Use this article when your shop runs continuous-web offset (heatset or coldset commercial web, newspaper, or magazine lines) and you need Estimator to price plates, make-ready, web threading, and run time on every web-offset quote. After this you will have a web offset record (or one record per imposition mode) that prices correctly on web-offset quotes, with the press appearing in route information and the make-ready, plate, paper-waste, and run lines appearing on the price breakdown.
Steps
1. Configure the web offset press
Open Estimate Setup → Print Machines, then add or open the press you want to configure and set Machine Type to Web Offset. Fill in the fields below.
Identification
Name — recommended format is brand and model plus the imposition mode if you carry multiple records for the same physical press (e.g., "M-600 32-page" and "M-600 16-page" as separate records).
Manufacturer — free-text label captured alongside the name. Display only.
Machine Type — select Web Offset. Changing the type later rewrites the editor and discards cutoff, web-width, and pages-per-impression fields.
Status — set to Active when the press should be a candidate for routing.
Tags — link the press to substrates, finishing equipment, and product categories the line can run. Without a matching tag, Estimator excludes the press with the reason "no machine matches tags".
Web geometry
Web Width — the roll width loaded on the press, in millimetres or inches. For example, 965 mm or 38 in for a heatset commercial web.
Cutoff Length — the fixed signature length the folder produces at every cylinder revolution, in millimetres or inches. For example, 630 mm or 24.8 in. Cutoff is mechanically fixed by the cylinder; treat changes as a re-create.
Maximum / minimum finished size (width / height) — finished-piece dimensions the press can produce after fold and trim, in millimetres or inches. For example, 200–305 × 280–457 mm, or 8–12 × 11–18 in.
Maximum stock caliper — thickest paper the press can run through the towers and folder.
Operational speeds and labour
Make-ready hours — fixed overhead before the run starts (thread the web, mount plates, register colour). For example, 1–3 hours on a typical commercial web — substantially higher than sheet-fed because the web must be threaded.
Make-ready material cost — fixed cost added to the paper bucket to cover the web consumed during threading and registration. For example, €500–1500 or $600–1800 per make-ready.
Output per hour — maximum sustained speed, in impressions per hour. For example, 25,000–45,000 impressions/hour for a 32-page heatset web.
Machine rate per hour — hourly machine running cost. For example, €300–500/hour or $350–600/hour, varying with line size.
Labour rate per hour — operator cost per hour. Web lines typically need ≥2 operators on the line; either reflect that here or use a separate assistant-cost field on your tenant if available.
Paper waste — web length added to the substrate quantity to cover threading and registration loss. Often higher than sheet-fed; measure once at commissioning.
Running spoils % — additional spoils as a percentage of necessary quantity. For example, 2–5%.
Offset cost fields
Plate cost — all-in cost of one plate. Plate count is colours × parts × surfaces.
Plate-making labour per hour — hourly cost of plate mounting and processing.
Processor plates per minute — throughput of the plate processor, in plates per minute.
Spot-colour make-ready fixed — fixed labour cost added per spot colour beyond CMYK.
Paper-coat extra price — per-coating adder applied to the paper bucket (e.g., Uncoated:30; LWC:50).
Color units — number of ink units on the line (e.g., 4 for a basic process line, 8 for full CMYK-plus-coater on a double-form web).
Impose files price — per-file imposition charge added to prepress.
Preflight check price per page — per-page preflight cost added to prepress.
Pages and imposition
Pages per impression — number of finished pages produced per cylinder revolution. For example, 32 for a full B1 32-page web; 16 for a half-form imposition.
Included steps — steps the press performs in-line, typically print and fold. Included steps do not produce a separate finishing line because the cost is bundled into the press's machine rate.
Save the change. The Pending Changes count increments by one in the sidebar.
2. Connect the press to substrates and categories
Open the substrates that should run on this press under Substrates and confirm each one carries at least one tag matching the press's tags.
Open the product categories that should route here (typically books, catalogues, magazines, or large-volume leaflets) and confirm the print step is set to use a web-offset path.
Save the change. Pending Changes increments again.
3. Apply the changes
Open the Pending Changes panel in the sidebar and review the staged edits. Select Apply Changes to publish them to live setup.
The Pending Changes count returns to zero and the press is now part of the active configuration. Recalculate a long-run test quote; the press appears in the route information and the make-ready, plate, paper-waste, and run lines appear on the price breakdown.
Things to know
A single physical web press is often configured as multiple records, one per imposition mode (32-page, 16-page, 8-page). Each record carries the same machine rate, labour, and web width, but different Pages per impression and Maximum/minimum finished size values. The planning engine picks the record that matches the job's signature.
Make-ready material cost is typically much higher than on a sheet-fed offset press because the operator threads metres of web before registration locks. Measure once at commissioning and re-measure annually.
Cutoff Length is a mechanical fixture of the press cylinder. Treat changes as a re-create rather than an in-place edit.
Setting click-rate fields on a web offset record has no effect; click rates belong to digital presses.