# Start here: Operator

Follow the source product’s print request and check the copy outcome at the printer.

Source: https://help.smartfact.ai/manuals/printstation/operator

Review edition: 25 October 2026

Roles: operator

Start normal printing in the SmartFACT product that owns the work, such as LabelRules or ParcelOffice. That product selects the document and checks whether you may print it. Its authorised request lets PrintStation deliver the work.

You do not need a separate PrintStation role merely because a source product uses PrintStation. Direct PrintStation screens and test-result actions have their own access requirements.

## Before printing

Confirm the correct work, quantity and destination in the source product. At an attended workstation, make sure the PrintStation app is available and follow the panel's instructions. For an unattended destination, acceptance may send the work automatically to its agent.

Do not use a document preview or browser print dialog to work around a refused production request.

## Follow the outcome

1. Keep the source-product run or shipment reference.
2. Read the current printing status in the source product or permitted PrintStation job view.
3. Check which copies and attempts the status describes.
4. Collect the physical output at the agreed printer and check it according to your site's procedure.
5. If the physical result does not match the record, stop and ask the Supervisor.

Read [copy states](/manuals/printstation/copy-states) before describing a job as printed. A submitted attempt is not physical-output confirmation.

## If the connection drops

Do not immediately print again. The request may already have reached PrintStation or the printer. Reopen the original record and check its outcome.

If output is unknown, preserve the reference and follow [uncertain output](/manuals/printstation/uncertain-output). Do not move the job to another printer, clear a queue or create an unrelated new request to avoid the hold.

## When a label is damaged

Ask the authorised person in the source product for a replacement. PrintStation does not decide that a label may be reprinted simply because its content is visible in the job view.

## Test results

If your role offers a test-result action, record what you actually observed. Printer binding and qualification remain Owner work. A successful software test or an attractive preview is not evidence of a correctly measured physical label.