In this article, you will learn
- which functions are available in the Operation,
- for which tasks the Operation is applicable, as well as
- about a use case.
1. Introduction
As described in the article Create a Production Configuration, it is possible to add various Operations to a Production Configuration. This article describes the requirements and options offered in the Operation Check-in Artwork and Normalize Print Data.
The Operation Check-in Artwork and Normalize Print Data is used in the uppermost position in Production Configurations. Those Production configurations display an entire process from uploading print data to Workflow to output. Determine whether or not this Operation should be used as follows
- When there's print data present that needs to be checked into the Workflow, the Operation has to be added to the Production Configuration. This is the case when you want to upload print data to the Workflow via a Hotfolder or via the Batch Processing menu item. Not using the process would result in an error for the Automation Job.
- When you want to apply a Production Configuration to print data that is already uploaded to the Workflow as Print Items or Articles, the Operation is not necessary. The reason is that the print data has already been checked-in and has been normalized in an earlier step. In case the Operation is present in a Production Configuration, this will not cause an error because the Operation is then skipped.
2. Functionality
The main function of the Check-in Artwork and Normalize Operation is to apply a Check-in Preflight and Fixup Templates [1] to the print data that is uploaded into the Workflow. Thereby, the print file is checked for defined requirements and the appropriate Fixups for normalization is applied.
The goal of this task is to reach a normalized and optimized state of the print data for production. Based on this state the user can add necessary add-ons for production and start the approval process for the artwork.
2.1. Install Operation
After adding the Operation Check-in Artwork and Normalize, the desired parameters for the Production Configuration have to be selected.
Figure 1: The Add Production Configuration dialog with the Check-in Artwork and Normalize Operation selected
The following options are available for configuring the Operation:
- Check-in Preflight and Fixup Template [1] – use the drop-down menu to select the template that should be applied when the print data is uploaded. The template's comment [2] is displayed below.
-
Name [3] – determine how the Print Item name should be displayed by clicking Insert Placeholder [4]. The File Name placeholder is inserted by default and ensures that the Print Item name is synchronized with the file name of the print file.
Note: Click the list icon [5] to show the placeholders as chips. - User Unit [6] – determine the User Unit for the print data.
- Check first page only [7] – by activating this option, only the first page of a multipage print file is checked. Checking this option therefore speeds up the check-in of the Operation when dealing with multipage documents. The print file is normalized.
- Preflight only (no correction) [8] – selecting this option will only preflight the print file. The step for normalizing the print file is skipped.
- Use Bleed from PDF [9] – by toggling, users can apply the Bleed for the print data from the PDF. If deactivated, the Bleed can be defined by the user.
- Create Article [10] – by activating this option, an Article is created for the print file. Optionally, set the Customer, the Substrate or the Color Policy for the Article and assign the Article to a Collection.
Notes on the options "Preflight the first page only" and "Check only (no correction)"
Activate the Preflight the first page only option if you want to process large volumes of multipage print data automatically. Make sure that the first page is no different from the following pages concerning the criteria that should be checked. This is particularly the case with variable print data when only the barcode or serial number on the following pages changes.
Activate the Check Only (no correction) option if the print data originates from upstream processes that have already applied the normalization step to the print data in some other way. When activating this option, you must be sure that all normalization conditions have been correctly mapped in the print data and that the corresponding mapping of Spot Colors is correctly set up in the Workflow.
Activate both options if you do not want the Workflow to change variable print data that has already been normalized and optimized in upstream processes in any way. Possible problems when outputting the print data should be investigate in the upstream processes!
2.2. Placeholders for Print Item Names
Clicking on the Insert Placeholder [4] button (Figure 1) opens the Select Placeholder dialog with the available placeholders for the Print Item name.
The following placeholders are available:
Figure 2: The Select Placeholder dialog for dynamic naming of the Print Item name
Useful placeholder configurations
The variety of placeholders does not make it easier for the user. We would like to show you some useful placeholder configurations below:
-
${global.random_guid}– generates a Print Item name with a unique number e.g. a3328987-ac65-4a48-a29d-82c89ee1d471 -
${factory_job.file_ref.plain_name}– generates a Print Item name that is the same as the file name but without the file extension e.g. Inaccurate_TrimBox_End -
${global.random_guid} | ${factory_job.file_ref.name}– generates a Print Item name consisting of a unique number and the current file name with file extension e.g. a3328987-ac65-4a48-a29d-82c89ee1d471 | Banner.pdf -
${factory_job.file_ref.plain_name} #${factory_job.quantity}– generates a Print Item name that is the same as the file name but without the file extension, followed by the number of copies e.g. Inaccurate_TrimBox_End #30
3. Application Example
In the following example, print data should be uploaded via Batch Processing in the Workflow and all Print Items with a defined pattern for the Print Item name should be stored together in a Production Job. To reproduce this scenario a Production Configuration with two Operations – Check In and Normalize Print Data, followed by Create Production Job and Imposition – must be created in the defined order. To do this, proceed as follows:
- Select the Automation > Production Configuration menu item.
- Create a new Production Configuration. For information on how to do this, refer to the article Creating a Production Configuration.
- In the General [12] tab, enter a name for the Production Configuration and then switch to the Operations [11] tab.
- First, add the Check-in Artwork and Normalize [13] Operation to the Production Configuration.
- Select the Check-in Preflight and Fixup Templates [15] Workflow Default Preflight and add the placeholders with free text as shown in the Names field [16]. Selecting the placeholders generates the Print Item name consisting of the file name, the current date and the name of the user e.g. MyFile 09.02.2025 (hps).
- Then add the Operation Create Production Job and Imposition [14] with the desired settings of the Production Configuration.
- Save the Production Configuration.
Figure 3: The Add Production Configuration dialog with the two Operations required for the example
- Navigate to Automation > Batch Processing.
- In the Execute Batch Processing [17] tab, add the desired files from your local computer via + Choose Files [18]. Enter the desired number of copies for the individual Print Items in Quantity [21].
- Then select the previously created configuration from the drop-down list for Production Configuration [19] and activate the option Use Print Item Name from Operation "Check-in Artwork and Normalize" [20], so that the selected pattern is used for the Print Item name in the Operation.
- Click Start [22] to start Batch Processing.
Figure 4: The settings area in the Batch Processing menu
- In the now-open Batch Processing dialog, check the settings.
- Click on Start Batch Processing [23] to start the Operation.
Figure 5: The Batch Processing dialog for confirming the execution
- After a while – the processing may take some time depending on the computer system and Workflow workload – navigate to Production Jobs.
- Track the progress of the individual Automation Jobs either in the History Batch Processing tab of the Automation > Batch Processing menu item or via Automation > Automation Jobs.
- The created Production Job is displayed in the list of Production Jobs.
Figure 6: A detailed view of a Production Job with the three Print Items
Article update: Version 1.21.2 – 08/2025