Use this article when your shop folds leaflets, brochures, or signatures and you need Estimator to price the fold step on every quote that includes a folded part. After this you will have a fold machine on the Fold table that prices correctly on quotes, with the fold step appearing on the price breakdown.
Steps
1. Add the fold machine
Open Estimate Setup → Finishing Machines → Fold, then select + Add New. Fill in the fields below.
Identification
Name — recommended format is brand and model, so the machine is easy to recognise on quotes (e.g., "Folder 1").
Tags — link this folder to the substrates and upstream presses it can run after. Estimator uses tags to pair the folder with compatible work.
Sheets this folder accepts
Sheet sizes — the press sheet sizes that can be fed in. Select from the drop-down (e.g., SRA1, B1, RA1). The options come from your configured substrates, so to add a new sheet size you must first create a substrate with that size — it will then appear here.
Width (min/max) and height (min/max) — sheet dimensions in millimetres (metric) or inches (imperial). For example, 200–1100 mm, or 8–43 in. Only set these if you are not already restricting via Sheet sizes, to avoid double-constraining the same dimension.
Weight (min/max) — paper weight in gsm or lb. For example, 80–400 gsm, or 20–110 lb.
Thickness (min/max) — physical sheet thickness range in millimetres or inches. For example, 0.1–0.4 mm, or 0.01–0.04 in.
Speed
Sheets per hour — folding speed (e.g., 3300 sheets/hour for a typical folder). The output type can be set to press sheet (sheets entering the folder) or finish sheet (folded units out) — choose the unit the speed figure refers to.
Cost
Machine rate per hour — all hourly running costs in tenant currency (amortisation, electricity, consumables, etc.). For example, €30/hour for a typical folder.
Labor rate per hour — operator cost per hour (e.g., €20/hour). If the operator can do other work while the machine runs, enter a fraction of their full rate (e.g., 50%).
Minimum charge — floor amount. If the calculated fold cost is below this, Estimator applies the minimum instead.
Make-ready and spoilage
Make-ready labor per section — fixed labor cost added once per section to set the folder up (e.g., €20 per section).
Running spoils % — extra sheets consumed as a percentage of the necessary run quantity (e.g., 0–2%).
Overs per section — extra sheets produced per section on top of the ordered quantity (e.g., 2–10 sheets).
Included steps
Included steps — operations performed in the same pass on this folder (commonly crease with fold). When a step is included here, Estimator uses the higher make-ready of the two records rather than double-counting. If creasing and folding happen on the same machine, configure crease as an included step here instead of as a separate finishing record.
Open the card view on the machine row to set additional details:
Run speed variations — override Sheets per hour for specific conditions (number of folds, paper weight, coating).
Volume markup tiers — tier the markup by quantity (e.g., 50% on small runs, lower on large runs).
Save the change. The Pending Changes count increments by one in the sidebar.
2. Connect the folder to the product category
Open the product category that uses folding (for example, Folded Leaflets). On the part row for the folded part, open Production Steps and add the fold operation so Estimator includes it on every quote that selects this category.
If the product is panel-based (a tri-fold, gate fold, or roll fold), open Page Folds in the reference data and confirm the panel count and fold layout match the product. The flat sheet size Estimator uses for the fold price comes from this layout.
Save the change. Pending Changes increments again.
3. Apply the changes
Open the Pending Changes panel in the sidebar and review the staged edits to the fold machine and the product category. Select Apply Changes to publish them to live setup.
The Pending Changes count returns to zero and the fold machine is now part of the active configuration.
Things to know
If folding on saddle-stitched or perfect-bound products is handled by the binding machine, you don't need to add a separate fold step on that product category — the binder absorbs the fold pass.
The flat sheet size Estimator uses for the fold price comes from the finished size, the Page Folds layout, and the category rules — not from the fold machine record. If the fold price looks wrong, check the flat size on the price breakdown before the folder rate.
Cross-fold work that runs twice through the same folder is priced as two passes through this machine — set Run speed variations for 2 folds and 3 folds if your speed drops materially at higher fold counts.