In this version the option One Column per Print Item has been implemented for the Step & Repeat impose mode in the Impose Editor. This option ensures that each Print Item appears in only one column in the impose layout.

The feature controls the distribution of print items within the grid of an imposition in Step & Repeat mode: When enabled, the same print item may only be imposed in a single column of the grid. Within that column, the print item can be repeated across all rows but must not be imposed in any additional columns. The remaining columns are either filled with other print items or left blank. This feature is particularly useful when processing roll labels: Since each column is cut and wound as a separate track after printing, each finished roll contains only one print item of that type, thereby preventing the mixing of variants within a single roll.

Please note that enabling this option increases waste in label production. The reasons for this are:

• Since a print item may occupy only one column, empty space in other columns cannot be filled with the same print item.
• The greater the difference in print runs between the print items, the higher the substrate waste, since the entire track has to run until the highest print run is reached.

To activate the option, proceed as follows:

1. Navigate to Automation > Impose Editor.
2. Open the desired imposition in the desired dimension.
3. In the Artboard tab, open the Grid Settings section.
4. Enable the Keep homogeneous Columns/Rows [1] function.
5. Then enable the displayed Only one Column per Print Item [2] function.
6. Now drag the desired print items onto the Artboard to create the imposition.

Figure 1: The new feature Only one Column per Print Item

In this version, the Consider Print Item sequence function in Nesting impose mode has been improved. This function is available when activating Multipage Output [3] and is only possible when the Keep exact ratio of copies strategy [4] is enabled.

To enable the feature for multipage output, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Automation > Impose Editor.
2. Create the desired imposition in Nesting impose mode using the desired print items.
3. Enable the Multipage Output option [3] and, if desired, the Remove sheet duplicates option.
4. In the Nesting Options, select the Keep exact ratio of copies option in the Strategy dropdown [4].
5. In the Layout dropdown [5], specify whether the nesting should be arranged by row or by column.
6. In Arrangement [6], select the option Consider Print Item sequence. The print items will now be imposed in the order in which they are defined in the Print Items tab.
7. When necessary, open the Print Items [7] tab to change the order of the Print Items in the Imposition by dragging and dropping.

Figure 2: The Artboard tab with the Consider Print Item Sequence function and the Print Items tab

For N-Up numbering, a period has been added to the numbers "6" and "9" [8] in this version so that they can be distinguished immediately even when the N-Up number is rotated.

Figure 3: The N-Up Editor with the new numbering

In version 2.1.0, the feature Dynamically Derive Color Values for Captions – which is available since version 2.0.0 – was expanded and made available for lines around groups in Nesting impose mode. To do so, the Derive from User-Defined Field option was added. This allows to determine the line color dynamically for each print item based on a user-defined field value for an impose group. Up until this version, it was only possible to select only one color for the lines around impose groups.

To have the line color drawn around each order in the imposition, proceed as follows:

1. Create a custom field for the Order – under Administration Settings Custom Fields – e.g. with the name Color Code.
2. Enter the corresponding color name or color code for the Order [9].

Figure 4: The Edit Order dialog with the value blue in the user-defined field Color Code

3. In the Settings area, select the Grouping / Sorting option [14] for the Sequence of Placement in the Imposition.
4. In the Group and Sort dialog, enable the Create Line around Group option [10].
5. Specify the desired Stroke Width [11] for the line around the selected grouped area.
6. Then select the color option Derive from User-defined Field [12].
7. Select the user-defined field [13] you created earlier – for example, Color Code.
8. Click Save.

Figure 5: The Group and Sort dialog with the Stroke Color

9. Optionally, further optimize the nesting to maximize substrate utilization.
10. The imposition is now displayed with the respective group of print items, which are outlined in the defined line color.

Figure 6: An optimized imposition with order-specific stroke lines to identify each order in the colors red, gray, and blue

In this version, the option to enter the stroke width for the "Registration" mark in the Marks tab and in the Sheet Configuration has been removed.

Figure 7: The Registration mark in the Marks tab (left) and in the Sheet Configuration (right)

In version 2.1.0, the color picker was standardized across multiple marks. The color settings for the following marks and environments are affected:

• Impose Editor > Sheet Configuration > Marks
  • Bearer Bars
  • BOBST Power Register
  • Vision Marks
  • Vision Hybrid
  • Lines
  • Master Data Marks – such as Center Marks, Corner Marks, Rectangle, Sphere
• Impose Editor > "Marks" tab
  • Cut Marks
  • Master Data Marks – such as Center Marks, Corner Marks, Rectangle, Sphere
• Impose Editor > Finishing tab
  • Fotoba

Figure 8: The default color picker

Starting with this version, when switching between Absolute and Percent [15], the scaling values for Print Items are accordingly and automatically adjusted.

Figure 9: The Edit Selected Print Items dialog with the Scaling option

The "Prepare Technical Spot Colors" fixup was introduced in version 2.0.0. This fixup has been expanded in this version to include a fifth step: Objects defined in a Technical Spot Color are assigned to a Processing Steps Layer (ISO 19593). This step offers the following two options:

• Objects get assigned to Processing Steps Layer – existing assignments get overwritten – this option overwrites existing assignments.
• Objects are not assigned to Processing Steps Layers – this option disables the recommended procedure for the special case where complications arise in a print file.

Figure 10: The Prepare Technical Spot Colors dialog

As part of the implementation of the “Prepare Technical Spot Colors” fixup, the “Move Spot Colors to Layer” fixup became redundant. For this reason, it has been removed from the current version.

As part of the implementation of the "Prepare Technical Spot Colors" fixup, the "Discard hidden layer content and flatten to visible layers" fixup was expanded to include the Processing Steps Flatten Layers function. This ensures that all processing steps layers are retained after the fixup is applied.

Figure 11: The fixup Discard hidden layer content and flatten to visible layers in the Check-in Preflight and Fixup Profile

Additional changes have been implemented regarding the normalization of print data. These are:

• Option "Adjust Alternate Color Values for Spot Colors": The option available under Administration > Settings > Preflight / Fixup in the General tab caused the preflight process to run twice when uploading print data, thereby doubling the processing time. This version optimizes this operation – the second run is no longer necessary.
• Optimization of check duration for large documents: The checks in the Check-in Preflight and Fixup Templates have been switched to QuickCheck. This allows complex and multipage files to be processed up to 90% faster. The following internal checks have been optimized:
  • Find spot color separations
  • Font is not embedded
  • Find all spot colors
  • Internally used JavaScript-based checks
• Finding matches at the page or document level: Determining the matches for displaying notes on the print items took too much time. The check profile was optimized with regard to this step, and many spot color checks are now determined via QuickCheck.
• Further transition to QuickCheck: Additional checks, such as "Page scaling factor used" and "Complex Content Stream in PDF", have been migrated to QuickCheck to read the information more quickly and thereby reduce check-in time.

Several changes have been made to the "Add Approval Project" dialog, primarily to simplify the user experience.

The dashboard has been revised in several areas. These include the following changes:

• Approval – Starting with version 2.1.0, a new icon indicates where an approval [25] can be granted.
• Reload after deletion – When an approval is deleted in the detail view [26] and the view is then closed, the overview automatically updates so that the current status is displayed correctly.
• Approval Group – The search for Approval Group has also been removed from the filters, as this feature is not yet available.

Figure 15: The Details dialog for an Approval Project in the application

• Reason for Rejection – Starting with this version, all reasons for rejection are displayed in the detail view [27] – not just those recorded in the approval portal, but also comments entered locally by users.

Figure 16: The Details dialog with the Reason for Rejection

In this version, a feature has been added that allows you to jump directly from the notification dialog to the corresponding Approval Project. To do this, click Go To [28].

Figure 17: The Notifications dialog, which allows you to go directly to the Approval Project

Starting with this version, you can reduce the size of approval reports by selecting the RGB Preview (no separations in report) option [29] in the General Settings step when creating an Approval Project.

Up to this version, approval reports could reach 150 - 300 MB and therefore could not always be sent via email. The reason for this was that when the Process Colors + Spot Colors option [30] was enabled, each color separation was saved as a Layer in the PDF, and there was no option for a lower-resolution preview.

Figure 18: The Add Approval Project dialog, which allows you to generate a pure RGB Preview (no separations in report)