User Manual / Editor and Plug-ins / 1. Print Item Editor

1.2 Analyze

Updated on Feb 10, 2024

In this article, you will learn more about the Print Item Editor regarding the available

analysis options,
information at a glance,
options for showing and hiding information as well as
the function-related tools.

1. Introduction

With the Print Item Editor, it is possible to analyze and edit Print Items. Print Items in multi-page files must be opened separately and analyzed or edited accordingly.

Before editing print data, you should get a good overview of the file structure. The basic options for that are available in the Analysis tab of the Print Item Editor.

2. "Analyze" tab

After opening the Print Item Editor, the Analyze tab with its corresponding setting areas and function-related toolbar is displayed by default.

Use this tab to get the necessary overview of the print file structure. You can quickly get an impression of the Production Frames, Bleed, Page Boxes, and detailed Color Separations with all the technical properties for the color separation.

Figure 1: The setting areas Zoom, Position, Display Options, Process Colors, Spot Colors, Technical Colors, Production Frame as well as Page Boxes

The following information areas are available in the Analysis tab:

Zoom [1] – the current zoom factor is displayed. Zoom factors from 10% to 3200% are available in the selection menu.
Position [2] – here, the current cursor position on the X and Y axes is shown.
- Display Options [3] – here, the transparency grid can be displayed by activating the corresponding checkbox.
Process Colors [4] – here, the Process Colors used in the Print Item are displayed. The color values of the Process Colors of the current cursor position are also displayed.
Spot Colors [5] – here, the Spot Colors of the Print Item with the percentage values and the number of Fills and Strokes colored with the respective Spot Color are shown. Furthermore, the Overprint State of the Spot Color and the size of the enclosing rectangle for the Spot Color are specified.
Technical Colors [6] – here, all Technical Colors of the Print Item are displayed with the percentage values and the number of Fills and Strokes colored with the respective Technical Color. Furthermore, the Overprint State of the Technical Color and the size of the enclosing rectangle for the Technical Color are shown.
Production Frame [7] – here, the ImageBox is displayed in height and width as well as the expected Bleed. Show and hide this information via the tick icon.
Page Boxes [8] – here, all existing Page Boxes of the Print Item are displayed. Show and hide the individual Boxes via the tick icon.

2.1. Setting Areas

Information regarding the Print Item is displayed in several settings areas. The contents of the Print Item can be shown or hidden for these areas. Read on for more information regarding the individual setting areas and their options.

2.1.1. Zoom

In the Zoom settings area, the user can zoom the Print Items and Artboard to the best-suiting size. In the selection menu [9] various zoom selection options are available. Use the Zoom Tool or keyboard shortcuts to zoom in or zoom out. The current zoom level of the Print Items is then displayed in the selection menu.

Figure 2: The settings area Zoom in detail

High-resolution Display

You will soon notice that the display becomes more "pixelated" at very high zoom levels. This is due to the fact that only a preview image is currently used for the display, which is no longer sufficient at certain zoom levels.

We are currently working on a high-resolution display in the browser! Hold on a little longer and stick with us for this feature.

2.1.2. Position

The current Position of your cursor on the X and Y axes is displayed in the Position settings area. The dimensions are shown in Administration > Settings > General in the selected Length Unit and in the selected Number Format.

Figure 3: The settings area Position in detail

2.1.3. Display Options

Inspect whether the background is transparent or white by ticking the box next to Show Transparency Grid in the Display Options settings area. This function is particularly important if the Print Item is placed over other objects in another application. Transparent areas also show objects that are located in the background.

Transparent areas are indicated by a gray checkerboard pattern in the background. While this function is activated, the options in the Process Colors, Spot Colors, and Technical Colors setting areas are not available.

Figure 4: Display in the Print Item Editor with activated function Show Transparency Grid

2.1.4. Process Colors

The Process Colors settings area displays the Process Colors used in the Print Item. Here, a maximum of the four Process Colors Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (Key) can be specified. Select the Pipette Tool to display the corresponding percentage values of the current cursor position. Generally, the effective color values of the CYMK objects in the Print Item are displayed.

When analyzing a print file, the following questions can be answered in this settings area:

Are there different black definitions on the current page? By hiding the black channel, quickly identify whether there are other black objects on the page. The Pipette Tool can also be used to determine the respective color value of this black tone.
How do the individual Process Color Channels look separated? By activating the individual color channels, you can see exactly where the individual Process Colors are located in the Print Item.
Where are the Spot Colors located? By hiding all Process Colors, only all objects colored with Spot Color or Registration Color are displayed.

Figure 5: The settings area Process Colors in detail

The following functions are available to the user in the Process Colors settings area:

Show or hide all Process Colors [10] - all Process Colors can be shown or hidden by clicking on the circle symbol. If there is a "-" in the symbol, at least one Process Color is hidden.
Show or hide individual Process Colors [11] - by clicking on the circle symbol of the respective Process Color, the objects of the individual Process Colors are shown or hidden.
Show color values [12] - with the activated Eyedropper Tool, the respective color value of the object is displayed by moving the cursor over the object.

Process Color Values

In some cases, the displayed CMYK color values are not the color values that the object has in the PDF. The displayed color values are color-calculated percentages that result from the selected color management settings.

Please note that the displayed percentages are only displayed correctly for DeviceCMYK colors. The ICC profiles that you have set in Administration > Settings > Color Management are assigned to the DeviceRGB and DeviceGray colors as the source profile before they are then calculated using the selected CMYK Working Color Space profile. The ICC based Grey, RGB, and CMYK colors are all converted into the Target Color Space via the CMYK Working Color Space profile.

2.1.5. Spot Colors

In the Spot Colors settings area, all Spot Colors that are used in the Print Item are displayed. With the selected Eyedropper Tool, the corresponding percentage values of the current cursor position are displayed.

When analyzing a print file, the following questions can be answered in this settings area:

What color or tonal values does the Spot Color object have? The percentage values for the individual Spot Colors are displayed on the right-hand side.
How many Spot Colors are there in the Print Item? The number of Spot Colors is displayed to the right of the settings area heading.
Where are Process Colors located? By hiding all Spot Colors, only objects that are created in Process Color and Registration Color are displayed.

Figure 6: The settings area Spot Colors in detail

The following functions are available to the user in the Spot Colors settings area:

Show / hide all Spot Colors [13] - by clicking on the circle symbol in front of the heading, all Spot Colors can be shown or hidden. If there is a "-" in the symbol, at least one Spot Color is hidden.
Show / hide individual Spot Colors [14] - by clicking the circle symbol in front of the respective Spot Color, the objects of the respective Spot Color are shown or hidden.
Show Color Values [15] - with the activated Pipette Tool , the respective color value of the object is displayed by moving the cursor over the desired object.
Number of Spot Colors [16] - this number indicates how many Spot Colors are on the displayed page of the document
Dimensions [17] - here, the size of the object is shown with which the respective Spot Color is colored. If there are several objects colored with the Spot Color on the page, the value indicates the size of the enclosing box of these objects.
Number of Fill and Stroke objects [18] - shows the sum of all Fill and Stroke objects that are colored with the Spot Color.
Overprinting [18] - Objects of the respective Spot Color are set to Overprint.
Knockout [19] - Objects of the respective Spot Color are set to Knockout.

2.1.6. Technical Colors

In the Technical Color settings area, all Spot Colors that have been defined as Technical Color in the Workflow are displayed. With the selected Pipette Tool, the corresponding percentage values of the current cursor position are displayed. The type which is assigned to this Technical Color is also indicated.

Figure 7: The settings area Technical Colors in detail

The following functions are available to the user in the Technical Colors settings area:

Show or hide all Technical Colors [20] - all Technical Colors can be shown or hidden by clicking on the circle symbol in front of the heading. If there is a "-" in the symbol, at least one Technical Color is hidden.
Show or hide individual Technical Colors [21] - by clicking on the circle symbol in front of the respective Technical Color, the objects of the respective Technical Color are shown or hidden.
Show color values [22] - with the activated Pipette Tool, the respective color value of the object is displayed by moving the cursor over the desired object.
Number of Technical Colors [23] - this number indicates how many Technical Colors are on the displayed page of the document
Dimension [24] - shows the size of the object with which the respective Technical Color is colored. If there are several objects colored with the Technical Color on the page, the value indicates the size of the enclosing box of these objects.
Type of Technical Color [25]- indicates which type is assigned to the respective Technical Color. The following types are currently available for selection in the Workflow:
- Cut Contour - Dielines that cut through or are used for Bleed.
- Crease - Lines that are used for creasing.
- Legend - Technical Colors that are used for captions.
- Braille - Technical Color that contain objects for embossed printing.
Number of Fill and Stroke objects [26] - shows the sum of all Fill and Stroke objects in the message window that are colored with the Technical Color.
Overprint State [26] - Objects of the respective Spot Color are set to Knockout or Overprint. The status can be derived from the symbol.

2.1.7. Production Frame

In the Production Frame settings area the width and height of the current ImageBox and the Expected Bleed for left, top, right and bottom are displayed.

Figure 8: Settings area Production Frame in detail

The following functions are available to the user in the Production Frame settings area:

Show and hide the ImageBox [27] - by clicking on the circle symbol in front of the term ImageBox, show or hide the Box in the preview. The ImageBox is displayed in the form of a yellow rectangle.
Width and Height [28] - display the sizes for the production frames. The first digit indicates the size of the TrimBox, the second digit in brackets indicates the size of the production format.
Show and hide "Expected Bleed" [29] - the Expected Bleed can shown or hidden in the preview by clicking on the circle symbol in front of the term. The expected bleed is displayed as a turquoise transparent frame. The transparency allows the user to see whether there is sufficient printed content in the bleed.

2.1.8. Page Boxes

All Page Boxes used in the document are displayed in the Page Box settings area. There can be up to five page frames in a PDF. The Media Box is present in every file, all others are optional. You can find more information on the Page Boxes i.e. Page Geometry in the glossary.

Figure 9: The settings area Page Boxes in detail

The following functions are available to the user in the Page Boxes settings area:

Show and hide all Page Boxes [30] – all Page Boxes can be shown or hidden by clicking on the circle symbol in front of the heading of the settings area. When there is a "-" displayed as symbol, at least one Page Box is hidden.
Show or hide individual Technical Colors [31] – by clicking the circle symbol in front of the respective Page Box, this Box is shown or hidden.

Production Frames or Page Boxes

Depending on the user's preference, it is possible to either work with the Page Boxes or with the Production Frames. These two options can be shown or hidden separately or together.

2.2. Toolbar

Each tab provides various tools in the toolbar to enable the Print Items to be edited and analyzed. The following tools are available to the user in the Analysis tab:

Pipette Tool [32] - the Pipette Tool P is used for reading out color values from the PDF file. Please note that the color value of the position located at the tip of the pipette symbol is measured.
Measure Tool [33] - the M Measure Tool can be used to measure distances on Print Items.
Hand Tool [34] - the Hand Tool G is used for panning the visible section on the artboard by clicking and dragging.
Zoom Tool [35] - with the Zoom Tool Z, the mouse pointer becomes a magnifying glass with a "+" symbol in its center. Zooming can be done in different ways:
- click with the "+" magnifying glass to zoom to the point where you clicked.
- additionally press the Ctrl key (Windows) or the cmd key (macOS) to change the "+" effect of the magnifier to a "-" effect - click to zoom out.
- draw a rectangle around the area that you would like to inspect more closely - zoom in to the selected section. It does not matter whether the magnifying glass is displayed with a "+" or a "-" symbol.
Fit to Width [36] - with the Fit to Width tool W, the Print Item is zoomed to the width of the artboard
Fit to Height [37] - the Fit to Height tool H zooms the Print Item to the height of the artboard

Figure 10: The toolbar of the Analysis tab

2.3. Measure Color Values

As described in this Article in the sections Process Colors and Technical Colors, selecting the Pipette Tool displays the corresponding color values in the settings area.

With the Pipette Tool, display the corresponding information by clicking on the desired position on the Print Item. The color values of the individual separation are shown in a separate window.

Figure 11: The information window when clicking on a position on the Print Item with the Pipette Tool

Artikel update: Workflow 1.17.0 – 02/2024

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