MaterialsBeta
Build a reusable library of substrates, consumables, and packaging priced per unit — the material side of every Print MIS cost calculation.
Materials are the consumable resources that go into a job — the paper or board it prints on, the ink, laminate, and coatings it uses, and the boxes and packaging it ships in. The Materials library is a per-storefront catalog you maintain once and reference from any configuration. Each material carries a cost per unit, so whenever a process step or option consumes it, Print MIS knows exactly what that consumption costs.
Material properties
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The display name used throughout the admin — for example "14pt C2S Gloss Cover" or "Soft-Touch Laminate". |
| Category | Groups the material as a Substrate, Consumable, or Packaging for organization and filtering. |
| Unit | The unit the cost is measured in — for example MSI (thousand square inches), linear inch, each, impression, or sheet. |
| Cost per Unit | The cost of one unit of the material. This is the value consumption formulas multiply against. |
| Weight / Weight Unit | Optional physical weight per unit, in lb, oz, g, or kg. Used where production or shipping calculations need a job's weight. |
| Thickness | Optional thickness in inches, for formulas and equipment that depend on caliper. |
| Description | Optional notes about the material. |
| Appearance material (3D preview default) | Optional. The 3D Material this material looks like in 3D previews. See Appearance material. |
How materials are consumed
Materials don't carry a price on their own — they're priced by how much of them a job uses. A configuration draws on a material in two ways:
- Process step materials — a process step lists the materials it consumes and a consumption formula for each. The formula resolves to a quantity in the material's unit, which is multiplied by the cost per unit to produce that step's material cost.
- Option items — an order option item can be tied to a material so that selecting it consumes that material according to the option's consumption formula.
Because cost lives on the material and consumption lives in the configuration, updating a material's Cost per Unit re-prices every configuration that references it — no need to touch the formulas.
Import and export
The Materials list includes Excel import and export. Exporting produces a workbook with a single Materials sheet (Id, Name, CostPerUnit, Unit, Description, Category); edit it in Excel and re-upload to apply changes.
Imports are additive and update-only: a row with an existing Id updates that material, a row with a blank Id inserts a new one, and any material in the store that isn't in the workbook is left untouched. Imports never delete — removing a material stays a manual action in the UI. This makes the round-trip a safe way to bulk-edit costs or copy a material catalog to another storefront.
Appearance material
Appearance material (3D preview default) links a Print MIS material to a 3D Material, which sets how it looks in 3D previews. Option items linked to this material inherit it unless they set their own Appearance material (3D preview). In the option item, an inherited value shows as (inherit: name).
Print MIS materials and 3D Materials are separate catalogs. A Print MIS material holds cost; a 3D Material holds the look. The appearance material field is the only link between them.
Configurations
Build a complete cost-based price for a category — quantities, sizes, options, formula variables, process steps, and margin — using the Print MIS configuration editor.
Equipment
Model your machines, their processes, run speeds, setup times, and volume-tiered click charges — the labor and per-unit cost side of every Print MIS calculation.