PrimeCenter Transforms your Print&Cut Workflows: Insights from FASTSIGNS
August 05, 2025
We know how precious your time is when you work in the field of large format printing. It’s a constraint shared by print professionals everywhere: every minute spent struggling with file preparation is a minute not spent printing, cutting, selling, or growing your business.
In a recent Caldera webinar, industry experts discussed how to overcome common pain points in print and cut job optimization and how Caldera PrimeCenter is helping shops streamline their workflows, save time, and reduce material waste.
Joining the conversation were Sebastien Hanssens, Head of Marketing at Caldera; Chris Grandell, owner of FASTSIGNS Blaine, Minnesota; and Joseph Phillips, Workflow Specialist at Caldera. Together, they shed light on the real and most relatable challenges faced by print service providers and the major role automation can play in overcoming them.
The Daily Challenges of Print & Cut
For many print shops, the prepress process is a silent productivity killer. Manual file preparation, adjusting cut lines, adding bleeds, nesting irregular shapes can consume hours of valuable time each day. As Hanssens pointed out:
Manual pre-press creates bottlenecks that strangle your production pipeline. Every minute spent on file prep is a minute not spent on revenue-generating activities.
Chris Grandell’s story is a familiar one. Having grown up in the sign business and now running his own FASTSIGNS franchise, he oversees a production environment with a mix of roll-to-roll printers, flatbeds, and cutting equipment. His team handles everything from high-volume decals to rigid signage, often on tight two to three day turnarounds. The diversity of projects, file types, and materials creates a complex web of manual processes that can slow production to a crawl.
The Misconceptions of Prepress Software
Joseph Phillips highlighted a common misconception: many print shops believe their RIP software is sufficient for file preparation. “RIPs are excellent for color management and device output,” Phillips explained, “but they’re not designed to handle the intricate prepress tasks required to optimize material usage, batch jobs, and prepare cut files accurately.”
Even smaller shops or those with highly varied jobs can benefit enormously from dedicated prepress software. Phillips emphasized that prepress isn’t just for high-volume operations, it’s a crucial part of any workflow where time, material efficiency, and accuracy matter.
The PrimeCenter Advantage and why it matters
FASTSIGNS Blaine adopted Caldera PrimeCenter to address these exact challenges. Grandell shared how PrimeCenter quickly became a game-changer for his business:
- Automated Bleed Creation: Complex bleeds, including those involving gradients or intricate designs, are generated automatically. No more manual shape mirroring or gradient expansions.
- Auto-Generated Cut Lines: Even when customer artwork lacks proper cut lines, PrimeCenter can create them seamlessly.
- Optimized Nesting: PrimeCenter’s intelligent nesting ensures maximum material usage, including the ability to place registration marks only where necessary, which can free up valuable inches of substrate.
- Double-Sided Print Handling: For projects like double-sided yard signs with asymmetric shapes, PrimeCenter automates alignment and side matching, saving hours of tedious manual adjustments.
- Batching and Sorting: The software sorts and batches jobs for efficient production and finishing, crucial for high-volume items like yard signs or vehicle magnets.
“Time is money,” Grandell emphasized. “PrimeCenter automates the repetitive tasks that don’t require expertise but do require time, giving us both time savings and material savings.”
Consistency, Automation, and Confidence
One of the most overlooked benefits of using dedicated prepress software is the consistency it brings to production. By automating repetitive tasks, shops minimize the risk of human error. Phillips explained, “Anytime you rely on someone to manually select variables, you introduce the possibility of mistakes. With PrimeCenter, you can predefine rules and let the software do the heavy lifting, ensuring consistency and accuracy every time.”
The ability to preview print-ready PDFs, with embedded metadata for copy counts and job specifics, also gives operators greater confidence before committing expensive materials like acrylic or aluminum to production.
Measurable Results
Since implementing PrimeCenter, FASTSIGNS Blaine has seen dramatic improvements in workflow efficiency, material usage, and overall productivity. For example, by adjusting registration mark placement, the team can now fully utilize the width of materials like magnetic sheets, significantly reducing waste. Similarly, double-sided signage projects that once required hours of preparation can now be handled in minutes.
“It’s amazing to see how much time and material we’re saving,” said Grandell. “It’s allowed us to scale up production without scaling up headaches.”
The Future of Print & Cut Optimization
As the digital print industry continues to evolve, automation tools like Caldera PrimeCenter are becoming essential for staying competitive. With labor costs rising and turnaround expectations shortening, print service providers must look for every opportunity to streamline processes, reduce waste, and free up valuable time for higher-value activities.
In the words of Sebastien Hanssens: “Your most valuable resource isn’t your printer or your cutter, it’s your time. And PrimeCenter is here to help you reclaim it.”
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