Generating Print output

Print output can only be generated from the Designer when a data set is available (see Loading data). The Designer merges all sections in the Print context (see Print context) with the data set, and generates the output using those data values.

Connect supports a number of different types of print outputs. These include:

• PCL
• PDF
• PostScript (including the PPML, VIPP and VPS variants)

To generate Print output, select File from the menu and choose Print or Proof Print. .

• File > Print... allows the following printing options:
  • Using the Default output settings.
    For more details, see Print Using Standard Print Output Settings
  • Using the same settings that were last used to produce printed output.
    For more details, see Print Using Standard Print Output Settings
    
  • Using entirely new output settings set via the Advanced option, which allows selection from a myriad of print output options.
    
    These settings cannot be saved for later re-use. To do that, one should instead create printing Presets, which are designed to allow just this behaviour.
    
    For a detailed description see Print Using Advanced Printer Wizard .
    
  • Using previously saved Printing Preset options.
    
  See Job Creation Presets and Output Creation Presets for more details.
  
  

• File > Proof Print... allows either the default output settings; the last used output settings or previously saved output Presets.
  For more information on this option see Print Using Standard Print Output Settings. for more details.
  

Saving Printing options in Print Presets

Selecting File > Print Presets allows you to create or modify printing Presets (which contain all the printing options), which can be saved for re-use in later print runs. This can be particularly handy when creating special print runs, that need to be run periodically.

These presets make it possible to do such things as filtering and sorting records, grouping documents and splitting the print jobs into smaller print jobs, as well as the more standard selection of printing options, such as binding, OMR markings and the like.

See Job Creation Presets and Output Creation Settings for more details.

Print settings in a template

There are a number of settings for the Print context and Print sections that have an impact on how Print sections are printed, which cannot be made in the Print Wizard or influenced through either a Job Creation Preset or an Output Creation Preset. They are made in and saved with the template.

These settings are:

• Duplex printing. Duplex printing has to be enabled for a Print section, in order to print that section on both sides of the paper. The same applies to Mixplex printing.
  See Enabling double-sided printing (Duplex, Mixplex).
• Finishing. The Print context , as well as each of the Print sections, can have its own Finishing settings. In printing, Finishing is the way pages are bound together after they are printed.
  See Setting the binding style for the Print context and Setting the binding style for a Print section.
  Also see Finishing Options for an explanation of the Finishing options.
• Bleed. The margins around a page are called the Bleed. It can be used on some printers to ensure that no unprinted edges occur in the final trimmed document.
  See Page settings: size, margins and bleed.
• Black overprint. The option to print small black text over other colors is referred to as black overprint. See Overprint and black overprint.

Generating Print output from Workflow

If you want to generate Print output via an automated process, this means that you have to design a process in the Workflow configuration tool.

1. Start by preparing the files that the process will need. These files are all made with the Designer. This is what you need:
   • A data mapping configuration, or a data model at the very least, if the documents should contain variable data. (See Creating a new data mapping configuration.)
   • A template with a Print context. (See Creating a template.)
   • A Job Creation Preset (optional). (See Job Creation Presets.)
   • An Output Creation Preset (optional). (See Output Creation Settings.)
2. Send these files to PlanetPress Workflow; see Sending files to Workflow.
3. Create a process in PlanetPress Workflow containing at least the following steps:
   • Any Input task that will capture a job file that is compatible with the data mapping configuration that is used.
   • Either:
     • An All In One task. This task incorporates the Execute Data Mapping, Create Print Content, Create Job and Create Print Output tasks. It is the fastest and most efficient way to create Print output.
     • An Execute Data Mapping task, Create Print Content task, Create Job task and Create Print Output task. This would be the way to go if you also want to use the record set created by the Execute Data Mapping task to create another kind of output in the same process.

     The tasks mentioned here can all be found on the OL Connect tab of the Plug-In Bar in Workflow. For a description of each task, see OL Connect tasks.

   The following Walkthrough sample helps you build a Print process for Connect documents in the Workflow Configuration tool: Creating a Print process in Workflow.

Aborting content creation

You may want the content creation process to be aborted in certain situations; for example, when a template script fails to load remote content. To abort the content creation process, you may raise a fatal error from within a script in the template; see fatalError(message).

When a script calls this function in Preview mode, the script that triggers it is marked with an error icon in the Scripts pane, and the given message is displayed in a hint.

When generating output from the Designer, the Designer will log the error and display an error dialog with the given message. Content creation is aborted.

When generating output from Workflow, the entire job fails. Workflow will log the error and execute any follow-up actions that are defined in the On Error tab of the respective OL Connect Content Creation task (All in One, Create Email Content, Create Print Content, Create Preview PDF, and Create Web Content ). For more information about how to set up follow-up actions, see Using the On Error tab in the Workflow Help.