In this article, you will learn
- which Fixups are available in Check-in Preflight and Fixup Templates for Page Boxes and Dimensions, and
- for which Use Cases these Fixups are suitable.
1. Introduction
When print files are uploaded into the Workflow, the documents are checked and partially corrected using Check-in Preflight and Fixup Templates, bringing them into a normalized state. Normalizing print data is therefore a key step in prepress, as it saves time, minimizes errors, and automates part of the workload.
Not all Fixups are available in a «Check-in Preflight and Fixup Template»
The Workflow clearly distinguishes between normalizing print data and preparing print data for printing. The normalization step brings print data to a consistent standard for data preparation. The corresponding data preparation for production is carried out at a later stage by applying individual Fixups or Fixup Chains.
2. Available Fixups for Page Boxes and Dimensions
To take full advantage of Check-in Preflight and Fixup Templates, these templates must first be created. A template essentially consists of Fixups and Checks. Currently, more than 44 Fixups are available in the Workflow. To maintain clarity, the individual Fixups are organized into categories.
This article provides a detailed description of all Fixups that can be used to adjust the Page Boxes and Dimensions of files.
2.1. Auto-correct nesting of Page Boxes
Category: Page, Page Box
Description: This Fixup ensures that the TrimBox, ArtBox, BleedBox, CropBox, and MediaBox are correctly nested. Adjustments are made if necessary to achieve the proper nesting. However, the ArtBox is removed if a TrimBox is present, ensuring that the print file is PDF/X-compliant.
Use Case: Add this Fixup to your Check-in Preflight and Fixup Templates when generating PDF/X-compliant print data in the Workflow.
Figure 1: The activated Fixup Auto-correct nesting of Page Boxes
2.2. Derive TrimBox from a Technical Spot Color
Category: Color, Page Box
Description: This Fixup sets the TrimBox based on the selected Technical Spot Color. If the Technical Spot Color is present as a filled area, the fill can be converted into a path, and optionally, the BleedBox can also be set.
Use Case: If a Dieline already exists in the print file, the TrimBox should be set accordingly to ensure that the TrimBox of the product is correctly defined.
Figure 2: The activated Fixup Derive TrimBox from a Technical Spot Color with already entered values
2.3. Derive TrimBox from Crop Marks
Category: Color, Page Box
Description: This Fixup derives the TrimBox from the Crop Marks. Additionally, the BleedBox can be set to the desired values.
Use Case: Crop Marks typically define the final trim size, specifying the exact dimensions for cutting. Deriving the TrimBox from the Crop Marks ensures that the final product size is accurately based on the drawn Marks.
Figure 3: The activated Fixup Derive TrimBox from Crop Marks with already entered values
What do the individual options mean?
You can find detailed explanations of what each option does in the article Derive Page Boxes from Crop Marks, which describes the Fixup of the same name.
2.4. Remove page scaling factor (User Unit)
Category: Page, Page Content
Description: This Fixup removes all page scaling factors (User Unit entries) from every page.
Use Case: In a multipage PDF file, each page may have an individual page scaling factor. These factors exist only in PDF files from version 1.6 onwards. Use this Fixup to remove existing scaling factors if you intend to apply a specific scaling factor to enlarge the print data later. This Fixup is also necessary when creating PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-3 print data.
Figure 4: The activated Fixup Remove page scaling factor (User Unit)
2.5. Set User Unit
Category: Page, Page Content
Description: This Fixup sets the page scaling factor (User Unit) of the page in a PDF file to the chosen value, based on a detected string in the file name. Note that the dimensions and resolutions shown in the Workflow already reflect the effective values, as the applied scaling factor is included in these values.
Use Case: Use this Fixup when customers consistently provide reduced-size data, and you want to scale it to the correct size within the Workflow. The scaling factor to be applied can be derived from a defined pattern present in the file name.
Figure 5: The activated Fixup Set User Unit with already entered values
Article update: Workflow 1.12.1 – 05/2025