Operations template
A print shop's job board: capture the specification, quote it, run the prepress check, get written approval of the proof, check the first sheets, finish, deliver and review the cost.
No account and no email needed. Opens in Excel or Google Sheets.
Thirteen tasks across five stages, each with a completion criterion and its own checklist, plus a suggested day covering about a two-week job. The two tasks that save reprints — the prepress check and the first-sheets check — are written out in full.
Reprints are rarely a press problem. They come from a file that was never properly checked, a proof approved verbally, or a job sheet that changed in a phone call nobody wrote down — and the shop absorbs the cost.
What that looks like
A print shop or an in-house print coordinator running jobs. Designers and buyers preparing artwork will find the prepress checklist useful but the rest is shop-side.
Group is the stage of the job: order intake, prepress and proof, production, finishing and quality, delivery and wrap-up. Status and priority already use the product's own fixed values, so they map without edits.
Download the CSV
It opens in Excel or Google Sheets. Edit the tasks first if you like, or import it as it is.
Create a board in TaskSiddhi
Give it a name, such as the week, the project or the client.
Open the spreadsheet import
Upload the CSV. Columns are matched automatically; map Group, Done when and Checklist to a text column or to custom fields.
Preview, then import
Check the rows before anything is written, then import.
Make it yours
Copy the board once per job, or keep one board with a group per stage and move each job's tasks through it. The suggested days assume about a two-week turnaround.
All thirteen tasks, with their completion criteria and checklists. Owner and due date are left blank on purpose.
13 tasks in 5 groups, 46 checklist items
Record size, quantity, paper stock, colours, finish and deadline in one job sheet, and ask the customer to confirm it in writing.
Done when
A job sheet lists size, quantity, stock, colours, finish and deadline, and the customer has confirmed it by message.
Checklist0 of 5 ticked
Quote against the confirmed job sheet, state what the price assumes about artwork readiness and turnaround, and log the customer's reply.
Done when
The quote is sent with the specification and turnaround stated, and the customer's reply is logged on the task.
Checklist0 of 4 ticked
Fix the last date for final artwork and how files will be delivered, so a late file does not quietly push the delivery date.
Done when
An artwork deadline and handover method are agreed in writing, and the delivery date is shown as dependent on that deadline.
Checklist0 of 4 ticked
Check the file against your own specification: image resolution for print, colour mode, bleed, safe margins, embedded or outlined fonts, file format and page order.
Done when
Each prepress check is marked pass or fail with a note, and the file is either cleared or returned with issues listed.
Checklist0 of 5 ticked
List every failed check with its location in the file and the fix needed, and ask the customer to supply a corrected file by the agreed date.
Done when
Each failed check is listed with its page and location, and the customer has acknowledged the list and given a new file date.
Checklist0 of 3 ticked
Send a proof of the cleared file and do not release it to production until the customer approves that exact version in writing.
Done when
The customer's written approval of the named file version is attached to the task before production starts.
Checklist0 of 3 ticked
Freeze the approved file version and write the job ticket with stock, quantity, machine, finishing steps and the delivery date.
Done when
The job ticket names the approved file version, stock, quantity, machine and finishing steps, and the file is locked against edits.
Checklist0 of 3 ticked
Check that the chosen paper is on hand in the right weight and amount, including an allowance for setup and waste, or order it now.
Done when
Stock on hand covers quantity plus the setup and waste allowance, or an order is placed with an arrival date.
Checklist0 of 3 ticked
Compare the first printed sheets with the approved proof for colour, registration, cut position and text, and record a go or no-go before the full run.
Done when
Notes on colour, registration and cut are recorded and a go or no-go decision is logged before the full run starts.
Checklist0 of 4 ticked
Run the job, spot-check sheets during the run, and record sheets printed and sheets rejected so the cost review uses real numbers.
Done when
Sheets printed and sheets rejected are recorded on the job ticket.
Checklist0 of 3 ticked
Complete cutting, folding, binding or lamination, then pull a sample and check it against the job sheet before packing.
Done when
A sample is checked against the job sheet, and any defective pieces are counted and set aside.
Checklist0 of 3 ticked
Pack by the job sheet quantity, label each carton, and confirm delivery or collection with the customer.
Done when
Carton labels and counts match the job sheet, and the customer has confirmed receipt or collection.
Checklist0 of 3 ticked
Compare the final cost with the quote, note any reprints or delays and their cause, and record one change for the next similar job.
Done when
Final cost against quote is recorded with the cause of any difference, and one improvement for next time is written down.
Checklist0 of 3 ticked
Open a task to see what counts as finished and its checklist. Ticks here are just to try it out and are not saved.
The same rows as a CSV. Columns in the file: Task, Group, Status, Priority, Owner, Due date, Suggested day, Done when, Checklist, Notes.
Download print job (CSV)The measured demand behind this template, and what it does not prove. We publish it so the page cannot be mistaken for a forecast.
| Keyword | India | US | UK | UAE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| printing checklist(target) | 110 | 2,400 | 70 | 10 |
| printing quote template | 50 | 50 | 10 | 10 |
| 3d printing checklist | 10 | 50 | 10 | 0 |
| print production workflow | 10 | 50 | 10 | 10 |
| printing sop | 20 | 20 | 10 | 10 |
| prepress checklist | 10 | 20 | 10 | 10 |
| print shop workflow | 10 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
Mixed. Most of the demand is designers and buyers checking their own artwork before sending it; the shop-operations phrasings have ten or fewer searches a month. This page is written for the shop, so it addresses the smaller audience on purpose.
What we hold this page to
Thin or mismatched demand — no traffic expectation
Search snapshot, 2026-09-30: page one is print retailers and print-shop blogs explaining how to supply a print-ready file, plus a few general articles. Difficulty was not measured. Those pages answer a different question from this one.
Your own. The checklist covers the conventional checks — resolution for print, colour mode, bleed, safe margin, embedded or outlined fonts, file format and page order — but your press and stock decide the real numbers, and your specification takes precedence.
Because "go ahead" in a chat does not say which file. Naming the version and attaching the approval is what makes a reprint argument short.
Yes, and in writing. A late file that does not move the delivery date is the most common way a shop ends up absorbing overtime it never quoted for.
Yes. Keep one board with a group per stage and move each job's tasks across it, or copy the board per job if the jobs are large. Labels work well for the customer name.
No. It is written for commercial print — offset and digital — covering prepress, press and finishing. The stages would not transfer well to 3D printing.
Final cost against the quote, the cause of any difference, and reprints or delays with their reason. One recorded change for the next similar job is worth more than a long report.
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