Tiling mode allows you to split oversized print documents that exceed the width and height of a standard substrate into smaller pieces (Tiles) which includes additional areas for gluing each tile together.

Splitting a large Print Item into smaller pieces is called Tiling.  If you want to create a new Tiling imposition, proceed as follows:

1. Open the Impose Editor and select Tiling mode.

To start the Impose Editor, you can go to the menu item Automation > Impose Editor and select Tiling mode or you can open an existing Production Job and select the Impose [1] tab. In the Impose tab, select Tiling [2], which will open the Impose Editor in Tiling mode.

Figure 1: The Impose tab offers four distinct impose modes, one if which is Tiling mode.

2. Select your desired Print Item.
   If you have started the Impose Editor via the menu item Automation > Impose Editor, you need to add a Print Item to the 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 in a Production Job, then the Print Item will be automatically selected.
3. Select your desired settings under the Artboard Settings [3] tab for Tiling. The following parameters are available: Tiling Options, Overlap Parameters, Margin and Bleed.

• Mode [4] – The Mode settings allows you to choose between four options: you can create the Tiling with a fixed number of columns and rows, by specifying a specific size, or by creating Tiles that are all one specific size or by defining a custom size for each Tile.
• Columns/Rows [5] – Here you can define the number of columns and rows.
• Scale – The Scale can be used to define the final size of the Tiling. You can Scale [6] the Print Item to the desired width [9] and height. Determine whether the absolute dimensions [8] should be used or a Scaling Factor [7] which is saved when saving an Impose Template.

• Mounting Direction – Select the desired Mounting Direction [10] either horizontal or vertical, and specify whether it should be Reverse or Zigzag.
• Overlap [11] – This option determines the amount of horizontal and/or vertical Overlap (used for gluing the tiles). Please note that this determines the total size of the overlap (including the Printed Overlap).
• Printed Overlap [12] – This option determines how much of the overlap should be printed. You can set the value for the printed overlap separately for all sides of a Tile. If you want to set different Printed Overlaps per Tile, you can accomplish this by clicking on the grid symbol [15].

Figure 2: The Artboard Settings tab when using Tiling mode.

Margin [13] – We recommend always leaving Auto Margin selected when Tiling, as this will set the correct Margins for applied Marks.

Bleed [14] – This option determines how much of the existing Bleed from the Print Item will be printed on the outer edges of the Tiles which are located on the edge. If the Print Item itself has no Bleed, entering a Bleed will result in an unprinted border around the entire Tiling when assembled.

4. Under the Marks tab [16], you can select: Marks, Lines, Grommets and Captions as needed.

Marks [17] – If individual Tiles need to be cut manually in the finishing process, you can set the Marks to specific postions based on: ImageBox, ImageBox + Bleed per Tile etc. This can be set for each individual Mark.

Captions [18] – In order to ensure that the Tiles are assembled correctly, a Caption should be added which illustrates the current and the adjacent Tiles by number. We have created a Caption that applies the correct page numbering [19] by default.

Lines [20] – If single Tiles need to be cut manually, in many cases a thin printing line should be printed on the edges. If you require such lines, select Line in the Lines sub-panel.

Grommets [21] – Grommets can be added using this option in the Grommets sub-panel.

For more information on the four options listed above please read the article Marks, Captions, Lines and Grommets.

Figure 3: The Marks tab where the user has a variety of options commonly needed when creating Tiles.

5. Under the Finishing tab [22] you can create an optional Dieline [23]. When this option is activated, Dielines are applied to each individual Tiles based on the IMageBox by default. The following options are available:
   • Position [24] – Select ImageBox + Bleed for a Tile if the Dielines should be applied to the Bleed. ImageBox for a Tile is selected by default.
   • Corner Type [25] – Depending on your Cutting Device, you can select whether the corners should be beveled or rounded. Only use a value of 0 mm when a corner needs to be cut and you have the beveled option selected.
   • Weight and Offset – Here you can define the Weight (line thickness) and the desired Offset.
   • Technical Color [26] – Here you can select a System-wide Spot Color. If the desired Spot Color is not displayed, it must be created under the menu item Color > Manage Spot Colors.
   • Overprint [27] – Normally Technical Colors should always be overprinted, this checkbox should only be deactivated in certain exceptions.

Figure 4: The Finishing tab with the Create Dieline option activated.

6. If you are satisfied with your settings and want to use these settings for other jobs, we recommended that you save your settings using an Impose Template.
7. You can now save the Tiling imposition.
   • If you have opened the Impose Editor using the Impose tab in a Production Job, you can save the Tiling by clicking on Save. In this case you will not see the Save Imposition dialog, because all parameters for the Production Job have been saved previously.
   • However, if you have opened the Impose Editor via the menu item Automation > Impose Editor, you can save the Tiling by selecting Save or Save as in the action bar. By saving the Tiling you will create a new Production Job.  
8. By saving the Tiling, the Save Imposition dialog will open. The following additional options are offered in this dialog:
   • Job Name [28] – Enter a number or name for the Production Job. Additional information about the Production Job can be saved in the Comment input field.
   • Create separate Articles for each Tile [29] – By activating this option, a separate Article will be created for each Tile in the Workflow, which can be used later to save space by nesting the items. If this option is not activated, a multi-page PDF (which contains a single page per tile) is created. This procedure is particularly recommended when the individual Tiles cannot be nested (to save material in some cases), because they already use the substrate width, for example. A multi-page PDF can then be sent to the printer when ripping, and is therefore ripped faster as parallel ripping is then possible.
   • Output Configuration [30] – If you have opened the Impose Editor via the menu item Automation > Impose Editor and have not assigned an Output Configuration, you can now select your desired Output Configuration when saving.
9. Click on Save to complete the Tiling imposition process.

Figure 5: The Save Imposition dialog with various options.

Tiling mode offers four different methods when implementing the Tiling. These four methods are explained below.