Release - 1.7.1

Updated on Aug 26, 2022

Date of Release: 08.11.2018

Here you will find a quick overview of new, updated and fixed features.
A downloadable PDF-Version describing this update can be found at the end of this article.

For older Release Notes please go to the Release Notes Archive.

1.7.1 at a glance

New Features

Plug-In Uninstaller
Instructions for uninstalling the AI Plug-In on Windows and on Mac OSX.

Major Improvements

Impose Editor
Reworked Nesting and Step & Repeat Modes, new options: Preview and Column Repeating and new possibilities when using Nesting with Print Items of the same or different size.

General Improvements

Zünd Cutter & Bullmer Cutter
New Preferences to control the generation of Barcodes and Marks and to control the distance between Marks.

Color Setup & Output Configuration
new filtering behavior and new Print Charts with bigger patches

Fixed Bugs and Minor Details

Workflow
list of fixed bugs in the main-application

Impose Editor
list of fixed bugs in the Impose Editor

Plug-In for Adobe Illustrator
list of fixed bugs in the Illustrator Plug-In

1. New Features

The following new features have been added based on the previous release v. 1.7:

After the Installation has been finished, the service "PMS" has to be restarted to update the newest translations (EN/US and DE/AT) of the Impose Editor.

1.1. Adobe Illustrator Plug-In

Version 1.7.0.26 of the Release has to be used if you are using DW-L 1.7. If you have installed an earlier version you will be informed after the Log-in.

The following Adobe Illustrator Versions are supported:

	Adobe Illustrator CC 2015.3	Adobe Illustrator CC 2017	Adobe Illustrator CC 2018
Mac OSX	10.11 (recommended), 10.10, 10.9	10.12 (Sierra) or 10.11 (El Capitan)	10.13 (High Sierra), 10.12 (Sierra) or 10.11 (El Capitan)
Windows	Windows 7 with Service Pack 1, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10	Windows 7 with Service Pack 1, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10	Windows 7 with Service Pack 1, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10
Supported	Yes	Yes	Yes

1.1.1. Plug-In Uninstaller

We have developed an uninstaller for the Adobe Illustrator Plugin for both Windows and Mac. These two versions are executed in two different ways, please follow the instructions below as needed.

Windows

The Windows Uninstaller can be executed by locating the following file path:

C:\Program Files\PPD\Plugin\Uninstall PPD AI Plugin.exe

Double click on the Uninstaller Icon and click yes to confirm that you want to uninstall the Plugin.

Please be aware that the uninstaller may trigger your local Antivirus program with the following executable file being flagged: au_.exe.
This warning can be ignored and the uninstallation is now complete.

Mac OSX

When running the Mac uninstaller please follow the instructions below:

Start the Command Line application (Terminal.app)
At the prompt enter cd /Applications/PPD and press Enter
Enter sudo chmod 755 Uninstall\ PPD\ AI\ Plugin.command and press Enter
At the prompt please enter your user password
Now enter the following line: ./Uninstall\ PPD\ AI\ Plugin.command
You will see the following message:
Uninstalling PPD Plugin from all Illustrator versions now ... rm: /Applications/PPD/: is a directory FINISHED
The Plugin should now be uninstalled

2. Major Improvements

2.1. Impose Editor

2.1.1. Redesign of the Impose Editor Panels

For this release we have redesigned the Print Item panel in the Impose Editor. Before release 1.7.1 we implemented new functions to which we have now added the new panel design. There are now small differences between the Automatic (Rule Based) Modes and the Manual Mode of the Impose Editor.

Let's take a look at the differences:

Step & Repeat and Nesting

Concerning Automatic (Rule Based) Mode we've tried to save some space as well as display more information with bigger previews. For this reason we have restructured the Print Item Panel. Take a look at both screenshots to compare the Panels. We will describe the main differences below.

The preview of the Print Item has been slightly resized [1]
The TrimBox & BleedBox information has been removed from below the Preview thumbnail [2]
By hovering over the TB (TrimBox) & BB (BleedBox) icons beside the preview thumbnail, the size will be displayed within a Tooltip [3]
The Print Item Name plus the internal ID is now displayed below the Preview [4]
The Amount input field was resized and renamed to Copies. These values will be used for the imposition and calculation of the sheet layout [5]
The checkboxes, which define if the Print Items should be imposed or not, were moved to the top-left corner of the preview thumbnail [6]
The numbering of the Print Items has changed from A, B, C,… to 1, 2, 3,… and will be displayed on the top-right of each Print Item.
This icon can also be used to multi-select/deselect the Print Item [7]

Figure 1: Print Items Panel: (left) Version 1.7 and (right) Version 1.7.1

Manual Mode

In Manual Impose Mode we've attempted to list the same information as the Automatic Mode together with some additional functions. The result is that we also have restructured the Print Item panel for Manual Mode. Take a look at the screenshots to compare the Panels. The new panel functions are described below.

All functions from Automatic Mode were also implemented for Manual Mode
The Replace button was moved to the right of the Copies input field and is only activated if a Print Item is selected on the Artboard [8]
The Add button was moved to the right of the Copies input field and is only active if there are no Prints items selected on the Artboard [9]
a. By default, the Add button will place the entered amount of Copies on the Artboard
b. By pressing Alt on the keyboard and clicking Add only one Print Item will be placed on the Artboard at a time.

Figure 2: Print Items Panel in Manual Mode: (left) Version 1.7 and (right) Version 1.7.1

2.1.2. Selection and Previews of Print Items

In 1.7.0 it was only possible to multi-select a single Print Item in Manual Mode by using the "Select" button. Now, we've implemented this feature for all Impose Modes. As mentioned above, the yellow colored number for each Print Item represents the consecutive number of each Print Item, and also functions as a "Select All" button.

Figure 3: Select All Print Items

By pressing the yellow number button [10], all identical Print Items will be selected in the Impose. This makes it easy to see where the Print Item was placed on more complex Impose Configurations. The user can deselect all identical Print Items by clicking the yellow button again or by selecting another number button. In Manual Mode, this button can also be used in combination with the 'Replace' icon to replace it with different Print Items.

Preview Mode ON/OFF

In previous releases we had the possibility to switch the original Print Item preview on and off. Due to new capabilities, we have re-implemented this function again. By default, the preview of a Print Item is activated. The Print Item preview can be toggled on and off as needed. By turning off the preview, each Print Item will be uniquely colored and numbered. The number shown corresponds to the number used for each Print Item.

Figure 4: Prints Items with Preview Mode on [11]

By pressing the orange button [P] [11] in the Footer of the Impose Editor, the Preview Mode will be turned off. All Print Items will be displayed with a color and a number. This mode is particularly useful to help identify Print Items which are slightly different in size. Turning off the preview can be beneficial when large amounts of Print Items are being displayed, as this reduces the loading time of the Workflow.

Figure 5: Prints Items with Preview Mode off [11].

2.1.3. Impose Editor – Nesting Mode

Print Items with various sizes

In Release 1.7.1 we have implemented a new feature in Nesting Mode. It is now possible to create a Nesting Imposition with multiple Print Items using different sizes. Before 1.7.1 Nesting was only possible with Print Items of the same size. When starting a new Nesting Imposition, the first Print Item in the Panel is nested automatically by default. Additional Print Items have to be manually selected using the checkboxes [12] to include them on the Artboard.

Figure 6: Nesting with Print Items of different sizes

The normal Nesting Mode (from previous versions) will place each Print Item as often as possible on the selected Substrate. Nesting with different Print Item dimensions (extended Nesting) uses the exact number of Copies by imposing them on the selected Substrate. By changing the number of Copies in the Print Item tab, the resulting Sheet layout will change as well. We still show a Warning on the top of the Print Item Panel [13] which says "Print Items have different sizes", but its important to note that it is still possible to place more than one Print Item in the Impose.

If more than one Print Item with different dimensions are being used, the Artboard Settings panel changes slightly as well. Let's see the configuration options by creating a Nesting Imposition with varying dimensions!

Figure 7: Nesting with varying Print Item dimensions

The Fill Page & Fill Page Spacing Option [14] won't be used in the extended Nesting Mode with different dimensions, because Print Items have to be rotated to optimise the Sheet layout. The Column Repeating function [15] was also implemented in this release and will be described in further detail in the release notes. The Alignment function is also not needed when using extended Nesting Mode. Additionally we now offer different Nesting Modes [16] if an operator is working with varying Print Item dimensions. All Modes will nest selected Print Items on the Impose Sheet, but each mode will calculate different sheets, to achieve different results. Let's take a look at the different Nesting Modes:

Bottom Left Rule (default): Orient and place each rectangle to the position where the y-coordinate of the top side of the rectangle is the smallest and if there are several such valid positions, pick the one that has the smallest x-coordinate value.
Area Fit: This method tries to minimize empty space between different items.
Long Side Fit: Here we minimize the length of the longer leftover side.
Short Side Fit: Here we minimize the length of the shorter leftover side.
Contact Point Rule: In this method we look to place rectangles into a position where the length of the perimeter of the rectangles that are touched by the bin edge or by a previously packed rectangle is maximised.

Print Items with the same dimensions

Before 1.7.1 we placed all selected Print Items on the Impose Sheet without being able to separate Print Items per column. We have now added the option to nest each Print Item to a column [17]. This is only working if the Print Items have the same dimensions. Let's see how this works:

Figure 8: An Imposition with the Column Repeating option selected [17].

Figure 9: Another example with the Column Repeating option OFF [17].

Column Repeating

By activating the checkbox Column Repeating, the Impose Editor places the same Print Item in a single column, regardless of the amount of print items entered in the Print Items Tab.

Figure 10: Fill Page ON & Column Repeating OFF

Figure 11: Fill Page ON & Column Repeating ON

3. General Improvements

3.1. Zünd Cutter & Bullmer Cutter

Activate / Deactivate Marks

We have included a new feature that allows the user to turn the generation of both Barcodes and Marks on and off. When the checkbox is selected Barcodes and/or Marks will be included in the Imposition, when the checkbox is deselected Barcodes and/or Marks will not be included in the imposition.

Figure 12: Cutter Parameter Generate Barcode

Figure 13: Cutter Parameter Generate Marks

Distance between Registration Marks

We have also implemented another customisable option for the Zünd and Bullmer Cutters. The user can now adjust the spacing between the registration Marks (Spheres). This option was created because by default the Workflow creates 5 Spheres and with Roll Media these 5 Spheres are not enough to guide the Cutter properly. If the roll media is extremely long this can influence the exactness of the Cutter when the Spheres are printed too far apart from each other. This phenomenon can now be corrected by placing the Spheres a particular distance from each other and therefore the alignment of the Spheres and ultimately the accuracy of the cut marks are improved. The user can find this option under the Parameters panel for the Bullmer and Zünd Cutters and the value is always measured in Millimeters.

Figure 14: Cutter Parameter Sphere Max Distance

3.2. Color Setup & Output Configuration

Color Policies Filter

In previous versions of the release, the user could selected Color Policies that were not completed in the Create Order dialog. For example if the Pre-Linearization or Linearization steps in a Color Setup were completed but the Ink Limit or Transition steps were not calculated in the Color Setup, the user could select this Color Policy in the Create Order dialog. The Color Policy selection drop-down now correctly filters all available Color Policies but only if they are linked to complete Color Setups.

Print Charts

In Release 1.7.1 we have added new Print Charts with bigger patch sizes. In the new charts we are using 12mm by 12mm patches, so that an aperture of 8mm can be used. All these new charts can be used within Barbieri LFP, Barbieri LFPqb, Barbieri SpectroPad and Barbieri Swing. The following charts were added to the Workflow:

LIN-Chart_CMYK-G_210_LFP_12mm
LIN-Chart_CMYK-OB_210_LFP_12mm
LIN-Chart_CMYK-OG_210_LFP_12mm
LIN-Chart_CMYK-OV_210_LFP_12mm
LIN-Chart_CMYK-O_210_LFP_12mm
LIN-Chart_CMYK-VG_210_LFP_12mm
LIN-Chart_CMYK-V_210_LFP_12mm
LIN-Chart_CMYK_210_LFP_12mm
PROF-Chart_CMYK-G_210_LFP_12mm
PROF-Chart_CMYK-OG_210_LFP_12mm
PROF-Chart_CMYK-OVG_210_LFP_12mm
PROF-Chart_CMYK-OV_210_LFP_12mm
PROF-Chart_CMYK-O_210_LFP_12mm
PROF-Chart_CMYK-VG_210_LFP_12mm
PROF-Chart_CMYK-V_210_LFP_12mm
PROF-Chart_CMYK_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-lClK_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-lClMlK_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-lClM_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-lC_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-lK_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-lMlK_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-lM_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-OB-lClM_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-OG-lClK_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-OG-lClM_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-OG-lMlK_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-OV-lClK_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-OV-lClM_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-OV-lMlK_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-OVG-lClK_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-OVG-lClM_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-OVG-lMlK_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-VG-lClK_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-VG-lClM_210_LFP_12mm
TRANS-Chart_CMYK-VG-lMlK_210_LFP_12mm

4. Fixed Bugs and Minor Details

4.1. Workflow

Spot Colors: In v.1.7.0 we were calculating the DeltaE values by using the Relative Colorimetric Rendering Intent versus the Absolute Colorimetric Rendering Intent. We are now rendering the DeltaE value with the Absolute Rendering Intent. So the DeltaE values were not calculated correctly before Release 1.7.1.
Tags: We have fixed a Bug where the user added a new Tag within the Collection List and the new Tag was not being listed under Administration > Tags. This bug is now fixed.
Color Setup Settings: We have fixed a bug where the user had to choose the correct Print Chart based on their Printer as well as rotation of the Print Charts. When each step was completed the user had to reselect the correct Print Chart and rotation. This has now been fixed in 1.7.1.
Save Rotation Value of the first Print Chart: Selected Print Charts for the correct device as well as rotation is now being saved across all Color Setup steps.
Billing Address is displaying incorrectly when a Contact Person is selected: When the user selects a Billing Address when creating an Order the Contacts are now being correctly displayed.
Duplicating a Color Correction "Based on Curves" not functioning: When duplicating a Color Correction "Based on Curves", the duplicate was not visible without a browser refresh.
When creating an Order and selecting a Contact, an alternate Contact could not be selected: This bug has been fixed.
Applying Fixups to multiple Print Items: We have removed the "Apply" button from the Fixup dialog and now only the "Apply to Selection" button is available.
1 Item is selected but we display 2 items selected: We have fixed this bug.
Switching between Order Items causes Print Item selection error: If an Order contains two Order Items with multiple Print Items in each Order, the user toggles between Order Items and selects a Print Item a Stacktrace would occur. This has been fixed.
Print Charts sequence is incorrect: When sending Print Charts to the Printer the user can select the "Rows" and "Columns" to be imposed. The Print Charts were being incorrectly imposed when sent to the Printer. This is now fixed.
Editing Output Configuration of a Production Job not updating: When changing the Output Configuration of a Production Job through the Edit function the settings were not being saved correctly, this bug is now fixed.
Ink Limit Thumbnail distorted: When completing the Ink Limit step of a Color Setup the preview thumbnail was distorted, this has been fixed.
Correct Hotfolder List not being displayed: Switching between the first page of the Hotfolder List and the Production Job list and then back to the Hotfolder List again would incorrectly show page 1 as page 2.
Creating a Report from an Article displays the wrong cost: The total cost for all copies was being displayed as the number 0. Now Reports show the total ink cost for 1 copy.
Creating a Report from an Article which was created from a multipage Pdf shows incorrect thumbnail previews: This bug has been fixed.
Article not visible after browser refresh: When an Article is created using the drop-zone, the user can refresh the browser but the Article was not visible. This has been fixed.
Creating System-wide Spot Color causes error: This error has been corrected.
Ink Setup loading times are too slow: We have improved the loading times for the Ink Setup view.
Registration Marks missing for Zünd Cutter: This bug has been fixed.
When Inches are selected, created Reports are showing incorrect Bleed: Bleed values were being shown as non-numerical values, this has been fixed.
Fixed a Bug where the Apply button was not visible when applying a Fixup.
RHO – SPC Job ticket incorrect: Preflight settings were causing errors in Job Tickets when the "Preflight only Page 1" setting was selected for a Hotfolder.
Rotate Production Jobs: In the Send to Printer Dialog, Production Jobs can be rotated and then, the preview on the Printer will be rotated as well.
Gray Correction: The Gray Correction will be applied for each Color Policy separately. For each Color Policy, a custom Gray Correction value can be defined.
Variable Data: In the Send to Printer Dialog some Job calculations were being calculated incorrectly before this release. This bug has been fixed now.
Import Color Setup: It is now possible to import Color Setups which were created in an older version of the Workflow.
ICC based Spot Colors: It is now possible to render a ICC based Spot Color to the printer.

4.2. Impose Editor

Best Height not used when Impose Template is selected: If the user created a Production Job from an Article, using a Roll Media and entered an Impose Mode with a template selected in the Create Production Job dialog, the Best Height that was used for that specific Printer was not being used. This bug has been fixed.
Lock Icon in the Impose Config settings not saving: When activating the Lock Icon under the Impose Config settings when closing and reopening the dialog, the Lock settings were not being saved.
Scaling Print Items in Manual Mode causes error: When placing Print Items on the Artboard, scaling the items and then dragging them. The items were then restricted to either vertical or horizontal movements.
Nesting and Number of Copies: When in Nesting Mode and the Fill Page option is selected the Artboard was not being filled correctly.
Step & Repeat switching between Artboards changing lock state: When unlocking the vertical and horizontal spacing on an Artboard and then switching between multiple Artboards, the lock icon would always reset and be in a locked state.
TrimBox not rotating with Print Item in Manual Mode: In Manual Impose Mode, the user could rotate a print item, but the TrimBox would not be rotated, this was visible when the TrimBox preview was activated.
Adding a Print Item used number of copies in Manual Mode: When the user created a Production Job with 20 copies, opened the Impose Editor and pressed the + button, 20 print items would be added to the Artboard in Manual Mode.
Shortcut Keys for Windows added: We now offer the full range of Shortcut Keys for Windows and Mac.

4.3. Plug-In for Adobe Illustrator

Text on a Path not functioning correctly with VDP: When creating text on a path with the VDP function, the render result was missing the variable text, this bug has been fixed.
VDP Images – Allow all Datasources: The user can now create a VDP Job using two different source folders for variable images and a static text
Plug-in Panels active without Print Item checked out: Various Panels including: Static Barcode, Set Geometry, Script Center were active without a document open in Illustrator
Selecting languages other than German and English is now possible: We now offer translations for Spanish, Czech, Italian, Japanese and French.
VDP Jobs: Adding space between characters (text) was not being included in the Output when Rendering
Checking out Job causes crash: The user could login to the Plug-in, select a Production Job and check the Job out and Illustrator would crash. This bug has been fixed.

5. Download Release Notes 1.7.1

Releasenotes_1_7_1.pdf