In this guide 6 sections
A print job record is one entry that follows an order from estimate to invoice. It holds the quote lines, artwork and proof status, stock, press and finishing steps, outside suppliers, delivery proof and actual times. Every department reads the same entry. Nobody retypes the job, and nobody chases a colleague for details.
Start with the facts that never change
Once a customer says yes, the job number, customer, purchase order reference, title and quoted quantity belong on the job for good, and nobody should retype them. Add finished size, extent and colours per side.
Add the promised date and address. Many shops note whether the customer expects a press check, a wet proof or a sample copy before the run starts. That field settles arguments later.
Keep this header short. Everything else hangs off it. Every screen shows it at the top.
- Job number and customer purchase order
- Finished size, extent and colours each side
- Quoted quantity with the agreed over and under tolerance
- Promised date and delivery address
- Proof type the customer expects
Keep the estimate lines attached to the job
The estimate is the job’s first version. Each line carries across into the record: prepress, plates, paper, press time, varnish, folding and packing, plus the estimator’s assumptions about sheet size, imposition and ups per sheet. It never belongs in a separate spreadsheet.
Now the floor can see what was priced. Say the quote assumed a four-up layout, the planner moves to two-up on a smaller press, and the note against the line explains the cost gap.
Quote revisions need numbers too. Keep versions one, two and three in the history, mark the one the customer accepted, and never overwrite a quote that has already gone out.
Track artwork, proof and plate status as fields
Artwork is where jobs stall. Give it its own block that logs the file name and version received, the preflight result, any fixes prepress made, and the proof sent with approver and date.
For offset work, add the plate set and the time it was burned; for digital work, record the file released to the RIP. A colour reference such as a Pantone number or a printed drawdown belongs here as well, because spot inks cause more remakes than any other single item.
A dated proof beats an email thread. Every time.
- Artwork file name and version received
- Preflight result and fixes made
- Proof sent, approver and date
- Plates made or file released to the digital press
- Colour reference for spot inks
Break stock, press and finishing into routed steps
Stock needs a grade, a weight in gsm, a sheet size, the quantity issued from the store and a waste allowance. Press needs the machine, make-ready start and end, run start and end, and the count of good and spoiled sheets.
Finishing is a list of rows. Cutting, folding, creasing, laminating, stitching and binding each get one, and outside services get rows too, since foil, embossing and die cutting often go to trade suppliers. Log date sent and date due back.
Each step carries a status. A planner then sees where a job sits without walking the floor, and a customer call gets an answer in seconds instead of a walk to the press.
- Stock grade, gsm, sheet size and quantity issued
- Machine, make-ready times and run times
- Good and spoiled sheet counts
- Finishing steps in order
- Outside supplier, date sent and date due
Close the job with actuals and the invoice
At delivery, record the delivery note number, the quantity sent and the person who signed for the goods, so the dock never has to guess. Actual hours and stock used sit beside the estimate lines, so the gap between quote and cost is visible the day the job ships.
Extras, such as author corrections or an extra proof round, join the record before invoicing, because the invoice should read from the record, not a job bag. Nobody retypes a total.
Take your last five completed jobs and list every detail someone had to chase, from a missing purchase order number to an unrecorded paper change. That list drafts your fields.
Print job record template
This one-page template has five blocks. The header holds job number, customer, purchase order, size, extent, colours, quantity and promised date. The estimate block lists each quoted line with its assumptions. The artwork block holds file version, preflight result and proof approval. Production gets rows for stock, press and finishing. The close block holds delivery note, signer and actuals.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Should the job record replace the paper job bag?
Not on day one. Many shops run both for a few weeks. The job bag travels with the work, while the record becomes the place where status, times and sign-offs are kept. Soon the bag shrinks to a cover sheet.
Who should be allowed to change a job once it is accepted?
Keep changes to a short list, such as the estimator, the planner and customer service. Every change leaves a note. That trail explains disputes over quantity or specification.
How do I record a reprint or a partial delivery?
Treat each as a linked job that points back to the original. Reasons for a reprint, such as a press fault or a customer change, go on the new job. A partial delivery needs its own delivery note and quantity, while the parent job keeps the balance outstanding until the last carton leaves the dock.
Do digital and offset jobs need different records?
They share the header, estimate, artwork and close blocks. Production rows differ. Offset needs plates and make-ready, while digital needs click counts, stock loading and the file queue.