In this article, you will learn
- how a Production Job is prepared for printing,
- which sequence of steps you need to follow, and
- which parameters are available for this process.
1. General
Once a Production Job has been created, only a few additional steps are required to prepare it for printing. Some of these steps may already have been completed during the creation of the Production Job; however, they can be modified at any time within the Production Job. In general, once the Production Job has been created with all Print Items, proceed as follows:
- The individual Print Items must be prepared for printing, providing they have not yet reached the status "Final Artwork".
- An Output Configuration must be assigned to the Production Job. This defines on which printer, on which substrate, and with which color setup the Production Job will be output.
- If the Print Items are not to be printed individually, an Imposition must be created. If the Print Items are output individually, it is recommended to create a separate Production Job for each Print Item. This allows multiple Production Jobs to be processed and ripped in parallel.
All of these steps are described in detail in this article.
2. Prepare Print Data
After the print data has been normalized, a few additional steps are required before the print data can be sent to the printer or the target directory. Once all file information has been checked and verified and, optionally, an Imposition has been created, the print data can be exported or rendered.
2.1. Data Check
Before print data in a Production Job is sent to the printer, it should be checked for producibility and prepared accordingly. This check and normalization already takes place during file upload using the selected Check-in Preflight and Fixup Template. The Template used by default is defined by the system administrator under Administration > Settings > Preflight/Fixup.
The Check-in Preflight and Fixup Template performs both checks and Fixups. This largely ensures that the print files are technically correct and can be processed without errors. A detailed description of the normalization process can be found in the chapter Normalize Print Data.
Before printing, additional relevant factors should also be checked:
2.1.1. Job-Related Information
Customers order print products within a Job:
- in a defined quantity,
- on a specified substrate,
- in a specific size,
- with predefined finishing options (e.g., Varnishing, Creasing, Cutting) and
- at a defined quality level.
For roll materials or selected speciality substrates, the orientation on the roll as well as the grain, weave, or flute direction must also be considered.
All job-relevant parameters should be recorded in the Production Job so that the user can compare the production specifications with the delivered print data. Deviations or inconsistencies can thus be identified early and either corrected through appropriate measures or clarified in coordination with the customer.
2.1.2. Production-Related Information
Print data must meet certain technical requirments for production. Depending on the product, these requirements are either mandatory or optional.
Mandatory Requirements
The mandatory requirements are checked using the Check-in Preflight and Fixup Template. These include:
- Fonts are fully embedded.
- The size of the print product matches the expected dimensions.
- The color mode of objects in the print data corresponds to the expected color space.
- Black objects are not defined using Registration Marks - Black.
- Files are neither password-protected nor encrypted.
- Files do not contain structural errors or damages – compliance with PDF/X ISO standard.
Optional Requirements
Optional requirements can vary depending on the product and include, among others:
- The Bleed is sufficiently sized and contains all necessary content.
- Die Cut and and Crease lines are defined as Technical Colors.
- Technical Colors are set to Overprint.
- Grommet Markers are correctly sized and positioned according to specifications.
- Labels and text objects are present at the defined positions.
- Black barcodes are created exclusively in black.
- All printable pixels on transparent films are backed with white.
- The control file for VDP (Variable Data Printing) jobs is provided in CSV format.
2.1.3. Quality-Related Information
Print data must also be checked for quality-related factors, which include:
- The resolution of image data is sufficiently ensured.
- Spot Colors can be reproduced within a defined ∆E tolerance.
- Different shades of black are harmonized.
- Source profiles for RGB images are present.
2.2. Data Preparation
The Workflow provides tools for all of the above checks, allowing print files to be reviewed and, if necessary, corrected with respect to job-, production-, and quality-relevant requirements.
If you want to prepare the print data, a wide rane of Fixups – currently over 130 Fixups – can be applied. How to apply thesee Fixups and where to find them is described in the chapter Preparing Data for Print.
2.3. Before / After Comparison
After all Fixups have been applied, a Before / After Comparison should be performed in the tab Before / After [1]. This allows a visual check to ensure that all required Fixups have been correctly implemented.
To inform colleagues that the file is ready for production, the status can be manually set to Final Artwork. Changing the status is not mandatory but helps facilitate communication within the team.
Figure 1: The content of the tab Before / After
3. Select Output Configuration
Before you can send the print data or Production Job to the printer, you must select an Output Configuration or choose a predefined Template. Proceed as follows:
- Navigate to the tab Output Configuration [5] in the respective Production Job.
- In the selection menu Template [2] select a Template you previously saved for a typical Output Configuration.
- If not Template has been created previously, you can create a new Template directly in this tab. Click Edit [4] and fill in all mandatory fields: Printer, Print Configuration, Substrate, Substrate Definition, and Destination. Optionally, a cutter device can also be added, which generates an additional Cut File and transfers it to the cutter device.
- If you have created a new Output Configuration, you can save it as a Template immediately by clicking Save [3].
- The parameters set are storeed in the Production Job, allowing you to review at any time which settings were last used for output.
Figure 2: Setting the Output Configuration for a Production Job
Once this step has been fully completed, you can send the desired Production Job to the printer. For more detailed information, refer to the Article Send Production Job to the Printer.
4. Perform Imposition
If Print Items need to be output multiple times on a substrate, an Impose must be created. The ordered quantity is arranged as efficiently as possible while still meeting production requirements. Proceed as follows:
- Navigate to the tab Impose [6].
- Select the desired Impose Mode [7] and click the corresponding icon.
Figure 3: The tab Impose before performing an Imposition
- By clicking the icon, the Impose Editor opens in the selected Impose Mode. Create the Impose and enter all necessary parameters.
- Complete the Impose by clicking Save. Closing the Impose Editor returns you to the tab Impose. The result of the Impose is displayed in the Preview [8] along with the key imposition details, and the status of the Production Job in the Workflow is set to Imposed [9].
Figure 4: The tab Impose after saving the Imposition
Once this step is completed, you can send the desired Production Job to the printer with the Imposition applied. For more information, refer to the Article Send Production Job to the Printer.
Article Update: Workflow 1.22.0 – 11/2025