Print data can be uploaded into the Workflow in different ways, such as: Force Print, Hotfolders or creating new Articles, Orders or Production jobs. Print data can also be uploaded into the Workflow using the File Manager. Items can only be uploaded via the Articles tab in the File Manager. Proceed as follows to upload a print file:

1. Open the File Manager in the Impose Editor.
2. Select the Article menu item tab [7]. If the area for searching/selecting Articles is not displayed, you must first display the area by clicking on the arrow [10].
3. If you want to assign the print data to a Collection, select your desired Collection [8] from the drop-down menu. If you want to create a new Collection, click on the + symbol [9], which opens the New Collection dialog. Enter a name for the Collection and confirm by saving the dialog. After creating a Collection, it is automatically selected.
4. print data can now be uploaded by clicking on the + symbol [11], which opens the file management system native to your operating system. Select all necessary print files and start the upload process.
5. After the print data is processed, it will be displayed as items in the list.

Figure 2: The upload and search area in the File Manager.

Searching for print data is completed in slightly different ways when using the three different menu items: Articles, Orders and Production Jobs.

Searching in the Article menu item tab [14] – You can search for Collections [12] and/or for the specific names of Article [13]. If you first search for a Collection and then for an Article name, the search criteria are narrowed only to that specific Collection in which you are searching.

Searching in the Order menu item tab [17] – Only the name of the Order [18] can be searched. In the Order list [15] Only the Order itself is initially displayed. By clicking the arrow [19] the second level opens, where all Print Items [16] contained in the Order are displayed.

Searching in the Production Job menu item tab [23] – You can only search Production Jobs by name [22]. In the list, only the first level [20] displays Production Jobs initially and by expanding the Production Job, Print Items [21] contained in the Production Job are displayed.

Figure 3: The search areas of all three menu item tabs: Articles, Orders and Production Jobs.

Once you have located specific Articles or Print Items, they can then be selected in the list of items. You can determine the way in which entries in the list are displayed by selecting either Large thumbnails [24] or Small Thumbnails [24]. If you select Large thumbnails, more information about the Article will be displayed, but fewer entries can be displayed in the list of Articles.

The order in which Articles are arranged in the list can be determined by selecting the sorting by ID [31] or by Name [32]. If no sorting was applied, the list is sorted by internal sequential IDs.

You can select single or multiple entries in the list. The amount of entries that are currently selected is shown using a number [26].

Figure 4: The action area and the Article list.

The following activities can be performed when an entry is selected:

• Assign Print Item(s) to the Production Job – This can be done by clicking on the + symbol [27] or by simply dragging and dropping the Articles onto the sheet of the Impose Editor. You can activate the eye icon [30] to display or hide Articles/Print Items that have been added to the sheet.
• Delete [29] – Deleting Articles will remove them completely from the Workflow and not just from the File Manager. Please note that this function is not available for both Order and Production Job menu items.
• Edit selected Articles [28] – With the Edit option, you can rename [33] or remove [34] an Article from a Collection. Please note that this function is not available for both Order and Production Job menu items.

Figure 5: The Edit Article dialog of the File Manager.

The impose sheet (grey area) consists of at least one Artboard. For special Impositions, you can also create several Artboards consisting of different dimensions with different Impose Modes selected. Print Items that extend beyond the sheet are clipped accordingly in the output render.

The toolbar is displayed in all Impose Modes. Depending on the mode selected, the toolbar may have only specific tools available. The following tools are available in the Impose Editor:

• Selection Tool [41] – Is used in Manual Mode to select individual Print Items placed on the sheet to reduce, enlarge, move, rotate or delete them. Simply click on an empty area of the sheet to deselect Print Items.
• Object Creation Tools [42] – These tools can be used to create shapes such as: Lines, Squares/Rectangles, Elipses, Custom Shapes and Texts.
• Guideline Tool [43] – The Guideline Tool is used to move, create or remove boundary lines which define the size of tiles. Only available in Tiling Mode.
• Crop Tool [44] – This tool is used for cropping selected Print Items on the sheet in Manual Mode.
• Grid Tool [45] – This tool is used to create a grid of placeholders in which Print Items can be placed, only available in Manual Mode.
• Measure Tool [46] – Can be used in all Impose Modes to measure distances between Print Items on the sheet.
• Hand Tool [47] – Use this tool to shift/place the sheet as needed.
• Zoom In/Out Tools [48] – The typical tools used to zoom in or out when viewing the sheet.
• Fit to Width and Fit to Height [49] – Use this tool to adjust the sheet view either using Height or Width as the adjustment criteria.

Figure 7: The Impose Editor Toolbar

On the right side of the Impose Editor, depending on the Impose Mode selected, various settings tabs are available. This area is divided into four tabs: Artboard Settings, Print Items, Markers and Finishing.

In the General tab the most important parameters for the calculation of the Imposition are available.

Figure 8: The setting area of the General tab in the Impose Mode Nesting

The parameters in the Artboard Settings tab are grouped thematically into individual drop-downs. The number of drop-downs in this area depends on the selected Impose Mode. A description of the parameters for each individual drop-down is therefore described in more detail for each Impose Mode here.

Drop-downs can be expanded or collapsed by clicking on the arrow [49] in the header of the drop-down.

Figure 9: Various drop-downs as seen in the Artboard Settings tab when Nesting Mode is selected.

The Print Items tab displays all Print Items that are currently in the Production Job. The following functions are available in this tab:

• Change Ordering – By simply click and dragging a Print Item, you can change the ordering of Print Items in the list. Depending on the selected Impose Mode, this may have an effect on the final Imposition result.
• Select Print Items – You can select single or multiple Print items, in exactly the same way as Print Items/Articles listed in the File Manager. You can select all Print Items with one click [59] or deselect any or all Print Items [60].  The amount of currently selected Print Items in this tab is indicated by the number in the circle [56].
• Select Print Items outside Sheet [58] – This function is only available in Manual Mode.
• Edit selected Print Items [56] – Clicking on this icon opens the Edit selected Print Items dialog. You can change the number of copies, the scaling and the visibility of individual Print Items.
• Delete selected Print Items from Job [57] – This will delete the Print Item from the current Production Job. The Print Item will not be deleted from the Workflow. Print Items are still available in the Workflow either as an Article or a Print Item.
• Add selected Print Items to the Imposition [55] – By clicking on the + symbol, the selected Print Item will be added to the Imposition in Manual Mode according to the entered number of copies for that specific Print Item. You can also drag and drop Print Items onto the sheet. When using rule-based Impose Modes, all Print Items are automatically added to the Imposition. However, if a Print Item should not be used in the Imposition, it can be overridden by using the Do not use Print Item in Imposition icon [53].

Figure 10: The Print Items tab as seen with Manual Mode selected.

• Rotate Print Items when placed [51] – This option is only available in Manual Mode. Selecting a rotation option will automatically rotate the Print Item when placed.
• Replace Print Item [54] – This option is only available in Manual Mode. This allows you to replace a selected Print Item in the Imposition and replaced it with another Print Item from the list.
• Print Item Details [52] – Clicking on the arrow expands an additional tab where you can view detailed information for that specific Print Item.
• Technical Colors [62] – If the Print Item contains Technical Colors, they are visualized using color chips.

Figure 11: Print Item Details for the selected Print Item are displayed in an expandable tab.

The Markers tab contains a variety of printing Marks, Captions, etc., that may be required for a wide variety of situations. These Marks, Captions, etc., are available in all Impose Modes and include the following elements:

• Marks – Can be used to add various print Marks, which are used for cutting or detecting positions on the Imposition.
• Captions – Textual references on the printed sheets make it easier to identify and organize Print Items on the final Imposition output.
• Lines – Printing lines can be added to the margins of the sheet to demarcate where cutting lines belong in the finishing process.
• Grommets – Grommets can be added on selected edges using a specified size and distance from the edge.

For a more detailed description of each parameter in this tab, see the following article: Marks, Captions, Lines and Grommets.

Figure 12: The Markers tab without any Marks, Captions, etc. added.

The Finishing tab contains functions that affect post-print processes. These include: the automatic creation of Dielines and Cutting information, which are then transferred to the selected cutting device.

If you want to add Dielines for individual Print Items automatically, simply click on the Add drop-down [63] to active the Default Dieline. You can determine the position of the Dieline including the Position, Origin, Offset, Corner Type, Weight, Technical Color and the Overprint status.

If you want to transfer the created Dielines to a connected cutting device, select the appropriate Cutter Device [64] with the corresponding Parameter Set [65] and possible Material Settings for Cutter [66] (at the moment for Zund CutCenter). You can also choose and control the Registration Marks [67] and Barcodes [68] for the cutting device, these settings can be changed at anytime.

Figure 13: The Finishing tab, showing a Dieline and a Zund Cutter