3. Select your desired Print Items to be imposed under the Print Items tab.
   If you have started the Impose Editor via the menu item Automation > Impose Editor, you need to add a Print Item to an empty Production Job. The fastest way to do this is to use the File Manager. If the Impose Editor was started via the Impose tab of a Production Job, the Print Items contained in the Production Job are already selected.
4. Enter a size for the sheet by entering a Width [3] and a Height [4]. Activate Trim [5] to reduce the surface area that would otherwise be unprinted. If a larger surface area is needed for the imposition, enter a maximum set height (in our case 1000 mm) which will be automatically applied. If a maximum Height is entered then activating the Trim function is no longer necessary.

Figure 2: The action bar as seen in the Impose Editor when Nesting Mode is selected and custom values are entered.

5. Select the desired parameters under the Artboard Settings [6] tab for the Nesting. The specific parameters can be found under the sub-panels: Settings, Nesting Options and Bleed.

Settings

In the Settings sub-panel, you can determine general parameters that have a core affect on the imposition. The following options are available:

• Imposition based on [7] – This setting determines whether other settings under the Nesting Options sub-panel are based on the ImageBox or the ImageBox + Bleed. Typically the ImageBox is used within the label industry and ImageBox + Bleed is used in large format productions.
• Imposition aligned to [8] – This setting allows the user to define on which corner or edge Print Items should be aligned to on the sheet.
• Auto Margin [9] – By activating this checkbox, a Margin is automatically generated, which ensures that all Marks and Captions lie completely on the sheet. Deactivate the checkbox only if Marks or Captions should intentionally overlap the sheet.

Nesting Options

Use these settings to define how Print Items should be imposed on the sheet. The following options are available:

• Strategy [10] – The Strategy options determines the placement method for Print Items when nesting.  There are four strategies available:
  • Substrate Optimized – Places Print Items as optimally as possible to reduce the total amount of unprinted space on the sheet. Underproduction of individual Print Items may occur.
  • Keep exact ratio of copies – Places Print Items on the sheet in proportion to the entered number of copies to be produced. This strategy should be used when it is vital to not over- or underproduce Print Items. Print Items that are not placed on the sheet because of a lack of space, will not be included in the imposition.
  • Allow Overproduction – The sheet will be filled with Print Items in proportion to the number of copies. This may result in overproduction of Print Items in proportion to the quantity entered.
  • Force number of copies – If the total number of copies can be placed, then only those Print Items will be placed on the sheet. Some Print Items may be missing in the imposition with this option.
• Layout [11] – This options allows the user to select either By Row or By Column. Both options are available in the pop-up menu.
• Arrange [12] – This option helps determine how Print Items should be arranged on the sheet based on the production needs. Three options are available:
  • Keep Print Items together – If multiple copies of single items need to be produced they will be kept together on the sheet.
  • Consider Print Item sequence – With this option Print Items are placed one after the other based on the order of the Print Items under the »Print Items« tab.
  • Use only one Print Item per Column/Row – Only a single Print Item will be used per Column or Row.
• Rotation [13] – This options determines the rotation of individual Print Items when paced on the sheet. Four options are available:
  • Non-uniform Rotation – Print Items can be oriented in different directions on the sheet, which can result in improved utilization ratios.
  • Uniform Rotation – All Print Items are placed using uniform rotation. The algorithm determines whether they are rotated either 0° or 90°. The algorithm always tries to minimize the amount of un-printed area.
  • Rotate 0° – All Print Items are placed using their native orientation.
  • Rotate 90° – All Print Items are placed 90° clockwise according to their current orientation.
• Add additional space for rotated items [14] – This adds additional space based on the size placed Marks, in addition to the entered horizontal or vertical spacing. This option should be activated if Marks are used.
• Horiz. and Vert. Spacing [15] – Here you can define both horizontal and vertical spacing between the Print Items. Note that the spacing is created based on the Impose based on option selected.
• Mode [16] – This option determines which calculation method is used when imposing Print Items that have different dimensions. The calculation methods available are: Fit Area, Fit Long Side, Fit Short Side, Top Left and Contact Point Rule.

Figure 3: A Nesting imposition showing the Artboard Settings tab and the available settings.

Bleed [17] – Determines how much of the existing Print Item Bleed will be printed.

6. After you have created your desired imposition, you can now add any Marks, Captions, Lines or Grommets necessary for production.
7. To do this, switch to the Marks tab [18]. Here you can add any of the options mentioned above.

Marks [19] – Select your desired type of Mark and determine where and in which size and color it should be created. The position and type of Mark is largely dictated by the types of finishing equipment that will be used in post processing. Typically in Nesting CropMarks are added to Print Items that contain a partially white border which makes it easier to recognize the area that needs to be cut.

Captions [20] – Select your desired Caption and determine where and in which form it should be placed on the sheet. In the case of Nesting, the Order Number, Print Item Name and the number of copies can be very helpful to identify individual Print Items on the sheet.

Lines [21] – Select your desired Line type and specify where and in which size and color it should be placed. Typically in Nesting additional printing lines are only needed if cutting lines for Print Items need to be printed on a 5 meter wide roll, which makes manual cutting of the Print Items much easier.

Grommets [22] – Select your desired Grommet type and specify where and in which size and color it should be placed. If Grommets have not already been applied to the Print Item in the pre-press stage, they can be placed dynamically when imposing, and are more common when creating Tiling impositions but are also used when Nesting.

For more information about these four Marks, take a look at the article Marks, Captions, Lines and Grommets.

Figure 4: The Marks tab contains four different types of Marks, all of which can be used in Nesting Mode.

8. Under the Finishing [23] tab, you can select the Create Dielines [24] option if required. This creates a Dieline for each individual Print Item based on the ImageBox. The following additional options are available:
   • Position [25] – Select ImageBox + Bleed if the Dieline should be applied to the expected bleed. ImageBox is selected by default and is almost always the right choice.
   • Corner Type [26] – Depending on the type of Cutting Device used, you can select whether the corners should be Beveled or Rounded. If a corner needs to be cut, a value of 0 mm should be entered when Beveled is chosen.
   • Weight and Offset – Define the weight of the Dieline and enter the desired Offset of the line based on the position selected.
   • Technical Color [27] – Here you can select a System-wide defined Spot Color. If the Spot Color you desire is not displayed, it must first be created under the menu item Color > Manage Spot Colors.
   • Overprint [28] – As Technical Colors almost always need to be overprinted, this checkbox should only be deactivated in certain cases.

Figure 5: The Create Dieline sub-panel of the Finishing tab.

9. If you are satisfied with the current settings and want to apply these settings to additional Jobs, we recommend that you save these settings using an Impose Template.
10. You can now save the imposition.
    • If you have opened the Impose Editor using the Impose tab from within a Production Job, you can save the imposition by clicking on Save in the top right-hand corner. The Save Imposition dialog is not displayed, because all parameters contained within the Production Job have already been saved.
    • However, if you have opened the Impose Editor via the menu item Automation > Impose Editor, you can save the imposition by selecting Save or Save as in the action bar. When saving the imposition, a new Production Job is created.  
11. By saving the imposition, a Save Imposition dialog will open. You have the following choices in this dialog:
    • Job Name [29] – Enter either a number or name for the Production Job here. Additional information about the Production Job can be saved in the Comment section below.
    • Output Configuration [31] – If you opened the Impose Editor via the menu item Automation > Impose Editor and have not assigned an Output Configuration, you can now select one when saving the imposition.
    • Split Reference [30] – If a Production Job was created from an Article, Order or the File Manager, this checkbox is displayed for all Print Items that originate from these sources. If this checkbox is activated, the Print Item will be duplicated and copied into the new Production Job when it is created. This removes the 1:1 reference to the Article or Print Item in an Order.
12. Click on Save to complete the imposition process.

Figure 6: The Save Imposition dialog.