This guide explains everything you need to know about recipes: how to create, manage, run, and share them. In PrimeCenter, recipes are central to automating workflows and simplifying tasks.

 

What is a recipe?

A recipe is a combination of settings designed to automate repetitive manual tasks, such as nesting, preflighting, resizing, adding print bleed, annotations, cut marks, barcodes, QR codes, and more.

Each recipe serves as a reusable configuration that can be duplicated and exported for use on a different PrimeCenter station. This ensures consistent settings are applied for specific tasks. You can also work with multiple recipes simultaneously.

For instance, you might have one recipe that processes jobs to nest on a specific format with a defined media type to produce sticker sheets, and another recipe configured to create banners.

 

Creating and managing recipes

Creating a recipe

 

Deleting a recipe

You can delete recipes individually or in bulk, using the following methods:

 

Deleting a single recipe

From the tabs bar

• Right-click on a recipe tab in the tabs bar at the top of the Layout Creator interface.
• Select Delete from the context menu.

 

From the search bar

1. In the tabs bar at the top of the Layout Creator interface, click on the search bar.
2. Search for the recipe you want to delete.
3. Click the   icon next to the recipe name to delete it.

 

From Recipe management

1. Navigate to Settings > Recipe management.
2. Search for the recipe you want to delete.
3. Click the three dots   next to the recipe and select Delete.

Deleting recipes in bulk

1. Go to Settings > Recipe management.
2. Select the recipes you want to delete by checking the corresponding boxes.
3. Click the   icon to delete all selected recipes at once.

 

Renaming a recipe

1. Right-click on the recipe tab in the tabs bar at the top of the Layout Creator interface.
2. Select Rename from the context menu.
3. Enter the new name for the recipe and press Enter to confirm.

 

Duplicating a recipe

1. Right-click on the recipe tab in the tabs bar at the top of the Layout Creator interface.
2. Select Duplicate from the context menu.
3. A copy of the recipe will be created with the same settings. You can then rename or modify it as needed.

 

Managing recipe tabs

Each recipe opens in a dedicated tab within the Layout Creator interface. You can easily switch between open recipes using the tabs bar at the top.

Screenshot of PrimeCenter V3.1

 

Closing a recipe

• Click the   icon on the recipe tab.
• Or, right-click on the tab and choose Close or Close other tabs.

When you close a recipe, it can be reopened at any time, and you will find it exactly as you left it.

 

Reopening a recipe

• Click the search bar in the tabs bar and search for the recipe.
• Or, navigate to Settings > Recipe management, search for the recipe, click the three dots  , and select Display in recipes navbar.
• Or, to open several recipes at once, navigate to Settings > Recipe management, select the recipes you want to open by checking the corresponding boxes, then click the pin icon   to display the selected recipes in the tabs bar.

 

Searching for recipes

Quick search

Use the search bar located in the tabs bar at the top of the Layout Creator interface to quickly find a specific recipe. From this search bar, you can access all your recipes, including those that are already open or currently hidden/closed. You can:

• Reopen a closed recipe.
• Search for an open recipe to navigate to it directly.
• Delete a recipe.

 

Advanced search

For a more detailed search, go to Settings > Recipe management, where you can view the entire list of your recipes.

• Search by keyword: Use the search bar to find a recipe based on its name.
• Sort recipes:
  • Sort by status (for Pro and Max packages) to see which recipes are running.
  • Sort by name in ascending or descending order.

 

Importing and exporting recipes

You can import and export recipes to transfer them between computers or to create backups in case of technical issues that could erase your software data.

To learn more about all available import and export methods, including special cases and a post-import checklist, refer to Importing and exporting recipes.

 

Recipe application and automation

Applying a recipe

Applying a recipe is a manual, one-time application of the recipe settings to process files and generate layouts.

 

   Running a recipe

Running a recipe allows for automatic processing of files. New files are automatically processed based on the recipe’s settings.

 

Running recipes in bulk

1. Go to Settings > Recipe management.
2. Select the recipes you want to run by checking the corresponding boxes.
3. Click the Run icon   to process all selected recipes.

 

   Pausing or stopping a recipe

Pausing or stopping a recipe allows you to control its progress:

•   Pause: Temporarily halts the recipe without canceling ongoing tasks.
•   Stop: Cancels all ongoing tasks within the recipe.

 

From Layout Creator

1. In Layout Creator, in the bar at the top of the Studio, click Pause   or Stop  .

 

From Recipe management

1. Navigate to Settings > Recipe management.
2. Search for the recipe you want to pause or stop.
3. Click the three dots   next to the recipe and select Pause   or Stop  .

 

Pausing or stopping recipes in bulk

1. Go to Settings > Recipe management.
2. Select the recipes you want to pause or stop by checking the corresponding boxes.
3. Click the Pause   or Stop   icon to manage all selected recipes.

Understanding recipe statuses

A recipe's status is displayed next to its name in the tabs bar at the top of the Layout Creator interface and in the Recipe management tab.

•   In progress: The recipe is actively running, and files are being processed.

   Additional statuses

•   On hold:
  • The recipe is queued and waiting for resources to become available. This depends on the Max running recipes in queue parameter.
  • The recipe is active but waiting for new files to be processed.
•   Paused: The recipe has been manually paused by the user.

 

Managing recipe queues

Simultaneous running recipes

With an automation process, multiple recipes can run simultaneously. The number of recipes that can be processed at the same time depends on your PrimeCenter package:

•   10 recipes can be processed simultaneously.
•   Unlimited recipes can be processed in the queue.

•   No recipe queue is available. Only one recipe can be processed at a time.

 

   Max running recipes in queue

The Max running recipes in queue parameter controls the number of active recipes that can run in parallel. Recipes without files to process will be placed on hold, allowing other active recipes to take precedence.

1. Go to Settings > Recipe management.
2. Adjust the Max running recipes in queue parameter.

 

   Multiple users

When multiple users are under a single license, the recipe processing limit applies across all users, not individually.

For example, if you have a license with three users, you can configure the Max running recipes in queue parameter to distribute the load uniformly among them, such as setting it to 3, 3, and 4 for each user. This ensures that no single user monopolizes the available capacity while others are unable to run recipes.