The latest update to Virtuoso Print Manager is out and ready to install. With any software update, there are lots of questions and challenges. To help, we put together this video to walk you through our experiences with the latest update. Make sure to keep scrolling for a rundown of the new features and where to get started with the software.
Where to Find the Update
If you already have Virtuoso Print Manager installed, you should see a pop-up screen when the program starts up. You can find a link in the Sawgrass newsletter article or download the new software directly from the Virtuoso Print Manager download page.
New Single Sign-On
The most noticeable change with this update is the new login prompt upon installation. There are a lot of logins required for accessing different types of Sawgrass products. This latest iteration is designed to eliminate a lot of that confusion with one single username and password for all of your Sawgrass product needs.
This single sign-on also eliminates the need for registration codes when you get a new printer or install Virtuoso Print Manager for the first time on a new computer. Product registration has been a hurdle for many users over the years. The process was confusing and sent you to a separate website, causing you to have to create a separate account to manage your products.
Not only that, but the product you were registering was not the printer itself, but the Virtuoso Print Manager software on a specific computer. For example, say you bought SG400 and installed and registered VPM. A year later, you added another SG400 to your business. You wouldn’t have had to go through registration again, since you already had an SG400 version of VPM on your computer.
Now if you added an SG800 to your shop, you would have had to add a new printer to your version of VPM. This would’ve caused new software to install for the SG800 and prompt you to register again. Also, if you had gotten a new computer, you would have had to go through all the registration steps for each type of printer you had.
Confused yet? Us too.
These days, however, are over with this new single sign-on. When performing a new installation of VPM 6.5 or updating your current version to 6.5, you will be prompted to perform a login.
- If you already have a username and password for the SawgrassInk.com website, you can use that to log in.
- If you don’t, you can click on the New User option, which will take you to a Portal Registration page. Input your information and choose a username and password. Then use those credentials to perform the login during VPM installation.
Once you login using VPM, you should not be prompted to log in again – when using VPM only. You will have to log in to use CreativeStudio or access some website content. But, you will only use this one username and password to do so.
What’s more, you will not have to go through the registration process if you add a new printer or install VPM on a new computer. We tried this out in a few different ways. Here is what we learned.
Add a New SG400 to Existing Version of VPM 6.5
We went through the installation steps for adding a printer to the version of VPM that we updated in the video above. We followed all of the prompts, installed the SG400 drivers and were not asked to sign in again or register anything.
When we opened VPM to perform a test print, the new printer was there and ready to go.
Download a New Version of VPM 6.5 with Existing Login
We uninstalled the version of VPM that we updated in the video above. Then we downloaded and installed the new version from the Sawgrass website. We used the same login showed in the update video to sign into the new software. Both the SG400 and SG800 printers were there, and we were never prompted to register either printer.
Download a New Version of VPM 6.5 with a New Login
Again, we deleted VPM 6.5 from our test computer and performed a new installation. This time, we registered as a new user through the Portal Registration page that we were taken to from the login screen, once we clicked New User.
After the registration was complete on the Sawgrass website, we tried to use the new credentials to sign into VPM. We tried three times, and though the files seemed to load, we couldn’t access the software from the system tray. The icon disappeared. We restarted the computer and experienced the same issue.
Not willing to give up (hey, we have printing to do!) we reinstalled VPM and this time we were successful! The new login credentials worked and both the SG400 and SG800 printers were recognized.
In all, it looks like this new single sign-on option that Sawgrass is offering works. You may experience a few bugs and kinks, but that’s to be expected with any software.
Other Updates
In addition to the single sign-on update, Sawgrass has added Jetcol DHS to its paper options. The update/installation process also allows you to place a CreativeStudio shortcut onto your desktop. However, there is an option in the installation process that allows you not to have a driver shortcut installed. If you choose this option, it also applies to the CreativeStudio shortcut and neither will be automatically placed on your desktop.
Printer Offline Message
We were hoping that this latest update to VPM would take care of the printer offline message that so many with SG printers have been experiencing lately. However, it still pops up after you click on Print in VPM. Not to worry, though, as clicking OK on the screen that pops up (see below) will close out the error and send your file to the printer.
UPDATE: 4/29/19
Since I originally wrote this article about the Virtuoso Print Manager 6.5 update, the software stopped working on our test computer. When we tried to print, nothing would happen and the VPM icon was gone from the system tray. When we tried to re-open the software, we were prompted to login again, and though the icon returned to the system tray for a moment or two, it disappeared again.
We have since uninstalled the update and reinstalled the version from February 2019, with no problems. If you experience something similar, please contact Sawgrass Technical Support.
Tell Us About Your Virtuoso Print Manager 6.5 Experiences in Comments Below!
1 Comment
This has been the most frustrating Company to work with. Their support is horrible. I updated my Sawgrass and received a new Print Manager…its a big PM in an orange square. When I went to print a saved design in my old Print Manager…nothing was there. When I tried to log into VPM it kept saying Access Denied. I then changed my password. I still received Access denied notice. I can get into Sawgrass with the password but not VPM. Sawgrass CS has been no help at all. Do you know what might be the issue. I sure wish I hadn’t updated.