Use this article when you are new to GelatoConnect Estimator and want to understand how a customer request becomes a priced quote. After this you will know how GelatoConnect Estimator turns request text into a quote, where your shop configuration controls the numbers, and which surface you use at each stage.
What GelatoConnect Estimator is
GelatoConnect Estimator is GelatoConnect's quoting tool for print and apparel print service providers. It does two jobs in sequence: it interprets the customer's request into a structured spec, then it prices that spec against your shop's machines, substrates, finishing, and rules. The first step uses AI to translate free-form text and attachments into product fields; the second step is deterministic — every number on the quote traces back to a value you configured.
You use GelatoConnect Estimator from two main surfaces in GelatoConnect. Manage estimates is where you create, open, and send quotes day to day. Estimate Setup is where your shop's machines, substrates, products, and pricing rules live. Each new quote draws from the current Estimate Setup configuration when you select Calculate.
A worked example
Northgate Press receives a request for a 5,000-run A4 stitched book on Silk 100gsm cover. The estimator opens Manage estimates, selects Create new estimate, picks the test customer, and chooses the Stitched Book category.
The estimator pastes the customer's email into the AI assistant. The assistant maps the text onto product fields: A4 portrait, 5000 quantity, Silk 100gsm cover, saddle stitching. The estimator scans the populated fields, corrects the page count the assistant guessed wrong, and selects Calculate.
GelatoConnect Estimator routes the job. It picks the XL105 offset press for the run length, Stitcher 1 for binding, and the Silk 100gsm SRA1 row from substrates. The price breakdown opens with make-ready, run, paper, finishing, and markup lines that sum to the final price. The numbers come from XL105's machine rate (190 EUR/hour), the substrate's price per ton (1,400 EUR/ton for the 100gsm SRA1), and Stitcher 1's binding rate — exactly the values Northgate Press' admin configured in Estimate Setup.
If the estimator changes the cover to a substrate that does not exist in the library, Calculate would return Unable to calculate estimate and Issue analysis would name the missing substrate. The AI does not invent capabilities — it only routes work across what your shop has configured.
What this affects
Manage estimates — drives the day-to-day quote flow. Every new estimate runs the AI intake plus the Calculate routing engine.
Estimate Setup — controls every number the engine can produce. Edits stage in Pending Changes until you select Apply Changes; nothing affects live quotes before that.
Price breakdown on each quote — lines come from the route the engine picks. Changing setup changes which routes are eligible and the cost of each line.
What this does not affect
AI request interpretation — the AI maps text onto product fields. It does not create substrates, machines, or finishing steps that are missing from Estimate Setup.
Quotes that are already sent — Estimate Setup changes apply to new calculations. A quote you have already sent is a snapshot and does not auto-update when configuration changes.