Print Presets

Print Presets are files that contain settings for a print job and printer. These files enable a Workflow Print process to generate Print output automatically (see Print processes with OL Connect tasks), and they allow you to re-use your job and printer settings in the Designer. .

All of PlanetPress Connect's print job and printer options are also available in the Advanced Printer Wizard, which appears when you select File > Print or Proof Print in the menu and then click the Advanced button, but the wizard cannot save your settings.

Select File > Print Presets to create or modify a Print Preset.

Print Preset types

There are two types of Print Presets: Job Creation Presets and Output Creation Presets. The settings in each are used in a different phase of the print process.

• A Job Creation Preset is used by the Connect Server after a template and data have been merged. Based on the settings in a Job Creation Preset the server can filter, sort, and group the print content items, add meta data and make finishing settings.
  The resulting print job is then handed to the Weaver engine for output creation (see also: Connect: a peek under the hood). This engine generates the final print output file, or files.
• The settings in an Output Creation Preset define the destination and all the appropriate print options and printer settings.

How to use Print Presets

Print Presets are not bound to a particular template. They can be used with different Print templates, as long as the data contains the required information.

Job Creation Presets and Output Creation Presets can also be used in different combinations, although not randomly:

• Groups of documents, such as invoices for a specific customer, can be printed separately. This requires that the documents are grouped in advance. In other words, the Separation settings in the Output Creation Preset and the Grouping settings in the Job Creation Preset must match. (See also:Splitting printing into more than one file.)
• Conditions and output file names in an Output Creation Preset can only make use of those meta data tags that have actually been added to the print job via the Include meta data setting in the Job Creation Preset.
• The finishing options selected in the Job Creation Preset should match the capabilities of the printer selected in the Output Creation Preset.

To apply Print Presets in the Designer, select File > Print or Proof Print and then select an Output Creation Preset and (optional) Job Creation Preset from the drop-down lists in the Print dialog. It will be indicated if the current data doesn't contain the fields required by the selected Job Creation Preset.

In Workflow there are special plugins that work with Print Presets; for more information see Print processes with OL Connect tasks.
In order to use Print Presets in a print process they must be sent to Workflow in advance; see Sending files to Workflow.

Job Creation Presets

A Job Creation Preset is a file that contains settings for the creation of a print job. It is used after a template has been merged with data, but before the actual print output file is produced. Merging a template with data results in a set of print content items. Based on the settings in a Job Creation Preset, the Connect server can take a number of actions on a set of print content items. The actions are described below.

In addition, runtime parameters can be defined in a Job Creation Preset. Filled with a value at runtime, these can be used for comparisons against conditions within the Job Creation, or in external sorting programs.

Select File > Print Presets > Job Creation Settings... to run the Job Creation Presets Wizard.

Filter and sort

While creating a print job, the Connect server can filter out certain print content items based on the conditions defined in a Job Creation Preset (see Data filtering options).
The conditions are evaluated per record and can be based upon such diverse criteria as the value of data fields, the value of runtime parameters (see Runtime Parameter Options), the binding options used in a source document, or its size.

Note that the overriding finishing options, which can also be defined in a Job Creation Preset, are not taken into account while filtering. First, the source documents are filtered. Any overriding finishing options are applied at a later stage.

The remaining items can be sorted, either by the Connect Server, based on data fields, or by some external sorting software (see Sorting options).

Grouping

While creating a print job, the Connect Server can group Print content items into Jobs, Job Segments and Document Sets (see Grouping options).
This allows to organize content in a certain way, for instance, to gather all foreign mail pieces into one job segment, or to commingle multiple sets of Print content items in one job.

The existence of groups in a print job also allows the Weaver engine, in the next phase of the print process, to separate the output accordingly into different (spool) files (see Separation).
It is always possible to separate the output on the document level, i.e. output individual documents as separate print files.
In order to split the output on other levels, however, the Print content items must be grouped first.

Include meta data

Meta data can be added to a print job at the Job, Job Segment, Document, Document Set and Page level (see Meta Data options).

In the next phase of the print process these meta data tags can be used in output file names and in various conditions.
If the output format is PDF/VT, the meta data will also be included in the print output itself.

Note that these meta data tags can only be used by the engine that creates the final print output (see Connect: a peek under the hood). They are not available in a Workflow process and are not in any way related to a process's Metadata in Workflow.

If runtime parameters are defined in the Job Creation Preset (see Runtime Parameter Options), their value can be used as meta data.

Override finishing options

The Print context and Print sections can have their own finishing options (see Print settings in the Print context and sections.) A template could be setup with a glue binding, for example.
When the printer doesn't support the chosen finishing options you could override the finishing options, and use staple binding, for instance.
More importantly, the Override finishing options option allows you to make dynamic finishing settings, and this not only on the Section level but also on the Document, Document Set and Job Segment level.

If runtime parameters are defined in the Job Creation Preset, the passed information can be used in conditions (see Runtime Parameter Options).

Output Creation Presets

An Output Creation Preset is a file that defines the printer model and output type, and all desired print options and printer settings. It is used by the Weaver engine (see Connect: a peek under the hood), which generates the final print output file (or files).

The input of the Weaver engine is a print job, assembled by the Connect Server. The set or sets of print content items in the print job may have been filtered, sorted and grouped. The server may have added meta data and finishing settings to the job, according to the instructions in a Job Creation Preset (see Job Creation Presets).

Select File > Print Presets > Output Creation Settings... to run the Output Creation Presets Wizard.

Printer model and output type

An Output Creation Preset specifies the type of printer the output should be suitable for, and determines where that output should then be sent: to a folder, LPR queue or Windows printer (see Print options).

Printer definitions

A printer model and its capabilities for Connect are defined in a printer model definition file (.OL-printerdef). Connect comes with a number of such files. However, there are so many different printer models with their own settings and capabilities that it is simply impossible to provide definition files for all of them.
If there is no definition file for your PostScript printer you may create a customized printer definition file yourself using the PostScript Printer Definition (PPD) file provided by the printer manufacturer (see Dynamic PPD Options).
Other customized Printer Definitions can be obtained from Upland OL Support. They need to be tailor-made based on the information that you provide about both your printer and your specific needs.

Certain printer definition files will work with several types of printers (consecutive versions of a certain printer model, for example). Note that those printers may still have different capabilities.
When creating or selecting Print Presets, always consider the actual capabilities of your specific printer.

Mapping media types to printer trays

An Output Creation Preset can map media types to printer trays (see the Printer settings dialog). This option is available for AFP, IPDS, PCL, PPML and PostScript printers that are configured for cut-sheet printing.

Print virtual stationery

The virtual stationery in a Print template (also called Media) is in fact an image that is normally only visible in the Designer in the background of the template to make designing a template easier.
If indicated in the Output Creation Preset, the image will also be printed. The output can then be printed on plain paper instead of pre-printed paper. Printing virtual stationery is also very useful when producing PDF output for digital viewing.

Imposition

An Output Creation Preset can tell a printer to print multiple pages on a single sheet (Simplex, or Duplex). This is called Imposition, also known as N-Up printing.

The two Imposition types are Cut & Stack and Stack by Column (see Imposition options).
With each Imposition type there is a wide range of options to control the exact layout of the output: the number of pages that go on one sheet, their order, the way they are stacked, the stack depth, the margins, markings, etc.

Note that when Imposition is used, the possibilities to separate the output (see Separation) and to add additional content (Additional content) are limited. Groups and meta data on lower levels than the Job Segment level (as defined in a Job Creation Preset) are no longer available after the Imposition process.

Booklet Imposition

Booklet Imposition defines how to generate booklets in the output (see Booklet Options).

As printing booklets implies printing multiple pages on a single sheet, this is used in conjunction with some Imposition settings.

Separation

The print output can be split - 'separated' - into discreet portions. An Output Creation Preset can either separate documents, document sets, job segments or jobs, or it can split the output between counts of sheets, documents, document sets or job segments. In addition the preset can tell the printer to add slip sheets and/or jog the output. See Separation options.

Using document sets, job segments or jobs in the Separation settings requires that documents in the print job be grouped that way in advance, following the instructions in a Job Creation Preset (see Grouping).

Additional content

Via an Output Creation Preset, content (Text, Images, Barcodes and OMR Marks) can be added to the output at the time of output creation. The additional content can be either static or variable (see Additional Content).

Additional content is particularly useful when you might need to drive custom processes on production machines using either Barcodes or OMR Marks, or if you need to add some last minute additions to the print job via text and/or images.
It helps to keep print production specific additions out of the templates, so templates don't have to be changed if production equipment or postal delivery requirements change.

In additional content you may use the meta data that was included during job creation (see Include meta data).

Inserter marks

Inserter marks can be added to the print output in accordance with the settings in an Output Creation Preset (see Inserter options). The available options are dependent on the selected High Capacity Feeder (HCF) model. These machines are also commonly referred to as Inserters or Folder-Inserters.
If no HCF file is available for a particular inserter machine, adding OMR Marks and barcodes as Additional Content is an alternate way to drive an inserter (see Additional content).