Ways to start a print in SimplyPrint: manual, 1-Click, AutoPrint and the queue

There's more than one way to turn a sliced file into a running print in SimplyPrint, and the right one depends on how many printers you have and how hands-on you want to be. A hobbyist with one machine usually just hits start. A farm running dozens of printers wants files to flow onto machines without anyone babysitting them. SimplyPrint gives you four ways to start a print, and they layer on top of each other - you can use one today and graduate to the next as your setup grows.

This article compares all four so you can pick the right one (or mix them). It does not re-teach the step-by-step mechanics - each method has its own deep how-to, linked inline.

The four ways at a glance

Here is the short version before we dig in.

• Manual start - you open a printer (or a file) and start one print yourself. Full control, no setup, does not scale.
• 1-Click Print - SimplyPrint previews the best next job for every ready printer and starts the whole batch with one click, after you review it. You stay in the loop.
• The print queue - you line jobs up, SimplyPrint auto-matches each one to a compatible printer, and they start in order.
• AutoPrint - fully hands-off. When a printer finishes and its bed is cleared, SimplyPrint starts the next matching job automatically, with retries. Needs a way to clear the bed.

Table of contents

• Manual start
• 1-Click Print
• The print queue
• AutoPrint
• Spacing out simultaneous starts
• Comparison table
• Which one should you use?

Manual start

This is the simplest way and the one everyone uses first. You open a printer's control panel, pick a file (or open a file and choose a printer), and start the print. One print, one decision, done by you.

Manual start is the right call when you want full control over what goes where: a one-off, a test print, a colour you only want on a specific machine, or anything where matching rules would just get in the way. It needs no setup and works on every plan.

The catch is that it does not scale. Starting ten prints means ten trips through the panel. The moment you find yourself repeating that, one of the next three methods will save you the clicks. Manual start also pairs nicely with the queue - you can open a queued item and start it on a matching printer by hand whenever you want to override the automatic order.

1-Click Print

1-Click Print is the bridge between fully manual and fully automatic. It looks at your queue and at every printer that is idle and ready, works out the best next job for each one, shows you that preview, and starts the whole batch at once when you confirm. The start button literally tells you what it's about to do - something like "Launch 1-Click Print batch on N printers".

The key word is batch. Instead of starting prints one at a time, you fill a whole row of printers in a single action - but you still see and approve the matches before anything heats up. That makes it the natural fit when you want speed without giving up the final say: load up in the morning, glance at the preview, hit start, walk away.

Under the hood, 1-Click Print uses the same auto-matching engine and the same scheduling-and-distribution settings as AutoPrint. The only real difference between them is who pulls the trigger: with 1-Click that's you, with AutoPrint it's automatic. For the full walk-through see 1-Click Print: batch start prints across your printers.

The print queue

The queue is the backbone of any multi-printer setup, and in our 2026 print-farm survey almost every farm named it as the feature they'd miss most. The idea is simple: you upload files to the queue as soon as you know what to print, and your job becomes managing the queue rather than chasing individual printers.

SimplyPrint matches each queue item to a compatible printer automatically - by its filament (type and colour name), nozzle size and any custom tags, plus printer/model/group assignment, queue group, bed type, file type, build-volume fit and required temperatures. You can apply those tags by hand or let smart tagging set them from file metadata and filename rules. Items print top-down, and you steer the order with per-item controls: drag or type a position, pause an item, drop one to the back burner (a low-priority lane that only runs when nothing higher matches), or mark one as infinite to print it indefinitely.

For getting jobs in, see adding items to the print queue. For the full queue mechanics, the print queue: manage, schedule and automate your prints. And if a printer keeps skipping an item, the queue inspector tells you which matching rule is blocking it.

AutoPrint

AutoPrint is the hands-off end of the spectrum. The moment a printer finishes a job and its bed is clear, AutoPrint starts the next matching item from the queue - no click, no person at the machine. It retries and keeps the printer fed as long as there is matching work to do, which is what turns a farm into something that runs overnight and through the weekend.

The one thing AutoPrint needs that the other methods don't is a way to clear the bed between prints. SimplyPrint handles the software - the matching, the scheduling, the safety checks - and you handle the clearing hardware (or you clear by hand and let AutoPrint take it from there). Clearing methods range from manual, to gcode-based push-off with a kit or hardware mod, to belt printers, to API-based setups. An optional AI bed check (in beta) confirms the bed is actually empty before the next print starts.

Because AutoPrint shares the auto-matching engine and the scheduling and printer distribution settings with 1-Click Print, an item that 1-Click would start is the same item AutoPrint starts. The full setup, the clearing methods, and the plan licensing live in AutoPrint: put your printers on autopilot and AutoPrint clearing methods: every way to clear the bed.

Spacing out simultaneous starts

However you start a batch - 1-Click, AutoPrint, or just starting a whole fleet at once - the power spike happens when printers heat up, not while they print. Fire a dozen machines off together and you can trip a breaker. Staggered Start fixes that: it caps how many printers can heat up at the same time and releases the next one once one finishes preheating. An optional download cap helps when the network chokes. It applies to every start path (web, app, API, 1-Click and AutoPrint), and it's a Print Farm-and-up feature. See the Staggered Start feature.

Comparison table

Which one should you use?

Pick by how many printers you run and how much you want to stay in the loop.

• One or a few printers, occasional prints - stick with manual start. It's the least setup and gives you the most control. See hobbyist workflows for getting the most out of a small setup.
• Several printers, you want speed but still want to approve what runs - line files up in the queue and use 1-Click Print. You fill every ready machine in one action and still see the matches first.
• A busy queue you want to run in order without micromanaging - lean on the queue's auto-matching and start batches with 1-Click whenever printers free up.
• A farm you want running unattended overnight and on weekends - add AutoPrint on top of the queue, with a bed-clearing method, so finished printers refill themselves. The full operating model is in print farm workflows.

These aren't either/or choices. A typical farm uses all four: manual start for one-offs and overrides, the queue as the central to-do list, 1-Click Print when someone's around to glance at the batch, and AutoPrint for the hours when nobody is. Start with the simplest one that fits today and add the next as you grow.

Related articles

• SimplyPrint workflows: set it up for the way you work
• Print farm workflows: running a farm with the queue, AutoPrint and automation
• Hobbyist workflows: getting the most out of SimplyPrint
• The print queue: manage, schedule and automate your prints
• 1-Click Print: batch start prints across your printers
• AutoPrint: put your printers on autopilot
• AutoPrint clearing methods: every way to clear the bed
• Scheduling and printer distribution: how SimplyPrint assigns prints
• The Staggered Start feature
• Adding items to the print queue: files, plates, custom fields and the API

Updated on: 25/06/2026