Predictika · printing units, coating, drying, perfecting, ink, speed, site power and market electrics

An AI sales agent's sheetfed press quote, checked before it goes to the print shop

An AI sales agent prepares a sheetfed offset press quote for a fictional print shop: a press format, a number of printing units, a coating unit, a dryer, perfecting, an ink type, a production speed, the site power supply, a market and a number of presses, and says it is ready to send. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika's validator, which checks it against a declarative model of the press line rules, prices it, and reports every problem it finds in one pass.

Scope: Quotes for sheetfed offset presses in four formats (52, 74, 106 and 145 cm) with coating, dryer, perfecting, ink, speed, site power and market options, checked against illustrative press line rules. Prices and limits are estimates in US dollars, not a vendor quote. See everything this validator covers

This validator checks any quote built from these press formats, coating and dryer options, inks and markets, not just the scenarios shown below.

  • Press layout — the number of printing units against the press format, the total line length once coating, dryer and perfecting sections are added, and whether the format offers perfecting.
  • Coating, drying and ink — a coating unit needs a dryer behind it, and UV ink needs a UV dryer to cure it.
  • Speed, power and market — the production speed against the press rating, the electrical load against the site supply with a review near the limit, and a UL listed package for the US market.
  • Quantity, discount and size — one to 5 presses per quote, a volume discount from 2 presses, an approval band above 5 percent total discount, and a deal desk review above USD 3,000,000.
  • The stated total — a check that the order total the agent states matches the total the validator computes.

Any quote for these press formats, coating and dryer options, inks and markets is in scope, not only the scenarios pictured here. Not checked: other product lines such as digital presses, postpress equipment or service contracts, or real list prices.

The AI sales agentBuilds the press quote from the conversation and says it is ready to send.
Predictika validatorChecks every rule at once and returns the verdict, each finding, and the computed figures.

6 scenarios in 3 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI sales agent says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: AI sales agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  
  

    
Where a rules-based CPQ gets this wrong
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Our assessment of what a typical rules-based CPQ (product rules, price rules and validation rules, as in Salesforce CPQ or Conga) does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built.

    
What the validator caughtA rules-based CPQPredictika
Line length from several optionsOnly with workarounds
The total length is a sum over unit, coater, dryer and perfecting choices; product rules express it poorly and often need a custom calculation.		Sections are added up from the choices and compared with the press limit on every call.
A coating unit that needs a dryerOnly with care
A dependency that must be maintained for every coater and dryer pair.		The dependency is a single check on the chosen options.
Ink to dryer curingOnly with care
Option filters per ink that must agree with the dryer list.		The ink is compared with what the dryer can cure.
Electrical load against the siteOnly with workarounds
The load is summed from the units, coater and dryer, then compared with a customer value that rules rarely hold.		The load is computed and compared with the site supply, with a review near the limit.
Review when close to a limitOnly with care
Threshold approvals are easy to miss.		Speed and power near the limit raise approval findings next to the hard blocks.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Rules tend to fire as the quote is saved, so a rep often fixes one error and meets the next.		All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
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Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the quote; approval findings need a person to sign off; everything else is computed.

    
1The number of printing units must be within the range of the press format.
2The press line needs more sections than the press format can take.
3The press format has no perfecting option.
4A coating unit needs a dryer behind it.
5UV ink needs a UV dryer; the infrared and hot air dryer cannot cure it.
6The press needs more power than the site offers.
7The press draws above 90 percent of the site power; the site electrician must confirm the supply.
8The requested speed is above the rating of the press format.
9The requested speed is above 90 percent of the press rating; production must confirm.
10The large format press has no UL listed electrical package for the US market.
11A quote is limited to 1 to 5 presses.
12A total discount above 5 percent needs sales director approval.
13An order value above USD 3,000,000 needs a deal desk review.
14The order total the agent states must match the total the validator computes.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
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The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

    
1. A coating unit with no dryer: A 74 cm press with a coating unit and no dryer

    
The agent's request. Please check this quote for Lindenhof Druck, a print shop: one 74 cm sheetfed press with 6 printing units and a single coating unit but no dryer, printing one side with conventional ink at 12 thousand sheets per hour on a 220 kW supply in the European Union, at a total of USD 1,920,000. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Coating unit without a dryer. A coating unit needs a dryer behind it.
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  • Price build-up. Estimated list price: USD 1,920,000 for 1 press, with units, coating and dryer; USD 1,920,000 before discount; 0 percent total discount.
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2. A coating unit with no dryer: The same press with an infrared dryer added

    
The agent's request. Lindenhof Druck needs the coating to cure, so I added an infrared and hot air dryer behind the coating unit: one 74 cm sheetfed press with 6 printing units, a single coating unit and the dryer, printing one side with conventional ink at 12 thousand sheets per hour on a 220 kW supply, at a total of USD 2,030,000. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Price build-up. Estimated list price: USD 2,030,000 for 1 press, with units, coating and dryer; USD 2,030,000 before discount; 0 percent total discount.
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3. A speed above the press rating: A 74 cm press requested at 20 thousand sheets per hour

    
The agent's request. Please check this quote for Brandt Offsetdruck, a print shop: one 74 cm sheetfed press with 6 printing units, a single coating unit and an infrared and hot air dryer, printing one side with conventional ink at 20 thousand sheets per hour on a 220 kW supply in the European Union, at a total of USD 2,030,000. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Speed over the rating. 20 thousand sheets per hour is above the 18 thousand of the Sheetfed press 74 cm format.
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  • Speed near the rating. The requested speed is above 90 percent of the press rating; production must confirm.
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  • Price build-up. Estimated list price: USD 2,030,000 for 1 press, with units, coating and dryer; USD 2,030,000 before discount; 0 percent total discount.
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4. A speed above the press rating: The same press at 16 thousand sheets per hour

    
The agent's request. Brandt Offsetdruck will run at 16 thousand sheets per hour instead, so the quote is the same 74 cm sheetfed press with 6 printing units, a single coating unit and an infrared and hot air dryer, printing one side with conventional ink on a 220 kW supply, at a total of USD 2,030,000. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Price build-up. Estimated list price: USD 2,030,000 for 1 press, with units, coating and dryer; USD 2,030,000 before discount; 0 percent total discount.
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5. A stated total that does not match: A perfecting press with an order total that is too low

    
The agent's request. Please check this quote for Seeblick Druckerei, a print shop: one 74 cm sheetfed press with 5 printing units, perfecting for printing both sides, no coating unit and no dryer, conventional ink at 14 thousand sheets per hour on a 200 kW supply in the European Union, at a total of USD 1,557,000. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Stated total does not match. The quoted net total of USD 1,557,000 does not match the USD 1,730,000 the validator computed.
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  • Price build-up. Estimated list price: USD 1,730,000 for 1 press, with units, coating and dryer; USD 1,730,000 before discount; 0 percent total discount.
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6. A stated total that does not match: The same press with the order total corrected

    
The agent's request. I recomputed the Seeblick Druckerei quote: the same 74 cm sheetfed press with 5 printing units and perfecting, no coating unit and no dryer, conventional ink at 14 thousand sheets per hour, now at a total of USD 1,730,000. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Price build-up. Estimated list price: USD 1,730,000 for 1 press, with units, coating and dryer; USD 1,730,000 before discount; 0 percent total discount.
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Narration transcript
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The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. An AI sales agent prepares a sheetfed offset press quote for a fictional print shop: a press format, a number of printing units, a coating unit, and more. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika's validator, which checks it against a declarative model of the press line rules, prices it, and reports every problem it finds in one pass.
    2. 
      
  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
    3. 
      
  3. The agent says. Please check this quote for Lindenhof Druck, a print shop: one 74 cm sheetfed press. It is ready to send. The rest of the request is on screen.
    4. 
      
  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
    5. 
      
  5. Blocked, with one finding, all in one answer. A coating unit needs a dryer behind it.
    6. 
      
  6. The validator returned one blocking finding in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the quote are checked against each other.
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  7. What this shows: for a coating unit that needs a dryer, a rules-based CPQ is error-prone for this.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the dryer to infrared and hot air dryer and the order total stated by the agent to USD 2,030,000.
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  10. It calls the validator again.
    11. 
      
  11. This time the validator clears it.
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  12. The earlier finding is cleared, and the validator's total, USD 2,030,000, matches the quote.
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  13. One problem caught in one call, fixed in one pass, and a clean quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer. Now you can try the other scenarios yourself.
    14.