablet, every second is categorized as setup, running, or downtime with zero manual entry.
- Setup, run, and downtime tracked to the second
- Live footage counter with goal bars on the HMI
- Per-ticket history with complete time breakdown
- No operator data entry, it just works
Material Traceability Without Vendor Integrations
Operators photograph the roll tag and all barcodes are automatically detected. Select the roll ID and the material is linked to the job with the full tag image stored for reference. No vendor system integration required.
- Photo capture of full roll tag for visual reference
- Multi-scale barcode detection finds every code on the tag
- Materials linked to jobs with footage-at-scan tracking
- Full history in the activity log with tag photo, all codes, and timestamps
Color Matching at the Press
Capture color directly at the press using the tablet camera. Compare against targets and previous runs to catch drift before it becomes waste. Objective, measurable, and documented on every job.
- Camera-based color capture right at the press
- Compare against target colors and past runs
- Color checks linked to jobs for audit trail
- No spectrophotometer required to get started
Voice-to-Text Shift Notes
Operators speak notes directly into the HMI. No typing required with dirty hands or gloves on. Notes are transcribed instantly, linked to the press, and flagged for the incoming shift. No more lost context between crews.
- Voice recording with instant transcription
- Notes linked to press and visible to next shift
- Unread notifications alert incoming operators
- Full history searchable by press and date
Every job, fully documented
The activity log captures everything: time, footage, materials, and color checks, all linked to the ticket. Click any row to see the full story.
See where to improve. Know who to praise.
AI analyzes your production data by press or operator and surfaces the patterns you'd miss in a spreadsheet. Automatically, in real time.
Setup times on MAHD 17" dropped 22% this week
Average setup went from 14:30 to 11:18 across 12 jobs. The improvement correlates with Jack Burke's shift — his setups averaged 9:45, pulling the overall average down. Consider having him document his approach for the team.
CI 24" had 47 minutes of unplanned downtime on Tuesday
Three separate stoppages during ticket #11336, all between 11 AM and 1 PM. This is 3x higher than the weekly average for this press. No shift notes were recorded. Consider following up with the crew.
Overall press utilization is up 8% month-over-month
Running time as a percentage of total time improved from 64% to 72% across all presses. The biggest contributor is reduced setup times on repeat jobs. Operators are getting faster with familiar tooling.
Compare setup times across operators, jobs, and shifts
Track press utilization and downtime patterns
AI surfaces what's improving and what needs attention
Simple, transparent pricing
No hidden fees. No per-user charges. Just hardware and software.
Botson Data Collect device with sensor and a dedicated, rugged Android tablet, pre-configured and ready to mount. Ships with everything you need.
Starter
1–3 presses
- All 3 collection modes
- Material traceability
- Color matching
- Shift notes
- Activity log & reports
Shop
4–6 presses
- Everything in Starter
- AI-powered insights
- Operator performance reports
- Priority support
Enterprise
7–12 presses
- Everything in Shop
- Custom integrations
- Dedicated onboarding
- 13+ presses? Contact us
Up and running in a day
Install the sensor
A small Botson Data Collect device with a sensor mounts to your press and tracks footage and time automatically. No wiring changes, no PLC integration.
Operators use the tablet
A mounted tablet runs the HMI where operators scan tickets, manage materials, and see live speed and goals. The interface is built for gloved hands and shop floor lighting.
You get the insights
Reports, activity logs, and AI insights are available in your Botson portal, accessible from anywhere. See what's happening now and what happened last week.
Built for flexo & packaging
Botson Data Collection was designed by people who've run print shops, not by software companies guessing what the floor needs. Every feature exists because we've lived the problem.
Stop guessing. Start measuring.
See what real-time press floor data can do for your operation.
Schedule a Demo