In this article, you will learn
- which prerequisites are required for this Fixup, and
- how to apply this Fixup.
1. Introduction
The Fixup Move Spot Color Objects to the foreground is available in the Workflow. The purpose of this Fixup is to bring selected Spot Color objects to the foreground.
2. Genereal
Use the Fixup Move Spot Color Objects to the foreground to bring certain objects that are colored in the selected Spot Color to the foreground. For example, an existing Dieline that is in the background can be moved to the foreground.
You can find this Fixup on the tab Data Preparation of an Article, Order or Production Job by:
- entering the name of the Fixup in the area Filter,
- activating the option Object in the area Category,
- activating the option Make Visible in the area Action,
- activating the option Spot Color in the area Property.
3. Description
Use this Fixup to move selected Spot Color objects to the foreground of the print file. You can also select whether the Spot Color objects should be overprinting or rather set to Knockout.
Use this Fixup to perform the following tasks:
- Bring Technical Colors to foreground to show the user Dielines, Creasing lines, Scoring, etc.
- Knockout glueing areas to output the areas below ink free for glue application.
- Bring Technical Colors to background to hide non-printing lines from the user when approving print data.
- Bring barcodes to the foreground to ensure that 2D or 3D codes of neighboring objects are not overlapped. The barcode has to be colored in a Spot Color for that.
3.1. Prerequisites and Functionality
For the Fixup to perform as intended, the following requirements must be met:
- There are Spot Color objects in the file.
- The Spot Color objects are in the background.
- Spot Color objects are not arranged in the desired hierarchy.
Figure 1: The dialog of the Fixup Move Spot Color Objects to the foreground
The following options can be selected to bring Spot Color objects to the foreground:
- Spot Color names set to "Overprint" [1] – select the Spot Color that should be brought to the foreground from the selection menu. The Spot Color is set to the overprint state "Overprinting". All Spot Colors created in the Print Item are available.
- Spot Color names set to "Knockout" [2] – select the Spot Color that should be placed in the foreground from the selection menu. The Spot Color is set to the overprint state "Knockout". All Spot Colors created in the Print Item are available.
Hierarchical Arrangement of Spot Colors
In both selection menus, several Spot Colors can be selected to bring them to the foreground. Please note that you can also influence the hierarchical arrangement of Spot Colors by selecting them.
If you first select "Dieline" and then "Creasing", the "Dieline" is created above the "Creasing".
3.2. Before/After
To experiment with this function, refer to the sample file "Sample_Move Spot to foreground.pdf". The file contains a Dieline with the name "Dieline", which is in the background. The Dieline should now be moved to the foreground. The overprint state should remain "Overprinting".
After applying the Fixup, the file "Sample_Move Spot to foreground_End.pdf" is created. The Dieline was placed in the foreground. The values from Figure 1 were used.
Figure 2: Left: Original file; Right: Edited file in which the Spot Color object Dieline has been brought to foreground
Article update: Workflow 1.20.1 – 04/2025