Shuttleworth MIS - What Happened to It and What Print Businesses Use Instead
Shuttleworth Business Systems was a UK-developed Print MIS with a loyal following among commercial, packaging, and label printers. It was built over decades as a highly configurable, print-specific system and ran on-premise on Progress OpenEdge architecture. In November 2015, Shuttleworth was acquired by EFI. In January 2022, EFI sold its entire productivity software division - including Shuttleworth - to Symphony Technology Group, where it was absorbed into the eProductivity Software (ePS) brand. Shuttleworth no longer exists as a standalone product. There are no new releases, no active marketing, and no dedicated roadmap. Some businesses are still running very old versions with third-party consultant support. If you are one of them, this page covers what Printlogic offers as a modern replacement.
What happened to Shuttleworth
- 2015:
- EFI acquires Shuttleworth Business Systems. EFI states its intention to support existing customers and integrate Shuttleworth into its productivity software portfolio.
- 2015–2021:
- Development of Shuttleworth as a standalone product slows. Customers face uncertainty about the long-term roadmap. Migration to other EFI products is quietly encouraged.
- January 2022:
- EFI sells its entire productivity software and MIS division to Symphony Technology Group. The division is rebranded as eProductivity Software (ePS). Shuttleworth's identity is fully absorbed. The product is no longer marketed, developed, or sold under the Shuttleworth name.
- 2022–present:
- No new releases. No active support outside of legacy contracts. Third-party consultants (including specialist migration firms) provide support for businesses still running old versions. The shuttleworth-uk.co.uk domain no longer exists.
What Shuttleworth users typically need from a replacement
Businesses migrating off Shuttleworth are typically looking for:
- A system that covers the same core workflows: estimating, job tracking, stock, purchasing, invoicing
- Cloud access - Shuttleworth was on-premise Windows; most businesses now need browser-based access
- A modern interface - Shuttleworth's UI was functional but slow and cumbersome by current standards
- A stable ownership situation - the EFI acquisition is precisely the scenario these businesses want to avoid repeating
- Data migration support - years of job history, customer records, and pricing data need to carry over
Printlogic covers all of these.
| Feature | Printlogic | Shuttleworth (historical) |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud-native, browser-based | ✓ | ✗ - on-premise Windows install |
| Monthly subscription, no contract | ✓ | Annual licence + upfront costs |
| Free onboarding and training | ✓ | ✗ |
| Active development and updates | ✓ | ✗ - product is discontinued |
| Print estimating and quoting | ✓ | ✓ (was strong) |
| Job tracking and production | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web2Print portal | ✓ | ✗ |
| Mobile access | ✓ | ✗ |
| Data import from legacy systems | ✓ | N/A |
| Independently owned | ✓ | ✗ - absorbed by ePS |
Switching from Shuttleworth (historical)? We import your data.
Migrating your order history, customer records, and job data to Printlogic is included as part of onboarding. You don't start from scratch. Your existing data - however long you've been running your current system - comes with you.
The Bottom Line
Shuttleworth was a capable system for its era. The problem is not what it was - it is what it became: a discontinued product inside a private equity-owned software group, with no new development and no long-term future. Businesses still running Shuttleworth versions from 2013 or earlier are operating on unsupported architecture with no clear upgrade path. Printlogic was built in 2001 as a cloud-native print MIS - the same year Shuttleworth was still a thriving independent product. It has been independently owned and actively developed ever since. It covers estimating, job tracking, production scheduling, Web2Print, invoicing, and integrations with Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, and MYOB. If you are migrating off Shuttleworth, Printlogic handles the data import and the onboarding is included in the subscription cost. No upfront fees, no implementation bill, no long-term contract.
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