In this article we'll learn:
- Which Marks are available
- Which Lines are available
- Which types of Captions are available
- How to add Grommets
1. Marks
When you prepare designs for printing in the Impose Editor, different Marks can be added according to production or finishing requirements. These Marks help designate where Print Items are to be cut and also help cutting devices to find reference points on the sheet. All Marks are based on vector graphics stored in SVG format. This makes it relatively easy to adjust them according to your preferences.
Marks are available in all Impose Modes and for Cutters. In the Impose Editor you will find all available Marks under the Marks [3] sub-panel of the Markers tab [1], in the Marks tab of the Sheet Configuration dialog and under the Cutting Devices sub-panel of the Finishing tab [2].
An unlimited amount of Marks can be added, even multiple instances of the same Mark.
Figure 1: The Impose Editor with the Markers tab selected.
1.1. Types of Marks
There are various types of Marks available. We offer the following Marks by default:
- Three types of Center Marks
- Three types of Corner Marks
- Five additional types of Marks: CropMarks, Dashed Frame, Rectangle, Registration and Sphere.
Figure 2: An illustration showing Marks that are available in the Impose Editor.
1.2. Available Parameters
The appearance and position of a Mark can be configured using the control panel for that specific Mark. In this example we use Corner Mark 3.
Figure 3: The options for Corner Mark 3.
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Origin [4]: Marks can be positioned on different starting points. Depending on the Impose Mode chosen, not every Origin point will be available. The following options are available:
- Per Print Item – The Mark is aligned and applied to each individual Print Item.
- Per Row – The Mark is aligned and applied per row of Print Items.
- Print Items – The Mark is aligned to an invisible rectangle that is drawn around the entire group of Print Items.
- Artboard – The Mark is aligned and applied to the Artboard dimensions.
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Position [5]: Marks can be placed on the different positions. Depending on the selected Impose Mode, the following positions are available:
- ImageBox – Marks are positioned on the ImageBox (final format).
- ImageBox + Bleed – Marks are positioned on the production format.
- Overlap – Aligns Marks to the Overlap, which is generally used for areas that need to be glued (non-printing areas).
- Printed Overlap – Aligns Marks to the printed area of the Overlap.
- Reference Point [11]: Marks can be applied to selected Reference Points. In most cases all nine positions are available: top-left, top-center, top-right, center-left, center-middle, center-right, bottom-left, bottom-center and bottom-right.
- Weight and Width [6] [7]: Both the Weight and the Line Width and Height can be adjusted as needed.
- X & Y-Offset [8]: Marks can be adjusted using both the X and Y-Offset in reference to the selected Position.
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Color [9]: Depending on the Mark selected, Marks can consist of both contours and/or a surface. Both contours and surfaces can be assigned color values. The following options are available:
- CMYK Color Values – The color value is determined by entering CMYK values.
- Spot Color Values – The color value is determined by selecting a System-wide Spot Color in the Workflow.
- SVG Values – The color value is determined by the color value defined in an SVG file.
- None – No color is applied to the selected object.
- White Background [10]: For many Marks it is advisable to place a non-printing area behind the Mark so that they are visible on dark backgrounds.
2. Captions
When preparing Print Items in the Impose Editor, the user can add Captions to the sheet according to production or finishing needs. Captions help users who are finishing print products to identify individual print products and thus ensure that Print Items are clearly assigned to Orders. Captions can contain statically or dynamically generated text. The user can define where Captions should be placed and in which font, size, color and alignment in relation to the sheet and Print Items contained in the imposition.
Captions are available in all Impose Modes. In the Impose Editor you can find Captions under the Marks [12] sub-panel of the Markers tab [11].
Multiple Captions, including identical repeats of the same Caption can be applied.
Figure 4: The Impose Editor with the Markers tab selected and a Caption added.
2.1. Types of Captions
Two types of Captions are available:
- Text – These are Captions that are displayed in the form of text.
- Barcode – These are Captions that are displayed in the form of Barcodes.
2.2. Available Parameters
The appearance and position of a Caption can be configured in the control panel for the respective Caption.
Figure 5: A Text Caption shows the following options when first selected.
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Origin [13]: Captions can be positioned on different starting points. Not every starting point can be used, depending on the selected Impose Mode. The following options are available:
- Per Print Item – A Caption is aligned to individual Print Items.
- Print Items – Captions are aligned to an invisible rectangle which is drawn around the grouped Print Items (not available in Tiling Mode)
- Artboard – Captions are aligned to the Artboard (not available in Tiling Mode)
- Reference Point [22]: Captions can be applied to selected Reference Points. There are four points available for Captions: top, left, right and bottom.
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Position [14]: Captons can be set to various Positions. Depending on the selected Impose Mode, the following positions are available:
- ImageBox – Aligns to the ImageBox (final format).
- ImageBox + Bleed – Aligns to the production format
- Overlap – Aligned to the Overlap which is generally any additional area used for gluing individual tiles (Tiling Mode only).
- Printed Overlap – Aligns to the Printed Area of the Overlap (Tiling Mode only).
- Indent/Offset [15]: Captions can be moved using the Offset and Indent and refers to the selected Position.
- Rotate with Print Item [16]: If you have selected top as the Reference Point for the Caption, this option will ensure that the Caption will always remain at the top edge of the Print Item if it has been rotated.
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Insert Placeholder [17]: Caption placeholders are listed either by entering an
@symbol in the input field or by clicking on the Insert Placeholder button. - Text: The Font Size [19], Font Family [18] and typeface can be changed. You also use custom fonts and make them available in the Workflow via the Font Manager [23].
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Color [20]: Depending on the selected type of Caption, the color of the text and the barcode as well as the background of the barcode can be set separately. The following options are available:
- CMYK Color Values – The color value is determined by entering CMYK values.
- Spot Color Values – The color value is determined by selecting a System-wide Spot Color in the Workflow.
- Knockout Background [21]: A white (non-printing) background can be added to Captions so that the Caption placed in the Bleed or Overlap remains legible even on dark backgrounds.
Figure 6: A list of the available Caption placeholders available using Tiling Mode.
3. Lines
When you prepare Print Items for printing in the Impose Editor, Lines can be added to the edges according to production or finishing requirements. Lines are usually added to Print Items when the Substrate has to be cut manually in the finishing process. Lines therefore, serve as a guide for people.
Lines are available in all Impose Modes. In the Impose Editor you will find all available Lines in the Lines [25] sub-panel of the Marks tab [24].
Multiple Lines can be added and repeated if necessary using the same Line type.
Figure 7: The Impose Editor with the Marks tab selected showing a Line that has been applied.
3.1. Line Types
Different Line types are available:
- Solid
- Dashed
- Dotted
3.2. Available Parameters
The appearance and position of a Line can be configured in the control panel for the selected Line.
Figure 8: After selecting a Solid Line, various options are visible in the control panel.
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Position [26]: Lines can be set to different positions. The X & Y-Offset [28] changes the offset in reference to the selected Position. Depending on the Impose Mode selected, the following Positions are available:
- ImageBox – Aligns to the ImageBox (final format) (not available in Tiling Mode)
- ImageBox for a Tile – Aligns the ImageBox (final format per tile) (only available in Tiling Mode)
- ImageBox + Bleed – Aligns to the production format (not available in Tiling mode)
- ImageBox + Bleed per Tile – Aligns to the production format per tile (only available in Tiling Mode)
- Overlap – Aligns to the additional area used for gluing single tiles (only available in Tiling Mode)
- Printed Overlap – Aligns to the Printed Area of the Overlap (only available in Tiling Mode)
- Reference Point [32]: Lines can be set to selected Reference Points. Four edges are available: top, left, right and bottom.
- Line Weight [27]: The Line Weight can be changed. Line Weight is always displayed in points.
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Color [30]: Lines can be assigned any color and opacity [31]. The color can be defined by the user. The following options are available:
- CMYK Color Values – The color value is determined using CMYK values.
- Spot Color Values – The color value is determined by selecting a System-wide Spot Color in the Workflow.
- Dash/Gap [29]: Depending on the selected Line type, the appearance of the line can be defined by adding larger and smaller gaps or dashes.
- Continuous Line [33]: Choose this option to make sure the Line is connected on the corners, otherwise these lines will either overlap or will have a gap in between them.
4. Grommets
When you prepare Print Items in the Impose Editor, you can add Grommets to meet production or finishing requirements. Grommets are also printed so that the position for setting the Grommets is recognized during finishing.
Grommets are available in all Impose Modes. In the Impose Editor you will find all available Grommets in the Grommets [34] sub-panel of the Marks tab [33].
An unlimited amount of Grommets can be added including the same type of Grommets.
Figure 9: The Impose Editor with the Marks tab selected, with Grommets applied.
4.1. Grommet Mark Types
Different Grommet Marks are available for selection:
- Cross
- Crosshair
- Sphere
Figure 10: A list of the available Grommet Marks in the Impose Editor.
4.2. Available Parameters
The appearance and position of Grommets can be configured in the control panel.
Figure 11: With the Sphere Mark chosen various options are available.
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Type [35]: Depending on the selected type: by distance or by number, the positions for the Grommets are calculated.
- If By distance is selected, the maximum horizontal and maximum vertical distance [36] can be entered.
- If By number is selected, the number of Grommets for both the vertical and horizontal edges can be entered.
- Position: Grommets are always set in relation to the ImageBox or ImageBox + Bleed. If Grommets should be applied to the Bleed, this can be accomplished by entering a minus value in the input fields for the Offset [37].
- Reference Point [43]: Grommets can be set on selected Reference Points (edges). Four edges are: top, left, right and bottom.
- Size: The size of the Grommet is determined by entering the Width and Height [39]. For the Marks: Crosshair and Sphere the weight [38] can also be entered.
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Color: Grommets can be created using any color. The user can define the color of the area [41] (only available for Crosshair and Sphere) or the Stroke [40] separately. The following options are available for selecting color:
- CMYK Color Values – The color value is determined by entering CMYK values.
- Spot Color Values – The color value is determined by selecting a System-wide Spot Color in the Workflow.
- SVG Values – The color value is determined by the color value defined in an SVG file.
- None – No color is applied to the Grommet.
- Add White Background [42]: If an unprinted area should be created around the Grommet, this can be shown by selecting this option.
- Rotate with Print Item: The option Rotate with Print Item [44] should normally always be activated. This means that the Grommets which are defined on the top edge will always remain on the top edge of the Print Item even when rotating using Nesting for example..
