Overview

This article walks through Offset Press and Plate setup in Printer’s Plan. You’ll see two common press‑setup approaches, learn how Plate Services drive setup time and waste, and review tables that keep costs accurate.

Figure 1 – An item with a 4‑Color Offset Press highlighted.

• How It Works
• Press Setup Approaches
• General Properties
• Pricing Properties
• Setup Table
• Run Table
• Difficulty Table
• Notes & Tips

How It Works

Offset Services are time‑cost based and can optionally take into consideration each Paper Service’s setup time (per plate), impressions‑per‑hour, and variable waste calculation. Additionally, each Offset Press has access to a Difficulty Table where the press can be further enhanced based on paper assignment, job parameters, or run quantity.

Each press is a Service whose Quantity is locked to Impressions. Every impression multiplies labor cost and influences paper waste. Each Offset Press requires an external Plate Service in order to calculate plate production costs.

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Press Setup Approaches

There are two ways to configure an Offset Press in Printer’s Plan:

Press A – One‑Speed / One‑Setup

• Time…: Use Setup and Run Tables (Ignore Paper Properties)
• Setup and run speed never change for different papers.

Figure 2 – 4‑Color Offset Press with a Press A configuration and arrow on the Units/Hour field.

Press B – Paper‑Sensitive

• Time…: Use Paper Properties and Setup Table
• Setup Time / Plate and Run Speed come from the Paper; the press’s Setup Table still fills Wash & Mix times.

Figure  3 – Press B configuration; Units/Hour is ignored.

Figure  4  –  Paper Service with Time fields used by Press B highlighted.

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General Properties

Figure 5 - General Properties for an Offset Press

• Service Name: The name of the Offset Press.
• Sales Dept: The assigned accounting sales department. 
• Colors/Side: Click the arrow and select the number of colors this press can print
  in one pass.

Figure 5 - The Colors/Side drop-down menu on the Service Setup window for the Offset Press. 

• Default Plate: This dropdown list contains the plates that have been set up in Printer’s Plan. Select a default plate for this press. When this press is used in an Item, Printer’s Plan will automatically assign the default plate to the Item as you save the Item. You can override the default plate in an Item by manually selecting the plate of your choice.

Figure 6 - The Plate selection drop-down menu on an Offset Press Service Setup window.

Pricing Properties

Quantity: This field is locked and no other selection is allowed. Printer’s Plan will always use the number of Impressions to calculate the cost of a press in an Item.

Units/Hour: Budgeted run speed in impressions per hour which is used only when the press is set to Use Setup and Run Tables.

Waste…:

• Option 1: Select a Waste Table row to assign default paper waste
  properties to this press.
• Option 2: Select “Use Paper’s Waste Properties” if this press incurs
  paper waste in different amounts for different papers.
• Option 3: “Use following Waste Properties” is normally not used
  with offset presses.

Figure 7 - The Waste drop-down menu on an Offset Press Service Setup window.

Time…: Determines whether the press uses its own Run Table (Press A) or the Paper’s speed (Press B).

Figure 8 - The Time drop-down menu on a Service Setup window for an Offset Press Service. 

• Cost: In the Cost field, the typical selection for an offset press is “Time Cost only” since a press service is a labor-intensive one.
•  Cost/Hour: Enter the budgeted hourly rate (also called as “hourly burden rate” or “hourly rate”) for this press.

Figure 9 - The Cost selection and the Cost / Hour on the Offset Press Service Setup window. 

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Setup Table

Figure 10 - The Setup Table of the Service Setup Window for an Offset Press. 

Time for various types of setup required by the press is assigned in the Setup Table. The total setup time will equal the sum of the times contributed by all setup types. Be sure to enter the time in minutes.

• Lot (1): Some presses may require an initial setup for each job in addition to the setup per plate. Enter in this field the estimated initial setup time.
• Plate: Enter the estimated setup time for each plate. This number will be multiplied by the number of plates used in the Item.
• Wash: Enter the time it takes to wash the press for each color ink. This number will be multiplied by the quantity assigned to the Wash field of the “Press specs” window in an Item.
• Mix: If mixing PMS ink is done by the press operator (and therefore a function of press time), enter the approximate time spent in mixing one PMS ink. This number will be multiplied by the number assigned to the Mix field of the “Press specs” window in an Item.

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Run Table

Enter the press speed (impressions per hour) in the Run Table in the Units/Hour column (When using Type A configuration.). If the press is set to Use Paper Properties, the Run Table is ignored.

Figure 11 - The Run Table of an Offset Press Service in Type B configuration.

• QtyBreak: Represents the upper limit of impression breakpoint where the next row’s speed begins.
• Between QtyBreaks, use: Linear Method (interpolates), Step Method(uses next row speed), or Sum (Cumulative).

Figure 12 - The Offset Press Service Setup window demonstrating the options within the drop-down labeled Between QtyBreaks, use.

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Difficulty Table

Use the Difficulty Table to adjust the press setup time, run speed, and paper waste for job difficulties, such as run size and ink coverage, and for various types of paper.

Figure 13 - The Offset Press Service Setup window with the Difficulty Table highlighted. 

Use Difficulty rows to adjust Setup Time / Plate, Run Speed, and Waste for:

• High ink coverage
• Registration/bleeds
• Very small or very large run sizes
• Coated vs uncoated stocks

Notes & Tips

• Create duplicate press records for envelope or perfector work that needs distinct speeds.
• Update the Modified date whenever Cost/Hour or speed changes.
• Hidden press or plate Services won’t appear in Specs lists but stay available for history jobs.

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Key Points

• Offset Services can assign default Plate Services
• Two Press Configurations: One calculates fixed time, while the other uses Paper Material production information to inform press time
• Uses Paper Waste for more accuracy per paper material used
• Additional Setup table time contributions based on Lot, Washes, Mixes, and Plates
• Time Cost Only Costs Model
• Cost + Markup Price Model

Demonstration

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