As described in the article Creating a Production Configuration, various Operations can be added to a Production Configuration. This article provides a detailed description of the prerequisites and the options available in the Operation Prepare Print Item for Shape Nesting.

The Operation Prepare Print Item for Shape Nesting can be used in Production Configurations that cover the entire process – from uploading the print data into the Workflow to final output. This results in the following application scenarios:

• The Operation Prepare Print Item for Shape Nesting can be used independently within Production Configurations to prepare Print Items for Shape Nesting.
• The Operation can generally be used before any other Operation within a Production Configuration, except before the Operation "Check-in Artwork and Normalize".
• The Operation can generally be used after any Operation within a Production Configuration – with the exceptions of the following Operations:
  • Impose Operations – Create Impose and Create Impose with Auto Nesting
  • Production Job Operations – Create Production Job, Create Production Job for Tracks and Create Production Job from Imposition.  

The reasons for using the Operation Prepare Print Item for Shape Nesting are as follows:

• To prepare a Print Item for processing with Shape Nesting, in order to subsequently create an Imposition.

The purpose of the Operation Prepare Print Item for Shape Nesting is to prepare a Print Item that contains a Dieline for Shape Nesting.

To add the Operation Prepare Print Item for Shape Nesting, proceed as follows:

1. Open the corresponding Production Configuration via Automation > Production Configurations and switch to the tab Operations.
2. Add the Operation Prepare Print Item for Shape Nesting. By default, the Operation is added at the beginning of the existing Operations list.
3. Move the Operation to the desired position within the process. Please note the previously described restrictions regarding its allowed placement within the Production Configuration.

This section provides a practical example for experimenting with the Operation Prepare Print Item for Shape Nesting.

In the following scenario, print data will be uploaded into the Workflow via Batch Processing, a Bleed will be added to all Print Items, and the Print Items wil then be imposed and stored in a Production Job. Multiple Print Items should be nested on a single Imposition sheet using the Impose Mode Nesting.

To implement this process, a Production Configuration with four Operations must be created in the specified order – Check-in Artwork and Normalize, Apply Fixups, Prepare Print Item for Shape Nesting, and Create Production Job. Proceed as follows:

1. Select the menu item Automation > Batch Processing.
2. Create a new Production Configuration by clicking the button Add. For general instructions on creating a Production Configuration, refer to the article Creating a Production Configuration.
3. In the dialog Batch Processing Production Configuration, configure the desired settings for the automatically added Operation Check-in Artwork and Normalize [2] with respect to the normalization of the print data. The Operation "Check-in Artwork and Normalize" should always remain in the Production Configuration.
4. Add the Operation Apply Fixups [3] and configure it to apply a Bleed on Irregular Shape – for this, use the Fixup Add Bleed on Irregular Shape.
5. Now, add the Operation Prepare Print Item for Shape Nesting [4].
6. Select the desired Spot Color [5] along which the Shape Nesting should be performed.
7. Add the Operation Create Production Job [6] at this point and configure the desired settings for your Production Job (which will include an Imposition).
8. Click Save [7].

Figure 2: The dialog Batch Processing Production Configuration with the Operations required for this example

9. In the menu item Batch Processing, the newly created Production Configuration is now seleted.
10. Upload the desired files using the button Choose Files – for this example, the provided files is "Prepare Print Item for Shape Nesting_Cats" – you can upload it from your local system into the Workflow.
11. If necessary, use Global Changes [8] to specify the desired number of Copies [9] for each Print Item.
12. Click Start [10] to execute the Production Configuration.

Figure 3: The menu item Batch Processing with the uploaded Print Items

13. In the now opened dialog Batch Processing, review the settings once more.
14. Click Start Batch Production [11] to begin the process.

15. After some time – processing duration may vary depending on the system and Workflow load – navigate to the Production Jobs.
16. You can track the progress of individual Automation Jobs either in the tab Automation Job Bundles under the menu item Automation, via Automation > List of Automation Jobs, or via Automation > Batch Processing under the tab Batch Processing History.
17. The created Production Job will be displayed in the List of Production Jobs.

Figure 4: The Preview of an Impose in the created Production Job with Shape Nesting