Sample Advanced job cost calculation
To illustrate how page detail rules are applied, the following example calculates charges for a print job sent to a printer defined to use an advanced price list. Working through this example should give you an overview of the general strategy for defining advanced price lists.
The advanced price list is defined as follows:
| Attribute Category | Individual attributes | Assigned Charge | Page Detail Rule # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job attributes | Job base | -0.05 | — |
| Stapling | 0.05 | — | |
| Binding | 1.00 | — | |
| Page detail pricing | Default page | 0.05 | — |
| Color | 0.50 | 1 | |
| Size A3 + color | 0.75 | 2 | |
| Size A3 + color + heavy media | 1.00 | 3 | |
| Size A3 + heavy media | .060 | 4 | |
| Color + heavy media | 0.05 | 5 |
The print job consists of a bound, six-page job that has a separator or banner page for the first page.
DRE examines the job and page attributes and passes the necessary information to CAS, which then examines the information and determines that the six pages in the print job match the page detail rules as outlined below.
| Attribute | Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A3 size | — | — | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| Uses color | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Heavy media | — | — | — | — | — | Yes |
| Rule match? | No | No | No | Yes Rule # 1 | Yes Rule # 2 | Yes Rule # 3 |
CAS then groups pages together into page sets according to page attributes defined by page detail rules. Equitrac calculates costs for this print job’s page attributes as shown below.
| Page set | # Pages in set | Meets Page Charging Rule | Assigned Cost | Calculation | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 3 | — | 0.05 (default) | 3 X 0.05 | 0.15 |
| B | 1 | 1 | 0.50 | 1 X 0.50 | 0.50 |
| C | 1 | 2 | 0.75 | 1 X 0.75 | 0.75 |
| D | 1 | 3 | 1.00 | 1 X 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Total for page attributes | 2.40 | ||||
| Specified job attributes | Assigned cost | Total cost |
|---|---|---|
| Job base cost | -0.05 | -0.05 |
| Binding | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Stapling | 0.05 | 0.05 |
| Total for job attributes | 1.00 |
Equitrac calculates the total cost for this print job:
| Total cost for page attributes | 2.40 |
| Total cost for job attributes | 1.00 |
| Total cost for print job | 3.40 |