Printing Externally

This article is part of the External Printing section.

Find all related articles here:

External Printing

Getting Started

CPL has integrated with PHD to provide an external printing solution, allowing invoices (including budgeted ones) and other documents - such as client reminders, statements and proposed works documents - to be printed and sent directly to clients.

Some configuration is required before enabling external printing.

To activate and configure external printing, please contact Support.

1. Ensure all templates include your company branding. Branding will not be added during the printing process, so it must be part of the template itself.
   
   
2. PHD templates must not have the Use Header and Footer box ticked when uploading them into the system, via System > Documents > Templates:
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Make sure to untick the Use Header and Footer box on all existing templates as well. You can do this by opening the Document Templates window via System > Documents > Templates and clicking into the relevant box.
   
   
   
   

The same template is used for both Print and Email, so the header and footer will already be present in emailed versions. Ticking this option may result in duplicate headers/footers.

Printing Documents Externally

To print documents using an external printing service, first prepare your mail merge as usual by following the steps outlined here.

Then proceed as follows:

1. Click Print/Send:
   

1. A progress bar is displayed:
   

 

1. A pop-up message appears. Do not click OK yet:
   

 

1. The Word template opens in the background. Click its icon in the taskbar to bring it forward.
   
   
2. Review the template and make any necessary adjustments:
   
   
1. Add extra text and mail merge fields if needed. Learn more about adding mail merge fields here and here.
   

1. Navigate through multiple recipients using the arrows in the Mailings tab. To search for a specific client, click Find Recipient:
   
   
   
   

1. Once you're ready, return to the pop-up message and click OK. Click Yes on the confirmation prompt:
   
   

1. The progress bar will show the number of prints and emails being processed. When the process is complete, a confirmation message will be displayed along with the batch number:
   
   
   

 

1. Clients who have opted for email, will receive their documents via email.
   
   
2. Clients who haven't opted for email will have their documents sent to the external printer. See the Navigating the Merge Documents and Print Externally Screen section of this article or more info.
   
   
3. A confirmation message appears:
   
   
   
   

The system will attempt to send 3 times, after which a Failure message will appear if it was unsuccessful. You can then choose to skip the file and continue the process, or cancel the process.

1. Close the Merge Documents and Print Externally window.
   
   
2. The system then sends the PDF to your chosen print provider.
   
   
3. A copy of the document is stored in the Letters Documents tab of the recipients' accounts. 

If attachments were added, but some recipients do not use email, these attachments will only be saved in the Letters Documents tab if the system option "Document Mail Merge Save Attachments For Printed" is enabled.

Printing Invoices Externally

To print invoices externally:

1. Go to Client Global > Process Owners Charges for Actual.
   
   
2. Run your invoices as usual, as described here.
   
   
3. Click Print:
   
   
   

1. Double-click a batch to preview the invoices. 
1. Ensure your branding is already included on the template.
   
   
2. Click Print Externally:
   
   
   
   
   
3. This will open the Merge Documents and Print Externally window.
   
   
4. Edit your print pack as needed. 
   
1. See the Navigating the Merge Documents and Print Externally Screen section of this article or more info.
   
   
5. Click Merge and Send. 
   
   

Printing Locally After Enabling External Printing

Documents

Once external printing is enabled, you will no longer be able to print documents locally from the Documents module. However, you can still print them from the Letters Documents tab within the client account.

1. To print an individual document, go to the Letters Documents tab.
   
1. Right click on the letter and select PDF Document.
   

Invoices

Invoices can still be printed locally from the Preview in the Process Invoice Charges for Actual screen by clicking the print icon: 

1. To print many invoices, select the print icon and set your printer to be Microsoft Print to PDF. 
   
1. All invoices will be saved into one large PDF file, which you can then print out.
   
2. Make sure to select All Pages at the bottom:
   
   

1. To print an individual invoice from the client account, go to the Transaction Activity tab. Right click on the invoice and select PDF Invoice.
   

Navigating the Merge Documents and Print Externally Screen

When Merge Documents and Print Externally window opens:

1. The selected template appears in the top-left corner.
   
   
2. You can expand this window to full screen:

1. The screen is split into two sections:
   
   
1. Left side: List of all documents in the print pack. 
   
2. Right side: Preview of the first five documents in the batch.
   
   

1. To change the print order, use the Move Up and Move Down arrows:
   
    

The first document must clearly display the recipient’s address within the envelope window, ensuring that no confidential details are visible.

1. To add additional attachments, click  Add Attachment:
   
   
   

Supported file types are: PDF, .DOC/.DOCX, JPEG/JPG, .PNG.

PDFs must be A4 size. Attempting to upload a different size will result in an error message.

1. To add an additional template to the pack, click Add Document Template. It will be merged with the client details for each recipient receiving an invoice:
   
   

You cannot edit the template at this stage, so ensure it is finalised beforehand.

1. To remove documents or attachments from the pack, click Remove:
   
   
2. To print in black and white, check the Mono Print? box at the bottom left:
   
   
   
   
   
3. Once satisfied with your print pack, click Merge And Send:
   
   

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