How Qlik PixelPerfect reporting eliminates manual reporting headache

We recently hosted a webinar on PixelPerfect with our host Neil Thorne, Qlik Senior Consultant Tom Mitchell, and Commercial Director Chris Lofthouse. 

Check out the full recording, along with key insights from the session below.

What is Qlik PixelPerfect reporting?

PixelPerfect is Qlik's fully integrated template tool built directly into Qlik SaaS. Unlike other reporting solutions, it requires no installation or setup—it's ready to use with your existing Qlik SaaS license.

The tool allows you to create professional, pixel-precise reports using data directly from your Qlik apps, with options to automate distribution to both internal and external recipients.

As Tom explained in our webinar:

"What really sets PixelPerfect apart is the level of control it gives you. Not to be cliche, but it does let you design right down to the pixel, creating highly customised, polished reports for your recipients."

Why manual reporting is a productivity killer

Before diving into PixelPerfect's capabilities, let's consider why manual reporting is such a drain on productivity:

• It's error-prone and inconsistent
• Your computer often freezes with large datasets
• It creates process dependencies on specific individuals
• Hours are wasted on repetitive tasks
• Reports often need rebuilding from scratch
• Branding and formatting consume significant time
• Distribution becomes a manual process

These pain points drive many organisations to seek automated alternatives.

How to create your first PixelPerfect report

Creating reports with PixelPerfect is surprisingly straightforward.

Here's a simplified process based on Tom's demonstration:

1. From your Qlik app, click on the dropdown in the top left
2. Navigate to "Reporting"
3. Select the "Templates" tab
4. Click "Create pixel perfect template"
5. Name your template and begin designing

The template designer offers extensive customisation options:

• Adjust canvas and margins
• Add company branding and logos
• Include titles, headers, and footers
• Bind data directly from your Qlik visualisations
• Preview your report instantly

If you'd like to learn more and see if your organisation could benefit from Qlik's reporting tools, book a time to chat with our team:

PixelPerfect expert Q&A

Q. How is PixelPerfect licensed? Is it by report count or designers?

A: "It is purely based on the reports generated," explains Chris Lofthouse. "A recent change means they no longer charge for development of reports, so using the preview feature doesn't count against your limit."

For standard user-based models, you get 1,000 reports per month included. Premium capacity users receive 5,000 reports monthly. Additional packs of 10,000 or 50,000 reports can be purchased if needed.

Q. Does previewing reports consume my reporting capacity?

A: No. As Tom clarified: "The preview report function doesn't consume any of your reporting capacity. You might end up previewing it 100 times in a day of working on this. Not to worry, that is not going to come out of your capacity."

Q. Can reports be automatically distributed to external recipients?

A: Yes. Unlike subscriptions (which only work for Qlik users), PixelPerfect reports can be sent to external recipients via email. This makes it ideal for sending reports to clients or stakeholders without Qlik licences.

Q.  How does the formatting of tables perform? Do they get cut off like in subscriptions?

A: PixelPerfect handles tables differently than subscriptions. If you build native PixelPerfect tables (rather than importing visualisations), they can dynamically expand across multiple pages. Tom explained: "If you build the table into PixelPerfect as a native table, you can have full control over it, and if it needs to grow, you can allow it to grow over more pages."

Q. What file formats does PixelPerfect support?

A: Currently, PixelPerfect only exports to PDF format. However, the Excel template option in Qlik reporting can output to both Excel (XLSX) and PDF if you need those formats.

Q. How many pages can a report contain?

A: According to the technical specifications (as of March 2025), reports can contain up to 1,000 generated images or 50,000 objects. As Tom commented, "I'd be very impressed if anyone could reach that limit."

How PixelPerfect compares to other Qlik reporting options

Qlik offers multiple reporting capabilities, and choosing the right one depends on your specific needs.

As Chris noted during the Q&A:

"It's the 80/20 rule typically. If you just need to get a screenshot of a sheet sent to somebody, that's where subscriptions come in handy. If you need paging or a more polished look with brand colouring, that's when you create your PixelPerfect report."

Practical use cases for PixelPerfect

During the webinar, Tom highlighted several practical applications:

• Regional sales dashboards: Create territory-specific reports for sales managers with relevant KPIs
• Manufacturing KPIs: Distribute production targets and wastage percentages to operations teams
• Branded invoices: Generate individual, branded invoices for each customer automatically
• IT service metrics: Share first-time fix rates and incident tracking with relevant departments

Ready to automate your reports?

Whether it's PixelPerfect or any other reporting solution, our team at Ometis can help you say goodbye to those manual reporting headaches. Reach out to have an informal chat.