User Manual – Durst

2.2 "Update Print Item details" Operation

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In this article, you will learn

  • which configuration options are available in the "Update Print Item details" Operation
  • for which work steps you can use this Operation, and
  • how you can use the Operation efficiently with a practical application example.

1. Introduction

As described in the article Create a Production Configuration, you can add various Operations within a Product Configuration. This article explains the requirements and possible uses of the Update Print Item details Operation in detail.

The Update Print Item details Operation can be used in Production Configurations that map the entire process, from uploading the print data to the Workflow to the final output. This results in the following application scenarios:

  • Standalone use within a Production Configuration  for example, to update the Print Item status or to set a value in a Custom Field for selected Print Items.
  • Multiple uses within the same Production Configuration are possible.
  • Flexible placement within the Production Configuration  with the exception of the following Operations, after which the Update Print Item details Operation cannot be used:
    • Create Imposition
    • Create Imposition with Auto-Nesting
    • Create Production Job
    • Create Production Job from Imposition
    • Send to Printer

The Update Print Item details Operation offers numerous options for control and customization within automated workflows. The most common use cases include:

  • Changing the Print Item status – for example, to mark a Print Item that has been successfully revised for printing.
  • Customizing the Print Item name – standardize naming or map a previous work step.
  • Updating the number of copies – based on information from previous Operations.
  • Adding tags – mark processed Print Items or categorize them according to specific production characteristics.
  • Assigning finishing steps – identify measures that should be carried out in downstream production (e.g., die cutting, assembly, or similar).
  • Entering additional information in the Print Item Information – for leaving internal notes or production-related messages directly on the Print Item.
  • Setting or updating values in user-defined fields – for targeted management of metadata or to support individual Workflows.

2. Functionality

The main function of the Update Print Item details Operation is to edit uploaded print data in the Workflow in a targeted manner by repeatedly adjusting or updating Print Item details after various Operations.

This Operation aims to prepare Print Items optimally for downstream steps and processes, for example, by setting the desired status to control further processing and updating or initially setting values in specific fields (e.g., user-defined fields, Print Item information, number of copies, etc.). This targeted adjustment ensures that the Print Items meet the requirements of the next Workflow stage and can be processed smoothly.

2.1. Add Operation

To add the Update Print Item Details Operation, proceed as follows:

  1. Open the corresponding Production Configuration via Automation > Product Configurations and then switch to the Operations tab.
  2. Add the Update Print Item Details Operation to the Operation list. By default, the Operation is inserted at the end of the existing Operation list.
  3. Then move the Operation to the desired position within the configuration. Note the restrictions mentioned above regarding placement  in particular, after which Operations this step cannot be inserted.

2.2. Install Operation

After adding the Update Print Item details operation, define the desired parameters within the Production Configuration. In addition to setting the status of the Print Item, the operation dialog also offers three additional tabs for configuration – General, Advanced, and User-defined Fields.

2.2.1. Update Print Item details – Status

The Status [1] selection menu (Figure 1) provides the following entries for changing the status of the Print Item or Article:

  • Created – indicates in the Workflow that the Print Item or Article has been created, but that an error occurred during creation or the creation process has not yet been completed. This status is assigned automatically by the Workflow.
  • Data Check – indicates in the Workflow that the Print Item or Article has been created and checked, but that warnings or errors occurred during the print file check. This status is automatically set by the Workflow if the print data check was not completed without hits.
  • Normalized – indicates in the Workflow that the print data for the Print Item or Article has been created and successfully checked without errors or warnings. This status is automatically set by the Workflow if the check was successful with no hits.
  • Final Artwork – indicates in the Workflow the status of the Print Item or Article when the print data has been completely and correctly prepared for production. This status is not automatically set by the Workflow and must be assigned manually or via the Update Print Item details operation.
  • Waiting for Approval – indicates in the Workflow that the Print Item or Article is part of an Approval Project that has not yet been completed. This status is automatically assigned by the Workflow as soon as the Approval Project for the Print Item or Article has been created.
  • Approved – indicates in the Workflow that the Print Item or Article has been approved in the Approval Project by means of a manual approval step by an operator or the end customer. This status is set automatically by the Workflow as soon as the Print Item or Article has been approved.
  • Imposed – indicates in the Workflow that the Print Item or Article has been used at least once in an Imposition. This does not indicate whether all copies have already been placed completely. This status is set automatically by the Workflow after the Print Item or Article has been saved in an Imposition.
  • Sent to Printer – indicates in the Workflow that the Print Item or Article has been successfully Sent to Printer (rendered) at least once. However, this does not indicate that the number of copies has been completely rendered. This status is set automatically by the Workflow as soon as the Send to Printer Operation for the Print Item or Article has been completed.
  • Printed – indicates in the Workflow that the Print Item or Article has been printed at least once. It does not indicate whether all copies have been printed. This status is set automatically by the Workflow after the Production Job has been printed once. Note that this status can only be set if the printing system sends a corresponding feedback message to the Workflow.
  • Quantity Reached – indicates in the Workflow that the number of copies specified in the job for the Print Item has been printed in full. This status is set automatically by the Workflow after enough sheets with the Print Item have been printed for the Imposition. Note that this status can only be set if the printing system sends a corresponding feedback message to the Workflow.

2.2.2. Update Print Item details – General

The following configuration options are available in the General [2] tab of the Update Print Item details operation:

  • Name [3] – define the new name of the Print Item after the update. You can use both static text and placeholders by inserting placeholders [4].
  • Ext. ID (External ID) [5] – specify what the external ID of the Print Item should look like after the update. Here, too, you can combine static text and placeholders by inserting placeholders [6] to create individual IDs.
  • Copies [9] – specify how many copies the Print Item should have after the update. The value entered overwrites the previous number of copies.
  • Expected Width [7] – use this to specify the expected width of the Print Item or Print Items after the update. Note that this only updates the expected width. The actual width of the Print Item remains unchanged.
  • Expected Height [10] – use this to specify the expected height of the Print Item or Print Items after the update. Note that this only updates the expected height. The actual height of the Print Item remains unchanged.
  • Check-in Preflight and Fixup Templates [8] – this parameter cannot be set for the Print Item because the Print Item has already been checked into the Workflow with a template. Changes cannot be made at this point.

Figure 1: The General tab of the Update Print Item details Operation

2.2.3. Update Print Item details – Advanced

The Advanced [11] tab contains the following parameters for configuring the Update Print Item details operation:

  • Winding Type [12] – specify the winding type for the print item or article after the update. You can choose from the following entries:
    • Outside – Top off First
    • Outside – Bottom off First
    • Outside – Left Side off First
    • Outside – Right Side off First
    • Inside – Top off First
    • Inside – Bottom off First
    • Inside – Left Side off First
    • Inside – Right Side off First
  • Number of Pages [18] – specify the total number of pages that the Print Item should have after the update.
  • Post-Processing Steps [13] – select the post-processing steps that should be assigned to the print item after the update. The available steps must first be defined in Administration > Settings > Post Printing Steps in the Workflow.
  • Rotation for Imposition [14] – define the desired rotation of the Print Item or Article within an imposition that the Print Item should have after the update. You can choose from the following values:
    • 0°
    • 90°
    • 180°
    • 27°
    • In Feeding Direction
    • Across Feeding Direction
  • Tags [15] – assign the tags that should be set after the update to the Print Item. You can choose from all tags configured in Administration > Settings > Tags > Articles & Print Items.
  • Print Item Information [16] – enter information that should be displayed in the Print Item Information field after the update. The entry can contain both static text and placeholders by inserting placeholders [17].

Figure 2: The Advanced tab of the Update Print Item details operation

2.2.4. Update Print Item details – User-defined Fields

In the User-defined Fields tab, set or change specific values in custom fields for the Update Print Item details operation. All user-defined fields that were created in Administration > Settings > User-defined Fields > Articles & Print Items are available here. For each of these fields, specify which value should be entered during the update. The entry can contain both static text and dynamic placeholders.

Figure 3: The User-defined Fields tab of the Update Print Item details Operation

2.3. Placeholders for Print Item Name, External ID and Print Item Information

Clicking on the Insert Placeholder [4] [6] [17] button (see Figure 1 and Figure 2) opens the Select Placeholder dialog. This dialog displays all available placeholders for the selected input field. These placeholders allow you to insert dynamic information into the fields, such as details about the Print Item, Article, Production Job, or user-defined fields. When the Operation is executed, the placeholders are automatically replaced with the current values, ensuring that the Print Item details are updated in a flexible and context-sensitive manner.

Figure 4: The Select Placeholder dialog for dynamic filling of input fields

Useful Placeholder Configurations

The variety of placeholders allows users to be very flexible in their design, but can seem overwhelming at first glance. Below are some useful placeholder configurations using the Print Item name input field as an example:

  • ${global.random_guid} –  generates a unique Print Item name based on a random GUID  e.g. a3328987-ac65-4a48-a29d-82c89ee1d471.
  • ${factory_job.file_ref.plain_name} – creates a Print Item name that corresponds to the file name, but without the file extension  e.g. Inaccurate_TrimBox_End.
  • ${global.random_guid} | ${factory_job.file_ref.name}– combines a unique GUID with the current file name including the file extension  e.g. a3328987-ac65-4a48-a29d-82c89ee1d471 | Banner.pdf.
  • ${factory_job.file_ref.plain_name} #${factory_job.quantity} – the Print Item name is based on the file name without the file extension and is supplemented by the planned number of copies  e.g. Inaccurate_TrimBox_End #30.

File names via the API

When files are checked into the Workflow via the API, they are assigned a GUID or a corresponding automatic name by default. This can affect placeholders that refer to the original file name. If you use the placeholders File > File name or File > File name (without extension), the files will be named with the string 2173167_m-54963-85b76edc-47b4-491e-b798-51d00ef1fb87. pdf.

For this reason, we recommend using the placeholder Print Item > Print Item name, as this accesses the Print Item names already saved in the Workflow and, if applicable, set by you, thus providing a meaningful name.

3. Update Print Item details - Use Case

This section contains an example of how to use the Update Print Item details Operation for experimental purposes.

In this example, print data that has already been uploaded to the Workflow as an Article is standardized to a uniform size and then set to the status "Final Artwork". The example describes the production of postcards with the aim of producing them in a defined size.

To map this project, a Production Configuration with three Operations Update Print Item Details, followed by Apply Fixup Chain and Update Print Item Details again  must be created in the specified order. To do this, proceed as follows:

  1. Select the Automation > Production Configurations entry from the menu.
  2. Create a new Production Configuration. For detailed instructions, see the article Create a Production Configuration.
  3. In the General [19] tab, assign a name for the Production Configuration and then switch to the Operations [20] tab.
  4. First add the Update Print Item details Operation [21] to the Production Configuration.
  5. In the configuration dialog, enter the desired values for the Expected Height and Expected Width [24] of the Print Items  e.g. 150 mm x 80 mm. Note that the values you enter only change the meta information of the Print Item or Article. The print data itself is not physically scaled. For this reason, a Fixup Chain is added in the next step.

Figure 5: The Add Production Configuration dialog with the Operations required for the example

  1. Add the Apply Fixup Chain [22] Operation (Figure 5) containing the desired Fixups. In this example, the Fixup Scale Page Content – Width and Height is used to scale the Print Item to a defined size. Configure the Fixup as follows (see Figure 6):
    • Set the Scale Method [26] to Fit from Outside (Cut Page).
    • Set the Scale Option to Scaling absolute [27].
    • Activate the Variable Content [28].
    • Select Expected Width and Expected Height as values.
  2. Then add the Update Print Item details [23] Operation again (Figure 5) and set the Status to the desired target value  in this example, Final Artwork.
  3. Save the Production Configuration using the Save [25] button (Figure 5).

Figure 6: The Fixup Chain with the Fixup Scale Page Content – Width and Height

  1. Download the sample file – Update Print Item details_postcards .
  2. In the main menu, navigate to Articles > Articles.
  3. For practice purposes upload the sample files to the Workflow as new Articles.
  4. Select the previously uploaded print data from the list of Articles.
  5. Click on Additional Functions ... [29] and then select Create Automation Job [30].
  6. In the Create Automation Job dialog that opens, start the desired automation process.

Figure 7: The list of Articles with the selected menu Create Automation Job

  1. In the dialog that opens, select the configuration you created earlier – in this example, Update Print Item details – from the Production Configuration [31] selection menu.
  2. Then click Execute [32] to start the Automation Job.

Figure 8: The Create Automation Job dialog box with the selected Production Configuration

  1. Processing starts with the creation of an Automation Job that executes all three configured Operations in sequence.
  2. Track the progress of the Automation Job in real time in Automation > Automation Jobs.
  3. Click on the first entry [33] in the process bar to open the Process Overview and view detailed information on the sequence and status of the individual steps.

Figure 9: The list of Automation Jobs in Automation > Automation Jobs

  1. By selecting the respective step [34] in the process overview, you will see a detailed view of the processes executed and the respective results within this step.

Figure 10: The Process Overview dialog for all three Operations in the Production Configuration

  1. After processing, the Print Items were scaled to the defined target size and their status was successfully set to Final Artwork.
  2. By clicking on the name of the Print Item [35] (Figure 10), you can open the Print Item that was created or updated as part of the Automation Job.
  3. The Print Item now has the desired size [36] of 150 mm x 80 mm and has the status Final Artwork [37].

Figure 11: The processed Article in the list of Articles with the desired Dimensions and Status

Artikel Update: Workflow Version 1.20.1 – 05/2025

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1. Production Configuration – Automation Basics 2
2. Operations 3
3. Integration Possibilities 1
4. Rest API Documentation – Workflow 19
5. Rest API Documentation – Durst Analytics 10

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