Use this article when a substrate you expect to see on a quote does not appear in the substrate dropdown, when Estimator says it cannot find a valid combination for a job, or when the substrate cost on a quote does not match what you set on the row. After this you will know which field on the substrate row, on the product part, or on the customer record is responsible, and how to confirm the substrate shows up on Recalculate.
Where the gap usually comes from
Substrates can disappear from a quote for a small number of reasons: the row itself is not in the Substrates table yet, an edit is still in Pending Changes, the substrate is restricted to a customer brand the current quote does not match, the substrate is assigned to a different product part, or the substrate does not fit the presses configured for the route. The table below pairs each customer-visible symptom with the surface where the cause shows up and the fix that resolves it.
Symptom | Check (where to look) | Fix (action) | Verify (what you'll see) |
My substrate does not appear in the substrate dropdown on a new quote. | Open Substrates and confirm the substrate row exists with the name you expect. Read the Stock Type column on the row. | If the row is missing, add it with Add or edit a substrate. If Stock Type is set to a value that excludes routine quoting, change it to the value that allows automatic selection. Apply Changes. | Recalculate the quote. The substrate now appears in the dropdown and on the substrate line of the price breakdown. |
The substrate exists in the table but the route does not pick it. | Open Issue analysis on the quote and read the Excluded machines section. Open the product part and read which substrate Positions and Tags it requires. | Open the substrate row and set the Position the product part requires; add the Tag the product part and press both carry. Apply Changes. | Recalculate the quote. Issue analysis shows the press accepting the substrate and the Excluded machines section no longer lists it for substrate reasons. |
Estimator says there are no valid combinations for a job that uses this substrate. | Open the substrate row and read the parent-sheet configuration and Pre-Cut toggle. Confirm at least one parent sheet exists if Pre-Cut is required. | If Pre-Cut is required but no parent sheet is available, add the parent-sheet row in Substrates with the matching Sheet Size and dimensions. Apply Changes. | Recalculate the quote. Issue analysis shows a valid route and the substrate line in the price breakdown shows the parent-sheet yield used. |
A substrate I just added does not show up after saving. | Open Estimate Setup and look at the Pending Changes badge in the top bar. | Open Pending Changes, review the staged substrate edit, and choose Apply Changes. | The Pending Changes badge clears. Recalculate the quote and the new substrate appears in the dropdown. |
A substrate I imported from a paper-merchant spreadsheet does not appear after import. | Open Substrates and look at the import result panel for validation errors on the imported rows. Read the Stock Type column on each newly imported row. | Open the failing rows, set the required fields the import did not supply (most commonly Stock Type, Sheet Size, Weight, and Coat), then Apply Changes. | The validation panel clears. Recalculate a quote and the imported substrates appear in the dropdown. |
The substrate cost on a quote does not match what I set on the row. | Open the substrate row and read the Cost field and the unit shown next to it (per ton or per sheet). Open the price breakdown on the quote and read the substrate line. | If the unit is wrong, set it to the value that matches how the shop buys the paper. If the cost itself is out of date, update it. Apply Changes. | Recalculate the quote. The substrate line on the price breakdown moves to the value implied by the corrected cost and unit. |
A substrate restricted to a customer brand appears for customers that do not require that brand. | Open the substrate row and read the Brands field. Open the customer record and read the customer's brand requirement. | A brand restriction is enforced on the customer record, not on the substrate row. Remove the brand value from the substrate row and add the brand requirement to the customer record that needs it. Apply Changes. | Recalculate the quote. The brand-restricted substrate appears only when the customer record requires that brand and is hidden for other customers. |
Worked example 1 — A new SRA1 substrate does not appear after saving
Northgate Press stocks a new Silk 130gsm SRA1 sheet and the operator adds it to the Substrates table. The row saves without error, but when the operator opens a new quote a few minutes later the new substrate is still not in the dropdown. The quote also keeps suggesting the older Silk 100gsm SRA1 row instead.
Diagnosis: The operator returns to Estimate Setup and sees a Pending Changes badge showing one unapplied edit. The new Silk 130gsm SRA1 row is staged in Pending Changes but has not been pushed live yet. Until that happens the row is visible in the Substrates table for editing but is not available to quote creation.
Fix: Open Pending Changes, confirm the new substrate row is the staged edit, and choose Apply Changes.
Verify: The Pending Changes badge clears. Recalculate the quote. The new Silk 130gsm SRA1 row now appears in the substrate dropdown, and selecting it produces a substrate line on the price breakdown that uses the 130gsm weight.
Worked example 2 — A brand-restricted SRA1 sheet appears for the wrong customer
Northgate Press wants a particular Silk 100gsm B1 sheet to be quotable only for one customer who requires a specific paper brand. The operator opens the substrate row and adds the brand value to the Brands field on the substrate. The next day, an estimator quoting a different customer notices the brand-restricted substrate is being offered on every quote, regardless of who the customer is.
Diagnosis: The Brands field on the substrate row is a paper-brand label that the substrate carries, not a customer restriction. A substrate that carries a brand value remains available on every quote; the engine only filters by brand when the customer record asks for that brand. Putting the restriction on the substrate did not produce the expected per-customer filtering.
Fix: Open the substrate row, remove the brand value from the substrate's Brands field (or set it to the manufacturer label only). Open the customer record that should be restricted to this brand and set the customer's brand requirement to the brand the substrate carries. Apply Changes.
Verify: Recalculate a quote on the restricted customer. The brand-restricted substrate appears in the dropdown. Recalculate a quote on any other customer. The brand-restricted substrate is hidden, and a non-branded equivalent is offered instead.
What if this didn't fix it?
If the substrate row exists, Pending Changes is clear, the product part accepts the substrate's Position and Tags, the customer record's brand requirement matches, and the press configured for the route accepts the substrate's dimensions and weight — and the substrate is still missing from the quote — the issue is in the calculation path itself rather than setup. Open a support request and include: the estimate ID, the substrate name as it appears in the Substrates table, the product part name, the customer record's brand requirement (if any), and the press the quote is expected to use. If the symptom started after a recent substrate import, see Import and export substrates for the validation report the importer writes.
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