5.2 Create a Fixup Chain

Updated on Sep 26, 2024

In this article, you will learn

where Fixup Chains are created and managed and
how to create Fixup Chains.

1. Introduction

To apply Fixup Chains to Print Items in Workflow or via external calls, they must first be created and the necessary values assigned. The Fixup Chains menu item is provided for this purpose in the Administration menu. Fixup Chains can be created, edited, and managed here, but not applied.

2. Create a Fixup Chain

To use Fixup Chains in your production, they must first be created. The Fixup Chains can be created user-defined, provided with the desired values, and then saved. In production, the created Fixup Chains can then be applied to one or more Print Items, and it is possible to largely automate production.

The following describes in detail how to create a Fixup Chain using the example Irregular Shape. This Fixup Chain contains three Fixups: Create Dieline for Irregular Shape, Set TrimBox to Dieline, and Create Bleed for Irregular Shape.

2.1. Create a New Fixup Chain

To create a new Fixup Chain, proceed as follows:

Switch to the Fixup Chains tab by selecting Administration > Fixup Chains from the menu.
Click on the Add [1] button to add a new Fixup Chain.
The Add Fixup Chain dialog opens. Enter a Name [2] for the Fixup Chain and, if necessary, a Comment [3].
Click on Save [4] to create the container for the new Fixup Chain.

Figure 1: Left: The Fixup Chain tab in the Administration menu; Right: The Add Fixup Chain dialog

2.2. Add Fixups to Fixup Chain

After you have saved the Fixup Chain, the new Fixup Chain appears in the Fixup Chains settings area. Now you just have to select, add and parameterize the desired Fixups. To do this, proceed as follows:

Mark the newly created Fixup Chain Irregular Shape in the Fixup Chains [5] area.
Now click on the Edit [5] button in the Added Fixups area. This opens the Edit dialog.

Figure 2: The Fixup Chain tab in the Administration menu with the Fixup Chain container selected

In the Fixups section, find the "Fixup Create Dieline for Irregular Shape". The quickest way is to enter the desired term in the search field [9]. The number of matches found by the search are displayed in the yellow circle [7]. Activating the favorites [10] icon will further restrict the search to your marked favorites.
Select the Fixup "Create Dieline for Irregular Shape".

Figure 3: The initial Edit Fixup Chain dialog for the selected Fixup Chain.

Clicking the + Add [10] button adds the Fixup to the Added Fixups [12] area.
Then search for the Fixup "Create Bleed from Irregular Shape" and add it to the Fixup Chain as before by clicking Add [11].

Figure 4: The Edit Fixup Chain dialog for the selected Fixup Chain after the Fixups have been added.

2.3. Parametrize Fixups

After you have added all required Fixups to the Fixup Chain, the only thing left to do is to set the desired parameters for the Fixups. To do this, proceed as follows:

First, select the Add Dieline for Irregular Shape Fixup in the Added Fixups area.
Select the desired values for this Fixup in the right-hand area of the dialog box. Select the desired parameters. A functional version is shown in Figure 5 (left figure).
Then select the "Create Bleed on Irregular Shape" Fixup in the Added Fixups area.
In the right-hand area of the dialog, select the desired values for this Fixup. Select the desired parameters. A functional version is displayed in Figure 5 (right figure).
Then complete the operation by pressing Save [13]. You have now successfully created the desired Fixup chain for your production.

Figure 5: Left: Basic Settings tab of the Dieline for Irregular Shape Fixup. Right: Basic Settings tab of the Create Bleed on Irregular Shape Fixup.

Detailed description of Fixups

For a detailed description of the individual Fixups and all the options that can be selected in the dialog, see the chapter Standard Fixups.

Organizing Fixups

Make sure that you have organized the Fixups correctly. In Fixup Chains, the individual Fixups are applied in the selected order step by step. If the order is incorrect, this can lead to undesired results.

The next point describes how you can change the order of Fixups.

3. Options in the “Edit Fixup Chain” Dialog

Select from the following options in the Edit Fixup Chain dialog:

Search bar [14] – use the search bar to quickly find Fixups by entering the name of the Fixup.
Show only favorites [15] – if this option is activated, the search is restricted to the Fixups that you have favorited.
Add to favorites [16] – click on the star icon to add individual Fixups to your favorites. Click on the symbol again to remove the Fixup from your favorites. Marked favorites are indicated by the colored symbol.
Duplicate [17] – this allows marked Fixups to be duplicated with all set values and thus used twice in a Fixup Chain.
Delete [18] – this allows marked Fixups to be deleted and thus removed from the Fixup Chain.
Move [19] – click on the Move symbol to change the order of the Fixups. This is particularly important because the Fixups in the Fixup Chain are processed in this order.