AI Estimator

See why printers choose GelatoConnect over Tharstern.

Quote any print job in 15 seconds. Win it before your competitors finish typing.

The AI quoting engine behind BSG's 2× win rate and £750K tender win, ESP Colour's 200+ quotes a day, and Hudson Printing's 24/7 self-serve store. Runs alongside Tharstern from day one. Try it free for 14 days.

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→15-second AI quotes →2× win rate at BSG (£750K tender won) →200+ quotes/day at ESP Colour
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Win the work

The print industry's only AI estimator with a proven win-rate uplift.

Speed is table stakes. Win rate is the unclaimed prize. 50% of B2B deals go to the first vendor to respond. Leads reached within an hour are 7× more likely to convert. GelatoConnect Estimator turns that into a measurable outcome.

BSG team using GelatoConnect Estimator

Customer story · BSG

2×

win rate increase at BSG, securing a £750K contract by responding first.

"It just completely wowed me. I thought, wow, we can now use the 35 years of my experience. It's all now in a software package that I can give to all my salespeople, all my customer service representatives, so they can all give a price, and I know it will be accurate."

BSG Group

Tender size

£750,000

Single contract won by BSG by being first to respond with a credible number.

Margin growth

+11%

Margin growth at BSG since deployment, alongside the higher win rate.

Industry data

7×

Higher conversion when a lead is reached within one hour (HBR).

The full Connect platform

One platform. Every part of your operation.

Tharstern is a legacy print MIS in the ePS portfolio — one of 17+ products. GelatoConnect is the full production stack — Estimator, the workflow engine, Apparel, and Store Link, all from one vendor on one roadmap. Start with the bit that hurts most today and roll in the rest on your timeline.

GelatoConnect Estimator

GelatoConnect

Estimator

Generate precise, margin-aware estimates in 15 seconds and deliver branded, customer-ready quotes in under 5 minutes.

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GelatoConnect

GelatoConnect

 

One platform that handles what your team is doing manually today - from the moment a job comes in to the moment it ships.

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GelatoConnect Apparel

GelatoConnect

Apparel

Powers high-volume DTG, DTF, and embroidery with one intelligent platform. Connects orders, blanks, artwork, production, and fulfilment.

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GelatoConnect Store Link

GelatoConnect

Store Link

Connect your customers directly to your production floor. White-label ecommerce storefronts and B2B ordering portals — with every order flowing straight into GelatoConnect.

Why commercial printers switch from Tharstern to GelatoConnect.

Printers running Tharstern today are weighing three questions before committing to another decade on the same stack. Here's how GelatoConnect Estimator answers them.

01

Quote 100× faster than your sales team can.

15-second quotes with under 0.35% error, generated by AI trained on real print production. BSG used this engine to double their win rate and close a £750K tender by being first to respondG3. Tharstern is a legacy MIS — accuracy via configured rules, not AI.

02

One platform. One vendor. One number to call.

Estimator, workflow, Apparel and Store Link in one Gelato platform. Tharstern is one product in a 17-product ePS portfolioS1 — separate licences, separate integrations, separate support queues.

03

Tharstern is mid-merger. Your roadmap will change.

In October 2025, Print ePS announced it's becoming "the Graphic Communications business unit of CAI"M. Your account team, contract terms and product roadmap are all in flight. GelatoConnect: one company, built by Gelato since 2007.

Side-by-side: GelatoConnect vs. Tharstern

Every claim about Tharstern below is sourced from Tharstern's own published material. Every claim about GelatoConnect is sourced from gelato.com. Sources at the end of the page.

Capability ★ GelatoConnect Tharstern
What you're licensing ✓Single vendor, single roadmap, built and operated by Gelato One of 17+ products in the ePS portfolio (Pace, PrintSmith Vision, Tharstern, Monarch, Technique, Avanti, EPMS and more)S1
How quotes get priced ✓15-second AI quotes, <0.35% error rate, trained on real production dataG2 Legacy print MIS estimating via configured rules and templates. No AI-native quoting engine. ePS markets "AI-Enhanced Workflows" generallyS1
Published customer outcomes ✓2× win rate, £750K tender won, +11% margin at BSGG3; 200+ estimates/day at ESP Colour on the same headcount as at 20G2 No Tharstern-specific customer outcomes published on printepssw.comS1
Procurement automation ✓Native module — supplier replenishment, real-time inventory, >40% material overhead reductionG1 Not a primary capability of Tharstern in the ePS portfolioS1
Shop-floor traceability ✓QR-driven traceability with under 0.35% production error rateG1 ePS sells PrintFlow 4D and Auto-Count 4D as separate scheduling/data productsS1
Logistics & carriers ✓~100 carriers natively integrated (Amazon Shipping, FedEx Intl, DHL Parcel Connect)G1 "Process Shipper" sold as a separate ePS productS1
Apparel + Web-to-Print ✓Apparel (DTG/DTF/embroidery) and Store Link (B2B + e-commerce W2P) included in the same suiteG4 MarketDirect StoreFront / Fulfillment / Cross Media sold as separate ePS productsS1
Who's in charge in 2 years ✓Gelato. One company, one roadmap, since 2007. CAI Graphic Communications business unit, mid-merger as of October 2025; ePS Packaging spinning out separatelyM
How you try it ✓14-day free trial, configured with your machines and pricing — no credit card No published trial; pricing not disclosed on printepssw.com (May 2026)

See AI quoting on your own jobs.

Two ways to try GelatoConnect Estimator without leaving Tharstern. Start the 14-day free trial yourself, or book 30 minutes with a Gelato production specialist.

Start free trial Book a demo
How printers adopt GelatoConnect

Start with Estimator. Expand when you're ready.

Most printers start with the bit that hurts most: quoting. GelatoConnect Estimator runs alongside your Tharstern setup from day one — no rip-and-replace required. When you're ready, the same platform extends into procurement, workflow and logistics. You decide the pace.

  • ✓Drop AI Estimator in next to Tharstern. Start quoting in 15 seconds without changing your MIS.
  • ✓Roll Procurement, Workflow and Logistics in later, on your timeline — not on ePS's roadmap.
  • ✓Beat your Tharstern quoting cycle by 95% — 15-second AI quotes vs the half-day cycle most printers run today.
  • ✓Connect to ~100 carriers natively when you're ready — no separate shipping product to integrate.

GelatoConnect vs. Tharstern: frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to Tharstern for print MIS?+

GelatoConnect Estimator. Tharstern is a legacy MIS now inside the ePS portfolioS1, with Print ePS mid-merger with CAI Software since October 2025M. GelatoConnect Estimator is AI quoting that runs alongside Tharstern from day one — 15-second quotes, 14-day free trial, no rip-and-replace.

Is Tharstern still an independent company?+

No. The tharstern.com domain redirects to printepssw.com, the ePS portfolio site, where Tharstern is listed alongside Pace, PrintSmith Vision, Monarch, Avanti, Technique and moreS1. In October 2025, CAI Software and Print ePS announced a merger of equals to form CAI's Graphic Communications business unitM.

How does GelatoConnect AI Estimator differ from Tharstern's MIS?+

Speed and accuracy. GelatoConnect Estimator returns a complete, branded quote in 15 seconds with under 0.35% errorG2. Tharstern relies on configured rules and templates that your senior estimator maintains. BSG doubled their win rate after switching to AI quotingG3 — because they responded first with a credible number.

What changed for Tharstern after the ePS-CAI merger?+

Per the October 2025 announcement on printepssw.com, Print ePS will become "the Graphic Communications business unit of CAI" with "a combined workforce of over 800 employees and offices across North America, Europe, and Asia." STG, the lead investor in CAI and ePS, will continue investment in the combined businessM.

What is GelatoConnect priced at compared to Tharstern?+

GelatoConnect Estimator includes a 14-day free trial — configured with your machines, substrates and pricing — with no credit card required. Beyond the trial, GelatoConnect is priced per producer. Tharstern pricing is not published on printepssw.com as of May 2026.

Can I migrate from Tharstern to GelatoConnect?+

Yes. GelatoConnect Estimator is built to run alongside any existing MIS, including Tharstern. Once Estimator is generating value, the broader GelatoConnect platform (procurement, workflow, Apparel, Store Link) can be rolled in on your timeline. No rip-and-replace required to start.

Two ways to try it

See AI quoting on your own jobs.

Start the 14-day free trial yourself — configured with your machines, substrates and pricing. Or book 30 minutes with a Gelato production specialist to walk through your real jobs first.

Start free trial Book a demo

Sources

  1. printepssw.com homepage and Tharstern listing — accessed May 2026 — "AI-Powered, Intelligent, and Scalable Print Management Software Solutions", "4500+ Customers globally", and the 17-product portfolio. [S1]
  2. ePS-CAI merger press release — October 8, 2025 — "combined in a merger of equals", "Print ePS will become the Graphic Communications business unit of CAI". [M]
  3. tharstern.com redirect — verified May 2026 — domain returns 301 redirect to https://printepssw.com.
  4. gelato.com/connect/estimator. [G1, G2]
  5. BSG case study on gelato.com. [G3]
  6. gelato.com/connect/why. [G4]

All third-party trademarks (Tharstern and any others referenced) belong to their respective owners and are referenced for factual comparison only. Information was retrieved from public sources in May 2026 and may have changed since.