Book Pilot Program Guide

[!WARNING] This guide is only valid for Controlled Pilot users and printing offices participating by invitation. General public services (Public Self-Service) are not yet active.

Welcome to the NowToPrint Book Printing Pilot Program! This program is an exclusive controlled phase conducted with a select group of publishers, authors, and print shops. The system is designed to process your printing orders in the most secure way possible.

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1. Submitting Quote Requests with Missing Info (Fail-Open)

Even if you have not finalized all technical details of your book project (page count, size, binding type, etc.), our system will successfully save your request as long as you provide a Name + Email and a Book Printing Intent.

• Requests that trigger technical rules or are incomplete are not directly rejected.
• Your request is quietly placed in Private Manual Review status.
• Once saved, you will receive a Tracking Code and a Tracking Token.

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2. What Does "Your Request is Under Review" Mean?

When you submit your request, if there are missing or incorrect technical parameters, the system forwards it to our steward queue.

• Who is a Steward? A NowToPrint technical operator who checks and corrects request parameters so print shops can provide accurate quotes.
• Communication Step: Our steward team will contact you via email or phone to complete the missing or incorrect details. Once finalized, your request is published for print shops to bid on.

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3. Receiving and Accepting Bids

Once your request is approved by the steward, it becomes visible to our pilot print shops.

• Print shops submit their best pricing quotes for your project.
• You will be notified of quotes via email, and they will be listed on your tracking portal.
• You can accept the quote that suits you best by clicking the "Accept Quote" button to create your order.

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4. Payment Readiness and Wire Transfer Process

Once your order is created, the system directs you to the payment readiness screen.

[!IMPORTANT] During the pilot phase, credit card payment (online checkout) is disabled. You must send your payment via Wire Transfer / EFT to the specified bank account. After making the payment, you can upload your receipt through the portal or notify the steward team.

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5. Why Doesn't Production Start Immediately? (Production Hold)

Once your payment is verified, a production_ready_after_payment signal is written to your order. However, printing presses do not start automatically.

• Why is there a Hold? During the Controlled Pilot, file quality, plate compatibility, and paper stock availability are verified one last time manually by our steward team.
• Manual Permission: Following these checks, the steward approves the order, and the production instruction is manually sent to the print shop. This safeguard eliminates errors and delays. Automatic external production integrations will remain locked (on hold) throughout the pilot.