Questions
What does a licence cover?
Your shop and an agreed number of people, each with their own sign-in, on any computer in the shop. Licences are agreed with each shop. See What a licence covers.
What do my people need to use Studio?
A desktop or laptop with Chrome or Edge, and their own account. Studio Cloud runs in the browser. Open Studio, sign in and work.
Can I use Studio on a phone or a tablet?
Not to lay a job out. The design screens are made for a big screen and a mouse. The press board page keeps the computer layout on a phone and scrolls sideways.
Which RIPs and presses does it work with?
Studio is made for shops that print their own work on roll-fed presses: stickers, decals and banners off the roll. It does not talk to a press. It hands each sheet to the RIP you own, by writing it into the folder that RIP watches.
ONYX is the RIP Studio is built most for. Other RIPs that read a watched folder should work the same way, and we have not yet checked each one.
How does a job reach my press?
You put a saved job on one of your presses by name. A press connector, a small program beside the press, brings it down and writes it into the folder your RIP watches. A person at the press starts it. We set the connector up with you.
So far we have tried the connector against a stand-in press, not yet beside a shop's own. We set it up with you and watch the first job through.
Does Studio replace my RIP?
No. Studio's own RIP is in development, and until it exists Studio works with the RIP you already own.
Does Studio start or stop my press?
No. Studio writes a file into a folder. A person at the press starts the job. Studio never starts, stops or reorders anything on the RIP.
Does Studio change my colours for the press?
No. Your RIP does that, through the ICC profile for the stock and ink set. Studio can measure and change the colours in a file. See Match a customer's colour.
Where is my artwork kept?
In your shop's account, inside each saved job. No other shop can open it. PostPress never reads or touches your customers' details, your jobs or your artwork, not to fix a fault and not for any other reason.
What is on-premise?
The same browser Studio on a server of your own, with our support. Studio Cloud is the way we recommend. If you want on-premise, ask us on the contact page, tell us what you have in mind, and a person will reply.
How do I get a licence?
Use Get a licence on our website. Tell us about your shop. A person replies by e-mail, usually with a question or two about your presses and how many people would sign in. We set up your account when the licence is agreed.
What happens when my licence ends?
Studio stays open to read, and a supervisor can take everything out as one file. Nothing is locked away or deleted. See When a licence ends, and taking your work out.
Can two people work on the same job?
Only one window holds a job open for saving at a time. If someone else has it, your save is refused in words that name who, and Studio offers Save a copy. See Save a job and pick it up again.
Can my customer see a layout before it prints?
Yes. Send a proof link: your customer sees one picture of the sheet and can approve it or comment, with no account. See Send a customer a proof link.
Can I print a job the preflight has stopped?
No. A stop holds the job, and nothing on any screen clicks past it. Change the job or the stock's settings, or use Fix these issues. See Read the preflight.
What if the internet drops while I work?
Studio Cloud needs a connection. If Studio cannot reach our site when you save, it says so and the job stays on the sheet. Save job as… can keep a copy on your own computer.
Do I put anything on my computers?
Not for Studio. It opens in the browser. If you put jobs on presses from Studio, one small program, the press connector, runs on one computer beside the press, once for each site. We set it up with you. See Set up the press connector.
Do I have to open my firewall?
No. The press connector only reaches out, to Studio's own address. Nothing listens except a status page on the computer itself. A shop behind a proxy needs one entry to allow Studio's address. See What the press connector can and cannot see.
What if the press connector is down?
The job stays put on the press and waits, and the board says Not heard from since. Download the print file gives you the same file to drop into the hot folder by hand. See When the press connector is quiet.
What does "tried against a stand-in press" mean?
A stand-in press is a made-up one that reports and fetches like a real connector but writes nothing into a hot folder. It means the part has been tried, but not yet beside a shop's own press. We set the connector up with you and watch the first job through.
Can I print two customers' jobs on one roll?
Yes. Jobs on the same stock for the same press join a waiting roll. All sites draws it whole, Studio says when it is full enough, and a person presses Print. See Ganged rolls and Print at N% full.
Who decides who gets a job?
You do. A supervisor gives a job under Give a job, or reads Studio's suggestion under Hand out today's jobs and changes any line before pressing Hand these out. See Hand out a job and mark it checked.
What can a plain Person not do?
A Person lays out jobs, saves them, adds a preset of their own and marks a job checked. They cannot invite people, hand out jobs, change Integrations or take the shop's work out, and Materials opens to read. See Who can do what.
Who at PostPress can see my jobs?
Nobody. PostPress never reads or touches your jobs, artwork, customers or people. What comes to us is only what you choose to send, such as a Send feedback… note. See Your jobs and customers stay yours.
How is Studio different from the tools I use now?
It does in one place what is usually split across several: layout by the cut line, a preflight, the hand-over to the press, who has which job, and a proof for the customer. See Why Studio Cloud.
What is not in Studio yet?
These are in development, and none of them is in Studio today:
- Studio's own RIP.
- ONYX's own job lists in the browser, so Studio can show what is ripping and printing.
Built, but not yet applied: colour profiles. You can add your own and see the ones PostPress publishes, but the chosen profile is not yet handed to the RIP or applied to a job. See Colour profiles.