Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for digital printers.
A checklist built from how digital printers work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Web order intake
- File preflight and proofs
- Imposition and engine queue
- Click counts and consumables
- Variable data jobs
- Finishing and packing
- Pricing and invoicing
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For the front desk
- For prepress staff
- For engine operators
- For finishing and dispatch
- For the owner
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Orders by channel, status and due date
- Files failing preflight, with the cause
- Clicks by engine, colour and black, against supplier meter
- Toner and ink used per thousand clicks
- Variable data runs by record range
- Finishing queue by step
- Margin by job size and customer
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Web order form
- SMS
- Card and payment gateway
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Is it for web-to-print orders?
- Can click counts be matched with the supplier’s bill?
- What does preflight record?
- Can it deal with variable data jobs?
- Can it manage large format work?
- How does it help toner and ink control?
- Can customers collect and pay at the counter?
- Can I bring my customers and open orders in?
- Will it work if the internet drops?
- How is it priced and shown?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Click charges are not matched to jobs
- Files arrive broken
- Web orders are retyped
- Toner and ink are consumed without a job
- Short runs hide the setup effort
Prefer to talk it through? See the digital printers page.