A local print team for your customer’s next job

From a request to a useful quote

1. Find products and keep the known facts

   Read the JSON catalogue. Use its product slugs, qualification fields and source-backed options. Search terms help find a product; they do not choose one. A single published option is not permission to assume a customer’s preference. Keep their quantities, sizes, materials, deadline and wording. Ask only for what is missing.

2. Check the brief without sending it

   Use POST /api/agent/quote/preview to see a readable summary, unresolved specifications and missing submission details. The preview does not send a quote request, save a draft, upload files or contact anyone. A successful HTTP response can still describe an incomplete brief; read its validation results. It is not a price or production approval.

3. Leave room for a discussion

   If the customer wants help choosing the remaining specifications for an item, set discussSpecifications: true on that item. Keep every fact they already gave you. Do not switch all unknown answers to discussion without asking. Use custom-enquiry with a clear scope for a request outside the listed range; off-guide details on a known product stay with that product for staff review.

4. Get permission, then submit once

   Show the customer the complete brief and get permission to send it and their contact details to CPD. Submit through the website form or POST /api/agent/quote. Use a stable submissionId for an approved API request and reuse it with the unchanged payload on retry. Marketing consent is separate, never assumed.

5. Keep the reference; handle artwork privately

   An accepted quote request and received artwork are different things. Keep the returned reference and status URL. Files require the customer’s explicit authority and the accepted response’s private upload steps. Never publish tokens, recovery capabilities or artwork links, and never send another quote just because an upload failed. See the full workflow and privacy policy.

Example briefs to preview

These synthetic examples contain no customer contact details and grant no permission to submit. Send the JSON to the preview endpoint, not the submit endpoint.

{
  "lineItems": [
    {
      "productSlug": "flyers",
      "quantity": "1000",
      "productSpecs": {
        "size": "148mm x 210mm (A5)",
        "stock-material": "150gsm Gloss",
        "printing-sides": "Both sides"
      },
      "notes": "These flyer specifications were explicitly chosen by the customer; they are not assumed defaults."
    }
  ]
}

{
  "lineItems": [
    {
      "productSlug": "business-cards",
      "quantity": "500",
      "discussSpecifications": true,
      "productSpecs": {
        "size": "90mm x 55mm",
        "custom_notes": "Customer asked for printer-standard stock without choosing Gloss or Satin, and explicitly requested discussion of the remaining specifications."
      }
    },
    {
      "productSlug": "flyers",
      "quantity": "1000",
      "productSpecs": {
        "size": "148mm x 210mm (A5)",
        "stock-material": "150gsm Gloss",
        "printing-sides": "Both sides"
      },
      "notes": "These flyer specifications were explicitly chosen by the customer; they are not assumed defaults."
    },
    {
      "productSlug": "fridge-magnets",
      "quantity": "250",
      "discussSpecifications": true,
      "productSpecs": {
        "custom_notes": "Customer wants promotional fridge magnets and explicitly requested help choosing dimensions and remaining specifications."
      }
    },
    {
      "productSlug": "custom-enquiry",
      "quantity": "1",
      "discussSpecifications": true,
      "productSpecs": {
        "scope": "External shop-front sign displaying the business name. Customer requests discussion of dimensions, material, installation feasibility and any approvals.",
        "custom_notes": "Custom request for staff review; availability and installation are not confirmed."
      }
    }
  ]
}

{
  "artworkStatus": "need-design",
  "lineItems": [
    {
      "productSlug": "custom-enquiry",
      "productSpecs": {
        "scope": "Please discuss design and artwork for a new business card. The customer has a logo but needs help with the layout."
      }
    }
  ]
}

Ordering for several clients or on a regular basis? Submit a trade account enquiry. It starts a conversation with the team; it does not approve credit or pricing.

Connect your assistant

• OpenAPI: exact requests and responses
• Print quote skill: full step-by-step instructions
• Short discovery index · Full discovery index
• Machine-readable agent manifest

Public catalogue and quote API access do not require an API key. CPD also exposes its current HTTP JSON-RPC tool surface at /api/mcp; compatibility depends on your assistant’s tools. This is not a claim of certified integrations or automatic support in every assistant. If your assistant cannot send requests or transfer files, use the website flow instead — do not report a submission that did not happen.