Star*Key Software Releases Version 5.6 of Print Estimating Software, Presstimator
Brea, California - February 22, 2012 - Star*Key Software, creator of the estimating software program for web offset printers, the Presstimator, has expanded the capabilities of its standalone estimating application.
Version 5.6 of the Presstimator includes multiple printing plant support within a single database for printing job estimating. This was designed for those users with multiple plants or multiple printing locations within a single plant (i.e. coldset and heatset or sheetfed departments), and it allows users to have multiple 'Defaults' within Shop Settings that will apply to jobs produced in different plants or on different presses.
Version 5.6 also offers:
On the Locations tab in Shop Settings, users can select a Cover Letter Template for each of the Plants listed. When generating a quote for a customer, the specified cover letter template will be used based on the Plant. For customers with multiple plants, each cover letter template file can have a different company name, address, logo, etc. to distinguish between the different plants.
The Selling Price of a quote can be based on a price of a prior quote that was previously estimated and agreed upon with the customer. On the Markup screen, you can indicate that the Selling Price is Linked/Imported. When this option is selected, a calculator will open and allow you to manually input the cost basis or to select an existing quote from the Quote History. When linking a price from a prior Quote, the Selling Price and Additional M's Price of the prior Quote is used to determine the cost of the current Quote. For Example: If you have an agreement with a client on the cost of a recurring product where only the cost of the additional copies needed each month will affect the invoice amount, select the Link/Import Selling Cost checkbox. This will use the cost basis of the original quote, adjusted for the new number of copies requested by the client. Once the Selling Price is determined, then the markup percentage and profit will automatically be calculated for the current job. Let's say you have an agreement with a client that a recurring job will be charged at $10,000 for 30,000 copies and $280 for Add'l M's. The next week, this job is 38,000 copies. The Presstimator will accurately calculate your cost for the 38,000 copies, but the price ($12,240) will be based on the prior Quote's pricing ($10,000 + 8 x $280).
On the Press tab in Shop Settings, you can specify which Black Ink each press uses. When selecting a press within a Quote, the Black Ink (#1 or #2) from Shop Settings will be used for the ink calculations. For Example: You have two separate Locations within your Plant. Location A is your coldset press which uses standard black ink. Location B is your heatset press and uses UV black ink. On the Press - Shop Settings tab, you can indicate that your coldset press uses Standard Black ink and your heatset press uses UV Black ink. If you have the ability to split Standard and UV black ink across a given location, you can specify the default % of the black ink split.
When entering Multiple Page Counts within a Quote, you can override the calculated Add'l M's price for each page count. The Presstimator automatically calculates the Add'l M's price, but you can adjust it as needed.
On the Other Info tab within a Quote, you can indicate whether a particular charge (flat or per M) is to be omitted for this estimate. Instead of removing a cost entirely, choosing to "omit" the charge will remove the charge from the totals but leave a trace of this cost in case you want to include it at a later date or for a new quote when doing a Save As.
Because many shops around the world using the Presstimator use different equipment and have different definitions of Collect and Straight, we changed the terminology in the software to be more explicit with "1 copy per impression" and "2 copies per impression".
More validation is performed within a Quote to eliminate costly oversights, such as paper waste or press make-ready costs. Being sure you cover your own costs and marking up accordingly ensures you that you are making the profits you have targeted. By running the Auditor in the Presstimator, you can be confident that your estimate is accurate.
There is now an option in Multiple Page Counts/Multiple Quantities reports to include a Per M cost on each entry and the amount of paper required for each additional page count is now calculated.
The Materials report now reports if half-webs are to be used in a job and will separate the total weight (lbs. or kgs) required for each roll size.
Instead of manually printing a series of reports for a single Quote, you can now use the Report Generator option from the Reports menu. This new screen has the option to generate the Paper, Press, Bindery, Markup, Quick View and Customer Quote Report. You can select which reports you want included and the Presstimator will print out all of these report with a single click.
About the Presstimator
The Presstimator is a web offset printing estimating software application for newspapers and commercial web printers. This print estimating software prompts the user for detailed job specs in a user-friendly interface. Completely customizable costs and settings can be adjusted in Shop Settings to create sophisticated and reliable estimates. The optional Presstimator Budgeted Hourly Rates module calculates rates to be entered in the Presstimator to ensure overhead expenses are being covered in generated estimates. The Auditor feature helps the estimator avoid mistakes by checking for any missing information, which can help eliminate costly oversights. The Presstimator also incorporates a wide variety of reports that can be generated directly from the estimate, such as Customer Reports, Job Tickets, Estimates vs. Actuals, Profit Analysis and Materials reports. These reports can not only save time, but they can also help the user track costs and initiate standardized cost studies. Quotes are stored in a searchable database for fast retrieval and easy modification. A customizable web form interface is available for potential customers or sales staff to input job specs and have Quotes generated in seconds.
Contact:
Mike Starkey, President
Star*Key Software
714.255.1685
mike@presstimator.com