The Header bar [10] (blue area | Figure 2) contains the following Production Job-related information and options:

• Back [13] – click this button to return to the list of all Production Jobs.
• Previous / Next Production Job [14] – click the up or down arrow to navigate to the previous or next Production Job in the list.
• Name [15] – displays the name of the Production Job.
• Edit Production Job [16] – use this to edit the information about the Production Job – e.g., Name, Ext. ID, Output Configuration, etc.
• Send to Printer [17] – click this button to send the print files to the selected output device or directory. In many cases, this also triggers the rendering process and the color calculation, with the resulting output then transmitted.
• Show Production Job Infos [18] – click this button to display a comprehensive overview of all information related to the Production Job.
• Additional Functions [19] – this button provides access to additional functions that affect the current Production Job. The following functions are available:
  • Delete Production Job – moves the entire Production Job, including all Print Items, to the trash or deletes it permanently.
  • Assign Tags – allows tags to be added to the Production Job.
  • Create N-Up from Impose – generates a N-up version from an Impose, which is then made available in the Die Cut Library.
  • Export – exports the Production Job along with all associated information – such as Profiling, Fixups, or Printer Configuration.
• Status [20] – displays the current status of the Production Job. The status is automatically updated when the printing system communicates with the Workflow. For printing systems that do not communicate with the Workflow, the status can be changed manually by the user. The Production Job can have the following status:
  • Created – the Production Job has only been created, and no Print Items have been added it.
  • Ready for Print – the Production Job has been created with Print Items, but no Output Configuration has been assigned.
  • Output Configuration Assigned – an Output Configuration has been assigned to the Production Job. The individual Print Items can now be output directly.
  • Imposed – the Print Items in the Production Job have been imposed using the Impose Editor. The Impose can be send to the printer.
  • Send to Printer – the data ha been successfully send to the target directory.
  • Printed – if the printing system can send feedback to the Workflow after printing, the status is automatically uploaded to Printed. Production Jobs are also marked as printed even if the required quantity ha not yet been fully produced.
  • Quantity Reached – the status is updated when the required number of copies has been printed.
  • Closed – Production Jobs can be marked as completed once they have been produced and delivered.

Figure 3: The Header Bar of a Production Job

Between the header bar and the detailed information is the intermediate layer Print Item Selection [11] (green area | Figure 2). This layer allows users to get an overview of all Print Items contained in the respective Production Job. In addition, further functions are available that can be applied to multiple Print Items simultaneously.

The following information and functions are available in the layer Print Item Selection:

• Number of selected Print Items [21] – indicates how many Print Items are currently selected. All actions performed using the functions next to this field will affect the selected Print Items.
• Add [23] – adds another Print Item to the Production Job.
• Edit [24] – edit the information of the selected Print Items – such as copies, tags, etc.
• Delete [25] – deletes the selected Print Items from the Production Job.
• Fixups [26] – apply a Fixup or Fixup Chain to the selected Print Items.
• Prepare for Shape Nesting [27] – prepares the selected Print Items for Shape Nesting.
• Settings for upload Templates [28] – select which Check-in Preflight and Fixup Template , or which Template for extracting metadata, should be used when adding a Print Item.
• Status [29] – displays the current status of the selected Print Item. The current selected Print Item is indicated by a colored border in the Print Item Selection layer. The following status are available in the context of a Print Item:
  • Created – the print file has been created in the Workflow but has not yet been fully checked; some important files are missing to display all information.
  • Normalized – the print file has been checked and corrected according to the parameters under Administration > Settings. The print file exists in the first modified version.
  • Data Check – errors and warnings were found during the check of the print file.
  • Final Artwork – all errors and warnings have been resolved by a prepress employee and marked as OK.
  • Waiting for Approval – an Approval Report has been sent to the customer; however, approval has not yet been received from the customer.
  • Approved – customer approval has been granted.
  • Imposed – the Print Item is already used in an Impose.
  • Send to Printer – the Print Item has been rendered and sent to the printer.
  • Printed – the Print Item has already been printed.
  • Quantity Reached – the Print Item has been printed in the required quantity.
• Preview Images [22] – displays a preview image of all Print Items contained in the Production Job.

Figure 4: The Print Item Selection of a Production Job

For Production Jobs, the Print Item Selection also provides the following tabs:

• Print Item [30] – displays all Print Items used in the Production Job. The tabs below this section show detailed information for the selected Print Item.
• Output Configuration [31] – define on which Printer, with which Substrate and which Substrate Definition, and in which quality the output should take place. Assigning and Output Configuration is mandatory for production.
• Impose [32] – using the Impose Editor, you can create an Impose for the Print Items of the Production Job. An Impose is not mandatory for a Production Job. An Impose is usually created for the purpose of Substrate Optimization or optimization of subsequent processes.
• User-defined Fields [33] – provides access to all User-defined Fields of the Production Job that were defined in the settings under Administration > Settings > User-defined Fields for the area Production Job.
• Files [34] – allows you to store additional files – e.g. Preview files, Impose Specifications or Specifications for Variable Data, etc. – that are required for documentation purposes.
• Protocol [35] – displays all processes that have been applied to the Production Job.
• Ink Consumption [36] – shows the expected Ink Consumption for the Production Job after the Production Job has been rendered.
• Print Statistics [37] – contains production information for the Production Job when the information is reported back from the printing system.
• Cut Info [38] – contains cut info for the Production Job. The cut file can also be downloaded locally from this tab.

Figure 5: The Print Item Selection with the available tabs

The third and final layer is the Detail Information [12] (magenta area | Figure 2). This section focuses entirely on the individual Article or Print Item. All information displayed and all changes made in this area relate exclusively to the selected Print Item.

Figure 6: The available tabs in the Detail Information

Within the Detail Information, different types of information and functions are available depending on the selected tab. The following tabs are provided:

• Print Data [39] – this tab contains extensive information about the currently selected Print Item – including a preview image with display of the View- and Production format, Document- and Production Information, used Fonts, Process Colors, Spot Colors and Technical Colors.
• Data Preparation [40] – provides access to more than 130 Fixups, as well as User-defined Fixups, which can be applied to convert a customer print file into a production-ready file for output.
• Variable Data [41] – in this tab, you can create a VDP (Variable Data Printing) Job, upload or delete the CSV control file, and view the associated data records. Note that only one Variable Data file is allowed per Production Job.
• Before/After [42] – displays a side-by-side comparison of the original document and the current version.
• Additional Data [43] – shows all files used by the system, and also allows users to upload additional documents in various file formats for the selected Print Item.
• Statistics [44] – displays the expected ink consumption for the selected Color Policy at an early stage. The user can also calculate the optimal case in terms of ink consumption, with our without ink saving.
• Protocol [45] – shows the processing history of the selected Print Item during Data Preparation.