Print context

The Print context is the folder in the Designer that can contain one or more Print templates.

Print templates (also called Print sections), are part of the Print context. They are meant to be printed directly to a printer or a printer stream/spool file, or to a PDF file (see Generating Print output).
The Print context can also be added to Email output as a PDF attachment; see Generating Email output.
When generating output from the Print context, each of the Print sections is added to the output document, one after the other in sequence, for each record.

Creating the Print context

You can start creating a Print template with a Wizard (see Creating a Print template with a Wizard), or add the Print context to an existing template (see Adding a context).

When a Print template is created, the following happens:

• The Print context is created and one Print section is added to it. You can see this on the Resources pane: expand the Contexts folder, and then expand the Print folder.
  The Print context can contain multiple sections: a covering letter and a policy, for example, or one section that is meant to be attached to an email as a PDF file and another one that is going to be printed out on paper. Only one Print section is added to it at the beginning, but you can add as many print sections as you need; see Adding a Print section.
  See Print sections to learn how to fill a Print section.
• One Master Page is added to the template, as can be seen on the Resources pane, in the Master Page folder.
  

In Print sections, there are often elements that need to be repeated across pages, like headers, footers and logos. In addition, some elements should appear on each first page, or only on pages in between the first and the last page, or only on the last page. Examples are a different header on the first page, and a tear-off slip that should show up on the last page.

This is what Master Pages are used for. Master Pages can only be used in the Print context.

See Master Pages.

Initially, the (empty) master page that has been created with the Print context will be applied to all pages in the Print section, but more Master Pages can be added and applied to different pages.

• One Media is added to the template, as is visible on the Resources pane, in the Media folder. This folder can hold the company's stationery in the form of PDF files. When applied to a page in a Print section, Media can help prevent the contents of a Print section from colliding with the contents of the stationery. See Media to learn how to add Media and, optionally, print them.
  Initially, the (empty) media that has been created with the Print context, is applied to all pages in the Print section. You can add more Media and apply them each to different pages.
• One Stylesheet, named context_print_styles.css, is added to the template, as you can see on the Resources pane, in the Stylesheets folder. This stylesheet is meant to be used for styles that are only applied to elements in the Print context. See also Styling templates with CSS files.

Print settings in the Print context and sections

The following settings in the Print context and Print sections have an impact on how the Print context is printed.

Arranging and selecting sections

The Print context can contain one or more Print sections. When generating output from the Print context, each of the Print sections is added to the output document, one after the other in sequence, for each record. The sections are added to the output in the order in which they appear on the Resources pane. This order can be changed; see Print sections.

It is also possible to exclude sections from the output, or to include a section only on a certain condition that depends on a value in the data; see Conditional Print sections.
This can also be done using a Control Script; see Control Scripts.

Printing on both sides

To print a Print section on both sides of the paper, that Print section needs to have the Duplex printing option to be enabled; see Enabling double-sided printing (Duplex, Mixplex). This setting can not be changed in a Job Creation Preset or an Output Creation Preset.

Setting the binding style for the Print context

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 have been printed. Which binding styles can be applied depends on the type of printer that you are using.

To set the binding style of the Print context:

1. On the Resources pane, expand the Contexts folder; then right-click the Print context and select Finishing.
   Alternatively, select Context > Finishing on the main menu. This option is only available when editing a Print section in the Workspace.
2. Choose a Binding style and, if applicable, the number of holes. For an explanation of all Binding and Hole making options, see Finishing Options.

To set the binding style of a Print section, see Setting the binding style for a Print section.

Overriding binding styles in a job creation preset

A Job Creation Preset can override the binding styles set for the Print sections and for the Print context as a whole. To bind output in another way than defined in the template’s settings:

1. Create a Job Creation Preset that overrides the settings of one or more sections: select File > Presets and see Job Creation Presets for more details.
2. Select that Job Creation Preset in the Print wizard, or send it to Workflow and select it in the task that creates Print content; see Generating Print output.

Setting the bleed

The bleed is the printable space around a page. It can be used on some printers to ensure that no unprinted edges occur in the final trimmed document. The bleed is one of the settings for a section. See Page settings: size, margins and bleed.

Overprint and black overprint

Normally, when two colors overlap in Print output, the underlying color is not printed. It is "knocked out", for two reasons: firstly, the underlying color may affect the top color, especially if the top color is lighter than the underlying color. Secondly, not printing an underlying color, which is not visible anyway, will save ink or toner.
However, there are cases when underlying colors should not be knocked out:

• If the top color is a special ink or toner, such as varnish or UV, it should go over any other colors, as it is meant to be transparent and go over other content. In Connect you may enable overprint when you define a spot color; see Defining colors, spot colors and tints.
• If small black text is printed over a colored area, mis-registration may cause white areas to be visible around the text if the underlying color is knocked out.

The option to print small black text over other colors is referred to as black overprint. To enable black overprint for text smaller than a given size:

1. Right-click the Print context in the Resources pane and select Color Output.
2. In the Text smaller than field, enter a text size (in points, for example: 3pt).

Converting RGB black to CMYK black

In Print output, black is by default output as a CMYK color. RGB black is converted into CMYK black.
If that is not desirable for any reason, it is possible to prevent it:

1. Right-click the Print context in the Resources pane and select Color Output.
2. Enable the Keep RGB black in output option.

In Connect versions prior to 2018.2, RGB black was not automatically converted to CMYK black. Therefore, this option is by default enabled in templates made with an earlier version.
In new templates, this option is disabled by default.