Many emails since my last newsletter! Thanks for your emails and calls and yes,

many on site visits as well. It seems many experienced PrintSmith users want me out to visit them so they can implement the new features and also to learn more about using all of PrintSmith's potential. I am also getting latest of "first" time visits to help the new users set up and use PrintSmith properly. To everyone, Thank you!!

 

In this issue, I will talk about costing and how it relates to scheduler and using scheduler can help your work flow. Please continue to email/phone me with any questions at all. !

 

Please be careful before installing 8.1.8. PLEASE make a complete backup prior to installing this and any PrintSmith upgrade! 8.1.8 is the latest version as of today (4/26/10).

 

Please send me your feedback, I want to make this newsletter interesting and informative!

 

Sincerely,

 

David Ashkenaz

Independent PrintSmith Consultant

954-977-7811

 

Costing in PrintSmith has 3 distinct functions. It is also a big part of my onsite visits as it can be very time consuming to set up.

 

The first function is to determine what your "actual" costs are in a job. This is vital when quoting and this is crucial to be as close to 100% of your "actual" cost so that you can be accurate in producing "winning" quotes. No sense in making low/unprofitable quotes to get work in!

 

One common mistake in setting up costing is the lack of your "actual" cost. I have seen some users put in costs for a function and forget to put in the labor rate. In the following example, I have seen some users just put in $3.75 for the cost of plates and forget to put in the $45.00 per hour rate and the fact that 10 plates can be produced in an hour. The $8.25 cost is very different than just the $3.75 cost.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2nd function of costing has to do with TRACKER. Tracker captures the "estimated" cost and compares it to the "actual" cost of the job. So in the plate situation, if you need 5 plates for a job, the "estimated" cost would be $41.25, now if 2 plates were ruined and tracker was activated and used correctly, you would see the "actual" cost was really $57.75. (Tracker was discussed in a previous issue, and I will discuss it again in an upcoming issue).

 

The 3rd function of costing has to do with Scheduler. In the above plate charge, we have the number of plates that can be produced in an hour at 10. Thus if we were doing a 4/4 job with 10 signatures, we would need 8 hours to make the plates. Scheduler would then set aside 8 hours on the scheduling board.

 

Remember, if the 10 plates per hour is incorrect, then your costs are wrong and your scheduled time would be wrong as well.

 

Scheduler is a very powerful tool within PrintSmith. If set up correctly, everyone in your operation can see what is scheduled for today/tomorrow and next week. In the above example, one would see that 8 hours of plate making is needed to complete the job. In most cases, we would schedule the plates for today and then start printing either this afternoon or tomorrow.

 

Scheduler will schedule each and every function in the job. When setting it up, you determine what to schedule. For example, ink would not be schedule and neither would be proofs, however, shrink wrapping would!

 

When set up and used correctly, it is a great feature. No more missed deadlines or late jobs! PrintSmith tells everyone how long EACH function in the job will take.

 

This diagram shows you a blank scheduling board. When the jobs are created AND scheduled this board will fill up for all in the operation to see. It can even be put in order of the jobs to be produced and can be detected once the job is complete. Scheduler, a valuable asset to PrintSmith!

 ==================================================================================================

 

My visit can include setting up Costing, Scheduler and Tracker. Having set these all up before, and with my many years of printing experience (as a PrintSmith Consultant and a previous print shop owner), I can save you time by setting up these functions and also by training you and your staff.

 

Depending on the size and scope of your operation, my visit usually runs 1-3 days. Also more time if you need me to look over and update your entire PrintSmith.

 

The cost is a small price to pay in order to use all of PrintSmith's functions. Start using all of PrintSmith's many great features!