In this article, you will learn
- which prerequisites are required for this Fixup, and
- how to apply this Fixup.
1. Introduction
The Fixup Remove Overlapping Vectors and Images is available in the Workflow. The purpose of this Fixup is to remove or crop vectors and images that extend beyond a specified area.
2. General
The Fixup Remove Overlapping Vectors and Images can be used to reduce or completely remove unnecessary data for further processing.
You can find this Fixup in the detail view of the Print Item in the seletion menu Optimize in the footer of the settings area Document Information as well as in 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 Page in the area Category,
- activating the option Crop or Optimize in the area Action,
- activating the option Shape, Images or Vectors in the area Property.
3. Description
This Fixup can be used to remove overlapping vectors and images. Overlapping objects within a selected PageBox, a masked area, and shape X objects can be cropped. Furthermore, images can be cropped with a defined safety zone and, if desired, compressed.
The Fixup can be used to:
- Delete paths of Print Items that extend beyond the BleedBox so that no paths of the Print Item protrude into other Print Items in the Imposition. This can significantly reduce the RIP time.
- Crop overlapping or non-visible images with a defined safety zone. This can reduce the file size of the tiles for large images, especially when tiling, ensuring faster processing during checking and rendering.
- Crop large Print Items that are split into parts. For example, when the Dieline extends beyond the Print Item (tile), the Dieline can be cropped correctly. Open paths are also closed automatically so that the cutting of tiles can be mapped correctly.
- Clean up completed Step & Repeat Impositions in which Print Items were not placed correctly and therefore did not create properly trimmed Form X objects in the Imposition. To do this, always activate the option Form XObject (BBox).
3.1. Prerequisites and Functionality
For the Fixup to perform as intended, the following requirement must be met:
- There are vectors or images in the file that overlap the viewing area of the Print Item.
The Fixup Remove Overlapping Vectors and Images consists of four individual Fixups that have been combined into one dialog. It is possible to activate selected Fixups and execute them accordingly.
Figure 1: The dialog of the Fixup Remove Overlapping Vectors and Images
The individual Fixups are described in detail below:
3.1.1. Remove Overlapping Vector Paths
This Fixup is activated by default, as indicated by the selected checkbox [1]. The Fixup trims overlapping vector paths and automatically closes open paths created by trimming vectors. This removes unnecessary vectors outside the selected area – PageBoxes, Clipping Paths, and Form XObjects.
Figure 2: The dialog of the Fixup Remove Overlapping Vectors and Images with the activated Fixup Remove overlapping Vector Paths
The following options can be used to remove overlapping vector paths:
- PageBox [5] – select the PageBox from which overlapping vectors should be removed from the dropdown menu. The following options are available:
- TrimBox – all vectors that extend beyond the TrimBox are cropped and all vectors outside the TrimBox are removed.
- ArtBox – all vectors that extend beyond the ArtBox are cropped and all vectors outside the ArtBox are removed.
- BleedBox – all vectors that extend beyond the BleedBox are cropped and all vectors outside the BleedBox are removed.
- CropBox – all vectors that extend beyond the CropBox are cropped and all vectors outside the CropBox are removed.
- MediaBox – all vectors that extend beyond the MediaBox are cropped and all vectors outside the MediaBox are removed.
- Variable Content [8] – for Variable Content [8], select the desired placeholder – Database Field or User-defined Field – from which the value for the selection of the PageBox should be retrieved. The following values must be present in the selected field for the PageBox to be selected:
TrimBoxArtBoxBleedBoxCropBoxMediaBox
- Clipping Paths [6] – activate this option if vector paths that extend beyond a Clipping Path should be trimmed, thereby removing all vectors outside the Clipping Path.
- Form XObject (BBox) [7] – activate this option if vector paths that extend beyond a Form XObject should be cropped, thereby removing all vectors outside the Form XObject.
Figure 3: Values in the selected field for the option PageBox
3.1.2. Remove overlapping images
Click the checkbox [2] (Figure 1) to activate the Fixup Remove overlapping images. This Fixup can be used to Bleed non-visible image content for the selected image type – All Images, Colored Images, Grayscale Images or Bitmap Images. This can reduce the memory requirements of the file.
Figure 4: The dialog of the Fixup Remove Overlapping Vectors and Images with activated Fixup Remove overlapping images
The following options can be used to remove overlapping or invisible image information:
- Image Type [9] – select the image type from the drop-down menu that should be cropped. The following options are available:
- All Images – all image types – color, grayscale and line images – will be cropped while maintaining the safety zone.
- Colored Images – only color images are cropped while maintaining the safety zone.
- Grayscale Images – only grayscale images will be cropped within the safety zone.
- Bitmap Images – only line images are cropped while maintaining the safety zone.
- Variable Content [12] – for Variable Content [12] , select the desired placeholder – Database Field or User-defined Field – from which the value for the image type should be retrieved. The following values must be found in the selected field for the image type to be selected:
AllColorGrayscaleMonochrome
- Safety Zone [10] – enter the value of the safety zone for Bleed of the images here. If, for example, a value of 1 mm is entered, the images are cropped 1 mm before the respective PageBox. For Variable Content [13], select the desired placeholder – Database Field or User-defined Field – from which the value for the safety zone should be retrieved.
- Outside PageBox [11] – select the PageBox from which overlapping images should be removed in the selection menu. The following options are available:
- TrimBox – the selected images are cropped outside the TrimBox and removed.
- BleedBox – the selected images are cropped outside the BleedBox and removed.
- CropBox – the selected images are cropped outside the CropBox and removed.
- MediaBox – the selected images are cropped outside the MediaBox and removed.
- Variable Content [14] – for Variable Content [14], select the desired placeholder – Database Field or User-defined Field – from which the value for the selection of the TrimBox should be retrieved. The following values must be present in the selected field for the PageBox to be selected:
TrimBoxBleedBoxCropBoxMediaBox
Figure 5: Left: Values to be found in the selected field for the option Image Type; Right: Values should be found in the selected field for the option Outside Page Geometry Box
Overlapping versus non-visible images
Overlapping images are images that extend beyond the selected PageBox.
Non-visible images are images that have been cropped by a Clipping Path. All image areas outside a Clipping Path are not visible and can therefore be removed. Please note that images can only be cropped by the enclosing rectangle of an irregular shape. Images can therefore not be cropped along an irregular shape!
3.1.3. Compressed Color and Grayscale Images
Click the checkbox [3] (Figure 1) to activate the Fixup Compress Colored and Grayscale Images. With this Fixup, color and grayscale images can be compressed with two different types of compression.
Figure 6: The dialog of the Fixup Remove Overlapping Vectors and Images with activated Fixup Compress Colored and Grayscale Images
The following options can be used to compress color and grayscale images:
- Compression [15] – select the preferred compression method from the dropdown menu. The following options are available:
- JPEG – images are compressed using the JPEG algorithm, either lossy or lossless, depending on your selection.
- ZIP – images are compressed losslessly using the ZIP algorithm.
- Variable Content [17] – for Variable Content [17], select the desired placeholder – Database Field or User-defined Field – from which the value for the compression method should be retrieved. The following values must be present in the selected field for the selection to be made:
JPEGZIP
- Quality (JPEG) [16] – select the compression quality of the dropdown menu when JPEG is selected as the Compression option. The following options are available:
- Maximum – a significant amount of image information is lost, but the file size can be significantly reduced as a result.
- Medium – little visible image information is lost, but the file size is reduced as a result.
- Low – very little image information (barely visible) is lost, but the file size is only slightly reduced as a result.
- Lossless – no image information is lost, the file size is reduced minimally.
- Variable Content [18] – for Variable Content [18], select the desired placeholder – Database Field or User-defined Field – from which the value for the quality should be retrieved. The following values must be present in the selected field so that it is selectable:
MaxMedLowLossless
Figure 7: Left: Values in the selected field for the option Compression; Right: Values in the selected field for the option Quality (JPEG)
3.1.4. Compression Bitmap Images
Click the checkbox [4] (Figure 1) to activate the Fixup Compression Bitmap Images. With this Fixup, bitmap images can be compressed with two different types of compression.
Figure 8: The dialog of the Fixup Remove Overlapping Vectors and Images with activated Fixup Compression Bitmap Images
The following option can be used to compress line images:
- Compression [19] – select the preferred compression method from the dropdown menu. The following options are available:
- CCITT Group 4 – the images are compressed losslessly using the CCITT Group 4 algorithm.
- ZIP - the images are compressed losslessly using the ZIP algorithm.
- Variable Content [20] – for Variable Content [20], select the desired placeholder – Database Field or User-defined Field – from which the value for the compression method should be retrieved. The following values must be present in the selected field so that the selection is applied:
CCITTG4ZIP
Figure 9: Values in the selected field for the option Compression
3.2. Before/After
To experiment with this function, refer to the sample file “Sample_Remove Overlapping Vectors and Images.pdf”. The file contains many vector objects outside the MediaBox. The sun is a color image where a part of it also protrudes beyond the MediaBox. These elements should now be removed.
After applying the Fixup, the file “Sample_Remove Overlapping Vectors and Images_End.pdf” is created. The vectors and the image were cropped and unnecessary elements were removed. The values from Figure 2 and Figure 4 were used.
Figure 10: Left: Original file in the PDF Editor; Right: Edited file in which vectors and images have been cropped – displayed in the PDF Editor
Article update: Workflow 1.20.1 – 04/2025