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1.3 Page Geometry

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Learn in this Article,

  • how you can edit, delete and add Page Boxes in the Print Item Editor and
  • which function-related tools are available.

1. Introduction

A PDF file can contain up to five Page Boxes, whereby one Page Box - the MediaBox - must always be present in a PDF. All other Page Boxes can be optional.

In the Page Geometry tab of the Print Item Editor, it is possible to display all Page Boxes, add or remove a Page Box and edit their positioning. A distinction is made between the following five Page Boxes, which should be nested in the following order:

  • TrimBox – represents the final size of the printed and cut document. A document that is designed for printing requires a TrimBox. The size of this Box must be smaller or the same size as the BleedBox, CropBox and MediaBox.
  • BleedBox – represents an extended area around the TrimBox in which printable content should be located.
  • Although this printed content is ultimately cut away, it serves as a safety area so that no „flash" (white paper) is created at the edge when it is cut away. This frame should always be larger than the TrimBox, but smaller than or equal to the CropBox and MediaBox.
  • ArtBox – describes a frame that surrounds all printable objects and is therefore used to place the page content.
  • In many applications, however, this frame is also used as a description for the trimmed area (TrimBox), which sometimes leads to confusion during further processing. For this reason, the ISO standard PDF/X-15930 specifies that either the TrimBox or the ArtBox may be present in a PDF/X file - both are prohibited. In practice, it is currently common practice that the final size of the file is described with the TrimBox. The implementation in Workflow also follows this approach!
  • CropBox – is created by cropping the page with a suitable tool. The CropBox is used as standard for display in PDF display programs as well as for placing PDF files in layout or assembly programs. This frame should always be larger than or equal to the BleedBox but smaller than or equal to the MediaBox.
  • MediaBox – represents the physical size of the media and normally corresponds to the selected paper size used for printing.

2. "Page Geometry" Tab

To get a quick overview of the respective Page Boxes of a Print Item, the Page Geometry tab is available in the Print Item Editor of the Workflow. The following options are available in this tab:

  • Correctly nest Page Boxes [1] - if the Page Boxes are not correctly nested with regard to PDF/X standard ISO 15930, a warning message is displayed. By pressing this button, the page frames are nested correctly.
  • Dimensions [2] - display the dimensions of the current Page Boxes for the displayed page
  • Setting areas [3] - the settings areas for the individual Page Boxes can be opened by clicking on the arrow

Figure 1: The Page Geometry tab of the Print Item Editor

Changing Page Boxes for multi-page Print Items

For multi-page Print Items, the revised Page Boxes can also be changed on other pages. To do this, select the desired page area [4] at the bottom.

2.1. Edit Page Box

Page Boxes can be edited intuitively using the Selection Tool V by moving the corresponding box or by entering the coordinates in the settings area of the respective Page Box in absolute terms or relative to another Page Box.

2.1.1. Position Page Box Absolute

If a Page Box is to be set to a specific position at a specific Height and Width, you must select Absolute for the Positioning option [5].

Figure 2: The settings area of the TrimBox with absolute positioning

The following options are available to the user in the settings area when absolute positioning is selected:

  • Origin [7] – determine the starting point from which editing should take place by selecting a point.
  • X or Y [6] – Display of the current X and Y coordinates for the selected point in the origin.
    • Increasing the value in the X-axis moves the Box to the right, decreasing the value moves the object to the left.
    • Increasing the value in the Y-axis moves the Box downwards, decreasing the value moves the object upwards.
  • Width or Height [8] – Display of the current Width and Height of the selected Page Box.
  • Derive Dimensions from Spot Color [9] – the size of the Page Box can be derived from an existing Spot Color. The desired Spot Color can be selected in the drop-down menu.
  • Reset [10] – click to reset changes.

Derive Dimensions from Spot Color

If a Print Item has a Dieline, this is normally an indication that the Print Item should be cropped there. If the TrimBox does not match the Dieline, quickly and elegantly set the TrimBox to the dimension of the Dieline by selecting the Technical Color in the drop-down menu.

2.1.2. Position Page Box Relative

If a Page Box should be set at a certain Offset to another Page Box, select Relative for the Positioning [11] option. This often occurs in practice to set the BleedBox to the TrimBox at a certain spacing.

Figure 3: The settings area Bleed Box with relative positioning

The following possibilities are available in the settings area with selected relative Positioning:

  • Relative to [12] – select the desired reference Box from which the offset is to be calculated.
  • Offset [13] – enter the desired offset for Top, Bottom, Left and Right. If the offset is different, the lock symbol must first be unlocked.

2.2. Add Page Box

It isn't necessary that every Print Item contains all five Page Boxes. In some cases it is necessary though to add a missing Page Box.

To add a Page Box proceed as described below:

  1. Switch to the Page Geometry tab. Missing Page Boxes are greyed out and shown in the Page Boxes list.
  2. To add a missing Page Box click on the + [14] symbol.
  3. The corresponding settings area is opened automatically. Therein, position the Page Box absolute or relative as needed.

Figure 4: The upper part of the settings area Page Boxes

2.3. Delete Page Box

It is possible to remove all Page Boxes apart from the MediaBox and the Box which is used as ImageBox.

To delete a Page Box proceed as described below:

  1. Switch to the Page Geometry tab.
  2. Open the settings area of the Page Box that should be deleted.
  3. Click on Delete Page Box [15] to delete the desired Page Box.

Figure 5: The settings area for the ArtBox with the possibility to delete the Page Box

2.4. Warning for Incorrect Nesting

Basically users can set any position and size of the Page Boxes as desired in the Print Item Editor. However, a certain order should be given for the nesting of the individual Boxes. If Page Boxes are not nested correctly in accordance with ISO 15930 - the ISO standard for PDF/X - a warning [17] is displayed. The following constellations should be avoided according to the ISO standard:

  • The CropBox overlaps or is larger than the MediaBox
  • The TrimBox overlaps or is larger than the BleedBox
  • The TrimBox, BleedBox and/or ArtBox overlap or are larger than the CropBox or MediaBox
  • The ArtBox is smaller than the TrimBox

As soon as the nesting of the Page Boxes in the Print Item Editor is not carried out as specified in the PDF/X standard, corresponding warnings are issued. The following warnings may appear:

  • General warning [17] – This warning appears as soon as the recommendations from the PDF/X ISO Standard are violated. Moving the mouse over the symbol will display a warning that the Page Boxes have not been correctly connected. You can fix any problems that have arisen by clicking on the automatic Fixup [18]. This Fixup eliminates all warnings in one step by correcting the nesting for all Page Boxes. Please check afterwards whether the Fixups also meet your expectations.
  • Warning for the Page Box [16] – This warning appears for the Page Box that causes the warning.

Figure 6: Warning for wrong nesting in the Page Boxes settings area

3. Toolbar

The toolbar provides function-related tools for each tab, enabling editing and analysis of Print Items. The following tools are available to the user in the Page Geometry tab:

  • Selection Tool [19] – with the Selection Tool V the Page Box can be selected and thus enlarged, reduced or moved.
    • Select a Page Box – the selection of a Page Box is carry out by clicking on the corresponding Box. The selection of multiple Page Boxes isn't possible!
    • Deselct – click outside of the artboard with the Selection Tool to deselect.
  • Crop Tool [20] – with the Crop Tool the Page Boxes can be set intuitively by clicking and dragging. Read more about that in the Crop Page article.
  • Measure Tool [21] – with the Measure Tool M measure the distances on the Print Item.
  • Hand Tool [22] – with the Hand Tool G move the visible area on the artboard by clicking and dragging.
  • Zoom Tool [23] –  with the Zoom Tool Z the mouse pointer becomes a magnifying glass with a "+" symbol in its center. Zooming can then be carried out in different ways:
    • click with the "+" magnifying glass on a point that should be zoomed.
    • additionally hold the alt key (Windows) or the option key (macOs) so that the "+" magnifying glass becomes a "-" magnifying glass. Click to zoom out.
    • drag a rectangle over the area that should be visible after zooming - the selected snippet is zoomed in. In this case it doesn't matter whether the "+" or the "-" magnifying glass is shown.
  • Fit to Width [24] – click W to zoom the Print Item to the width of the artboard.
  • Fit to Height [25] – click H to zoom the Print Item to the height of the artboard.

Figure 7: The toolbar in the Page Geometry tab

4. Crop Page

If you want to quickly crop a Print Item, you can do this easily in the Page Geometry tab using the Crop Tool. To do this, proceed as follows:

  1. Select the Crop Tool [27] from the toolbar.
  2. Drag the desired section onto the Artboard.
  3. Release the mouse button. A measurement palette [26] appears in which you can enter the exact X and Y position as well as the width and height of the selection frame. Enter the necessary Fixups.
  4. Click on the handles [28] to move the measurement palette.
  5. To start the cropping process, press Apply [30]. To cancel the process, press Reset [29].

Figure 8: The measurement palette when cropping a Print Item

Article update: Workflow 1.17.0 – 02/2024

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