User Manual

Setting up External Systems

Updated on

In this article, you will learn

  • how to set up Measurement Devices,
  • how to set up Cutter Devices, and
  • how to set up the File Management.

1. Introduction

Once installation and licensing are complete, it is possible to carry out preparatory steps in the Workflow. These include connecting external systems such as Measurement Devices, Cutter Devices, or release systems.

2. Setting up Measurement Devices

To perform a Color Setup or to measure color values, a Measurement Device must be available, the latest drivers must be installed, and the Measurement Device must be connected either to the network or directly to the workstation on which the application is installed.

To set up a Measurement Device, four steps have to be completed:

  1. In the Workflow, navigate to Administration > Measurement Devices and select the option Measurement Devices.
  2. In the settings area Devices, create a new Measurement Device.
  3. In the settings area Configurations, create one or more configurations for the selected Measurement Device, or modify the configuration that was created automatically by the system.
  4. In the settings area Parameters, set the desired value for each parameter.

To create a Measurement Device – for example, a Barbieri Spectro Pad that should be accessible via Wi-Fi –proceed as follows:

  1. In the header of the settings area Devices, click + New [1].

Figure 1: The settings area Devices

  1. In the dialog Add Measurement Device, select the desired Measurement Device from the list under Device Type [2]. The list displays all Measurement Devices available in the application. If your Measurement Device is not listed, it is currently not supported by the application.

Figure 2: The parameters of the dialog Add Measurement Device

Depending on the selected Measurement Device, the display in the dialog changes slightly. To set up the Measurement Device Barbieri Spectro Pad, the following information has to be selected or entered:

  • Name [3] – the name of the Measurement Device is suggested automatically. However, you can overwrite or edit the name. Use a unique name, especially if you want to create several Measurement Devices of the same type.
  • Serial number [4] – enter the correct serial number of the Measurement Device. The serial number is transferred to the Measurement Data ensuring that it is always possible to trace which Measurement Device was used to generate the Measurement Data.
  • Connection [5] – select the intended connection type for controlling the Measurement Device. Depending on the device type, you can choose between Serial, Ethernet, USB, or Wifi.
  • IP [6] – the IP input field is available when WiFi or Ethernet connection has been selected. Enter the IP address of the Measurement Device.

2.1. Creating a Configuration

Once you have created your Measurement Device, one or more configurations containing parameters commonly used in practice are created automatically. The default configuration can be deleted or edited by the user at any time.

To create a new or user-defined configuration, proceed as follows:

  1. In the settings area Measurement Devices, first select the desired Measurement Device for which you want to create a configuration.
  2. In the settings area Configuration, click + Add [7].

Figure 3: The settings area Configurations

  1. The dialog Add Parameter Set opens.
  2. Enter the Name [8] for the configuration.
  3. Select the desired Default Configuration [10].
  4. Optionally, add a Comment [9].
  5. Save your configuration. The dialog then closes automatically.

Figure 4: The dialog Add Parameter Set

2.2. Adjusting Parameters

To adjust parameters, proceed as follows:

  1. In the settings area Parameter Set, select the desired entry.
  2. Now click Edit [11] in the settings area Parameters.

Figure 5: The settings area Parameters

  1. This opens the dialog Edit Parameters. Modify the desired parameters – which may vary slightly depending on the Measurement Device and offer different selection options – and then click Save [12].

Figure 6: The dialog Edit Parameters

3. Setting Up Cutter Devices

In final production, cutter devices from various manufacturers are used to bring printed products into their final shape. If individual Print Items are imposed in production for substrate-efficient output, the cutting paths resulting from the Imposition can be transmitted directly from the application to the Cutter Device.

To set up a Cutter Device, four steps area required:

  1. From the menu Administration > Cutter Devices, select Cutter Devices.
  2. In the settings area Devices, create a Cutter Device.
  3. In the settings area Configurations, create one or more configurations for the selected Cutter Device, or modify the configuration automatically created by the system.
  4. Set the desired values for each parameter in the settings area Parameters.

To create Cutter Devices that transfer cut data directly to the Cutter Device, proceed as follows:

  1. In the header bar of the settings area Devices, click + Add [13].

Figure 7: The settings area Devices

  1. The dialog Add Cutter Device opens.
  2. First, select the desired Cutter Device from the Device Type [14] list.

Figure 8: The dialog Add Cutter Device

  1. Depending on the selected Device Type [14], the display may vary slightly. In the case of a Zund Cutter Device, the following parameters have to be specified:
    • The Name [15] of the Cutter Device is generated automatically. However, you can overwrite and edit the name at any time. Assigning a meaningful name is especially important if multiple systems from the same manufacturer are used in production.
    • Optionally, enter the Serial Number [16] of the Cutter Device to uniquely identify the device.
    • The Destination [17] input field is only displayed if cut data can be transferred directly to the Cutter Device. Here, you can specify the location where the cut data should be stored so that the Cutter Device can process this data.
    • Enable the option Allow bi-directional communication for Cutter Device [18] if information from the Cutter Device should be transferred to the application. This allows the Cutter Device to communicate with the Workflow.
    • Enable the option Allow to fetch status from multiple IP addresses [19] if information from different installations of the Cutter Device software should be transferred. Additional IP addresses can then be set up for querying information.
  2. Click Save to complete the creation of the Cutter Device.
  3. After saving, Parameter Sets typically used in practice are automatically generated depending on the type of Cutter Device.

3.1. Creating a Parameter Set

Once you have created the Cutter Device, one or more Parameter Sets containing Parameters commonly used in practice are created automatically. The default configuration can be deleted or edited by the user at any time.

To create your own configuration, e.g., with mirrored cut data, proceed as follows:

  1. In the settings area Configurations, click +New [20].

Figure 9: The settings area Parameter Set with the automatically created Parameter Sets for a Zund Cutter Device

  1. The dialog Add Parameter Set opens.
  2. Enter the Name [21] for this configuration. The name should be descriptive to help the user quickly identify the correct Cutter Device.
  3. Optionally, add a Comment [22].
  4. As the basis for configuration, select an existing Parameter Set [23].
  5. Click Save [24] to save the Parameter Set. The dialog will then close automatically.

Figure 10: The dialog Add Parameter Set with the Name, Comment, and entered Mode

3.2. Adjusting Parameters

To modify a parameter within a configuration, proceed as follows:

  1. In the settings area Parameter Set, select the desired Parameter Set [25] in which the parameters should be changed.
  2. Click Edit [26].

Figure 11: The settings area Parameters

  1. Modify all parameters that need to be changed, and then click Save [27].

Figure 12: The dialog Edit Parameters

3.3. Assigning Tools

To ensure that the correct tool is used for cutting, you must finally assign the Technical Spot Colors for the respective tool. Proceed as follows:

  1. Select the settings area Tools [29].
  2. Then select the Tool [28]. The mappings to Technical Colors already stored in the system are displayed.
  3. If you want to assign additional or different Technical Colors to the tool, click Edit [30] and add the mapping in the dialog that opens.

Figure 13: The settings area Tools

"Cutter Substrates" and "Status Query IPs"

These two settings areas are only available in certain cases. "Cutter Substrates" are available in the application when substrate specifications are provided by the Cutter Device for selection in the application. "Status Query IPs" are available when the option "Allow to fetch status from multiple IP addresses" has been enabled.

4. Setting Up the File Management

The application has to transfer both print data and cut data to external systems located on the network. In order for the application to access File Management on the network, they must be set up first.

To set up an approval, three steps are required:

  1. In the application, navigate to Administration > File Management and select File Management.
  2. First, create the Host (target system).
  3. Select the desired File Management for the Host.

Figure 14: Display of the fully configured path to the available File Management on the target system

4.1. Setting Up the Host

To create the host for the desired output folder or printer, proceed as follows:

  1. In the settings area Hosts, click + Add [31] (Figure 14).
  2. The dialog Add Host opens. Enter all the required data here.

Figure 15: The dialog Add Host with the available input fields

The following information has to be entered:

  • Name [32] – assign a descriptive name for the host (e.g., printer type, printer name, or IP address).
  • Type [33] – select the intended use of the File Management. The following entries are available:
    • Cutter
    • Hotfolder
    • Other Servers
    • PDF Printer/Output
    • Printer
    • Q-Points
    • Third-party Printer
    • Third-party Printer (Print Factory)
    • Vanguard Printer
    • VDP Image
  • Host [34] – enter the IP address of the target system in this field (e.g., the IP address of the printer workstation).
  • Domain – if the external system or user belongs to a domain, enter the domain here. This input field is optional.
  • User [35] – enter the SMB user name here.
  • Password [36] – enter the password associated with the user. The password can be temporarily displayed by clicking on the icon [37].
  1. Click Save to store the host configuration. The configured host will then be available for selection in the list in the settings area Host.

Figure 16: The settings area Host

  1. If all data has been entered and saved correctly, a green icon [38] appears on the right side of the entry, indicating that this host is accessible. Hovering the cursor over the green icon displays a tooltip showing information about when this host was last checked for accessibility by the system. In addition, the user account and the used IP address are displayed below the host.
  2. If the data was entered incorrectly, a red icon [39] appears on the right side of the entry. In this case, troubleshooting is required.
  3. The endpoint for the host has now been successfully created.

4.2. Selecting the Share

Once the desired target system has been created in the settings area Host and all entered data (host, username, password) has been checked for accuracy, Shares can be selected on the target system. Shares are usually directories in the file system of the target system.

To select a Share on the target system, proceed as follows:

  1. Select the previously created host in the settings area Host.
  2. Click + Add in the settings area Shares.
  3. The dialog for navigating the directory tree of the target system opens.
  4. To expand a directory, click on the arrow [40], which will rotate downwards and display all subdirectories.
  5. Select the desired target directory – in our example, it is A_Hotfolder_PDF_out [41] and click Apply [42]. If none of the listed target directories meet your requirements, the desired folder must first be created locally on the target system. Creating a new directory on the target system cannot be performed from within the application!

Figure 17: The dialog for navigating the directory tree of the target system

  1. Once the Share has been successfully saved, a green icon [45] appears on the right side of the Share. Hovering the cursor over the green icon displays a tooltip showing the last time the system was checked for its availability. If this icon turns red, the Share has to be checked again.
  2. For the created Share, the available Disk Space [43] on the target system is displayed.
  3. Select the previously created Share. Details about the Share are displayed on the right in the area Path Details [44]. The Share has now been successfully set up, and the Workflow has immediate access to this directory.

Figure 18: The settings areas Shares and Path Details when a Share is selected

4.3. Checking the Network's Data Throughput

To check the data throughput between the workstation and the target directory, no additional tools are required, as this functionality is provided directly within the application. Proceed as follows:

  1. Select a target system in the settings area Host.
  2. Select a target directory in the settings area Shares.
  3. If a connection is active, this is indicated by the green icon [47].
  4. The icon Check Data Throughput [46] is located to the left of the green icon.
  5. Clicking this icon displays the network connection speed.

Figure 19: The settings area Shares after activating the icon for checking the data throughput

Article update: Workflow 1.22.0 – 02/2026

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Storing and Managing Files 3
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Creating Production Jobs 4
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