Adding a machine
Register a printer, cutter or laminator — and why production speed matters more than it sounds.
A machine is any piece of equipment you want to schedule work on or maintain: presses, cutters, laminators, binders. Registering one lets jobs be assigned to it, gives you time estimates, and starts its maintenance clock.
The fields
| Field | What to put |
|---|---|
| Name | What staff call it — “Ryobi 522”, “Front Digital”. Required. |
| Type | Free text: Offset Press, Digital Printer, Guillotine, Laminator. |
| Production Speed | Pieces per hour, e.g. 10,000 sheets/hr. |
| Seconds per Piece | Read-only. Worked out for you. |
| Is a printer | Turns on the ink tank section. |
| Maintenance schedule | By months or by pieces produced — see Maintenance. |
Production speed and why it matters
You enter a speed in pieces per hour and PrintERP derives seconds per piece from it — 3600 ÷ pieces per hour. A press rated at 1,200 pieces an hour becomes 3 seconds a piece.
The field is free text and only the leading number is read, so 10,000 sheets/hr and 10000 both work. The derived figure updates as you type, so you can see the result before saving.
Why enter a speed at all
It is the only input to every time estimate: how long a run will take, the progress ring on the production floor, the time remaining, and the “probably done” flag. A machine with no usable speed simply produces no estimate — PrintERP says so rather than showing a fabricated zero.
Tip
Use your realistic throughput, not the manufacturer's headline figure. Rated speeds exclude plate changes, make-ready and reloading. A number that matches your day gives estimates you can plan around.
Printers and non-printers
Leave the printer toggle on for anything that lays down ink, and set up its ink tanks. Turn it off for cutters, laminators and binders — they schedule and maintain exactly the same way, they just have no ink to track.
After adding
- The machine becomes selectable when adding products to a job — see Selling from the production floor.
- It takes part in scheduling — see How jobs share machines.
- Its detail page gains maintenance tracking and a reports tab.
Note
The Free plan allows one machine, Press five and Production fifty. See Plans and limits.
Open Machines
Related guides
Setting up ink tanks on a printer
Add a tank per colour, set its capacity, and link it to the inventory item that fills it.
Maintenance schedules and status
Schedule by months or by pieces produced, and read the approaching / due / overdue signal.
How jobs share machines
The rules that decide when a job may start and when it may finish, and why they differ.