Use this article when one of your finishing machines performs two production steps in the same pass and you want the quote to reflect that. After this you will know what Included Steps does, how it changes the finishing cost, and where the setting lives.
What Included Steps is
Included Steps is a column on a finishing machine row in Estimate Setup. It lists the extra production steps that the machine can carry out alongside its primary step in a single operation. A creaser-folder, for example, has a primary step of fold and lists crease in its Included Steps column, because the same pass scores and folds the sheet.
GelatoConnect Estimator still models each production step (crease, fold, laminate, cut, and so on) as a separate item, because shops often run them on different machines. Included Steps tells the system that a specific machine row can cover one of those steps as part of the other, so the quote does not charge as if the work moved to a second machine.
You configure the column on the Finishing tab in Estimate Setup. The Estimate Setup column header reads Included Steps.
A worked example
Northgate Press has Folder 1 on the floor, a creaser-folder that scores and folds in one pass. In Estimate Setup, Folder 1 has a primary step of fold and lists crease in its Included Steps column. The shop sells a Folded Leaflets job in A6, 10,000 copies, that needs both a crease and a fold.
Without Included Steps configured, GelatoConnect Estimator would price the job as two finishing operations on two machines: one crease setup and one fold setup, each with its own make-ready time and material waste.
With Included Steps configured, GelatoConnect Estimator evaluates Folder 1 as the machine that performs both steps in one pass. It still shows crease and fold in the price breakdown, so the operator can see what production needs to do, but it counts make-ready once for Folder 1 instead of twice. The finishing cost line is lower than the split-machine total whenever the combined pass is cheaper than running the two steps separately.
The numbers and step-combination logic come from the JBW step combination optimizer and the GB_BSG folded-leaflet acceptance test cited in the evidence packet. The same logic runs on every quote.
What this affects
Machine selection for finishing — when a job needs two post-press steps and a machine row covers both through Included Steps, that machine becomes a candidate for the combined operation.
Make-ready in the price breakdown — make-ready is counted once for the combined pass instead of once per step, when the combined path is selected.
The finishing cost shown in the price breakdown — the line for the combined steps is the cost of one pass on the listed machine, not the sum of two separate setups.
Spoils and material waste tied to setup — duplicated setup waste is removed when GelatoConnect Estimator treats the steps as one operation.
What this does not affect
Print, prepress, or substrate cost — Included Steps only changes how post-press steps are combined. It does not move print, plate, or paper cost onto the finishing machine.
Running spoils and overs on the run itself — only the setup-side duplication is collapsed. The running waste percentage on each step still applies to the work the step does.
Machine eligibility for the job — GelatoConnect Estimator only uses the combined path if the machine row is otherwise eligible (sheet size, weight, tags, brand). Included Steps does not force a machine to be picked.
Choice of cheaper path — if running the two steps on separate machines costs less than the combined pass, GelatoConnect Estimator keeps the separate calculation. Included Steps offers the combined option, it does not require it.