Next Day Production Cut-Off Handling

🎯 Purpose

To enforce next-day production cut-off times with limited flexibility, ensuring schedule integrity while allowing a controlled grace period.

🕛 Standard Cut-Off

Jobs must be submitted by 12:00pm to be eligible for next-day production.
Submission must include:

• Complete job details
  
  

• ✅ Correct, print-ready artwork
  
  

⏱️ Grace Window (12:00pm – 12:20pm)

Jobs submitted between 12:00pm and 12:20pm may be accepted for next-day turnaround only if all of the following are true:

1. ✅ Sufficient production capacity
   
   

2. ✅ Customer has a reliable history or valid justification
   
   

3. ✅ Correct, print-ready artwork is received no later than 12:20pm
   
   

⛔ If any of these conditions are not met, the job must be scheduled for the next production day.

🚨 12:20pm Mandatory Staff Action

If a job is in progress or awaiting final artwork at 12:20pm:

• Staff must notify the customer that the job has missed the grace window and will not make next-day production.
  
  

Template message:

“Just letting you know the cut-off for next-day production was 12:20pm with correct artwork. As this wasn't met, the job will be scheduled for the next production day.”

🚫 Final Cut-Off – 12:30pm (No Exceptions)

• All job/artwork submissions after 12:20pm are automatically moved to the next production day.
  
  

• The time between 12:20pm and 12:30pm is for:
  
  

  • 🗣️ Staff to follow up with late customers
    
    

  • 📝 Logging communication and notes
    
    

💬 Customer Script (If Cut-Off Missed):

““Just letting you know the cut-off for next-day production was 12:00pm with correct artwork. In this case, we allowed a grace period until 12:20pm, but as this deadline wasn’t met, the job will be added into production for the following production day."”

🧾 Why We Have a Strict Cut-Off Time

To maintain our fast turnaround times and high-quality service, we use automated systems that plan, group, and schedule jobs efficiently.

Here’s why the 12:00pm cut-off (with a short grace period) is necessary:

• 🛠️ Automated batching: Our system batches similar jobs together to optimize printing, cutting, and packaging workflows.
  
  

• 📦 Packaging creation is automated: Once batching is locked in, custom packaging labels and shipping information are automatically generated — late jobs can't be added without disrupting the queue.
  
  

• ⚙️ Efficiency is key: Our automation engine sequences jobs to minimize delays and waste, ensuring we meet all promised turnaround times for every customer.
  
  

• ⏱️ Last-minute changes cause disruptions: Adding jobs after batching would delay production for all jobs in that batch — which isn’t fair to other customers who submitted on time.
  
  

By sticking to our cut-off, we’re able to deliver consistent results and next-day turnaround without compromising quality or speed.

✅ Staff Checklist

• Job submitted by 12:00pm?
  
  

• If between 12:00–12:20pm: ✅ all 3 grace conditions met?
  
  

• 12:20pm: Notify any customer with pending artwork they’ve missed the cut-off
  
  

• Log job notes and communication in CRM/system
  
  

• 🚫 No exceptions past 12:30pm