The Output section of a job, and of a profile, decides what the files look like: resolution, the area imaged, the TIFF conventions, the file names and the marks. A job starts with its profile's values, then its platesetter's and press's where you chose devices (see Screening profiles and devices); fields a platesetter sets are greyed in the job.
Resolution and extent#
- Resolution (dpi): 600 to 5,080 dpi. The list offers 1,200, 1,270, 2,400, 2,540 and 4,000; any other value gets a note, and a value the job's platesetter doesn't image is an error. The resolution also limits the ruling (see Screens per separation).
- Extent: the area of each page that is imaged. Media box (the default) images the whole page, Bleed box the artwork with its bleed, Trim box the finished size. A page without a bleed or trim box uses its crop box, which is the whole page when there is none. Imposed sheets only have a media box.
TIFF conventions#
- Compression: Auto (G4; LZW for FM and 0° screens) is the default: LZW for FM plates and AM plates at 0° or 90°, whose rows repeat exactly and so compress far better in LZW, and G4 for the other angles and for solid plates. You can also force G4 (CCITT Group 4), LZW, PackBits or None.
- Polarity: Positive writes ink as 1 (the TIFF's white is paper); Negative writes the same bits with the opposite interpretation, an exact inverse.
- Mirror: flips each plate left to right, for platesetters or film that image the wrong-reading side. Screens and angles stay tied to the right-reading sheet, so a mirrored plate prints the same screen.
Every TIFF is 1 bit per pixel, with the resolution in inches, the job's name as DocumentName, the separation as PageName, and the screen, curve and resolution in ImageDescription, so a catcher or hot folder can read them.
File names#
File names is a template, {job}_P{page:02}_{sep}.tif by default, which names a Cyan plate of page 1 of the job
"Postcard A" Postcard_A_P01_Cyan.tif. The Files box under the settings lists the names the job will write.
| Token | Value | Takes a width |
|---|---|---|
| {job} | The job's name. | No |
| {page} | The page (or imposed sheet) number, 1, 2, 3… | Yes: {page:02} gives 01, 02… |
| {sheet} | The page's label made file-safe, such as Page_1, Sheet_2 or Plate_1_run_1_835. | No |
| {side} | The printed side. Always F (front) today. | No |
| {sep} | The separation's name, such as Cyan or PMS 185 C. | No |
| {sep_short} | C, M, Y or K for the process colours; the full name for any other ink. | No |
| {dpi} | The output resolution, such as 2400. | Yes |
| {lpi} | The ruling of an AM plate, rounded (150); FM and solid plates write FM. | Yes |
The template must end in .tif and contain {sep} or {sep_short}, and {page} or {sheet} when the job has
more than one page. Only {page}, {dpi} and {lpi} take a width, such as {page:03}. Values are made file-safe:
accents are dropped (Grün becomes Grun), spaces and other characters become _, and each value is cut to 80
characters. Every name in a job must be different, or the job shows "Two plates would both be named…".
A platesetter with its own File names replaces the template for jobs that use it.
Ink zones and blank plates#
- Ink zones: 1 to 128 (32 by default). Every plate's ink coverage is measured in this many equal zones across the width of the right-reading sheet, for presetting the ink keys. The viewer shows them (see Plate viewer tools). A press device sets the count.
- Blank plates: Skip (the default) doesn't write a plate with no ink on a page; the job lists "Blank plates skipped", such as "Cyan (p2)". Write writes it anyway, for workflows that expect a full set; it isn't available when the job uses a platesetter, which always skips blank plates.
Marks#
- Registration marks: a 6 mm target (a circle with a crosshair) centred in each margin that is at least 6 mm wide, on every plate.
- Plate labels: one line of 6 pt text per separation, printed in that separation only and overprinting, so it knocks nothing out: job · sheet · separation · screen · curve · dpi · date. Labels go in the wider of the top and bottom margins, side by side when there is room, otherwise all at one point (each plate still carries only its own label). When a label doesn't fit, the date goes first, then the resolution, the curve and the screen; job, sheet and separation always stay, shortened with … if they must.
Marks stay inside the imaged area and outside everything printed: the trim and bleed boxes and the ink the preflight found. Pages without room get a warning and no marks; rotated pages get none. Jobs made from imposition sheets have both marks switched on.
Trap layer#
Artwork prepared in the 1-up editor can carry its traps on a separate trap layer (see Trapping). Trap layer decides what the plates get:
- Leave the trap layer as saved (the default): the layer prints if it was saved switched on.
- Print the artwork's trap layer: switches it on. A file without a trap layer gets the warning "The file has no trap layer: traps must be made in the 1-up editor before screening.", or an error when traps are required. A file marked as trapped by another application prints its own traps, with a note.
- Switch the trap layer off: the plates get no traps from the layer.
Require a trap layer (in a profile) or Block jobs whose artwork has no trap layer (on a press) makes that warning an error. It only applies with Print the artwork's trap layer. A press sets both for its jobs.
The report and the viewer's Job tab record the choice, and the report also records what printed: "Printed", "Switched off", "Mixed", "No trap layer in the file" or "Unknown (the trap layer could not be read)".