Use this article when a quote is missing a cut, fold, or bind line, when a job shows two make-readies for one finishing machine, or when the guillotine cost looks wrong after a pretrim change. After this you will have identified the cause and either fixed the setup or confirmed the finishing is correct for the job.
Symptom table
Symptom | Check (where to look) | Fix (action) | Verify (what you'll see) |
No cut, fold, or bind line on the price breakdown | Open the product category that owns the quote. Inspect Production Steps on the relevant part row. | Add the missing step to the part's Production Steps list. Apply Pending Changes. | After Recalculate, the step appears as a separate line on the price breakdown with a non-zero cost. |
Step missing only for some substrates | Open Issue analysis on the quote and read the Excluded machines section for the finishing machine. The reason is typically "no machine matches tags". | Open the substrate under Substrates and add the tag the finishing machine carries (or add the substrate's tag to the finishing machine). Apply Pending Changes. | After Recalculate, the substrate routes through the finishing machine and the step appears on the breakdown. |
Finishing machine never selected even on jobs that should fit | Open the machine editor under Finishing Machines or Binding Machines and check Status, sheet-size limits, weight limits, and thickness limits. | Set Status to Active if it was inactive. Raise the limit on the field that excludes the job, or accept that the job needs a different machine. | The machine appears in the route information; the step shows on the price breakdown. |
Two make-ready lines for one combined machine | Open Finishing Machines and inspect both step records that share the physical machine. | Configure one record with the other step listed under Included steps instead of running two separate records. Apply Pending Changes. | After Recalculate, the price breakdown shows one make-ready line covering both steps. |
Cut cost jumped after a pretrim change | Open Finishing Machines → Cutting and inspect the guillotine record's pretrim strategy. | Review whether the new pretrim strategy is correct for the substrate-and-imposition mix. Revert if the change was unintentional. Apply Pending Changes. | After Recalculate, the cut count on the breakdown returns to the expected range. |
Cut step disappears on an otherwise normal job | Open the product category and check whether the route uses a "no bleed" path with a 1-up fit; the cut step is suppressed in that case by design. | Confirm the route is genuinely 1-up; if not, adjust the imposition or the category's bleed settings. | After Recalculate, the cut line returns on jobs that need trimming. |
Spot finishing priced at zero | Open the product editor and confirm the spot-finish step has a price model assigned and the dependencies (substrate, area) are wired. | Assign the correct price model to the spot-finish step or fix the dependency wiring. Apply Pending Changes. | After Recalculate, the spot-finish line shows a non-zero cost on the breakdown. |
Custom add-on missing | Open Finishing Steps and check whether the step is configured as a built-in machine step or as a price model. | If the add-on is a price model, configure it through the price-model surface instead of as a finishing machine. | The add-on appears on quotes that select the option. |
Worked examples
Example 1 — Folder 1 at Northgate Press prices a tri-fold quote with no fold line
Northgate Press quotes a 10,000-run tri-fold leaflet on Silk 100gsm SRA1. The price breakdown has no fold line; the cut line is present.
Diagnosis: Open the product category Folded Leaflets and inspect Production Steps on the part row. The fold step is missing from the list — the category was created but the fold step was never added.
Fix: Open Production Steps on the part row and add the fold operation. Open Page Folds in the reference data and confirm the panel count and fold layout match the tri-fold. Apply Pending Changes.
Verify: Recalculate the quote. The fold line now appears on the price breakdown using Folder 1's machine rate and make-ready labour; the flat sheet size shown on the breakdown matches the Page Folds layout.
Example 2 — A combined crease-and-fold machine prices two make-readies
Northgate Press configures crease as a separate finishing record alongside Folder 1, intending the same machine to perform both steps. A folded brochure quote shows two make-ready lines on the price breakdown — one for crease, one for fold.
Diagnosis: Open Finishing Machines and look at Folder 1. The crease step is not listed under Included steps, so Estimator treats crease and fold as separate machines and charges two make-readies.
Fix: Open Folder 1 and add the crease step under Included steps. Optionally remove the standalone crease finishing record if the only crease machine is Folder 1. Apply Pending Changes.
Verify: Recalculate the quote. The price breakdown now shows one make-ready line for the combined operation; the fold cost remains intact but the duplicate crease make-ready is gone.
What if this didn't fix it?
If a finishing step is still missing after the tag, step, and included-steps fixes, the issue is in the category-to-machine wiring or the price-model surface rather than the finishing machine itself. Open a support request and include the estimate ID, a screenshot of Issue analysis for the quote, the affected finishing machine's editor view, and the category's Production Steps list. Linking the Configure folding article in the ticket helps the support team scope the report.