Printing Partner - Quality Control Device - Comprehensive guide to quality assurance in Printer App 2.0

This guide covers the QA workflow for both serialized and static work orders.

What you need before starting

App settings: Disable automatic updates for the Printer App on all QA phones. Update only between jobs: a mid-scan update will corrupt session data.
Codes: Downloaded from a production work order on the ScanTrust portal.
Hardware: Compatible device with attached optics or 3D-printed kit.
Account: Production QA access.
Calibration: Approved press and substrate calibration matching your device class.
Materials: Correct printing equipment and substrate.

Device classes and compatibility

• Optics-enabled class: Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+, S10, S10+, S10e, S10 5G, S20, S20+, S21, S21+ and S21 Ultra with ScanTrust clip-on optics.
• Non-optics class: Google Pixel 9 Pro, 10 Pro and 11 Pro with the 3D-printed kit.
• Cross-class mixing is not supported. Calibrations are tied to the hardware class, so a job calibrated on an optics device cannot be verified on a non-optics device, or the reverse. An uncalibrated or mismatched device produces Error 9200.

Starting a QA session

1. Log in to the ScanTrust Printer app as Printing Operator or Printer administrator.

2. Open the work order. Open the app menu, tap Work orders, then search by ID or reference. Tap the row to open its session list. If the row is greyed out, tap the repeat icon instead.

3. Review the QA sessions on that work order. Opening a work order takes you to the session list rather than straight into scanning. Past and active sessions are listed there.

4. Create a new session. Tap CREATE NEW SESSION and give it a reference you will recognise later, such as a job number, a press or a shift. Only one session can be open per work order: while one is open, CREATE NEW SESSION is disabled and the app shows "Please complete or close the open session first".

Figure 1: Creating a new QA session and giving it a reference.

The four QA stages

The video below shows the whole process end to end, as a quick overview. The sections after it explain each stage in full.

A QA session records one press run through four stages, in order. Make Ready and Press Run are optional. Referencing and Finishing are mandatory and have minimum scan counts.

Stage 1: Make Ready (optional)

• Purpose: test scans during press setup and alignment.
• Scans: no minimum, and failed scans are ignored.
• Device: master phone only.

Stage 2: Referencing (mandatory)

• Purpose: sets the quality tolerance that every later scan is judged against. Press Run and Finishing stay locked until it is complete.
• Scans, serialized codes: 10 good scans.
• Scans, static codes: 10 good scans, or one per imposition if the plate has more than 10.
• Device: master phone only.

Stage 3: Press Run (optional)

• Purpose: spot-checking print quality during the run.
• Scans: no minimum. A failed scan raises an alert but does not block the run.
• Device: master phone. Secondary phones can join from this point on.

Stage 4: Finishing (mandatory)

• Purpose: final quality check, and the scans ScanTrust uses to train the codes for that run.
• Scans: 20 good scans, spread across the run. Submit stays disabled until the session has them.
• Device: master phone and any joined phone.

Submitting the session

On the master device, tap Submit session and enter the total impressions printed from when the session was created until you submit it, across all phones. That is items printed, not different codes, so the same code printed 5,000 times counts as 5,000.

Figure 2: Entering the total impressions before submitting.

Adding a second phone

Once Press Run has opened, a second phone can join to help with Finishing.

1. On the second phone, open the same work order.
2. Select the active session and tap JOIN SESSION.
3. Each phone shows only its own Finishing counter, so aim for 20 good scans on each. Extra scans are fine.

Figure 3: Joining an active session from a second phone.

Quality alerts

When a scan falls below the tolerance set during Referencing, the app shows one of three alerts.

• Bad Print Detected! (orange). Quality is below tolerance but still at or above one third of it. Discard the faulty item and tap SCAN AGAIN.
• 2 Bad Prints Detected! (red, Referencing only). Two consecutive failed scans during Referencing. The only action is Restart QA Session, which closes the session and asks you for a reference for a new one.
• Stop the Production! (red, Press Run and Finishing). Quality dropped below one third of the tolerance. Tap INVESTIGATE or SCAN AGAIN.

Figure 4: The three alert levels, left to right: Bad Print, 2 Bad Prints in Referencing, Stop the Production.

Investigating a quality failure

Investigate helps you locate and quarantine the defective part of a run. It is available during Press Run and Finishing, on the master device and on a joined phone.

1. Locate the last code you scanned successfully.
2. Scan backwards and forwards to find the point where quality degraded.
3. Remove or flag every defective item between that point and the current print so they do not reach the market.
4. Return to the session and carry on scanning in the same stage.

Figure 5: The Investigate screen, reached from the Stop the Production alert.

Session states and past runs

Session states

• Open / Active: scanning is underway in Make Ready, Referencing, Press Run or Finishing.
• Submitted: QA complete, impression count recorded.
• Closed / Cancel: the session was ended manually without submitting. "Cancel" is the app wording for a manually closed session.

Closing a session manually

If a problem at the press means abandoning a run, open the session details on the master device, tap CLOSE SESSION and confirm. The work order is freed immediately.

Closing discards every scan in that session. If the master device is lost or broken, contact support to close the session for you.

Figure 6: Closing a session from the session details screen.

Reviewing past runs

Tap any past session to see its metadata (creation time, operator, submission time, total impressions) and Production statistics, the print-quality and surface-coverage charts, colour-coded by stage.

Frequently asked questions

Can I reopen a finished stage or reset the scans?
No. Stages cannot be reopened. To start over, close the session and create a new one.

Why is the work order row greyed out in the list?
A grey row means the work order already has a submitted run. Tap the blue repeat icon to open its session list and start a new run.

What causes Error 9200?
No approved press and substrate calibration was found for your device class. Check that the press setup and the phone hardware class have an approved profile.

Getting help

If you need help, open a support request. An email opens with everything we need already listed. Please fill in what you can, attach a clear screenshot of what you see, and send it to us.

If no email opens, write to support@scantrust.com and include your work order ID, QA session name, the exact wording of what you see on screen, your phone model, your Printer App version (shown at the bottom of the login screen) and your Android version (Settings > About phone).