Last week I wrote about forcing the Pricing Update to the workstations on the next login which works very well. Today I had a chance to test the ability to do it “Immediately”.

By selecting immediately, you are simply forcing everyone off PrintSmith (like you do in a closeout) and then they are forced to log back in which then forces them to update the pricing folder. So, in essence, both choices do the same thing, the difference is in when the workstation gets updated.

Unless you are in a big hurry or have an emergency, stick with updating on the next login.

One of my favorite new features in 7.2.x is the ability to “Push” the prices to the workstations. For now, I have been forcing the new pricing to the workstations “on the next Login”. PrintSmith gives you two options for pushing the prices:

The first option is the one I am using and it works great, although my co-workers thought it was a bug the first time they saw it. After you have changed your pricing, go to the Pricing menu and select Workstation Maintenance. A new window will appear called WS Maintenance. Select the choice that says “On Next Login” and then click the button that says “Push to Force Pricing Update.” The next time someone logs in at a workstation they will get a message that forces the prices to be updated.

If you want this to happen immediately, choose the “Immediately” radio button. I don’t recommend this because it may clog your network to have everyone updating the price folder at the same time. (Plus, I haven’t tried it, nor do I want to.) Good Friday is almost here, I may try it then when half the shop is gone.

Good news and bad news for Report Writer fans for the 7.2.1 updater

Good News:
The Job Ticket bug has been fixed! The problem was with the legal size job ticket printing on 2 or 3 pages when it should only print on one.

Bad News:
There are still at least 2 bugs with the printing of reports that I have found so far. First, If you preview a report that is landscape and then try to print from the preview it comes out Portrait. Second, there are still miscellaneous marks between the lines on some of the reports. I have reported both of these to service, but I haven’t heard back.

I’ll keep you posted on anything else as I discover it. I suspect that there will be a 7.2.2 updater very soon because of the bug with the Label Formats being eliminated. Send me an email if you want some more advice about upgrading.

All in all, the benefits gained by upgrading far outweigh the inconviences. If you are going to Connect in Las Vegas, I would highly encourage you to get familiar with 7.2.x BEFORE you go.

Just a little FYI for those of you about to load the 7.2.1. updater. The Label Formats will be lost which may or may not be big deal for you. They are primarily used for Carton Labels and mailing labels. We are on windows (not sure about the Mac) and we lost 11 Label Formats. We only used about 4 so it isn’t tragic, just a pain.

Here is what I did to recover them:
I had loaded our prices onto a demo version and I was able to view them and print them out so I could re-enter them manually. I have not heard whether PrintSmith will have a solution for recovering them. At this point I will probably just re-enter them manually. Stay tuned.

Nonetheless, BEFORE you upgrade print out your Label Formats. To print them, I just used the print screen button on my keyboard and pasted the graphic into a program like Pagemaker or Publisher.

The 7.2.1 Updater has been released!!! This should fix many of the bugs in 7.2. Please read the list of fixes below.

Just got to http://www.printsmith.com/serv to download and update your system. If you haven’t already upgraded to 7.2 DO NOT stop at 7.2 and smell the roses! Install from the CD and then update immediately to 7.2.1.

After updating, I would advise testing all of the things that have been causing a bug. The updater has a small list at the beginning but here is the list from Danney Rodgers of PrintSmith:

—-Changes in version 7.2.1—-

+ Admin – Stock Order Report

Fixed an issue with deleting items from the list once the order has been
received.

Fixed a printing issue which prevented the second page and beyond from
showing any text.

Fixed an issue with the “Auto Order” feature which included jobs from the
Pending list and the stock was a inventoried stock, it should not include
these stocks in the report.

+ Networking

Fixed an issue on Mac OS9 which prevented a Pricing Update from successfully
completing.

Also many adjustments where made to improve the overall stability and
performance of the network communications, the new Port Speed adjustment
number can now be adjusted back to (ZERO) which is full speed. If your
using a network configuration which includes bottlenecks (wireless access)
or is remote (over the InterNet) you may need to adjust the Port Speed to a
higher number, I would recommend jumps in increments of (20) until a stable
connection can be made.

+ POS – Pending List

Fixed an issue with the current selection being lost when changing the
documents PO#

+ POS – Cash Register

The default document preference is now set first from the Saved Invoice,
then by the Customer Account and finally from the system wide preference
panel. These rules only apply when the Invoice is last saved with a
document preference which is mark as “Not a valid Invoice”.

+ Admin – Delivery Tickets

Fixed an issue when using the “Other” option in the FROM address, it would
lose the custom address when switching panels.

+ Printing

Fixed an issue with saving and restoring the proper Page Setup information
for Invoice document preferences, settings like Page Orientation would not
hold when changed in the Invoice window.

Printing a Job Ticket from the Invoice window, that uses the Custom
ReportWriter version, would not use the proper page settings, items like
Page Size would always use the default size. This is now fixed.

Document Preferences, the options for Page Orientation have been removed
from the “Printer” panel. These options would defeat the purpose of a
File->Page Setup when attempting to set the page size and orientation using
the standard methods, the recommended method for adjusting the page settings
is by first selecting the document preference from the pop-menu and then
select File->Page Setup, this can be done from the Admin Document
Preferences OR the Invoice window.

+ E-Commerce

Fix an issue with the Web Worksheet in the Job edit window, the check mark
could not be seen in the first column when selected.

+ Sales Categories

Fixed several issues with the expanded sales categories, one of which
prevented any of the new categories from being used in the Pricing Methods
preference panel and another would not produce a composite report correctly
from daily sales. The Pricing Methods will not change for any Invoices
already posted, but the composite report can simply be reprinted to reflect
the proper amounts.

+ Invoices – Job Ticket Notes

When using a historic Invoice as a starting point and performing “Copy to
new Invoice” or “Copy to new Estimate” the existing Job Tickets notes will
be prepended with the current customer account notes if different, this will
ensure the most current information from the account is always visible on
NEW jobs.

+ Pricing – Stock Definition

Fixed an issue with Blank Stock quantity numbers greater than 32,767 – they
would go negative beyond that point.

+ Overall

We are continuing to improve our support of Native Windows text handling in
a effort to render none English versions with better accuracy, to that end
we have changed several User Interface elements, things like Pop-Menus and
Pull Down menus from the menu bar have been completely revamp, you should
not have any difficulty

+ Intel Mac Hardware

A few known incompatibilities have repaired, this new operating system and
hardware has not yet been fully tested and we cannot say if PrintSmith will
be 100% functional at this time, but no major issues have been discovered
when using the Intel Mac as a workstation, its not recommended as a Master
at this time.

+ Upgrading 7.1.x (to) 7.2.1

Fixed an issue with the stock definitions losing the markup percentages and
reverting to the system wide defaults, this would only occur on Windows
masters. If you have already updated to 7.2 then you will need to obtain a
printed report from your previous version and manually correct the markups
in each stock. In some rare cases the original file can be restored from a
backup and converted again to fix the data, but this should not be done
unless a PrintSmith technical support person is consulted.

I’m taking a break from PrintSmith today to direct your attention to the links that I have provided on the right hand side of the screen. You will see that I have provided links to my main website, plus a couple links to download free Report Writer reports and to actually buy the report CD’s online.

One of my favorite things to talk about is our WebsitesForPrinters website. There are so many things that you can do with it that I just can’t say enough good things about Mike Stevens and Dave Hultin. In fact, their site allows me to post cool things like free reports.

Speaking of reports, I encourage you to go to John Stewart’s website to fill out the latest Operating Ratio study. While you are there, check out his BHR Guide for figuring out BHR’s for your presses and charges in PrintSmith.

Lastly, check out the link I have provided for GoToMyPC.com. I use this extensively to access our PrintSmith Master to make changes to our system while on the road or late at night from home. (Or even while I am watching a movie with my kids!)

Since there seem to be so many minor bugs with 7.2 I thought I’d share some temporary fixes that I have found.

Stock Order Database Problem: You can’t remove the stocks!
There are 2 reasons I have found for this, one is that you marked the stock as a Partial Received or Complete Order Received. Second, is that you changed the vendor’s name.

If you marked it as Received, here is a trick that you can try that worked for me. Click on the Select All button and then hold down the Ctrl key and “de-select the ones that you want to stay on the list. Leave the ones you want to delete highlighted, and click delete.

If you changed vendors, try this. Go back to the original order and Re-Order the paper again and then delete the stock.

If you have any questions, send me an email at psmithron@milfordprinters.com.

The topic of Contract Pricing or Target Pricing came up today and here is my response:
There are two ways to do contract pricing:
1. Target Prices (Using Printing Pricing Method)
or
2. List Prices (Using the List Pricing Method)

They both can be high maintenance.
Your choice depends on how many different price lists you have to match.
Here are some pros & cons:
———————————————
Target Prices (Printing Pricing Method)
Pros:
1. You can continue to use the regular Printing Pricing Method
2. You can attach a press to a stock definition

Cons:
1. If they have 40 lists you will need 40 Press Definitions
(there are only 100 available)
——————————————-
List Prices (List Pricing Method)
Pros:
1. You can have as many price lists as you want
2. You can run your job on any piece of equipment and the price will still
be the same.
(assuming that attached charges aren’t a factor)
3. Easier to setup a Price Per 1000
4. You can attach a price list to a stock definition

Cons:
1. You have to remember to change your pricing method to List
————————————-
If you just have 2 or 3 price lists, target pricing is probably better. If
you have 40, go with List Pricing. Contact me if you any questions.

After long last the Document Title has now been added to Pending List in 7.2!!! I am amazed at what a difference this has made in our shop already. We are able to spot mistakes in the title and make better descriptions now that it is visible.

PrintSmith also added a new Job Comment field and I have been using it on a daily basis also. I find that it especially comes in handy for HOT! jobs. To enter a Job Comment all you need to do is open the job and enter in on the comment line just below the customer name. Or, you can use the Location button on the pending list.

I encourage everyone to try these new features!

I am taking a break today from the 7.2 release to talk about the importance of doing a time study for your charges. I have created a Microsoft Excel Worksheet that I print out to use for my time studies of various pieces of equipment and/or functions.

Here is the link to download the file:
Click Here for My Excel Time Study Sheet

The important thing to realize is that you need to know if you are making money or losing money on the pricing of your charges. Because PrintSmith has divided the Charge definitions into two sections (Pricing & Costing) you need to test your costs FIRST to make sure that you are charging MORE than it costs you!! Sounds simple right? I had never really bothered to check my GBC and Spiral binding pricing until recently. Fortunately, after doing the time study I realized that my costs were well below my pricing. But, I decided to charge less for the higher quantities based on my time study.

I challenge you to download my form and do a couple time studies yourself to see if you are charging enough! You may be surprised!