Use this article when you are setting up your shop's paper library for the first time or trying to understand why a particular paper does or does not appear on a quote. After this you will know what GelatoConnect Estimator does with each Substrates record, the order in which it filters substrates when an estimator builds a quote, and which other setup areas the paper library depends on.
What substrates are
A substrate in GelatoConnect Estimator is one of the printable materials your shop can use: a paper, board, banner, or specialty stock. Together the substrate records make up the paper library under Estimate Setup → Substrates: the entire set of materials GelatoConnect Estimator considers when it prices a job.
Each record describes the paper as the press and finishing engines need to see it: sheet or roll type, sheet width and height, weight, caliper, coating, tags, brand, parent-sheet rule, and price. The same record then appears on quote creation as a selectable option for any product part that allows it.
Set up substrates before you build products. Product parts later point back to this library, so GelatoConnect Estimator needs the material records in place before it can decide what each product can be printed on.
A worked example
Northgate Press has two SRA1 silk papers in its library:
SRA1 — Silk 100gsm SRA1 (the lighter of the two SRA1 rows). Sheet width 900 mm × height 640 mm. Tagged Offset and Digital.
SRA1 — Silk 115gsm SRA1 (the heavier of the two SRA1 rows). Same sheet dimensions. Tagged Offset only.
An estimator builds a 5,000-run Stitched Book on the cover part. The cover part allows both SRA1 rows. GelatoConnect Estimator walks the candidate substrates through the filter chain:
Product allowance. Both SRA1 rows are assigned to the Stitched Book cover part; both stay in.
Spec match. The estimator asked for silk 100gsm; only the 100gsm row matches the weight. The 115gsm row drops out.
Fit. The cover's flat sheet fits within the 900 × 640 mm sheet, so the 100gsm row stays in.
Machine compatibility. The 100gsm row carries both Offset and Digital tags. Both XL105 (offset) and HP Indigo (digital) accept it.
The quote calculates with Silk 100gsm SRA1 as the cover. Issue analysis on the resulting quote shows the cover step's assigned substrate by name and lists the 115gsm row under Excluded machines reasoning ("weight does not match request"). The price breakdown's material line is computed from the SRA1 row's sheet price multiplied by the imposed sheet count plus the press's waste sheets.
What this affects
Substrate availability on quote creation. A substrate that is unassigned to the product part, or fails a tag or fit filter, is invisible on the substrate picker for that quote.
Material cost on the price breakdown. The substrate row's price (per sheet or per ton) feeds the material line on every quote that uses it. Waste sheets from the assigned press add on top.
Routing eligibility. A substrate's tags and caliper feed into the press filter chain. Tightening the tag list on a substrate removes presses from its candidate set.
What this does not affect
Whether a product exists. Adding a substrate does not create a product, a part, or a category. The product setup must already allow that substrate before it can appear on a quote.
Finishing routing. A substrate is not directly involved in folder, binder, or laminator selection. Finishing routing comes from the category's step list and the finishing machine records.
Procurement or inventory. GelatoConnect Estimator does not deduct stock or send orders to procurement when a quote uses a substrate. That integration, if your shop runs one, is configured separately.
Pricing rules. A pricing rule layers on top of the calculated material cost. The rule does not change which substrate was picked or how much paper was consumed.
Related articles
Add or edit a substrate
Assign substrates to products and parts
How brands work with substrates
How grain direction works with substrates
Why a substrate is missing from a quote