Overview

Printer’s Plan supports three common graphic‑design service configurations: Design by Hour, Imposition Services, and Design per Original. Each approach tracks time, cost, and price differently, so choosing the right setup is critical for accurate estimating and production reporting.

Info: All design services live in the Graphic Design sales department by default, but you can clone them into specialty departments (e.g., Wide‑Format Design) if you need separate financial tracking.

How It Works
Setup Workflow
Key Points

How It Works

The table below summarizes when to use each configuration, followed by a deeper dive into field settings.

Table 1: Graphic‑Design Service Types
Service Type	Best For	Primary Driver	Typical Prompt
Design by Hour	Open‑ended conception or revisions	Hours	“Enter design hours”
Imposition Service	Pre‑press layout, nesting, ganging	Setup Price	“Enter run price”
Design per Original	Page‑ or art‑per‑piece pricing	Item Quantity	“Enter cost per each”

Design by Hour

Quantity: Set to No Quantity so only the service line appears.
Cost: Use Time Cost Only; enter your shop’s hourly rate in Cost / Hour (e.g., $52.00).
Run Table: Leave Units/Hour blank so the CSR is prompted to enter hours when quoting.

Important: Enter 0 in Setup Minutes to avoid double‑counting time; all labor should come from the run prompt.

Imposition Service

Cost: Choose Time Cost Only but leave Cost / Hour blank to record labor later if needed.
Price: Select Use Price Column of Setup & Run Table to drive pricing from prompts.
Setup Table: Enter a base Setup Price (e.g., $20.00).
Run Table: Keep blank so the CSR can enter the run price on the quote prompt.
Mat. Costs & Run Prices Are: Set to Total for flat pricing.

When you add the Imposition Service to a quote or order, Printer’s Plan prompts the CSR for additional input:

The How Long? prompt asks for hours and minutes (format HR:MN) when time needs to be tracked.
The Total Time Cost prompt appears when you prefer to enter a flat dollar amount for labor.

Prompt examples for Imposition Service — Figure 3 – Example CSR prompts for Imposition Service.

Design per Original

Quantity: Use Item Quantity so service quantity mirrors item quantity.
Price: Again choose Use Price Column of Setup & Run Table for granular breaks.
Setup Table: Add material cost and setup price for page counts or art pieces.
Run Table: Leave cost/price blank to be prompted during quoting.
Mat. Costs & Run Prices Are: Select Per Each for per‑unit outputs.

When using this service, a prompt will appear asking for the cost per each original.

Setup Workflow

Use this checklist when creating a new graphic‑design service:

Clone an existing template (Design by Hour, Imposition, or Design per Original).
Rename the service and assign the correct Sales Dept..
Verify Quantity, Cost, and Price fields match the intended configuration.
Define Setup or Run table breaks—or leave blank for CSR prompts.
Save, add the service to a test quote, and confirm prompts / pricing.

Key Points

Pick the configuration that mirrors how you actually charge for design work.
No Quantity hides unnecessary columns on quotes and orders.
Leaving run‑table fields blank forces CSR prompts—useful for variable labor.
Choose Per Each vs. Total wisely to avoid pricing surprises.
Always test with sample orders before releasing a service to production.