Setting up for Digital

Overview

This topic describes how to update your digital presses and change their status. Unlike offset, where taking a four-color press off line won't prevent you from quoting four-color printing, in the digital world that pretty much sinks the ship. No four-color digital press, no four-color digital printing.

Taking a one-color digital press off line is more forgiving. You can still use your four-color digital press to print a one-color image on the back of the sheet.

Changing the Status

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1.	Click the My Shop button, then click the Presses button.

2.	Click the Delete button in the Press Selection window to take the highlighted press off line. Clicking the same button when a check-mark is showing will reinstate the press. A press that's off-line will have a red bullet in front of it.

Updating the Press

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1.	Click the My Shop button, then click Presses.

2.	Double-click the press you want to update.

3.	Enter the Hourly Rate, front and back.

The price in the upper black panel updates as you type. This speeds up finding the right hourly rate. To view different quantities, click the up arrow. To change those quantities (they're the same as your personal preference for quotes), go to My World > My Preferences.

4.	Click the Sheetsize buttons to set minimum and maximum sheet sizes.

5.	Enter Start-up Waste, Makeready minutes, and Press Speed in impressions per hour. The defaults are:

Digital Press	Start-up Waste	Makeready	Speed
1-Color	2 Sheets	3 Minutes	6,000 IPH
4-Color	2 Sheets	5 Minutes	2,000 IPH

Digital presses generally run at a fixed IPH, specified by the manufacturer. That's the speed you want to enter as IPH Normal for 8.5x11 (A4). The program automatically reduces that speed for larger sheet sizes. If the press slows down for coated or heavier weight paper or envelopes, you still have the option of changing from Normal to a slower IPH when you make the quote. Simply enter the product as a Custom Product (Ctrl-F2), then click Properties and adjust the slider.

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Enter Consumables at 30% ink coverage, and/or Click Charges, all for 1,000 sheets 8-1/2x11 (or A4), printed one side. If click charges apply, enter how much extra you charge for sheets larger than 8-1/2x11 or A4. That generally depends on what the vendor charges you. If your click charges double for an 11x17 or A3 sheet, enter 100% in Click > 8-1/2x11 (the > sign meaning greater than).

Consumables, click charges, and all other amounts in the light gray panel are prices, not costs. They're what you charge your customers, not what the vendor charges you.

7.	If the press is equipped for variable data printing, check the box and enter Variable Data Setup charges. Then enter, as a percentage of the run charge, your Extra Charge for 100% variable data. At 100% VarData, every sheet is different.

Press Update Window

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Here we're charging $10.00 for setup, plus $12.51 (25% of the run charge, give or take a penny) for a total of $22.51. Note the variable data slider set to 100%.

Variable Data Results

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