Printing LivePost Postcards
Specific LivePost content has been included in Top Producer for exclusive use with the LivePost service.
Before beginning these steps, it is important to determine which version of LivePost is installed on your computer, as they use a slightly different process.
To find out which version you have, right-click on the LivePost icon in your system tray (bottom right corner of Windows) and select Show Livepost. The version number will display at the bottom of the LivePost window.
If you installed LivePost prior to April 26th 2010, your version will be older than 3.5.x and you'll need to follow the "Print" workflow provided at bottom of this article. Or, you can update to the newest version here: https://www.postnexus.com/LivePost/Download.aspx
Also, if you have the new version (3.5.x or later), and are creating postcards for 200 or more contacts at the same time, you will want to use the Enable Mass Mailing Document feature. This requires a separate workflow, and is explained in the Mass Mailing Documents article.
There are several additional points worth remembering about LivePost Postcards:
- Only postcards located within a postcard category with the prefix of "LivePost" can be used with the LivePost Service.
- Each template represents a double-sided postcard.
- Attempting to print the default LivePost Postcards on your local printer will produce a low quality image not suitable for mailing. When the print job is sent to LivePost, all postcards will be printed using a high quality image.
- Each template includes an additional page that contains information necessary to process your print job with PostNexus. Recipients of your postcard mailing will not receive this page, and it should not be changed in any way if the template is customized.
- Printing through LivePost incurs a fee on a per-postcard basis. Depending on your LivePost account settings, you may be required to approve the print job before the print job is processed and your account is charged . If this option is not enabled, there will be no confirmation and your account will be charged as soon as the print job is completed. For more information, please log into your LivePost account at http://www.postnexus.com/livepost.
Printing LivePost Postcards from Top Producer 8i
- In the Marketing Menu, select Create Postcard.
- Use the Category pull-down menu on the right to browse through the LivePost postcard categories. When you have located the desired postcard template, left click and drag it into the Postcard Template box on the left. Click Next.
- Type a Description into the Field. This becomes the activity description and will appear in the Contact Records to which this postcard is sent.
- In the Contacts list on the right, locate the contact(s) you'd like to include in the mailout and drag them in to the Contacts box on the left. If you would like to include multiple contacts as the same time, click Search & Attache Multiple Contacts. Once all of the contacts are added, click CreatePostcard.
- In the postcard preview window, make any desired changes to the postcard content. Note that these changes will apply to all postcards sent to each selected contact. When finished, click Print Postcards.
- This loads the Preview Activity window, which displays the final postcard print job with all contact information included. Review the postcards to be sure they are correct.
At this point you will need to follow one of the two workflows provided below, depending on the version of LivePost you have installed on your computer. Older versions (prior to 3.5.x) require that you click the Print icon, while the newer versions (3.5.x and newer) require that you click the Save icon. Select the appropriate option below for the steps to finish sending your Postcard print-job to LivePost:
- Click the Print icon in the Preview Toolbar. In the Print Dialogue Box select LivePost powered by PostNexusfrom the list of printers.
Important: You must ensure that Auto-rotate and Center has been de-selected from the Page Handling section, and that Page Scaling is set to Fit to Printable Area. This is necessary in order for the print job to be processed correctly. For complete information, see the Adobe Print Settings for LivePost article.
- Click OK
- Select your US Post Office delivery type: First Class or Standard.
Note: If you are sending a 4x6 postcard you will not see this option. 4x6 postcards are sent by First Class post only.
- Click the OK button and your document will be sent to PostNexus.
Once the server has processed your print job, your total cost will be displayed in the lower right corner of Top Producer. If you have the proofing option enabled, your print job will not be sent until you login to your LivePost account and approve the print job.
- Click the Save icon in the Preview window toolbar.
- It is required that you save the file in the LivePostDocuments folder on your computer. The LivePostDocuments folder is automatically created for you when you install the software. For Windows XP, 2000, 2003, and NT users, it is located inside your My Documents folder. For Windows Vista and Windows 7 users, it is located within your Windows username folder, inside the Documentssub-folder.
Important: The LivePost software is designed to look for files placed in the LivePostDocuments folder. If you save the file to another location, your Postcards will not be submitted for printing.
- Once you have chosen the LivePostDocuments folder, you may name the file anything you like, and click the Save button. Please note that after the submission process is complete, this file will be automatically deleted from this folder.
- A green pop-up window will appear in the bottom right of your screen indicating that LivePost is initiating.
- When it has finished processing, the LivePost Print Options screen will appear. If available, select the Delivery Class (First-Class, or Standard Post), and click Print. First Class delivery is only available in the US, and only for postcards larger than 4 x 6.
- The green pop-up will re-appear as your print-job is transmitted for printing. When the process is complete, the pop-up will dissappear. Your Proof should be ready within 2 minutes, and can be approved by logging into your LivePost account here: www.postnexus.com/livepost.
