Prinect Signa Station

Training Documents

© Print Media Academy

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Print Media Academy – Content I

Content

Introduction

Compatibility and requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Requirements for OS: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Hardware requirements: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Workflow requirements: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Starting Signa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Versions and options of Prinect Signa Station 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Valid character set for names in Prinect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Affected functions: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Valid characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Invalid characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Signa behavior when invalid characters are encountered . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Chapter 1: Menu overview

File menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Edit menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Jobs & Resources menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Tools menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Services menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Help menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Tool bar overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Chapter 2: Exercise 1 – Autom. Imposition

Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Exercise description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Creating a new Signa job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Saving a Signa job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Importing PDF documents and assigning them to the Signa job . . . . . . .24
Printing the Signa job as PDF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Chapter 3: Exercise 2 – Format Customization

Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Exercise description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Changing the format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Saving a Signa job as template for the Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Creating a new Signa job with a template for the Assistant . . . . . . . . . . .42
II Content – Print Media Academy

Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate templates and marks

Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Surfaces: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Exercise description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Creating marks using the Marks Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Import color control bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Creating a composite mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Editing and saving plate templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

Chapter 5: Exercise 4 – Imposition

Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Surfaces: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

Exercise description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71

Creating a new Signa job in the Imposition mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71

Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition

Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Surfaces: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83

Exercise description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

Create new paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
Creating a new job part (Autom. Imposition) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87

Chapter 7: Exercise 6 – Creating machine parameters

Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
Creating a platesetter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
Creating a sheetfed press: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

Exercise description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99

Creating a platesetter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Creating a sheetfed press: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates

Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Creating an output parameter set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Creating a plate template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106

Exercise description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

Creating output parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Creating a plate template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
Positioning marks on the plate template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Print Media Academy – Content III

Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form

Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Completed Form: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126

Exercise description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127

Creating a customer data set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
Creating a gang run form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129

Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors

The Job window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145

The Browser Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
Machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149

The Inspectors Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

The Job Inspector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
The Inspector for Job Parts – impositioning and automatic impositioning152
The Folding Sheet/Assembly Block Inspector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154
The Press Sheet Inspector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
The Page/1up Inspector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157
The Document Inspector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159

The Graphics Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160

Graphics Window control elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
The Press Sheet window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
The Folding Sheet/Assembly Block Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162
The Page List Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
The Press Sheet List Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
The Document Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164

The Lists Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165

The Press Sheet List Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166
The Folding Sheet List Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166
The Page List List Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166
The Assigned List Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167
The Not Assigned List Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168
IV Content – Print Media Academy

Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back

Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
Color control bar example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170
Surfaces: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170

Exercise description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171

Creating color control bars and composite marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171
Creating a composite mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176
1up front/back repetition exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180

Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part

Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193
Surfaces: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194

Exercise description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195

Creating a new scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195
Imposing different sheet sizes in one job part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204

Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers

Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215
Surfaces: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216
Sheet-PDF in Deutsch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217
Sheet-PDF in englisch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217
Preliminary considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218

Exercise description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219

Creating a new Signa job with layers and special master pages . . . . . .219
Assigning PDF documents to different layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .226

Chapter 14: Exercise 12 – Combination sheet

Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231
Product part: Combination sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231
Completed forms: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232

Exercise description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233

Product part: Combination sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233
Print Media Academy – Content V

Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets (different schemes and jobs)

Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243
I. Machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243
II. Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243
Job part 1: Montage – press sheet 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244
Job part 2: Imposition – inner pages / maxi drawing book . . . . . . . . . . .245
Job part 3: Imposition – inner pages / mini drawing book . . . . . . . . . . . .246
Complete forms: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .247

Exercise description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248

Job part 1: Montage – press sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248
Job part 2: Imposition – inner pages / maxi drawing book . . . . . . . . . . .251
Job part 3: Imposition – inner pages / mini drawing book . . . . . . . . . . . .254
Positioning job parts 2 and 3 on Press_Sheet1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259
Position Job Part 3 (Mini drawing book) on Press Sheet 1 . . . . . . . . . . .261
Positioning job part 2 (folding sheet 2 of maxi drawing book) on Press_Sheet2264
Assigning pages to the individual folding schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265

Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part

Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267
Surfaces: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268
Completed Form: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269

Exercise description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270

Create new scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270
Imposing different sheet sizes in one job part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .274
Unproportionally scaling marks and clipping color control bars . . . . . . .282
Loading default formats for the trimbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285
Assigning pages and inserting blank pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287
Duplicating pages in the imposition mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .291

Chapter 17: Exercise 15 – Creating and applying a plate layout template

Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
Completed forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .298

Exercise description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .299

Creating a plate layout parameter set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .299
Creating a Signa job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .302
VI Content – Print Media Academy

Chapter 18: Exercise 16 – SM74DI

Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309
Feasible order for creating machines and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309
I. Machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309
II. Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309

Appendix

Data sheet: Platesetters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .311

Data Sheet: Sheetfed Presses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312

Data Sheet: Papers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312

Plate template element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313

Feasible order for creating machines and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314

I. Machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314
II. Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314

Machines/resources and Signa job dependencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315

Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .316
Preferences – General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .316
Preferences – Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318
Preferences – Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .320
Preferences – Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .322
Preferences – Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .323
Preferences – Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .325
Preferences – Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .326

Prinect Signa Station Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .328

Prinect Signa Station 3 definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .329

Prinect Signa Station key shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .329

Marks handling - hotspot - reference point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .330

Print Media Academy – Introduction 1

Introduction

Prinect Signa Station is an application allowing the digital imposition or montage of PDF
documents or Delta lists. With this application you can create fully imposed signatures con-
taining all marks and print control strips – i.e. all information required for imaging, print, and
postprocessing – for output to CtP, CtF and digital printing presses.

The application processes PDF documents and Delta lists only. Although you can select
PostScript files to be loaded, the Acrobat Distiller application will automatically convert them
to PDF; for this purpose, the Acrobat Distiller must be installed on the workstation. During
automatic conversion the PostScript document is directly converted to PDF. No data opti-
mization is performed. To optimize PDF documents prior to processing with Prinect Signa
Station you should have converted them to PDF using the desired job options.

A TrimBox present in a PDF document is automatically used for page positioning. You can,
however, always move the page information by hand.

Using resources you can define plate templates, folding patterns, etc. to ensure you always
apply standardized formats. All workstations have access to the same data records if you
store default folders containing resources on a server and specify these in the application.

You can manage and process several product parts within one job, e.g. a 36-page brochure,
business cards, flyers, etc., thus allowing all jobs for a specific customer to be processed in
one file.

According to standard there are three modes for creating a signature and two further as an
option:

Imposition: Here, all signatures are defined for a specified number of

pages. In this mode you can, for example, process several
imposition schemes, paper and plate templates in a single
job.

Automatic imposition: Here, you use a defined template that is multiplied as soon
as the last sheet is filled and more pages need to be
assembled. This mode does not allow a combination of dif-
ferent imposition schemes.

Montage: In this mode only the printing plate and the paper are
defined. This allows 1ups or collective forms to be created.

Packaging: In this mode the printing plate and the paper are defined. It
is possible to generate forms based on CFF2-files, so that
folding boxes are easy to impose.

Sheet Optimizer: Similarly to standard Montage mode the printing plate and

i
the paper are pre-defined. Using all of the possibilities you
will have in the end really an optimal utilization of the sheet.

The Prinect Signa Station application heavily draws on context-sensitive operation, i.e.
right-clicking the mouse (Windows) or clicking the mouse with the Ctrl key pressed (Macin-
tosh) in a window opens a shortcut menu with currently available commands.
2 Introduction – Print Media Academy

Compatibility and requirements

Requirements for OS:

Windows 2000 Professional or Server, Windows 2003, Windows XP, Windows Vista 32bit;

Mac OS X 10.4.8

Hardware requirements:

P4 with 2.0 Ghz, 2Gig RAM; Apple G5 2,0GHZ, 2Gig RAM

Workflow requirements:

Released for workflow with MetaDimension 6.5, Print Ready 3.5 and Delta Technology 8.5.

Starting Signa

The JDFConnector version is also shown.

The splash screen bottomshows the progress and the current actions.
Print Media Academy – Introduction 3

General Information

Versions and options of Prinect Signa Station 3

Prinect Signa 52

max. format 675 x 675 mm (2000 pt)

Output formats PDF, PS, JT, JDF

Prinect Signa 74

max. format 776 x 776 mm (2200 pt)

Output formats PDF, PS, JT, JDF

Prinect Signa 102

max. format 4050 x 4050 mm (11500 pt)

Output formats PDF, PS, JT, JDF

Prinect Signa JDF-JT

max. format 4050 x 4050 mm (11500 pt)

Output formats JDF, JT

Options: Presetting (comprises all Cip3 functions; trimming, folding,

color control bars, auto registration)

Packaging (packaging printing: folded boxes with CFF2 information)

Sheet Optimizer (label optimization)

4 Introduction – Print Media Academy

Valid character set for names in Prinect

Affected functions:

Generation of job name (.sdf) with Save or Save as...

Generation of output for all workflows

Generation of CIP3 names

Valid characters

The following special characters are valid in addition to “normal” letters and figures

! § $ & ( ) = ´ + #- _ . , ? ° " ä ö ü Ä Ö Ü ß
and 1 or several spaces between other characters.

Invalid characters

The list of “invalid” characters comprises:

" \ * / : < > | ' ; ^ ` { } ~%

as well as spaces at the beginning and the end of a name.

Signa behavior when invalid characters are encountered

the characters

" \ * / : < > | are replaced by: _

the characters

' ; ^ ` { } ~% are used without being replaced.

White spaces at the beginning and the end of a name are removed.

White spaces between valid characters are now preserved.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 1: Menu overview 5

Chapter 1: Menu overview

The upper window area of the Prinect Signa Station application comprises the following
menu items: File, Edit, Inspectors, Window, Services, and Help.

File menu

Choose the Open… menu item to load an existing job into the
Prinect Signa Station application.

Choose New… to create a new job, supported by the Job Assis-

tant.

Choose Create Resource to create new data sets for Plate Tem-
plate, Scheme, Marks, Paper Sizes, Page Formats, Customer
Data Sets, and Output Parameter Sets.

Choose Create Machine to create new data sets for Filmsetter, Platesetter, Sheetfed
Presses, and Web Presses.
6 Chapter 1: Menu overview – Print Media Academy

Choose Import to load PDF documents or Delta lists you need for the current montage. Also
you can import Resource/Machineparameters, Paper-and Customer-Resources by CSV-
file,JDF or Preferences.

Choose the Recent Jobs submenu to view the names of recently opened documents and to
directly open them.

Choose Save to save the latest changes to your current job.

Choose Save as… to save your current job under any name. You can also specify where
your montage job is to be saved.

Choose Close to close the current Signa job. You will be notified if latest changes have not
yet been saved, and you can choose to close and save your document at the same time.

Choose Print Job to print your current job.

Choose Preferences… to open the Preferences dialog where you can also define the
Default Unit and Default Directories.

Choose Exit to quit the application.

Edit menu

Choose the Edit menu items to undo or redo recent

actions.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 1: Menu overview 7

Jobs & Resources menu

Use the Jobs & Resources menu to toggle between

job and resource view. This menu also lists the jobs
currently open. Use this menu to switch between the
individual jobs. You can use this this menu to go to
the current job (i.e. the job you were editing before
changing to the Resources), to an open job shown in
the list, to Resources & Machines, to Plate Template
Resources, to Scheme Resources or to the Marks Resources.

Inspectors menu

Choose the Inspectors menu to switch to any of the

inspectors: Job Inspector, Inspector for Job Parts,
Folding Sheet Inspector, Press Sheet Inspector,
Page/1up Inspector, and Document Inspector. Each
inspector has a symbol of its own that also appears in
the application’s tool bar.

Tools menu

Choose Show Progress to show or hide the Back-

ground Processes window. This window indicates any
active background processes. Show Print Status opens
a window that shows for example which job is active or
which job has finished. Status of JDF Connector Jobs
show you, which JDF`s are actual activ, which JDF`s are finished or the status of all JDF`s
which are in the Signa Station. Folding Sheet Animation is a visualization of standard or user
defined folding sheets. Choose Detach/Include Graphic View to detach the Graphic View
and make it part of the job window again. The Window menu also lists the currently open
jobs. Use this menu to switch between the individual jobs.

Services menu

Choose the Services menu to start the Heidelberg

Assistant or search the Internet for a program update.

Help menu

Choose the Help menu to open the Online Help and to

view information on the version of the Prinect Signa
Station application you are currently using.
8 Chapter 1: Notes – Print Media Academy

You also view information on the user cur-

rently logged on if you select Current Us

Tool bar overview

The buttons in the Toolbar let you exit the Prinect Signa Station application, load a Signa job
from the file system, create a new file with the Assistant, save the current file, print the file,
switch to the other inspectors, and change the unit used by the program.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

1 Load Signa job from file system

2 Create new job with the Assistant

3 Save current Signa job

4 Send selected job to output device

5 Toggle between Jobs and Ressources view

6 Start Inspector for selected job

7 Open product part inspector

8 Open press sheet inspector

9 Open folding sheet inspector

10 Start page/1up inspector

11 Open document inspector

12 Set unit
Print Media Academy – Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition 9

Chapter 2: Exercise 1 – Autom. Imposition

Task

The objective of the present exercise is the automatic imposition of a 96-page document to
be created for Perfect Binding postprocessing. The job will be created with the Job Assis-
tant. All resources/default settings required for this exercise have already been prepared.

Job data:
Job code: 0001
Job name HD Manual
Customer: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Customer code: 0001

Job part definition:

Name: Supertrap
Page total: 96
Working mode: Autom. Imposition

Master pages:
Page format: A5 without trim

Binding Methods
Binding method: Perfect Binding
Creeping: disabled
Print control elements: Cut, fold, and collating marks, folding cross
and folding sheet cut
Data for Collating marks:
Position: Back margin
Distance: Automatic
Range: Automatic
Direction: Ascending

Printing plates:
Printing plate: SM102 from the Training group
Placing mode: Sheetwise (front and back)
Paper definition: Profisilk_90_100x70 from the Training group
Sujetposition on Paper: AutoPosition Sujet + Center Sujet

Folding schemes:
Scheme: F32-05_li_4x4 from the Standard group
Top gutters: 10 mm
Inside gutters: 6 mm
Center gutters: 20 mm

PDF document: Supertrap.pdf

Output parameter set: Supra_SM102 from the Training group

10 Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

Surfaces

Sheet 1 front and back

Sheet 2 front and back

Sheet 3 front and back

Print Media Academy – Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition 11

Exercise description

Creating a new Signa job

1. Start the Prinect Signa Station application.

2. Choose File > New…

3. The Job Assistant automatically opens.

With the Job Assistant you can specify all parameters required for a new Signa job in an
easy and clearly structured manner right from the job start.

4. Specify general job information in the Job Data window.

12 Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

5. Specify job code and job name according to the task.

Job code = 0001

Job name = HD Manual

6. The customer for this job has already been created in the resources and can be loaded
for the present job.

7. To load the customer data set click From Template next to the Customer field.

8. Click the gray triangle in front of the folder icon to view the contents of the Standard
group in the Choose Customer window. Highlight Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
and click OK.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition 13

9. The fields Customer and Customer Code are automatically completed in the Job Data
window.

10. Click Next Card in the bottom window region to go to the next window – the Job part
definition window.

11. Type the job part name and select the Working Mode in the Job part definition window.
14 Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

12. Type the job part name in the Name text box and choose the Autom. Imposition as the
Working Mode.

Name = Supertrap
Working Mode = Autom. Imposition.

13. Click Next card to go to the Master Pages window.

14. Click to load the A5 paper format from the resources.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition 15

15. Display the contents of the Standard group in the Choose Page or Paper Size window.

Highlight A5 and click OK.

16. The selected page format appears in the Master Pages window.

Our sample document does not require any trim; you can therefore type 0 in the Trim
text box in the Page-related bleed section.

17. Click Next card to go to the Binding Methods window.

16 Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

18. Make the following settings in this window:

Binding Method = Perfect Binding

Enable Cut Marks, Fold Marks, Collating Marks, Folding Cross, and Folding Sheet Cut
Click the gray triangle in front of the Marks colors and collating values and enable the
following checkboxes in the Data for Collating Mark section:
Position = Back margin
Distance = Automatic
Range = Automatic
Direction = Ascending
Deselect Use routing margin in the Parameters for Automatic Gap Computation
section.

19. Click Next card to go to the Printing Plates window.

20. In this window you define the plate template and the paper to be used.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition 17

21. Click next to the first pop-up menu to load the plate template from the resources.

22. Display the contents of the Training group.

Highlight SM102 and click OK to adopt the selected plate template.

18 Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

23. The selected plate template now appears in the window along with its stored width and
height.

24. Choose the Sheetwise option in the Placing Mode pop-up menu.

25. Click next to the Name pop-up menu to load the paper definition from the resour-
ces.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition 19

26. Display the contents of the Training group.

Highlight Profisilk_90_100x70 and click OK to adopt the selected paper.

27. The paper values stored in the resources are filled in.

28. Click to the AutoPosition Sujet and Center Sujet, to center the Sujet automaticly in the
middle of the paper.

29. Click Next card to go to the Folding Schemes window.

20 Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

30. In this window you define the folding scheme and top, bottom and inside gutters.

31. Click of the Current Scheme pop-up menu to load the folding scheme from the
resources.

32. Display the contents of the Standard group, highlight F32-05_li_4x4 and click OK to
adopt the selected scheme.

i You will be able to choose from those folding schemes only that reasonably fit on the
sheet under consideration of the settings made so far (selected trimmed size, plate
template, and paper format) when you choose a scheme.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition 21

33. Upon selection of the scheme a thumbnail representation of the press sheet appears in
the right window section.

The left bottom window section shows a schematic representation of the selected
scheme. You define top, bottom, and inside gutters here. Specify the gutters for this

i
exercise example as per the illustration below. You can immediately watch the changes
in the press sheet thumbnail image.

Use the Tab key to go from text box to text box. Use the Shift and Tab keys together to
go to the previous text box.

34. Click Ready to create the job with the settings made by help of the Job Assistant.
22 Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

35. The job window shows the first press sheet in the Graphics window.

The browser window shows a tree view of the current job with the Supertrap job part,
the Folding Sheets, the Page List, and the Press Sheets in the Jobs tab. The Internal
Marks directory lists the marks used in the present job.

The Inspector window with the Job Inspector provides general information on the cur-
rent document and the colors used in the document.

The Press Sheets tab in the Lists window shows the press sheets created by now.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition 23

Saving a Signa job

1. To save the current job choose File > Save as…

2. You automatically go to the directory for saving Signa jobs defined in the Preferences.

Normally the SignaJobs will be save in the directory C:\Document and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\Heidelberg\PrinectSignaStation_3\SignaJobs.

SignaStation automatically proposes a file name consisting of the Job Code and
Customer name specified in the Job Assistant, the and the Job Name.

The Prinect Signa Station application automatically assigns the .sdf extension.

3. Click the Save button to save the current job in the selected directory.
24 Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

Importing PDF documents and assigning them to the Signa job

1. The next step is to import the PDF document. There are three ways to do this.

a) Move to the Browser to the tab Contents. Open the explorer of your system and
choose the pdf-document in the predefined directory. Click to the pdf-document and
by drag and drop import it to the tab Contents.

b) Choose File > Import > Documents.

c) From the Browser window go to the Contents tab. Right-click the PDF Documents to
open the shortcut menu and choose Documents ...

To open the shortcut menu, click the right mouse button (Windows) or press the Ctrl
key (Macintosh).
Print Media Academy – Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition 25

2. You automatically go to the directory for loading documents defined in the Preferences.

3. Highlight the Supertrap.pdf file in the list and click Open.

4. The imported document appears in the Contents tab in the PDF Documents group.5.
The PDF document contains all pages needed for this Signa job. All pages of the PDF
document are now to be assigned to the Signa job. There are several ways to do this.

a) From the Browser window go to the Contents tab.

Highlight the Supertrap.pdf document and choose Assign Pages from the shortcut
menu.

b) From the Lists window go to the Not assigned tab.

Click the document entry in the list and choose Add pages from the shortcut menu
to assign all pages of the document.

To assign individual document pages, show the pages by double-clicking the docu-
ment in the No. column.
26 Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

Now highlight those pages in the list you wish to assign, and choose Assign Pages from
the shortcut menu.

c) You can also assign individual pages by dragging and dropping them from the list of
not assigned pages into the Lists window or via the Browser window using the Con-
tents tab to the respective page in the Press Sheet, Folding Sheet, Page List, and
Press Sheet List graphics windows. To do so, show the desired Graphics windows.
In our example we show the Page List window.

i To assign all pages of the document drop the document on the first page of the
page list.

To assign selected pages, show the pages and drag and drop them on the respective
page in the Page List.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition 27

6. After having assigned all pages, show the Press Sheet window to inspect the current
job.

7. By default only the front signature is shown. Click the icon at the bottom of the press
sheet window to also view the back signature. This is a toggle switch allowing to show
or hide the current back sheet.

8. If you selected in the preferences the automatic preview of the pdf-documents, than
Prinect Signa Station is calculating the preview of everypage in the background. To get
more informations about the status go to the menu Tools > Background Processes ....

9. Choose File > Save to save the latest changes to the document.
28 Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

Printing the Signa job as PDF

1. The last step is to print the job exercise to a PDF file. To do so choose File > Print Job.

2. You can show the individual press sheets and surfaces in the Print Inspector to inspect
them.

3. Click to choose an output parameter set from the resources.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition 29

4. Show the contents of the Training group and highlight Supra_SM102. Click OK to apply
the selected resource.

5. Enable all press sheets in the Press Sheet List of the Print Inspector and click the Print
button to start output.

6. The PDF documents will be automatically saved in the predefined directory.

30 Chapter 2: Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

7. A message will inform you once printing has been successfully completed. Click OK to

i
close the window.

The Information window displays the current storage path.

i
On a Windows PC the default file storage location is the C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\Heidelberger\PrinectSignaStation_3\output folder.

On the Macintosh the default file storage location is the Start

volume\Users\Shared\Heidelberger\PrinectSignaStation_3\output folder.

8. To control the output, you can choose in the menu Tools > Show Output Status. Here
you can check which jobs are finished.

9. Now the job is finish.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 3: Exercise 2 – Format customization 31

Chapter 3: Exercise 2 – Format Customization

Task

The Signa job you created in Exercise 1 must be customized due to short-term rescheduling
from SM102 to SM74. This exercise will teach you how to quickly perform format changes
with the Job Assistant.

After the format change the modified job is to be saved as a template for the Assistant.

Job data:
SignaJob: 0001_HD-Manual.sdf

Printing plates:
Plate: SM74 from the Training group
Placing Mode: Sheetwise (front and back)
Paper definition: Profigloss_90_70x50 from the Training group

Folding schemes:
Scheme: F16-06_dd_4x2 from the Standard group
Top gutters: 20 mm
Inside gutters: 6 mm
Center gutters: 20 mm

Output Parameter Set: SupraA74_SM74 from the Training

32 Chapter 3: Exercise 2 – Format Customization – Print Media Academy

Surfaces

Press sheet 1: Front/Back printing

Press sheet 2: Front/Back printing

Press sheet 3: Front/Back printing

Print Media Academy – Chapter 3: Exercise 2 – Format customization 33

Press sheet 4: Front/Back printing

Press sheet 5: Front/Back printing

Press sheet 6: Front/Back printing

34 Chapter 3: Exercise 2 – Format Customization – Print Media Academy

Exercise description

Changing the format

1. Choose File > Open…

2. Highlight the 0001_HD-Manual.sdf document (from exercise 1) in the SignaJobs direc-

tory and click Open.

3. From the Browser window go to the Jobs tab.

4. Highlight the Supertrap job part and choose Edit Job Part from the shortcut menu.

5. The Job Assistant automatically opens.

6. Go to the Printing Plates window.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 3: Exercise 2 – Format customization 35

7. The Printing Plates window shows the current plate template and the current paper
when you select position 1 in the List of Selected Plates.

8. Delete the old plate template by clicking the trash can icon and then choose the new
plate template and the new paper format in the resources.

Plate Template: SM74 from the Training group

Paper: Profigloss_90_70x50 from the Training group

9. Go to the Folding Schemes window.

36 Chapter 3: Exercise 2 – Format Customization – Print Media Academy

10. To delete the old folding scheme, select the scheme in the list and click the trash can
icon. Select the new folding scheme from the resources.

Current scheme: F16-06_dd_4x2 from the Standard group.

11. Specify the gutters as per the illustration below.

12. Click Ready to apply the changes to the Signa job.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 3: Exercise 2 – Format customization 37

13. You can assess the format change result in the job window.

14. Choose File > Save as... and save the changed document as 0001_HD-Manual_SM74.

15. Print all press sheets as PDF. Choose the SupraA74_SM74 output parameter set from
the Training group in the Print Inspector.
38 Chapter 3: Exercise 2 – Format Customization – Print Media Academy

Saving a Signa job as template for the Assistant

Prinect Signa Station lets you save a complete product part as template for the Assistant to
set up the Assistant even more directly.

A product part template contains all parameters of a job or job part, except for the job data
and the assigned pages.

1. To create a group in the Job Templates in the resource folder, select Jobs & Resources
> Resources & Machines in the menu.

2. From the Browser window go to the Resources tab.

3. Enable the Product Part Templates option and choose New Group from the shortcut
menu.

4. Type your own name as the group name.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 3: Exercise 2 – Format customization 39

5. To save a product part as a template, go to the currently open Signa job using Jobs &
Resources > job name in the menu or Current Job.

6. Highlight the product part in the list and choose Save Product Part as Default for the
Assistant… from the shortcut menu.

7. Choose the group you have created beforehand and type a name for the template in the
Group pop-up menu of the Save Product Part as Template window. Then click OK.
40 Chapter 3: Exercise 2 – Format Customization – Print Media Academy

8. Our my name folder with the HD Manuals template is located in Resources -> Product
Part Templates.The template for the Assistant is automatically locked and tagged with a
green asterisk.

9. There is a new Template for the Assistant text box in Preferences -> Resources. It indi-
cates the template currently assigned. The folder icon lets you assign another template.
Click the trashcan to remove the template for the Assistant. The template is still avail-
able in the Resources.
The template is generally applied to all future new jobs. You cannot disable it for a spe-
cific job. Disabling the template will disable it for all subsequent jobs.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 3: Exercise 2 – Format customization 41

10. You can disable the template for the Assistant in the Resources with the Reset as
Default for the Assistant item from the shortcut menu.

Choosing another template as default for the Assistant will automatically disable the
previous template. Only one product part template can be active at a time. It should
match the jobs as universally as possible. The Assistant has so-called Mss fields (e.g.
number of pages). You can remove them in the Product Part Inspector after you have
created the job.

The template will overwrite all default preferences.

The template (JDF) overwrites the settings when you work in the JDF workflow (Pri-
nance-Printready-Signa).
42 Chapter 3: Exercise 2 – Format Customization – Print Media Academy

Creating a new Signa job with a template for the Assistant

1. To create a new Signa job using the default template, choose File > New….

2. The Assistant has now been completed with the data of the Product Part Template. You
need only complete the Job Data tab. You can make changes to the Assistant at any
time when you must make job-specific settings.

3. To load another product part template, go to the Product Part Definition window. Click
the Product Part from Template folder icon in the Product Part Definition window.

4. Go through all Assistant steps and check the parameters. Click Ready to create the
Signa job.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 3: Exercise 2 – Format customization 43

5. Highlight the product part in the list and choose 3D Collating Mark Visualization from
the shortcut menu.

6. Click the folder icon in the Collating Mark Visualization window and rotate the book
block so that you can check the collating marks.
44 Notes – Print Media Academy
Print Media Academy – Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Templates and Marks 45

Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate templates and marks

Task

The objective of the present exercise is to extend or edit an already existing plate template.
In a first step we will add a a user-defined text mark to the SM74 plate template of the Train-
ing group.

In a second step we will replace the color control bar on the plate template with a composite
mark consisting of the FOGRA_4, FOGRA_5 and FOGRA_6 color control bars that must
first be imported into the Prinect SignaStation application.

To finish this exercise we will save assign the edited plate template a new name.

Job data:
Signa job: 0001_HD-Manual_SM74.sdf

Marks:
Color control bar: FOGRA_4_F74_740x10.main,
FOGRA_5_F74_740x10.main and
FOGRA_6_F74_740x10.main
from the Signa_Training\Marks\Colorbar\SM74\
FOGRA_4_F74_740x10,
Signa_Training\Marks\Colorbar\SM74\
FOGRA_5_F74_740x10 and
Signa_Training\Marks\Colorbar\SM74\
FOGRA_6_F74_740x10
46 Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Template and Marks – Print Media Academy

Surfaces:

Edited plate template

Print Media Academy – Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Templates and Marks 47

Exercise description

Creating marks using the Marks Editor

Using the Marks Editor you can create simple graphics elements and save them as marks.
As a first step you will create a new Text mark containing a graphic element as well as sev-
eral text variables.

1. Select Jobs & Resources > Marks to go to the Marks Resources.

2. Click the gray arrow to show the contents of the Marks group.

3. You must first create a new group. To do so click the Marks item and choose New Group
from the shortcut menu.

4. The directory for the new group is created in the directory tree. Type your own name as
the group name.

5. To create a mark using the Marks Editor highlight your group and choose New Mark >
Marks Editor from the shortcut menu.
48 Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Template and Marks – Print Media Academy

6. The Marks Editor opens.

1 Activate/deactivate object
2 Move object
3 Ellipse
4 Line tool
5 Rectangle

16 6 Fill color black

15 17
7 Fill color white
1 8 Text object
2 9 Delete object
3
10 Copy object
4
11 Center object
5
6
12 Fit canvas to bounding box
7 13 Move object forward one layer
8 14 Zoom tool (press Alt key to
9 unzoom)
10 15 Select object list
11
16 Properties dialog
12
17 Undo/Redo
13
14

7. Type My Text Mark in the Mark Name text box.

8. Choose the Undefined option in the Mark Type pop-up menu.

9. Choose the Lower left option as reference point in the Hotspot pop-up menu.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Templates and Marks 49

10. To edit the Canvas size click the Properties button. Specify the following values for the
canvas size and click OK when you are done.

Width: 150
Height: 10
Grid: 10

The canvas size defines width and height of the mark to be positioned.
50 Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Template and Marks – Print Media Academy

11. Choose the Rectangle tool and draw a rectangle. Then click Properties button (16).

The Properties dialog text boxes indicate the values of the highlighted object.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Templates and Marks 51

12. Edit the values in the Properties dialog to match the following values:

Starting Point x: 0.0

Starting Point y: 2.5
Width: 5
Height: 5
filled: enable
Ink Coverage: 100%

13. We will now add a text mark containing the current file name, the date, the time, the
color separation name, the sheet number, the surface, and the layer name.

14. Choose the Text tool from the tool bar and click the canvas.

15. The information mentioned before applies to text variables you can select in the Proper-
ties dialog. Click Properties button.
52 Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Template and Marks – Print Media Academy

16. The Text Properties dialog opens.

17. Edit the Starting Point, the Font parameters and the Fill color of the text mark to match
the following values:

X: 8
Y: 4
Font Type: Courier Bold
Font Size: 12
Ink Coverage: 100
Grain Direction: Horizontal
Print Media Academy – Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Templates and Marks 53

18. To insert the variables for file name, date, time, color separation name, sheet number,
and surface click the Job Code, Job Name, Output Date, Output Time, Front and Back /
Top and Bottom, Sheet Number and Color buttons. The variables appear in the Text
box.

19. To insert the text variable for the layer name, choose the Layer name option next to the
Insert placeholder option in the pop-up menu.

20. Click Insert placeholder to insert the selected variable in the text box.
54 Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Template and Marks – Print Media Academy

21. The placeholder is inserted in the text box.

22. Click OK to close the window and to apply the changes.

23. You return to the Marks Editor window. To save the mark, click Save and then the Close
button.

i All information will be printed on the sheet even if the text mark text does not appear in
its entirety in the Marks Editor.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Templates and Marks 55

24. The mark you have created appears in your Marks group folder.

Import color control bars

You can always import your own marks into the program. Supported formats are PostScript,
EPS, and PDF. When importing marks, the Acrobat Distiller application automatically con-
verts PostScript and EPS files to PDF, which are then loaded into the program.

1. The the following step we will import the FOGRA_4_F74_740x10,

FOGRA_5_F74_740x10 and FOGRA_6_F74_740x10 DIPCO marks
available as files from the Signa_Training\Marken\Farbkontrollstreifen\SM74 folder.

2. Select Jobs & Resources > Marks in the menu to go to the Marks Resources window.

3. Click the gray arrow to show the contents of the Marks group.

4. To import a mark click your marks group and choose New Mark > Marks Import from the
shortcut menu.
56 Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Template and Marks – Print Media Academy

You can also choose File > Create Resource > New Mark > Marks Import in the menu to
import a mark.

In this case a window appears where you must first choose the desired Resource
Group as the target for the mark import.

5. The Marks Import Editor opens.

6. Click Source... button.

7. Go to the Signa_Training\Marks\Colorbar\SM74\FOGRA_4_F74_740x10 folder.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Templates and Marks 57

8. Select the FOGRA_4_F74_740x10.main file and click Open.

9. As this is an EPS file the Acrobat Distiller application automatically opens and converts
it to PDF.

10. After successful conversion the mark appears in the Marks Editor.

The original PDF file name is automatically chosen as mark name. You can edit this
name as desired.

11. Assign the mark the Color Control Mark (with AutoClip to sujet) option using the Marks
Type pop-up menu.

12. Choose the Lower middle option as reference point in the Hotspot pop-up menu.
58 Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Template and Marks – Print Media Academy

13. Click the Save and then the Close button to save the imported mark. The mark you
have imported appears in your Marks group directory.

14. Repeat steps 4 through 13 each to import the FOGRA_5_F74_740x10.main and

FOGRA_6_F74_740x10.main marks from their respective folders.

15. After successful marks import, all three marks appear in their marks folder.

i
Since the Dipco marks were specially prepared, selecting the .main file automatically loads
any information that is vital for processing – namely subsequent output – composite PDF
files as well as preseparated PDF documents.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Templates and Marks 59

Creating a composite mark

In the next step you will create a composite mark from the three color control bars you have
imported.

The benefit of composite marks over other color control bars is the fact that you only need
one file for creating 4-, 5- or 6-color jobs. To save time and to eliminate a potential error
source, Prinect SignaStation will automatically choose the correct mark for output. The pro-
cedure will be explained on the basis of a composite mark for SM74. Of course, autoregister
composite marks can be created in this way as well.

1. Highlight the FOGRA_4_F74_740x10 mark in your marks folder and choose Edit Mark
from the shortcut menu.

2. The Marks Import Editor opens.

3. Rename the mark to FOGRA_SM74_Composite Mark.

60 Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Template and Marks – Print Media Academy

4. To add the FOGRA_5_F74_740x10 color mark, click the black triangle in front of the
Composite Mark option and then click the folder icon to load the next mark from the
marks resources.

5. Select the FOGRA_5_F74_740x10 mark from your marks folder and click OK.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Templates and Marks 61

6. The added mark appears in the Composite Mark list of the Marks Import Editor.

7. Click the folder icon again and add the FOGRA_6_F74_740x10 mark from your marks
folder to the composite mark.

8. To save the composite mark, click the Save and then the Close button.
62 Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Template and Marks – Print Media Academy

9. The composite mark appears in your marks folder.

Editing and saving plate templates

In this exercise step, we will edit an existing plate template – SM74 in the Training group –
and save it under a new name.

The color control bar on the plate template is to be replaced with the FOGRA color control
mark we have imported, and our Text Mark is to be positioned on the plate template.

1. Choose Jobs & Resources > 0001_HD-Manual_SM74 in the menu to go to the current
job.

2. Select the Press Sheet Inspector.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Templates and Marks 63

3. The Color Control Bar Editor opens.

4. To delete the old color control bar go to the Marks tab.

5. Highlight the Colorbar-4C mark in the Marks List or click the positioned mark directly on
the press sheet.

6. To replace the mark with the newly imported mark, click the arrow icon.
64 Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Template and Marks – Print Media Academy

7. Highlight the mark named FOGRA_SM74_Kombimarke in its marks folder and conform
your selection with OK.

8. The following dialog asks you if the existing mark is to be replaced with the newly
selected mark. Confirm with Yes.

9. The color control bar replaces the old control bar and its width automatically adapts to
the subject width.

10. Highlight the color control bar in the list and move it downward by 10 mm. To do so,
specify a value of 5 mm in the Position Y: text box.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Templates and Marks 65

11. Go to the Marks Resources tab.

Then drag the Text Mark from the marks folder and drop it on the lower left paper
hotspot.

12. Now that you have placed the text mark on the press sheet you can define the mark’s
position in relation to the reference point.

13. Go to the Marks tab.

14. All marks positioned on the press sheet appear in the Marks List. Highlighting a mark in
the list automatically selects the mark in question in the preview window. Selecting a
mark in the preview window automatically highlights the mark in question in the Marks
List.
66 Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Template and Marks – Print Media Academy

i
15. To better assess the result, you can scale the view by either selecting the desired zoom
factor in the Zoom popup menu or by clicking the Loupe tool in the toolbar (the toolbar is
located at the window bottom) and clicking the area you wish to magnify.

16. To return to the complete Preview choose the Auto option from the Zoom pop-up menu.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Templates and Marks 67

17. Now highlight the text mark in the list. Move the mark to the following coordinates:

Position X: 20 mm

18. Click Copy all marks on the front to the back of the current object to copy all marks to the
back sheet as well.

19. To save the plate template under a new name go to the Press Sheet List in the graphic
window.
68 Chapter 4: Exercise 3 – Plate Template and Marks – Print Media Academy

20. Select the press sheet you have edited and choose Create Plate Template from Press
Sheet in the shortcut menu.

20. A window opens where you first select the desired Resource group. Type your own
name for the group where you want to save the plate template.

23. The new plate template is located in your group folder.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 5: Exercise 4 – Imposition 69

Chapter 5: Exercise 4 – Imposition

Task

The objective of the present exercise is to impose a 4-page cover in front and back printing
using a 4-page scheme created in the Imposition mode. All resources/default settings
required for this exercise have already been created.

Job data:

Job number: 0002

Job name HD flyer
Customer: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Customer Code: 00001
Target Date: current date

Job part definition:

Name: Cover
Working Mode: Imposition
First Press Sheet: 1
First Folding Sheet: 1
First Page: 1
Page total: 4
Page names: U1-U4

Master pages:
Page format: A4 with 3 mm trim

Binding Methods
Binding methods: Saddlestitch
Creeping: disabled
Print control elements: Cut and fold marks

Printing plates:
Plate: SM52 from the Training group
Placing Mode: Sheetwise (front and back)
Paper definition: Zander_135_50x35 from the Training group
Sujet position on paper: AutoPosition Sujet

Folding schemes:
Scheme: F04-01_up_2x1 from the Standard group

PDF document: HD_Stadt_dt_engl.pdf

Output parameter set: Supra_SM52 from the Training group

70 Chapter 5: Exercise 4 – Imposition – Print Media Academy

Surfaces:

Cover: Front

Cover: Back
Print Media Academy – Chapter 5: Exercise 4 – Imposition 71

Exercise description

Creating a new Signa job in the Imposition mode

1. To create a new job using the Job Assistant choose File > New…

3. The Job Assistant automatically opens once you choose the New… menu item.

4. Enter the Job Code and the Job Name according to the task in the Job Data window.

Job code = 0002

Job name = HD flyer

5. Load the customer data set of the Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG customer from the
Resources. Type the current date as the target date.

6. Click Next card to go to the Job Part Definition window. In the present job part only the
flyer cover is to be imposed. Paper and printing press for the cover differ from the paper
and the printing press used for the inner pages. Type the Cover designation in the
Name text box.
72 Chapter 5: Exercise 4 – Imposition – Print Media Academy

Choose the Imposition option as the Working mode.

Type 4 pages in the Page Total text box and confirm your entry by pressing the Tab key.

8. to facilitate the page assignment at a later stage, we will now be editing the page
names/page index for the pages.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 5: Exercise 4 – Imposition 73

9. To do so, highlight the four pages in the Page Names List and choose Change Page
Names… from the shortcut menu.

10. Type C for cover in the New Name text box and click Apply.

11. The new index appears in the Page Name list.

12. Click Next Card to go to the Master Page window.

74 Chapter 5: Exercise 4 – Imposition – Print Media Academy

13. Choose the A4 page size from the resources and type 3 mm in the Trim text box.

14. Click Next card to go to the Binding Methods window.

15. Choose the Saddlestitch option in the Binding Method pop-up menu.

Enable the Cut Marks and Folding Mark options in the Automatic Placement of Print
Control Elements section.

16. Click Next card to go to the Printing Plates window.

17. Choose the SM52 plate template from the Training group.

18. Choose the Turn (Front and Back Sheet) option in the Placing Mode pop-up menu.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 5: Exercise 4 – Imposition 75

19. Load the paper named Zander_135_50x35 from the Training resource group.

20. Click Next card to go to the Folding Schemes window.

21. Load the F04-01_up_2x1 scheme from the standard scheme resources.
76 Chapter 5: Exercise 4 – Imposition – Print Media Academy

22. The application determines the settings for the gaps from the master page settings in
the Job Assistant, i.e. the trim of 3 mm is imported. According to the Placement Mode,
the sujet is placed at the bottom towards the gripper since the AutoPosition Sujet option
was chosen in the Printing Plates window.

23. Click Ready to create the job with the settings made with the Job Assistant.

24. To save the current job choose File > Save as… and save the Signa job with the sug-
gested name in the SignaJobs directory.

25. Choose File > Import > Documents … in the menu to load the PDF document.

26. You automatically go to the directory for loading documents defined in the Preferences.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 5: Exercise 4 – Imposition 77

27. Highlight the HD_Stadt_dt_engl.pdf file in the list and click Open.

28. The imported document appears in the Contents tab in the PDF Documents group.

29. The PDF document contains all pages required for the cover and the inner pages (Exer-
cise 5). In a next step we will assign the current press sheet the cover pages (pages 1
and 2, pages 35 and 36). There are several ways to do this.

a) From the Browser window go to the Contents tab.

Click the gray arrow preceding the file name to show the individual pages of the
HD_Stadt_dt_engl. pdf document.
Highlight pages 1 and 2.
Now choose Assign Pages from the shortcut menu.
The first two pages are now being loaded to pages 1 and 2 of the press sheet.

Use the scroll bar to go to the document end.

Highlight pages 35 and 36.
Now choose Assign Pages from the shortcut menu.
The last two pages are now being loaded to pages 3 and 4 of the press sheet.
78 Chapter 5: Exercise 4 – Imposition – Print Media Academy

b) From the Lists window go to the Not assigned tab.

Show the individual document pages by double-clicking the document in the No.
column.
Highlight pages 1 and 2 of the document and choose Add Pages from the shortcut
menu.
The first two pages are now being loaded to pages 1 and 2 of the press sheet.

Use the scroll bar to go to the document end.

Highlight pages 35 and 36.
Now choose Assign Pages from the shortcut menu.
The last two pages are now being loaded to pages 3 and 4 of the press sheet.

c) You can also assign individual pages by dragging and dropping them in the
Browser window using the Contents tab to the respective page in the Press Sheet,
Folding Sheet, Page List, and Press Sheet List graphics windows.
To do so, show the desired Graphics window. In our example we will show the Page
List window and assign the pages the pages from the Contents browser window.

You can thus easily assign pages under visual control and replace them in case
corrections were made.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 5: Exercise 4 – Imposition 79

30. After having assigned all pages, go to the Press Sheet window to inspect the current
job.

31. Click the icon at the bottom of the press sheet window to view the back signature.

32. Choose File > Save to save the latest changes to the document.

33. The last step is to print the job exercise to a PDF file. To do so choose File > Print Job.

34. Choose the Supra_SM52 output parameter set from the Training group in the Print
Inspector.

35. Highlight Press Sheet 1 in the Press Sheet List of the Print Inspector and click Save to
start output.
80 Chapter 5: Exercise 4 – Imposition – Print Media Academy

36. You automatically go to the directory for saving documents defined in the Preferences.

37. Click Save to start output.

38. You will be notified if your output was successful. Click OK to close the message win-
dow. This dialog indicates the output folder.

To hide the window for subsequent print jobs, enable the Do not show this window
again option.

39. Open the PDF file from the C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Heidelberger\PrinectSignaStation_3\output (Windows) or
Start volume\Users\Shared\Heidelberger\PrinectSignaStation_3\output (Macintosh)
folder in Adobe Acrobat.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition 81

Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition

Task

In this exercise we will add the inner 32 pages to the result of Exercise 1. For this purpose,
we will create the inner pages as a job part in the automatic imposition mode. A 3D visualiza-
tion lets you check the completed folding sheet. The reader’s spread is also checked in 3D.

As the inner pages are to be printed on another paper type than the cover, a new paper for-
mat must first be created in the resources.

Inner pages paper definition

Name: Profisilk_90_70x50
Grammage [g/m ]: 2
90
Volume: [cm3/g]: 1
Thickness: 0.08
Grade: matt
Width: 700 mm
Height: 500 mm

Data sheet: Papers

Paper Name Paper weight Volume Thickness Grade

Profisilk 80 g/m2 1 0.07 mm matt art printing

Profisilk 90 g/m2 1 0.08 mm matt art printing

Profisilk 115 g/m2 1 0.1 mm matt art printing

Profisilk 135 g/m2 1 0.11 mm matt art printing

Profisilk 170 g/m2 1 0.15 mm matt art printing

Zanders 135 g/m2 1 0.11 mm glossy art printing

Zanders 170 g/m2 1 0.15 mm glossy art printing

Zanders 250 g/m2 1 0.22 mm glossy art printing

Creato postcard
200 g/m2 1 0.18 mm matt coated
cardboard

Profigloss 90 g/m2 1 0.07 mm glossy art printing

Profigloss 115 g/m2 1 0.08 mm glossy art printing

82 Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

Product part definition:

Name: Inner pages
Working Mode: Autom. Imposition
First Press Sheet: 2
First Folding Sheet: 2
First Page: 3

Master pages:
Page format: A4 with 3 mm trim

Binding Methods
Binding methods: Saddlestitch
Creeping: disabled
Print control elements: Cut and fold marks

Printing plates:
Plate: SM74_composite mark from your own group
Placing Mode: Sheetwise (front and back)
Paper definition: Profisilk_90_70x50 from generic group
Sujet position on paper: AutoPosition Sujet, Center Sujet

Folding schemes:
Scheme: F08-07_li_2x2 from the Standard group
Top gutter distance: 20 mm

PDF document: HD_Stadt_dt_engl.pdf

Print Media Academy – Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition 83

Surfaces:

Press sheet 2:

Press sheet 3:
84 Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

Press sheet 4:

Press sheet 5:
Print Media Academy – Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition 85

Exercise description

Create new paper

In a first step we will create a new paper format.

1. Select Jobs & Resources > Resources & Machines in the menu to go to the Resources
& Machines window to create a new paper.

2. Go to the Resources tab.

3. Click the gray arrow to show the contents of the Papers group.

4. Create a new group. To do so click the Papers item and choose New Group from the
shortcut menu.

5. The directory for the new group is created in the directory tree. Type your own name as
the group name.

6. To create a paper click the group you just created and choose New paper from the
shortcut menu.
86 Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

7. The Paper Editor opens.

8. Type the Profisilk_90_70x50 designation in the Name text box.

9. Type the following values for this exercise in the Paper Editor.

Order number: 100200

Mark name: Profisilk
Grammage [g/m2]: 90
Volume: [cm3/g]: Value is automatically calculated
Thickness: 0.08
ISO surface: type 2 matt-coated
Width: 700 mm
Height: 500 mm

10. To create the paper, click Save and then the Close button.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition 87

11. The paper you have created appears in your group folder.

Creating a new job part (Autom. Imposition)

1. Open the Signa job you created in the last exercise by choosing File > Open…

2. A new job part is to be added to the inner pages.

3. Go to the Product Part tab in the Browser window.

4. Click the Job entry in the list and open the shortcut menu.

5. Now choose New Product Part from the shortcut menu.

6. The Job Assistant opens without the Job Data window because we are dealing with a
job part. You already defined the job data for the cover.

7. Type the Inner pages designation in the Name text box of the Job Part Definition win-
dow.

8. Choose the Autom. Imposition option as the Working mode.

88 Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

9. Type the following values in the text boxes of the Start Conditions area:
First Press Sheet: 2
First Folding Sheet: 2
First Page: 3

10. Click Next card to go to the Master Pages window.

11. Like with the cover you do not need to edit any of the values in this window because the
inner pages were also set up in the A4 format with a 3 mm trim.

12. Click Next card to go to the Binding Methods window.

13. Choose the Saddlestitch option in the Binding Method pop-up menu.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition 89

14. Enable the Cut Marks, Folding Mark and Folding Cross options in the Automatic Place-
ment of Print Control Elements section.

15. Click Next card to go to the Printing Plates window.

16. Choose the SM74_Kombimarke data set from the Training group in the Plate Template
resource directory and confirm your selection by clicking OK.

17. Choose the Turn (Front and Back Sheet) option in the Placing Mode pop-up menu.
90 Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

18. To define the Paper Format choose the paper you have created from the Papers
resource folder of your group folder and confirm your selection by clicking OK.

19. To center the folding sheet on the defined paper format, you must make sure to enable
the AutoPosition Sujet and Center Sujet in the Sujet Position on Paper area.

20. The settings in the Printing Plates window should now match the screenshot below.

21. Click Next card to go to the Folding Schemes window.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition 91

22. Choose the F08-07_li_2x2 scheme from the Standard group in the Schemes directory
as the current scheme and confirm your selection by clicking OK.

23. Specify a head gap of 20 mm in the schematic view.

24. Click Ready to create the job part once you have finished making settings in the Job
Assistant.

25. Go to the Product Parts tab in the Browser window and highlight the Inner pages prod-
uct part in the Job List if the job window does not show the current product part.
92 Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

26. Open the following dialogs: Browser = Jobs, Inspector = Job Part Inspector, Graphics =
Press Sheet and Lists = Press Sheets. Your screen should now look like this:

27. To save the changes choose File > Save.

28. The current Inner pages job part comprises a folding and a press sheet at present. The
folding and press sheets required for the job will be automatically generated when you
add the remaining pages. Once a sheet is completely filled with pages in the Autom.
Imposition mode a new identical sheet is generated as soon as new pages are added.

29. To load pages into the sheet go to the Contents tab in the Browser window.

30. Click the gray arrow preceding the file name to show the individual pages of the
HD_Stadt_dt_engl.pdf document.

31. Double-click the caption to maximize the Browser window.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition 93

32. Now highlight pages 3 through 34 and choose Assign Pages from the shortcut menu.

33. Go to the Lists window in the Folding Sheets or Press Sheets tab to see how many
sheets have been created.
94 Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy

34. Highlighting a folding or press sheet in the list causes it to be immediately shown in the
graphics window.

35. To save the latest changes choose File > Save.

36. Go to the first press sheet and print a reduced copy of the front press sheet on the
LaserWriter in your seminar room.

37. Go to the Press Sheets tab in the Graphics window and choose Graphic > Print….
Print Media Academy – Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition 95

Folding sheet animation

Prinect Signa Station lets you show an animation of the folding rule. This lets you check
default schemes but also custom schemes.

1. To do so, go to the Folding Sheet/Assembly Block tab in the graphic window. Right click
in the window and choose Open Folding Sheet Animation from the shortcut menu.

2. A new window opens. Here you can, for example, rotate the folding sheet. Folding now
occurs with animation or manually with the slider at the window bottom.
Use the black arrow to the right to also display the respective folding sheet.
96 Chapter 6: Exercise 5 – Job Part/Autom. Imposition – Print Media Academy
Print Media Academy – Chapter 7: Exercise 6 – Creating machine parameters 97

Chapter 7: Exercise 6 – Creating machine parameters

Task

In this exercise we will create new machine parameters for a platesetter and a press.

Create a new group for each of the new data sets. Type your own name for each of the group
names.

Creating a platesetter

Name: Suprasetter105
IPR/Query File: Supra105_1.ipr

Data sheet: Platesetters

Imagesetter Press Plate size Imaging Window

Suprasetter105 XL105 1055 x 811 1055 x 811

Suprasetter105 SM102 / CD102 1030 x 790 1030 x 790

Suprasetter105 CD74 745 x 660 745 x 660

Suprasetter105 SM74 745 x 605 745 x 605

Suprasetter105 SM52 525 x 459 525 x 459

Suprasetter74 CD74 745 x 660 745 x 660

Suprasetter74 SM74 745 x 605 745 x 605

Suprasetter74 SM52 525 x 459 525 x 459

Suprasetter52 SM52 525 x 459 525 x 459

98 Chapter 7: Exercise 6 – Creating machine parameters –Print Media Academy

Creating a sheetfed press:

Name: XL105_6
Number of ink zones: 32
Windth of ink zone: 32,5
Plate format – width: 1055
Plate size – length: 811
Printable Area – lead edge of print: 53,0
Printable Area – tail edge of print: 18
Print Margin: 2,5
Gripper: 10
Perfecting: disable

Data sheet: Sheetfed press

Press Plate Leadin Grippe Max. Max. Numb Width Tail Lat.
g edge r paper printing er of of edge distance
of print format format Ink ink of
zones zones print

GTO46 450 x 370 35 8 - 10 460 x 330 445 x 310 16 32.5 25 2.5

GTO52 510 x 400 34 8 - 10 520 x 360 505 x 340 16 32.5 26 2.5

SM52 525 x 459 58 8 - 10 520 x 370 520 x 360 16 32.5 41 2.5

MO 650 x 550 48 8 - 10 650 x 480 645 x 472 23 32.5 30 2.5

SM74 745 x 605 59,5 8 - 10 740 x 530 740 x 512 23 32.5 33,5 2.5

CD74 745 x 660 43 8 - 10 740 x 610 740 x 585 23 32.5 32 2.5

SM/CD102 1030 x
43 10 - 12 1020 x 720 1020 x 710 32 32.5 37 5
43 x 37 790

SM102 1030 x
52 10 - 12 1020 x 720 1020 x 710 32 32.5 28 5
52 x 28 790
Print Media Academy – Chapter 7: Exercise 6 – Creating machine parameters 99

Exercise description

Creating a platesetter

Go to the Filmsetter and Platesetter resources to define properties such as Imagesetter

Type, Rip Type, Material, Format and Imaging Window as well as the punch settings of your
output devices. Entry can occur manually or by means of a IPR/Query file.

1. In a first step we will create the data set for the Suprasetter105_XL105.

2. Go to the Machines tab in the Browser window.

3. Click the gray arrow to show the contents of the Platesetters group.

4. Create a new group. To do so click the Platesetters item and choose New Group from
the shortcut menu.

5. The directory for the new group is created in the directory tree. Type your own name as
the group name.

6. To create a new data set click the group you just created and choose New Platesetter
Properties from the shortcut menu.
100 Chapter 7: Exercise 6 – Creating machine parameters –Print Media Academy

7. The Platesetter Editor opens.

8. Now enter all information necessary for the platesetter in question in the Platesetter

i
Editor.

9. Type the Suprasetter105 designation in the Name text box.

10. To load the platesetter parameters from file highlight the IPR/Query File option in the
Mode for Imagesetter Definition section.

The pertaining RIP can create the IPR/Query file. Save the query file in the following
directory:

C:\Dokumente und Einstellungen\All Users\Anwendungsdaten\Heidelberger

\PrinectSignaStation_3\ Ipr_Qry

Startvolume\Benutzer\Für alle Benutzer\Heidelberger\PrinectSignaStation_1\Ipr_Qry

11. To load the query file click next to the Path option of the IPR/Query File section.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 7: Exercise 6 – Creating machine parameters 101

12. Choose the file matching the output device (here: Supra105_1.ipr) in the Ipr_Qry direc-
tory and click Open.

13. The file loaded will correctly complete all parameters.

14. Click Save to save the entries.

15. The parameter set you have created appears in your group directory.
102 Chapter 7: Exercise 6 – Creating machine parameters –Print Media Academy

Creating a sheetfed press:

When creating a new parameter set for a sheetfed press you define the maximum plate for-
mat, the print lead edge, the gripper edge, the maximum paper and printing format as well as
the number of ink zones and the ink zone width.

1. Create a new data set for the XL105_6 sheetfed press.

2. Go to the Machines tab of the Browser window.

3. Click the gray arrow to show the contents of the Sheetfed Presses group.

4. You must first create a new group. To do so click the Sheetfed Presses item and choose
New Group from the shortcut menu.

5. The directory for the new group is created in the directory tree. Type your own name as
the group name.

6. To create a new data set click the group you just created and choose New Sheetfed
Press Properties from the shortcut menu.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 7: Exercise 6 – Creating machine parameters 103

7. The Sheetfed Press Editor opens.

8. Specify all necessary information regarding the XL105_6 sheetfed press.

9. Type the XL105_6 designation in the Name text box.

10. Complete the dialog with the following values:

Ink zone
Number: 32
Width: 32.5

Plate size
Width: 1055 mm
Length: 811 mm

Printabel Area
Lead Edge of Print: 53 mm
Tail Edge of Print*: 18 mm
Print Margin**: 2,5 mm
Gripper: 10 mm

Enable the Perfecting option in the Module section.

You also find these details in the Data sheet: Sheetfed Presses table at the beginning of
the present exercise or in the Appendix chapter.

* Tail Edge of Print: is the upper plate distance to the print tail edge and can be calcula-
ted as follows:

– Plate height = – 811 mm

– max. printing format height = – 740 mm
– lead edge of print: = – 53 mm
= 18 mm
104 Chapter 7: Exercise 6 – Creating machine parameters –Print Media Academy

** The print margin is calculated as follows:

– Plate width = – 1055 mm

– max. printing format width = – 1050 mm
= – 100 5 mm
Center (10:2) = 2,5 mm

11. Make sure your entries are as follows:

12. Click Save to save the new data set.

13. The new plate template you have created appears in your group directory.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates 105

Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and

plate templates

Task

In this exercise we will create a new output parameter set for output and a new plate tem-
plate.

Create a new group for each of the new data sets. Type your own name for each of the group
names.

Creating an output parameter set

General
Name: Suprasetter105_XL105
Imagesetter type: Platesetter
Data set: Suprasetter105 from your own group
Material: SM_105@-1
Workflow: PDF
Output folder path: Default directory

Options
Output: One job per press sheet or web
Visual Effects Enable Proof color + Dimensions in Proof Color
Scale: 100%
106 Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates – Print Media Academy

Creating a plate template

Name: XL105_composite mark

Press: XL105_6 from your sheetfed press grooup
Output parameter set: Suprasetter105_XL105 from your output parameter set group

Marks to be positioned
Color control mark FOGRA_XL105_composite mark from the FOGRA_XL105 group
Registration marks (Arc) from the Standard group
PullLay from the Standard group
Auto registration mark 4AR_10x90 from the Autoregister group
Text mark from your own Marks group
Plate control bar PKS_Elektra_12F_V6.61a from the Plate group
Print Media Academy – Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates 107

Exercise description

Creating output parameters

In the Output Parameter Sets resource directory you define device- or job-specific output
parameters.

You can define more than one output parameter set for an output device, e.g. differing by the
material used or enabled/disabled CIP3 data.

1. In the following step we will create an output parameter set for the Suprasetter105
platesetter.

2. From the Browser window go to the Resources tab.

3. Click the gray arrow to show the contents of the Output Parameter Sets group.

4. You must first create a new group. To do so click the Output Parameter Sets item and
choose New Group from the shortcut menu.

5. The directory for the new group is created in the directory tree. Type your own name as
the group name.
108 Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates – Print Media Academy

6. To create a new output parameter set click the group you just created and choose New
Output Parameter Set from the shortcut menu.

7. The Output Parameter Set Editor opens. The window features four tabs: General, Opti-
ons, Punches, and Finishing.

8. Type the Suprasetter105_XL105 designation in the Name text box.

9. Enable the Platesetter option.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates 109

10. Load the platesetter parameter set named Suprasetter105 from your own Platesetter
group directory and confirm your selection by clicking OK.

11. Loading the platesetter parameter set automatically enters the width and the height of
the material used. Please choose the material SM_105@-1.
110 Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates – Print Media Academy

12. Choose the Device MetaDimension in the Workflow pop-up menu. As variant choose
the option via PDF in the pop-up menu. Automaticly you get the tab Punches.

13. Use the default directory to save PDF files.

14. Go to the Options tab.

15. Click the One job per press sheet or web option in the Output area.

16. Click the ProofColor option in the Visual Effects section to automatically verify the press
sheet’s registration against a form proof. It is possible to get the dimensions also on a
formproof. Herefore you select the option Dimensions in Proof Color.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates 111

17. Choose the option Imagesetter Imaging Window at the Imaging Size.

18. Click Save and close the Editor.

19. The parameter set you have created appears in your group directory.
112 Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates – Print Media Academy

Creating a plate template

The plate templates are saved in the Plate Templates resource directory; they comprise the
plate format as such, but also parameters defining the maximum paper width and height, the
baseline, the gripper edge, and the maximum imaging window. In addition, a plate template
comprises all marks a default Signa job should contain.

The Appendix shows a plate template with all necessary elements.

1. In the following step we will create a new plate template for the XL105 sheetfed press.

2. Go to the Resources tab in the Browser window.

3. Click the gray arrow to show the contents of the Plate Templates group.

4. Create a new group. To do so click the Plate Templates item and choose New Group
from the shortcut menu.

5. The directory for the new group is created in the directory tree. Type your own name as
the group name.

6. To create a plate template click the group you just created and choose New Plate Tem-
plate from the shortcut menu.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates 113

7. The Plate Template Editor opens.

8. Type the XL105_composite mark designation in the Name text box.

9. Load the sheetfed press parameter set named XL105_6 from your own Sheetfed Press
group directory and confirm your selection by clicking OK.

10. The Imaging window is bigger as the default,so you get this message. Clicking Yes to
confirm your selection.
114 Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates – Print Media Academy

10. Choose the Suprasetter105_XL105 data set from your Output Parameter Sets group
directory as the output parameter set.

11. After activating all parameters the result should be like this.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates 115

Positioning marks on the plate template

There are several ways to position marks on a plate template. You can either load the marks
in the Marks tab and position them, or you can simply drag and drop marks from the Marks
Resources to the template and then position them using the Marks tab.

You will see hotspots – magnetic anchors – allowing the marks to be automatically posi-
tioned when you drop marks on the plate template. The hotspots are printing plate-, paper-
or subject-specific.

A mark positioned, for example, on a paper hotspot will automatically change its position
when the paper size is reduced or increased in the current Signa job.

i
Choose a Subject Hotspot to ensure the marks always adapt to the currently used folding
sheet/assembly block.

Changes always occur from the selected reference point when you change the X- and Y-
position using the Marks tab. Positive values will move the selected mark upward or to the
right, negative values move the mark downward or to the left.
116 Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates – Print Media Academy

1. We will first position the color control bar.

2. Go to the Marks Resources tab in the Plate Template Editor, drag the
FOGRA_XL105_composite mark color control bar from the FOGRA_XL105 marks
directory and drop it on the upper middle subject hotspot.

3. Release the mouse button when the mark snaps into place.

4. Go to the Default Marks directory to position the registration marks.

5. Drag the Arc mark and drop it on the upper left subject hotspot.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates 117

6. Release the mouse button when the mark snaps into place.

7. Place three additional registration marks on the subject: lower left, lower right, and
upper right.

8. Choose the PullLay mark in the default marks directory to position the pull lay and drop
it on the lower right paper hotspot.
118 Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates – Print Media Academy

9. To set the Slugline drag the Text mark from the marks group directory and drop it on the
lower left paper hotspot.

10. Go to the Autoregister marks directory to set the Auto registration mark.

11. Drag the 4AR_10x90 mark and drop it on the lower left paper hotspot.

12. Position the 4AR_10x90 mark once again on the plate template. Choose the lower right
paper corner as the hotspot.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates 119

13. Finally set the plate control mark.

13. Display the contents of the Plate marks directory.

14. Drag the PKS_Elektra_12F_V6.61a mark and drop it on the middle lower printing plate
hotspot.

15. Now that all marks are on the plate template you can define the position in relation to
the respective reference point.

16. Go to the Marks tab.

120 Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates – Print Media Academy

i
17. All marks positioned on the plate template appear in the Marks List. Highlighting a mark
in the list automatically selects the mark in question in the preview window. Selecting a
mark in the preview window automatically highlights the mark in question in the Marks
List.

18. Highlight the color control mark in the list and move it upward by 15 mm. To do so, spe-
cify a value of 15 mm in the Position Y: text box.

19. To facilitate assessing the result you can scale the view by either choosing the desired
factor in the Zoom pop-up menu or by dragging a rectangle over the desired area with
the Zoom tool.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates 121

20. Move the registration marks as follows and scale them down to 60%:

Lower left registration mark: X-position: –30 Y-position: 30

Upper left registration mark: X-position: –30 Y-position: –30
Lower right registration mark: X-position: 30 Y-position: 30
Upper right registration mark: X-position: 30 Y-position: –30

21. The auto registration mark should have a distance of ca. 10 mm from the paper. Move
the auto registration marks as follows:

Lower left auto registration mark: X-position: 15 Y-position: 100

Lower right auto registration mark: X-position: -15 Y-position: 100
122 Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates – Print Media Academy

22. Position the text mark. Type 20 mm in Position X: and 0 mm in Position Y:.

23. Position the PullLay in Position Y: 80 mm and scale it to 60%.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 8: Exercise 7 – Creating output parameters and plate templates 123

24. Finally position the plate control bar. Choose the Lower middle option as Reference
Point and type the value of 20 mm in the Position Y: text box.

25. Click Save to create the plate template.

26. The new plate template you have created appears in your group directory.
124 Notes – Print Media Academy
Print Media Academy – Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form 125

Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form

Task

In the first step of this exercise we will create a new customer data set for Gordon Ltd.

In the second exercise step you will learn how to create 1ups from several documents of dif-
ferent size and how to position them on the press sheet. The montage is to be set up as sin-
gle-sided (no back). The individual 1ups are positioned on the gap and the marks automati-
cally created while 1ups are generated. The assembly blocks generated by the Assistant are
automatically aligned to each other on the press sheet.

Job data:
Job number: 0004
Job Name: Gang run form
Customer: from data set

General product part information:

Name: Gordon and Canon
Working Mode: Montage

Printing plates:
Plate: XL105_composite mark from your own group folder
Placing Mode: Single-sided
Paper definition: Creato_200_88x63 from the Training group

Assembly Blocks
PDF document: Size: 1up: Name: Left, right, top
and bottom
margins:
Gordons_Briefbogen_4c.pdf* 210x297 mm 1 1x1 St 10 mm each
Stundenplan_4c.pdf 297x210 mm 1 1x1 Tt 10 mm each
Canon_Etikett_4c.pdf 113x87 mm 24 4x6 Canon 10 mm each
Gordons_Visitenkarte_4c.pdf* 54x85 mm 6 3x2 B 10 mm each

*rotation by 90°

Autom. Cut marks: activate

Distance to 1up X: 6 mm
Distance to 1up Y: 6 mm
126 Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form – Print Media Academy

Completed Form:

Press sheet 1:
Print Media Academy – Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form 127

Exercise description

Creating a customer data set

You can create data sets for regular customers in the Customer Data resource folder that
can be loaded when a new Signa job is generated.

1. In the first step of this exercise we will create a data set for Gordon Ltd.

2. Select Jobs & Resources > Resources & Machines in the menu to go to the Resources
tab in the Browser window.

3. Click the gray arrow to show the contents of the Customer Data group.

4. You must first create a new group. To do so click the Customer Data item and choose
New Group from the shortcut menu.

5. The directory for the new group is created in the directory tree. Type your own name as
the group name.

6. To create a customer data set click the group you just created and choose New Cus-
tomer Data ... from the shortcut menu.
128 Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form – Print Media Academy

7. The Customer Data Editor opens.

8. Specify customer data.

9. Click Save to save the customer data set in your group folder.

10. The new customer data set appears in your group directory.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form 129

Creating a gang run form

1. To create a new Signa job, choose File > New…

2. In the Job Assistant, enter the Job Code and the Job Name according to the task in the
Job Data window.

Job code 0004

Job name Gang run from

3. Load the customer data set of the Gordon Ltd. customer from your group folder.
130 Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form – Print Media Academy

4. For information on the selected customer click the Info icon next to the Customer
Number in the Job-Assistant.

5. Click Next card to go to the Job Part Definition window.

6. In the Name text box, enter the designation Gordon and Canon and enable the Mon-
tage option in the Working Mode region.

7. Click Continue to go to the Printing Plate window.

8. Select the XL105_composite mark plate template from your directory of plate tem-
plates.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form 131

9. Choose the Single Form (No Back) option in the Placing Mode pop-up menu.

10. Choose the paper with the designation Creato_200_88x63 from the Training directory.

11. Click Continue to go to the Assembly Blocks window.

12. Define the first assembly block for the Gordons_Briefbogen file by clicking the icon
next to the No assembly block defined pop-up menu.

13. Type Gordon in the dialog and click Apply.

14. Click the icon in the 1up Definition section. Select the A4 standard format and click
OK to quit the window.
132 Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form – Print Media Academy

15. Type St in the Name box to better identify the placeholders on the press sheet. Rotate
the page to 90 ° , enable the Autom. cut marks option and choose Black. Leave the trim
at 3 mm.

The assembly block just created appears in the press sheet thumbnail view at the bot-
tom right.

16. Type the following values in the Assembly Block Parameters region to position the
assembly block on the press sheet:

Copies X: 1 Y: 1
Position X: 0 mm Y: 0 mm

i
Left Margin X: 10 mm Right: 10 mm
Bottom Margin: 10 mm Top: 10 mm

The paper origin (bottom left paper corner) in relation to the assembly element/block
origin (assembly element bottom left) is used as reference point for positioning assem-
bly elements/blocks. Leave Position X and Y at 0 since the 1ups are to be automatically
arranged on the press sheet.

The defined margins will be applied later for automatically arranging the assembly
blocks in order to define the gaps between separate assembly blocks.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form 133

17. Create a new assembly element and name it Schedule.

18. Load the A4_landscape standard format in the 1up Definition section. Rotate the page
to 0° , enable the Autom. cut marks option and choose Black. Leave the trim at 3 mm.
Type Tt as the name.
134 Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form – Print Media Academy

19. Type the following values in the Assembly Block Parameters region to position the
assembly block on the press sheet:

Copies X: 1 Y: 1
Position X: 0 mm Y: 0 mm
Left Margin X: 10 mm Right: 10 mm
Bottom Margin: 10 mm Top: 10 mm

The assembly block is thus precisely positioned on the assembly block created before.

20. Create the next assembly element and name it Label.

21. Enter a width of 113 mm and a height of 87 mm in the 1up Definition region. Rotate the
page to 0 ° , enable the Autom. cut marks option and choose Black. Leave the trim at
3 mm. Type Canon as the name.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form 135

22. Type the following values in the Assembly Block Parameters region to position the
assembly block on the press sheet:

Copies X: 4 Y: 6
Distances X: 6 mm Y: 6 mm
Position X: 0 mm Y: 0 mm
Left Margin X: 10 mm Right: 10 mm
Bottom Margin: 10 mm Top: 10 mm
Same Content for All 1ups: enable

23. Create the next assembly element and type Gordon2 as the name.

24. Enter a width of 54 mm and a height of 85 mm in the 1up Definition region. Rotate the
page to 90° and enable the Autom. cut marks option. Leave the trim at 3 mm. Type B as
the name.
136 Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form – Print Media Academy

25. Type the following values in the Assembly Block Parameters region to position the
assembly block on the press sheet:

Copies X: 3 Y: 2
Distances X: 6 mm Y: 6 mm
Position X: 0 mm Y: 0 mm
Left Margin X: 10 mm Right: 10 mm
Bottom Margin: 10 mm Top: 10 mm
Same Content for All 1ups: enable

26. Click Ready to create the assembly part once you have made up all assembly blocks.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form 137

27. The Press Sheet graphics window should now show the following result.

28. Go to the Press Sheet graphics window to automatically arrange the assembly blocks
on the press sheet.

29. To do so choose Arrange Folding Sheet/Assembly Block from the shortcut menu.
138 Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form – Print Media Academy

30. Disable the Automatic rotation option in the AutoArrange properties window and type
the following values in the text boxes:

Margin Left: 0 Right: 0

Margin Bottom: 15 Top: 0

31. Click AutoArrange. The Press Sheet graphics window should now look as follows.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form 139

32. To fit the print control strip to the sujet choose Fit Marks and Trims from the context-sen-
sitive menu in the Press Sheets graphics window.

33. The assembly elements created with the Job Assistant appear with the defined names
when you show the separate folding sheets in the Jobs browser window.

34. The Folding Sheets tab provides information on the existing folding sheets.
140 Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form – Print Media Academy

35. Choose File > Save as... and save the job under the proposed name in the predefined
folder.

36. Download all the PDF documents of the Signa_Training/Uebung8 directory either using
File > Import > Documents or, in the Browser window, go to the Contents tab and
choose Documents using the shortcut menu.

37. You must now fill the 1ups, i. e. assign the respective pages.

38. Show the Press Sheet Inspector in the Inspectors window.

39. The Press Sheet Inspector displays the current block name when you now click a 1up
or assembly block in the Press Sheet graphics window. This facilitates the assignment
of separate pages to the selected 1up.

40. Drag the Canon_Etikett_4c.pdf document onto the respective press sheet 1up.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form 141

41. Assign the remaining documents to the 1ups.

42. To horizontally center all assembly blocks on the press sheet, go to the Press Sheet
Inspector. Click the Horizontal button. You should see the following result in the Press
Sheet graphics window at the end of this exercise step.
142 Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form – Print Media Academy

43. Click the icon to make settings for the dimensions.

44. Click the dimension. You can now choose the predefined dimensions you want to see
on the proof later. Confirm the dialog with “OK”.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 9: Exercise 8 – 1up repetition and gang run form 143

45. Choose File > Save in the menu to save the changes.

46. Print the Signa job as a PDF.

47. To do this, use the Output Parameter Set that you generated in exercise 7.
144 Notes – Print Media Academy
Print Media Academy – Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors 145

Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors

The Job window

The job window of the program is divided into 4 dialogs, each of which covers a specific
range of functions: Browsers (1), Inspectors (2) Graphics (3) and Lists (4).

1 3

2 4

To view the entire contents of the window, you can change the window to full screen size
automatically by double-clicking the title bar of the corresponding window. If you double-
click the title bar again, the window returns to the previous size.

To manually increase or decrease the size of a window, click the size change control
that is located above the title bar and, while holding down the mouse button,
drag the window to the desired size.
146 Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors – Print Media Academy

The Browser Window

The Browser Window contains four tabs: Jobs, Contents, Resources and Machines.

Jobs

The Jobs tab displays the current job, with all job parts, folding sheets, page lists, press
sheets and positioned marks, in a tree structure; each individual item has its own tree
structure. To show the individual branches, click the triangle located in front of each item.

If you show the shortcut menu in this window, the commands for opening an already exist-
ing Signajob and for creating a new Signajob are available.

Contents

The Contents tab displays the PDF documents that have already been imported. This tab
can be used to import new PDF documents, load the entire document or selected pages
to the press sheet or delete the assignment of pages from the press sheet.

The page symbols indicate whether the preview has been created for a page and whether
a page has already been assigned or not.

Preview has not yet been created; page has not yet been assigned
Preview has been created; page has not yet been assigned
Page has already been assigned
Print Media Academy – Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors 147

If you click within the window with the right mouse button (Windows) or while holding the
Control key (Macintosh), you can use the shortcut menu to choose Documents, with which
PDF documents can be imported into the current job.

If you open the shortcut menu in a file that has already been imported, you can open the
Document Inspector, create the preview of the entire file, open the document in Adobe
Acrobat and remove the document from the current job. If changes have been made in the
PDF document, you can reload it, add all the pages of a document, or delete the page
assignment of the document.
148 Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors – Print Media Academy

If you activate a page, you can use the shortcut menu to open the Document Inspector,
create the preview of the selected page, open the document in Adobe Acrobat and assign
the page or delete the page assignment.

Resources

The Resources tab is used to create, edit and administrate the templates/defaults for jobs,
job parts, templates, plate templates, schemes, marks, papers, page formats, customer
data and output parameter sets.

Resources consist of settings/defaults that are defined once and can be used over and
over. In the case of a plate template, for example, not only the paper to be used, but also
all the marks that are related to the plate template, can be set so that these steps do not
have to be carried out again and again.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors 149

The individual entries are arranged in a tree structure. To show the individual branches,
click the triangle in front of the entry.

Fo a better overview, the individual resources can be divided into groups. To create a new
group, click a resource entry and open the shortcut menu. If you open the shortcut menu
on an active group, you can rename or delete a group or copy resources to the clipboard.
Depending on the type of group selected, you can, for example, create a new plate tem-
plate, a new mark, etc.

Creating a new group Editing a group Editing an individual object of a

group

To edit individual elements of a group, highlight the desired object and open the shortcut
menu. You can now edit the highlighted object (this can also be done by double-clicking
it), create a new object, copy the selected object, copy resources to the clipboard or paste
resources from the clipboard.

Machines

The Machine tab is used to create and administrate default settings for filmsetters, plate-
setters, sheetfed presses and web presses.

The individual entries are arranged in a tree structure. To show the individual branches,
click the triangle in front of the entry.

Fo a better overview, the individual resources can be divided into groups. To create a new
group, click a resource entry and open the shortcut menu. If you open the shortcut menu
on an active group, you can rename or delete a group or copy resources to the clipboard.
Depending on the type of group selected, you can, for example, create a new platesetter
data set, etc.
150 Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors – Print Media Academy

Creating a new group Editing a group Individual object of a group

Editing

To edit individual elements of a group, highlight the desired object and open the shortcut
menu. You can now edit the highlighted object (this can also be done by double-clicking
it), create a new object, copy the selected object, copy resources to the clipboard or paste
resources from the clipboard. Using Copy Resource and Paste Resource, you can copy
an object from one group to another.

The Inspectors Window

There are 6 inspectors in the Prinect Signa Station program, with which the entries that
were defined using the Job Assistant can be inspected/changed in the current job: Job
Inspector, Inspector for Job Parts, Folding Sheet Inspector, Press Sheet Inspector,
Page/1up Inspector and Document Inspector. The Inspector window is the only dynamic
window since it always adapts itself to the selected inspector.

The individual inspectors can be opened using the Inspectors command, the correspon-
ding icon in the toolbar or by opening the shortcut menu in the Graphics or List window.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors 151

The Job Inspector

The Job Inspector is divided into two tabs: Administrative Data and Colors.

The Administrative Data tab can be used to inspect/change job-related information, such
as Job Code, Job Name and Customer, the number of layers used etc. for the current job.

The Colors tab is used to list the colors used in the loaded and assigned PDF document.
With this tab, spot colors can be transformed into CMYK or combined with another spot
color. Spot colors can be assigned to a specific mark layer using this window.
152 Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors – Print Media Academy

The Inspector for Job Parts – impositioning and automatic impositioning

The Inspector for Job Parts is divided into five tabs: Definition, Master Pages, Binding,
Plates and Schemes.

The Definition tab can be used to change the title of the selected job part, enter comments
and change the working mode. If the Job Assistant was used to select the Imposition work-
ing mode, this tab can be used to subsequently change the page total. If you are working
in Imposition Mode, you can also change the page names – the page index – of individual
marked pages here to, for example, more easily differentiate the cover of a job from the
inner pages. For some documents, this can significantly simplify the assignment of the indi-
vidual pages to the press sheet.

The Master Pages tab can be used to specify/change the page definitions of the master
pages, the trimmed size, the trim, and the scale, rotation and mirroring of the pages.
Special master pages can also be created and their size can be determined in this tab.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors 153

In the Binding tab, you can select the binding procedure, enable creeping and subsequent-
ly specify the creeping values. If the cut, fold, and collating marks were not enabled when
a Signajob was created, you can enable them in this window so that they are set automat-
ically. In the Gripper Margin and Folding Machine region, you can subsequently enable a
gripper fold rear or a gripper fold front and enter the desired gripper margin.

The currently selected template can be inspected and changed in the Plates tab. The rule
for generating the back sheet can be changed using the Placing Mode pop-up menu. The
selected paper is shown in the Paper Definition region and can be changed there for the
current job.

You can inspect and change the selected folding scheme and the template in the Schemes
tab. The distances for the top, bottom and inside gutters can be changed subsequently
using this tab. You can also assign special master pages in this window. To assign a spe-
cial master page, click the appropriate page symbol in the schematic representation and
choose Assign Master Page from the shortcut menu.
154 Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors – Print Media Academy

The Inspector for Job Parts – Montage

If theMontage option was selected when a job was created, the Inspector for Job Parts has
only two tabs: Definition and Plates.

The Folding Sheet/Assembly Block Inspector

The Folding Sheet/Assembly Block Inspector is divided into three tabs: Attributes, Marks
and Marks Resources.

If the Imposition or Autom. Imposition option was chosen as the Working mode, you can
use the Attributes tab to change the X- and Y-positions of the folding sheet and to align the
folding sheet horizontally, vertically or in both directions in relation to the paper. The top,
bottom and inside gutters can be changed using the thumbnail display of the scheme. All
changes can be carried out on all sheets of the same type. If the Montage option was cho-
sen as the Working mode, this tab can be used to create new assembly blocks or to repeat
and position existing assembly blocks.

Working Mode: Imposition and Autom. Imposition Working Mode: Montage

Print Media Academy – Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors 155

The Marks tab can be used to position the marks in relation to the selected scheme. Cut,
fold, and collating marks can also be incorporated using this window. The width, height and
clip path of a mark (the part that can be imaged) can be specified in Expert Mode. All
changes can be carried out on all sheets of the same type.

The Marks Resources tab can be used to position individual marks on the folding or
assembly sheet using drag-and-drop.
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The Press Sheet Inspector

The Press Sheet Inspector is divided into three tabs: Press Sheet, Marks and Marks
Resources.

The sheet name and the sheet size for the currently selected press sheet can be changed
in the Press Sheet tab. It is also possible to change the paper size, to make offsets and to
offset the start of the paper in this tab. The list provides information about the assigned
folding sheets/assembly blocks of the currently highlighted press sheet. In the lower region
of the dialog, the X- and Y-positions of the folding sheet in relation to the press sheet can
be offset. All changes carried out here can be transferred to all press sheets of the same
type.

In the Marks tab, the marks can be positioned in relation to the press sheet, while previ-
ously positioned marks can be changed/deleted. The width, height and clip path of a mark
(the part that can be imaged) can be specified in Expert Mode. All changes can be carried
out on all sheets of the same type.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors 157

The Marks Resources tab can be used to position individual marks on the press, folding
or assembly sheet using drag-and-drop.

The Page/1up Inspector

The Page/1up Inspector is divided into three tabs: Attributes, Marks and Marks Resources.

The Attributes tab displays the current trimmed size of the highlighted page/1up; the
trimmed size cannot be changed in this window. The Trim region can be used to change
the trim for individual pages.

To offset the contents of the page in relation to the trimmed size, enable the By user (view
options) option and enter the desired offset values in text boxes Offset X and Offset Y. The
contents of the page are offset in relation to the top left corner. Positive values will move
the contents of the page downward or to the right, negative ones upward or to the left. If
you want to increase/decrease the contents of the page, enter the scaling factor in text
boxes Scale X and Scale Y. In the Creep Values region, you can enable creep and enter
the creep value in the X and Y directions.
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In the Marks tab, the marks can be positioned in relation to the selected page, while pre-
viously positioned marks can be changed or deleted. The width, height and clip path of a
mark (the part that can be imaged) can be specified in Expert Mode. All changes can be
carried out on all pages from here.

The Marks Resources tab can be used to position individual page-related marks using
drag-and-drop.
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The Document Inspector

The Document Inspector is divided into two tabs: Document and Page.

The Document tab displays general information about the currently selected document.
The information displayed in the Properties region consists of metadata that can be saved
when a PDF file is created with the Acrobat Distiller program. In this case, options Process
DSC Comments and Retain document information from DSC in the Extended tab must be
enabled in the Job Options with which the PostScript document is converted to PDF. The
colors used thoughout the entire document are displayed in the list of Available Colors.

The Page tab displays information about the currently highlighted page. The values for the
TrimBox are displayed in the TrimBox region; these can be changed for the current page
or for all the pages of a document if the Apply to All Pages option is enabled. You can off-
set the contents of the page in relation to the TrimBox in the Rel. Position X and Y fields.
The colors used on the highlighted page are displayed in the Available Colors region.
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The Graphics Window

The Graphics Window contains 5 tabs in which you can visually inspect the graphic repre-
sentation of the press sheet, the folding sheet, the page list, the templates list and the doc-
ument.

Graphics Window control elements

You can find control elements, which you can use to control the contents of a Graphics
Window, in the lower region of Graphics Windows Press Sheet, Folding Sheet and
Document.

The current cursor position is displayed in fields X and Y.

You can use the Color pop-up menu to check how many print forms are
used for each press/folding sheet or to see which colors are used on
the highlighted page. If you are working with separated PDF docu-
ments, you can use the Color pop-up menu to go to the individual color
separations; if you choose Colored, a composite view in color appears.

The Scale pop-up menu can be used to select the scale of the press
sheet, folding sheet and document views. If you choose the Auto
option, the press sheet, folding sheet or document is automatically
adapted to the current window size.

This symbol can be used to show/hide the back in Graphics windows Press Sheet
and Folding Sheet.

Clicking this symbol shows the dialog for adjusting the representation, scale and
grid for displaying the press sheet, folding sheet or document.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors 161

The Press Sheet window

The Press Sheet Window shows the currently selected press sheet, including the plate
template, paper and all the marks. In this view, you can also see whether the regions of
the page to be printed were positioned in the critical area.

If you call up the shortcut menu at any point in the Press Sheet window, you can also open
the Press Sheet Inspector or the Folding Sheet Inspector using this menu.

In order to be able to execute commands Swap Front and Back Folding Sheet, Swap
Folding Sheet/Assembly Block and Delete Folding Sheet/Assembly Block, the shortcut
menu must be opened in the Press Sheet window if a folding sheet / assembly block has
been enabled (this can be seen by the yellow frame). The Resize Color Control Mark to
Subject command is used to automatically adapt a positioned color control mark to the
width of the printed image. The Graphics command is used to save the highlighted press
sheet as an image or to print it. The Preview command is used to create the original view
of the pages assigned to the press sheet.
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The Folding Sheet/Assembly Block Window

The Folding Sheet/Assembly Block Window shows the currently selected folding sheet,
including the marks assigned using the folding sheet. Marks that are located on plate tem-
plates are not displayed in this window.

You can use the shortcut menu to open the Folding Sheet/Assembly Block Inspector or the
Page/1up Inspector. The Preview command is used to create the original view of a high-
lighted page. The Graphics command is used to save the highlighted folding sheet as an
image or to print it.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors 163

The Page List Window

In the Automatic/Montage working mode, the blank pages (placeholders) of the first print
sheet or the pages that have already been assigned are displayed in the Page List win-
dow. If you have selected the Imposition option as the working mode, all the blank pages
(placeholders) – or the pages that have been assigned – are displayed for the entire print
job.

You can use the shortcut menu to generate the preview on a highlighted page and to
delete the page assignment.

This window can be used to, for example, add individual pages from the Not assigned list
window by drag-and-drop or to replace contents that have already been assigned.
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The Press Sheet List Window

The Press Sheet List window displays an overview of all the press sheets that have been
created in the job.

You can use the shortcut menu to open the Press Sheet Inspector and output press
sheets.

The Document Window

The Document Window displays a selected page.

You can use the shortcut menu to open the Document Inspektor, generate the Preview of
this page or open the entire document in Adobe Acrobat.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors 165

The Lists Window

The Lists Window contains 5 tabs in which the contents of the folding sheet, page list,
press sheet, assigned contents and unassigned contents are shown in tables.

If you open the shortcut menu on a column header in one of the list windows, you can
remove the highlighted column from the list, automatically adapt the column size to the
contents of the column, open the dialog for choosing the fields that are available, display
all the contents in a table line or, if all the contents are displayed, display only the main
rows.

If you use the shortcut menu to enable the Select Columns command, you can choose, in
the subsequent window, the fields that are to be displayed in the currently displayed list.
To add further fields, highlight the desired field in the Available Fields list and click Add
Field. To remove fields from the list, highlight the desired field in the Available Fields list
and click Remove Field. To change the order of the rows, highlight a field in the Available
Fields list and use the up or down arrow to move it to the desired position.

Confirm the changes by clicking OK.

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The Press Sheet List Window

This list contains, among other things, information about the generated press sheets, the
printing plate format, the folding sheet used (front and back printing), the colors in the doc-
ument, the job name of the job part and the paper size.

If you double-click a press sheet entry, the front form and, if present, the back form are dis-
played. To display the colors for each press sheet, double-click the individual forms.

You can use the shortcut menu to open the Press Sheet Inspector, start the output for the
selected press sheet , or save/print the press sheet list as an HTML file.

The Folding Sheet List Window

The Folding Sheet List contains information about the number of folding sheets in the job,
the designation of the folding sheets and the name of the job part. The number of pages per
folding sheet in the horizontal and vertical directions is displayed in the Format region. You
can find the positioning of the first and last pages of a folding sheet in the Pages column.

You can use the shortcut menu to open the Folding Sheet or Press Sheet Inspector, save
the list as an HTML file or print the table.

The Page List List Window

The Page List contains information about the pages that have already been assigned. The
imported PDF document is shown in the Page Name column, the defined master page for-
mat (trimmed size) in the Format column, the selected scheme and the folding sheet on
which the page was positioned in the Folding Sheet column and the colors that are used
on the individual pages in the Colors column.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 10: Windows and Inspectors 167

This is the only window in which a shortcut menu cannot be opened.

The Assigned List Window

The Assigned list contains general information about the pages that have already been
assigned to the job.

If you open the shortcut menu, the commands for opening the Document Inspector, gen-
erating the preview, opening the entire document in Adobe Acrobat and deleting the page
assignment for the pages highlighted in the list are available. The list can be saved an an
HTML file or printed.
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The Not Assigned List Window

The Not Assigned list contains general information about the pages that have not yet been
assigned to the job.

If you open the shortcut menu, the commands for opening the Document Inspector, gen-
erating the preview, opening the entire document in Adobe Acrobat and deleting the page
assignment for the pages highlighted in the list are available. The list can be saved an an
HTML file or printed.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back 169

Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back

Task

In the first step of this exercise you will learn how to create a new color control bar in Prinect
Signa Station.

In a second step, you will learn how to easily and quickly create multiple 1ups from a file
positioned on a gap in front and back printing.

In this exercise we will be using a different work method for creating several assembly
blocks on one press sheet. We will use the Job Assistant to create only one assembly block
in this exercise. Assembly block division will be done in the Signa job.

Job data:
Job number: 0005
Job Name: Post cards
Customer: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

General job part information

Title: Horse theme
Working Mode: Montage

Printing plates:
Plate: SM74 from the Training group directory
Placing Mode: Sheetwise (front and back)
Paper definition: Change Creato_200_88x63 from the Training
group directory to 700 x 500 mm

Assembly block:
1up size: 148x105 mm
Trim: 0
Autom. Crop Marks: activate
Copies X: 4
Copies Y: 4
Distance to 1up X: 10 mm
Distance to 1up Y: 0 mm
Position X: 39 mm
Position Y: 40 mm

PDF document: Pferde.pdf

Pferde_RS.pdf
Size: 148x105 mm – trim box is defined
170 Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back –Print Media Academy

Color control bar example

Surfaces:

Front:

Back:
Print Media Academy – Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back 171

Exercise description

Creating color control bars and composite marks

Prinect Signa Station allows ink pickup bars, color control bars and special color control bars
to be created. In this step you will learn how to create several color control bars to be finally
combined into a composite mark.

Color control bars always organize elements according to their color sequence, with identi-
cal ink coverage values for all colors. In a special color control bar, however, the element
sequence of special color control bars as well as their ink coverage values can be defined as
desired.

1. Select Jobs & Resources > Marks in the menu.

2. Create a new group named Color Control Bars in your Marks group folder.

3. To do so choose New Mark > Color Control Bar from the shortcut menu.
172 Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back –Print Media Academy

4. The Color Control Bar Editor opens.

5. Name the mark CMYK.

6. Choose the Color Control Mark (with AutoClip to sujet) option using the Marks Type
pop-up menu.

7. Choose the Lower middle option as reference point in the Hotspot pop-up menu.

8. To do so, specify a mark length of 1000 mm in the Width text box.

9. Highlight the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black colors in the Choose Color Layer list.

The color selection defines the colors for which elements are to be defined in the color
control bar.

10. To do so, specify a value of 5 in the Number of Elements text box. This defines the num-
ber of individual control elements per color.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back 173

i
11. To do so, specify a value of 6 mm in the Element Width and Element Height text boxes.
This defines the width and the height of each control element.

The mark width automatically changes to 1080 because the color control bar can only
contain complete elements and would be trimmed otherwise.

12. To suppress the frames enable the Elements without Frame option.

13. Leave the values in the Ink Coverage region at 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100.

14. Click Save and then Close to save the color mark.

15. The new mark you have created appears in your Color Control Bars group folder.

16. Double click the CMYK mark to create another color control mark (BW color control
bar).
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17. Change the Mark Name to Black and enable Black in the Choose Color Layer section.

Renaming the mark prevents overwriting the original mark. The mark is thus saved

i
under a new name.

18. Click Save and then Close to save the color mark.

19. Double click the Black mark to create another color control mark (Black + 1 spot).
Print Media Academy – Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back 175

20. Change the Mark Name to Black + 1 spot and enable Black and Spot 1 (X) in the
Choose Color Layer section.

21. Click Save and then Close to save the color mark.

22. This way you can create any color control bar you need for your work.

23. The following screenshot shows a selection of possible color control bars. Create the
color control bars listed below.
176 Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back –Print Media Academy

Creating a composite mark

In the next step you will create a composite mark from the color control bars you have cre-
ated.

1. Highlight the CMYK mark in your Color Control Bars marks folder and choose Edit Mark
from the shortcut menu.

2. The Color Control Bar Editor opens.

3. Rename the mark to Color control bar_composite mark.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back 177

4. To add further color control marks, click the black triangle in front of the Composite Mark
option and then click the folder icon to load the next mark from the marks
resources.

5. Highlight the first mark in the Color Control Bars marks folder and then click OK.
178 Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back –Print Media Academy

6. The new mark appears in the Composite Marks list of the Color Control Bar Editor.

7. Click the folder icon again and add all other marks contained in the Color Control Bars
marks folder to the composite mark.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back 179

8. To save the composite mark, click the Save and then the Close button.

9. The composite mark appears in your marks folder.

180 Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back –Print Media Academy

1up front/back repetition exercise

1. To create a new Signa job, choose File > New…

2. In the Job Assistant, enter the Job Code and the Job Name according to the task in the
Job Data window.

Job code = 0005

Job name = Post cards

3. Load the customer data set of the Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG customer from the
customer data resource default directory.

4. Click Next card to go to the Job Part Definition window.

5. In the Name text box, enter the designation Horse theme and enable the option Mon-
tage in the Working Mode region.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back 181

6. Click Continue to go to the Printing Plate window.

7. Choose the Plate Template named SM74 from the Training group in the Resources.

8. Choose the Turn (Front and Back Sheet) option in the Placing Mode pop-up menu.

9. Choose the Paper Format named Creato_200_88x63 from the Training group.

10. The paper you selected is too large for the selected plate template, and an message
appears that you must confirm by clicking OK.

11. Click the folder icon next to the Width and Height text boxes to define a new paper for-
mat in the resources. The Choose Page or Paper Size window opens.
182 Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back –Print Media Academy

12. Click the New button.

13. As the default folder cannot be edited, you are requested to select a custom group. As
there is not yet any custom group, type your name in the empty text box to create a
group. Confirm with OK.

14. The group will be created since it does not yet exist. You will be prompted once again.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back 183

15. Type the 700x500 name in the Format Editor. Type the format in the Width and Height
text boxes (700x500). Click Save and then the Close button.

16. Now select the paper format you created in your group and click OK.

17. The paper format now appears in the Width and Height boxes of the Paper Definition for
Production section in the Printing Plate window.

19. Click Next card to go to the Assembly Blocks window.

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20. Define the first assembly block by clicking the icon next to the No assembly block
defined pop-up menu. Type the Postcard name as assembly element and click Apply.

21. Enter a width of 148 mm and a height of 105 mm in the 1up Definition region. Change
the Trim to 0. Make sure the Autom. cut marks are enabled. Enable the Same Content
for All 1ups option.

In the bottom right corner you can see position of the assembly block you have created
on the paper.

22. The assembly block is now to be positioned on the sheet and repeated four times on a
separation cut in both directions.

23. Type the following values in the Assembly Block Parameters region:

Copies X: 4 Y: 4
Gaps X: 10 mm Y: 0 mm
Position X: 39 mm Y: 40 mm
Margins: 0
Print Media Academy – Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back 185

24. You can assess the result in the press sheet thumbnail view in the bottom right corner.

24. Click Ready to create the current montage.

25. The Press Sheet graphics window should now show the following result.

26. Choose File > Save As... to save the job to the predefined directory. Accept the pro-
posed file name.
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27. Go to the Folding Sheet/Assembly Block Inspector. Select the second assembly block
row on the front.

28. Right click the selected 1up and choose Change or Create Station Number... from the
shortcut menu.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back 187

29. An additional dialog opens where you can select the next free station number. Select
number 3. All selected 1ups receive station number 3.

30. Repeat the last two steps to edit the other two 1up rows as well. The result is as follows:

31. Click the icon to go to the back. Here, select the 1ups belonging to postcard #1 on
the front. Right click the selected 1up and choose Change or Create Station Number...
from the shortcut menu.
188 Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back –Print Media Academy

32. An additional dialog opens where you can select the next free station number. Select
number 6. All selected 1ups receive station number 6.

33. The result is as follows:

34. Load the Pferde.pdf and Pferde_RS.pdf files from the Signa_Training/Exercise9 direc-
tory.

35. Assign the individual pages (Pferde.pdf) in the Contents tab of the Browser Window the
separate 1ups of the front printing form in the Press Sheets Window using drag-and-
drop.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back 189

36. Assign the individual pages (Pferde_RS.pdf) in the Contents tab of the Browser Win-
dow the separate 1ups of the back printing form in the Press Sheets Window using
drag-and-drop. Page 1 is positioned on 1up 6, and page 2 on 1up 2.

37. You should see the following result in the Press Sheet graphics window at the end of
this exercise step.

38 To save the changes choose File > Save.

39. Now the control bars are to be replaced. Open the Press Sheet Inspector and change to
the Marks tab.

40. Replace the color control bar with the Color control bar_composite mark created earlier
in this exercise.
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41. Highlight the Colorbar-4C mark (color control mark on front and back) in the list and
click the Swap selected mark icon .

To highlight several marks not immediately following each other in the list, press the Ctrl
key (Windows) or the Command (Apple) key (Macintosh) and click the marks.

42. Now select the composite mark from the Color Control Bar folder in the next window
and click OK.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 11: Exercise 9 – 1up Repetition Front/Back 191

43. Confirm the message box that appears by clicking Yes.

44. The old color control bar is replaced. The new bar is given the same position as the old
bar, provided the mark definition such as the hotspot is identical.

45. You should see the following result in the Press Sheet graphics window at the end of
this exercise step.

46. Save the changes to the document.

47. To verify print the job as a PDF.

192 Notes – Print Media Academy
Print Media Academy – Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part 193

Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job

part

Task

In this exercise we will process the cover and the inner pages of a 36-page flyer in the
Imposition mode. As printing press and paper for the cover differ from the printing press
and the paper used for the inner pages you will learn how to set up different parameters in
one job part.

Job data:
Job code: 0006
Job name Complete HD flyer
Customer: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Customer code: 00001

Job part definition:

Name: HD flyer
Page total: 36 pages
Working mode: Imposition

Master pages:
Page format: A4 with 3 mm bleed

Binding Methods
Binding method: Saddlestitch
Creeping: enable
Print control elements: Cut and fold marks

Printing plates:
Printing plate: SM74_composite mark from your own group
XL105_composite mark from your own group
Placing mode: Work-and-turn
Sheetwise (front and back)
Paper definition: Zanders_135_70x50 from the Training group
Profisilk_90_100x70 from the Training group

Folding schemes:
Scheme: HD cover from your own Scheme group directory
HD inner pages from your own Scheme group directory

PDF document: HD_Stadt_dt_engl.pdf from /Signa_Training/Exercise10

194 Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

Surfaces:

Press sheet 1: Front and back sheet – cover

Press sheet 2: Front and back sheet – inner pages

Press sheet 3: Front and back sheet – inner pages

Print Media Academy – Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part 195

Exercise description

Creating a new scheme

In the first step of this exercise you will learn how to create new schemes in Prinect Signa
Station. You need two new schemes for the first job parts. One scheme for the cover and
one scheme for the inner pages.

Scheme: Cover

A A A A
4 1 2 3
Front Back

Scheme: Inner pages

5 9 12 8 7 11 10 6
A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A
4 13 16 1 2 15 14 3
Front Back

1. Go to the Resources tab in the Browser window.

2. Click the gray arrow to show the contents of the Schemes group.

3. You must first create a new group. To do so click the Schemes item and choose New
Group from the shortcut menu.

4. The directory for the new group is created in the directory tree. Type your own name
as the group name.
196 Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

5. To create a new scheme click the group you just created and choose New Scheme
from the shortcut menu.

6. The Folding Scheme Editor opens.

7. Type the HD Cover designation in the File Name and Folding Scheme Name text
boxes.

8. Specify 2 Columns and 1 Row in the Matrix text boxes. Choose the Sheetfed option
using the neighboring pop-up menu.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part 197

9. Use the schematic page view in the Scheme Generated from Folding Rule region to
determine the top page head position on the sheet after folding. In our example the
head is to be at the top. To change the rotation click the page edge that is to serve as
reference for the page orientation. The letter A always indicates the page head.

10. The scheme is to be created on the basis of the folding rule. Click on the symbol
next to the Folding Rule option to open the Fold Assistant.

11. The Fold Assistant opens.

198 Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

12. Show the fold animation by increasing the window height and then pulling the zoom
in/zoom out tool upward.

13. The first fold is made upward in horizontal direction.

14. Click the icon in the bottom right corner of the folding scheme thumbnail view.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part 199

15. The folding rule is automatically created.

16. Click Apply to apply the folding rule to the folding scheme.

17. The pages are arranged in the Folding Scheme Editor according to the Folding rule.

18. Click Save and then the Close button.

200 Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

19. The new folding scheme will be created in your group directory.

20. Create a second scheme for the inner pages.

21. Click your group directory and choose New Scheme in the shortcut menu once again.

22. Type the HD Inner pages designation in the File Name and Folding Scheme Name
text boxes.

23. Specify 4 Columns and 2 Rows in the Matrix text boxes and choose the Sheetfed opti-
on from the neighboring pop-up menu.

24. Open the Fold Assistant and show the Fold Animation.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part 201

25. The first fold is to be made upward in horizontal direction after the second page. For this
purpose click the right arrow of page 2.

26. The second fold is made upward in vertical direction. For this purpose click the upper
vertical arrow.
202 Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

27. The third fold is made upward in horizontal direction again. For this purpose click the
bottom right arrow below page 2.

28. The folding rule is automatically created.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part 203

29. Click Apply to apply the folding rule to the folding scheme.

30. Enable the First Page on Back option in Folding Scheme Editor and rotate the page
head down in the Orientation of Top Page after Folding region.

31. Click Save and then the Close button.

32. The new folding scheme will be created in your group directory.
204 Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

Imposing different sheet sizes in one job part

1. To create a new Signa job, choose File > New…

2. In the Job Assistant, enter the Job Code and the Job Name according to the task in
the Job Data window.

Job code = 0006

Job name = Complete HD flyer

3. Load the customer data set of the Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG customer from
the customer data resource default directory.

4. Click Next card to go to the Job Part Definition window.

5. Type the HD flyer designation in the Name text box.

6. Enable the Imposition option.

7. Leave the values in the Start Conditions region at First Press Sheet = 1, First Folding
Sheet = 1 and First Page = 1.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part 205

8. To do so, specify a value of 36 in the Number of Elements text box.

9. Click Next card to go to the Master Pages window.

10. Our sample document was created with pages in the A4 format with 3mm bleed.
Leave the values for width 210, height 297 and bleed 3.0.

11. Click Next card to go to the Binding Methods window.

12. Choose the Saddlestitch option as the binding method.

206 Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

13. Enable the Creeping, Automatic (paper thickness) and Offset options and leave the
value for Paper Thickness Factor at 1.0. Enable the Cut Marks, Folding Marks, Folding
Crosses, Folding Sheet Label and Fold Lay Mark options.

14. Click Next card to go to the Printing Plates window.

15. For the cover choose the Plate Template named SM74_composite mark from your
own group in the Resources.

16. Choose the work-and-turn option in the Placing Mode pop-up menu.

17. Specify 20 mm for separating gap.

18. Choose the Paper Format named Zanders_135_70x50 from the Training group.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part 207

19. Disable the Autoposition Sujet option and type the value 30 mm in the Offset Baseline
text box.

20. Click Next card to go to the Folding Schemes window.

21. For the cover choose the scheme named HD cover from your group directory.
208 Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

22. This folding scheme would automatically create 9 folding sheets from 36 pages.

23. As the inner pages’ imposition differs from that of the cover, you must specify the num-
ber 1 in the Number Folding Sheets text box. The Unplaced Pages field indicates that
32 remain to be placed.

24. We now want to add the second plate template and the second scheme for the inner
pages.

25. Click Back to go to the Printing Plates window.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part 209

26. For the inner pages choose the Plate Template named XL105_composite mark from
your own Plate Template group in the Resources.

27. Choose the Sheetwise option in the Placing Mode pop-up menu.

28. Choose the Paper Format named Profisilk_90_100x70 from the Training group.

29. Disable the Autoposition Sujet option and type the value 30 mm in the Offset Baseline
text box.

30. Click Next card to go to the Folding Schemes window.

31. Now select the scheme for the inner pages.

210 Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

32. For the inner pages choose the scheme named HD inner pages from your group direc-
tory.

33. The selected scheme is automatically positioned on the first plate template in the
Printing Plates window.

34. Choose the plate template named XL105_composite mark (Sheetwise (front and
back)) from the Printing Plate shortcut menu to change the plate template.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part 211

35. Specify 20 mm each for inner and top gutter.

36. Click Ready to create the new job.

37. Choose File > Save as... and save the job under the proposed name.

38. In the Graphics window, go to the Press Sheet List tab.

212 Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

39. All job part press sheets are shown here. The result should look as follows.

40. Import the HD_Stadt_dt_engl.pdf PDF document from the Signa_Training/Exercise10

directory.

41. Assign all pages of the document.

42. Save the changes and print the document.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part 213

43. The press sheet 3 front features a center spread. It would be feasible here to disable
creeping.

44. Click page 18 in the Press Sheet graphics window and open the Page Inspector.

45. You can disable creeping for each page in the Page Inspector.

46. Click page 19 and disable creeping here as well.

47. Save the changes to the document and print it.

214 Chapter 12: Exercise 10 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

3D Reader’s Spread Visualization

The page assignment can be inspected in the Prinect Signa Station program using 3D
reader’s spread visualization.

1. Right-click the product part and select “3D Reader’s Spread Visualization”.

2. Another window opens. Here you can let the pages turn using an animation or turn
them manually.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers 215

Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers

Task

As the fold-in page of a fanfold is shorter you will learn how to create special master pages
and how to assign these to a folding scheme.

Our sample document is a flyer that is to be printed in several languages. For this purpose
the images and texts in the different languages are saved in separate files. During this
Prinect Signa Station exercise, you will learn how to work with several layers.

Job data:
Job code: 0007
Job name 6-pages
Customer: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Customer code: 00001
Number of layers: 3

Job part definition:

Name: Prominent
Page Total: 6 pages
Working mode: Imposition

Master pages:
Page format: A4 with 3 mm bleed
Special master page: 207x297 mm with 3 mm bleed

Binding Methods
Binding method: Leaflet Fold
Creeping: disable
Print control elements: Cut and fold marks

Printing plates:
Printing plate: SM74 from the Training group
Placing mode: Sheetwise
Paper definition: Profisilk_90_70x50 from your own group

Folding schemes:
Scheme: F06-05_ui_3x1_P from your Standard Scheme directory

PDF document: basis.pdf

deu.pdf
engl.pdf from /Signa_Training/Exercise11
216 Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers – Print Media Academy

Surfaces:

Basic front and back sheet and German

Basic front back sheet and English

Print Media Academy – Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers 217

Sheet-PDF in Deutsch

Sheet-PDF in englisch
218 Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers – Print Media Academy

Exercise description

Preliminary considerations

A special master page must be created concurrently with the new job part. Pages 4 and 5
of the finished flyer fold in and therefore are by ca. 2 mm narrower than the other pages of
the document.

The following illustration will explain this:

– The red area represents the page bleed.

– The gray areas represent the pages’ trim box

– The blue area on pages 4 and 5 represent the area by which the fold in pages must
be trimmed.

Special
Master Pages

5 6 1
Front

Special
Master Pages

2 3 4
Back

Our sample document is a flyer that is to be printed in several languages. For this purpose
the images and texts in the different languages are saved in separate files. During this
Prinect Signa Station exercise, you will learn how to work with several layers.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers 219

Creating a new Signa job with layers and special master pages

1. To create a new Signa job, choose File > New…

2. In the Job Assistant, enter the Job Code and the Job Name according to the task in
the Job Data window.

Job code = 0007

Job name = 6-pages

3. Load the customer data set of the Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG customer from
the customer data resource default directory.

4. Our sample document consist of a PDF file containing the images and a file for each
of the different language versions.

5. Specify a value of 3 in the Number of Layers text box.

6. Click Next card to go to the Job Part Definition window.

7. Type the Signa flyer designation in the Name text box of the Job Part Definition win-
dow.

8. Enable the Imposition option.

9. Let the values at the option Start Conditions First Press Sheet = 1, First Folding Sheet =
1 und First Page = 1.
220 Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers – Print Media Academy

10. Specify a value of 6 in the Page Total text box.

11. Click Next card to go to the Master Pages window.

12. Specify an A4 format with 3 mm bleed as the document’s page format.

13. To create the special master page disable the One Master Page Only option.

14. Enable the Special Master Page option and in the pop-up dialogue Cur.Type: Special.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers 221

15. For this purpose click the black arrow next to the Special Master Page option.

16. Type 207x297 for the special master page in the Name text box of the Create New
Master Page window and click Apply.

17. Change the Width of the special master page to 207 mm.

18. Click Next card to go to the Binding Methods window.

222 Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers – Print Media Academy

19. Choose the Binding Methods Leaflet Fold.

20. Enable the Cut Marks, and Fold Marks options.

21. Enable Max. Head Gap and Max.Gap in section Parameters for Automatic Gap compu-
tation.

22. Click Next card to go to the Printing Plate window.

23. Choose the Plate Template named SM74 from the Training group.

24. Choose the Sheetwise option in the Placing Mode pop-up menu.

25. Choose the Paper Format named Profisilk_90_70x50 from your own paper group.

26. Enable AutoPosition Sujet and Center Sujet in the Sujet Position on Paper section.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers 223

27. Change the Paper Height to 400 mm.

28. Click Next card to go to the Folding Schemes window.

29. For the cover choose the scheme named F06-05_ui_3x1_P from the standard direc-
tory.

30. Now assign page 5 the special master page in the Folding Schemes window.
224 Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers – Print Media Academy

31. Click the right mouse button (Windows) or press the Ctrl key (Macintosh) and click the
mouse on the page 5 icon and choose the Assign Master Page command.

32. Select the special master page in the pop-up menu in the Change Master Page win-
dow and click Apply.

33. It´s also possible to choose Special master pages ... in the same dialogue. Another
window is opened where you can select your master pages.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers 225

34. Pages assigned a special master page are marked with a green index number.

35. To complete, click Automatic Gaps to define the correct cutting block.

36. Click Ready to create the new job.

37. In the Job Inspector you can use the pop-up menu to view the layer names assigned
in the Preferences.
226 Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers – Print Media Academy

38. The document is shown in the Press Sheet graphics window. The first layer is active
by default.

To select a layer, click the icon for View properties in the bottom area of the Press Sheet
window. In the Layers section of the View tab you can select the active layer.

39. Choose File > Save as... and save the job under the proposed name.

Assigning PDF documents to different layers

1. To import the documents, go to the Contents tab in the Browser window. There are
three items according to the layer name..

2. Check the basic entry and choose Documents… from the shortcut menu.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers 227

3. Import the basis.pdf document from the Signa_Training/Exercise11 directory.

4. Now select the german entry in the Contents tab and import the deutsch.pdf document.

5. Then select the english entry in the Contents tab and import the englisch.pdf document.

6. As the documents were already assigned to the separate folders in the Contents tab,
you can show all layers when loading the documents.

7. The PDF document you laoded was created as an assembly area and not as separate
pages. Assign page 5 on the press sheet to page 1 of the basis.pdf document.

10. Go to the back in the graphic window.

228 Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers – Print Media Academy

11. Assign page 2 on the press sheet to page 2 of the basis.pdf document.

12. Like with the basic document, assign page 1 of the deutsch.pdf document to page 5 o
fthe front sheet and page 2 of the same document to page 2 of the back sheet.

13. Then load the two pages of the englisch.pdf document in the same way.

14. Save the changes to the document.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers 229

15. We must expand the trim size, because the PDF was saved as a complete montage.
Please choose Folding Sheet/Assembly Block in the Graphics view. Doubleclick page
no. 5. The Page Inspector is opened automatically. The Bleed inputs must be Left:
3 mm and Right: 423 mm. The calculation of this value is: 210(p6) + 210(p1) + 3mm
(bleed) = 423 mm.

16. Now you should have this layout at the Graphic Window.
230 Chapter 13: Exercise 11 – Special master pages and layers – Print Media Academy

17. After this we select page 2 and must do the inputs for the Back: Left: 3 mm, Right:
420 mm. The calculation of this value is: 210(p3) + 207(p4) + 3mm (bleed) = 420 mm

18. The changes at the pages are automatically for all layers.

19. Save the changes to the document.

20. To print choose File > Print Job.

21. Choose the Output Parameter Set SupraA74_SM74 from the Training group.

22. Enable the layers that are to appear on the same sheet in the Layer List region.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 14: Exercise 12 – Combination sheet 231

Chapter 14: Exercise 12 – Combination sheet

Task

In this exercise you will learn how to create a Signa job where a press sheet contains an
assembly block and two imposition schemes.

The job consists of one job part. The job part comprises a gang run form with 2 folding
sheets and one assembly.

Product part: Combination sheet

Job data:
Job number: 0008
Job Name: Combination sheet
Customer: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Product Part Definition

Title: Combination sheet
Page total: 10
Working Mode: Imposition

Master pages:
Page format: A4 with 3 mm trim
Special master pages: A4landscape = 297x210 mm with 3 mm trim
A5 = 148x210 mm with 3 mm trim

Binding Methods
Binding methods: Mixed Binding
Creeping: disable
Print control elements: Cut and fold marks
Routing margin: disable

Printing plates:
Plate: XL105_composite mark from your own group
Gang run form: activate
Placing Mode: Sheetwise (front and back)
Paper definition: Creato_200_100x70 from the Training group directory

Folding scheme:
Scheme: F04-01_ui_2x1
F02-01_ui_1x1

PDF document: 4c_Stundenplan.pdf

1c_Stundenplan_RS.pdf
MaxiMalbuch_Cover.pdf
MiniMalbuch_Cover.pdf from /Signa_Training/Uebung12
232 Chapter 14: Exercise 12 – Combination sheet – Print Media Academy

Completed forms:

Front:

Back:
Print Media Academy – Chapter 14: Exercise 12 – Combination sheet 233

Exercise description

Product part: Combination sheet

1. To create a new Signa job, choose File > New…

2. In the Job Assistant, enter the Job Code and the Job Name according to the task in the
Job Data window.

Job code = 0008

Job name = Combination sheet
Customer = Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

3. Click Next card to go to the Job Part Definition window.

4. In the Name text box, enter the designation Combination sheet and enable the Imposi-
tion option in the Working Mode region.
In Page Total, type 10.
Select the first 4 pages and choose Change Page Names... from the shortcut menu.
Type U1 here. The following 3 selected pages are serially numbered.
234 Chapter 14: Exercise 12 – Combination sheet – Print Media Academy

5. Name the next four pages C1-C4. Name the last two pages M1 and M2.

6. Click Next card to go to the Master Pages window.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 14: Exercise 12 – Combination sheet 235

7. Create the following special master pages:

A4landscape: 297 mm x 210 mm
A5: 148 mm x 210 mm

8. Click Next card to go to the Binding Methods window.

236 Chapter 14: Exercise 12 – Combination sheet – Print Media Academy

9. Choose the Mixed Binding option in the Binding Method pop-up menu. Enable the Cut
Marks and Folding Mark options in the Automatic Placement of Print Control Elements
section. Disable the Routing Edge.

10. Click Next card to go to the Printing Plates window.

11. Select the XL105_Combimark plate template from your folder of plate templates.
Enable the Gang Run Form option.

12. Choose the Turn (Front and Back Sheet) option in the Placing Mode pop-up menu.

13. Choose the Paper Format named Creato_200_100x70 from the Training group in the
Resources.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 14: Exercise 12 – Combination sheet 237

14. Click Next card to go to the Folding Schemes window.

15. Load the F04-01 scheme twice and the F02-01 scheme once.
The first F04-01 scheme is the A4 cover requiring no changes. The second scheme is
the A5 cover. To assign a different page format to the scheme, select the second
scheme above and click Special Master Pages. A second window opens. here you can
assign the special master pages created before. Select A5 in this case.

16. Now select the F02-01 scheme and assign the special master page A4landscape.

17. Now click Active Inspector Section next to the name. The Assign master pages from list
dialog appears. Select All Folding Sheets here. You must create groups here to ensure
correct page assignment later.
238 Chapter 14: Exercise 12 – Combination sheet – Print Media Academy

18. Right click on the first folding sheet and choose Create Group from the shortcut menu.
This will create 3 groups with one folding sheet each.

19. Now click Active Inspector Section next to the name again. Now select Press Sheet
Layout.

20. Select the F02-01 folding sheet. Specify the following parameters:
The existing folding scheme will be duplicated when 2 is specified in Number Folding
Sheets.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 14: Exercise 12 – Combination sheet 239

20. Now select the first F04-01 folding sheet and specify the following values:

21. Now select the second F04-01 folding sheet and specify the following values:

22. Click Ready to create the press sheet.

240 Chapter 14: Exercise 12 – Combination sheet – Print Media Academy

23. Go to the Press Sheet Inspector and center the sujet horizontally.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 14: Exercise 12 – Combination sheet 241

24. Now the pages need to be loaded. To do so, load all PDF documents of the
Signa_Training/Uebung12 folder.

25. Assign the pages the respective assembly block/folding sheet.

26. The Press Sheet graphic window should now look as follows.

27. Replace the color control bar for the back in the Press Sheet Inspector. Exchange the
existing FOGRA_XL105_composite mark for the Color Control Bar_composite mark
from the Color Control Bar group.

28. You should see the following result in the Press Sheet graphics window at the end of
this exercise.

29. Save the changes to the document and print the sheet for verification.
242 Notes – Print Media Academy
Print Media Academy – Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Combination sheets 239

Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets

(different schemes and jobs)

Task

Before starting the job you will learn how to configure a platesetter with its plate templates.
You get an *.ipr of the suprasetter. Best is to work in this way:

I. Machines

1.Imagesetter / Platesetter

2. Sheetfed Presses / Web Presses

II. Resources

1. Output Parameter

2. Marks

3. PlateTemplates

In this exercise, you will learn how to create a Signajob for which different schemes for two
different jobs are positioned on one press sheet.

The job in our example consists of four parts. Two job parts are created in the Montage
working mode – each part contains a press sheet on which the schemes will be positioned
later.

Each of the other two job parts contains an imposition scheme that will be positioned on
the press sheet later.
240 Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets – Print Media Academy

Job part 1: Montage – press sheet 1

Job data:
Job code: 0009
Job name: Combination sheet
Customer: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Job Part Definition

Title: Press_Sheet
Working mode: Montage

Printing plates:
Printing plate: SM102_composite mark from your own group
SM74 from the Training group
Placing mode: Sheetwise
Paper definition: Creato_200_100x70 from the Training group directory
for the second plate change size to 700x500 mm

Assembly block:
1up size: Undefined
Print Media Academy – Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets 241

Job part 2: Imposition – inner pages / maxi drawing book

Job part definition

Title: Maxi drawing book – inner pages
Page total: 16
Working mode: Imposition

Master pages:
Page format: A4 with 0 mm bleed

Trim Allowance for Pages:

Outer: 20 mm
Inner: 0 mm
Top: 10 mm
Bottom: 20 mm

Binding method
Binding method: Saddlestitch
Creeping: disabled
Print control elements: Cut and fold marks

Printing plates:
Printing plate: undefined
Placing mode: undefined
Paper definition: undefined

Folding schemes:
Scheme: F08-07_li_2x2

PDF document: MaxiMalbuch_Inside.pdf

242 Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets – Print Media Academy

Job part 3: Imposition – inner pages / mini drawing book

Job part definition

Title: Mini drawing book – inner pages
Page total: 8
Working mode: Imposition

Master pages:
Page format: A5 with 0 mm bleed

Trim Allowance for Pages:

Outer: 20 mm
Inner: 0 mm
Top: 10 mm
Bottom: 20 mm

Binding method
Binding method: Saddlestitch
Creeping: disabled
Print control elements: Cut and fold marks

Printing plates:
Printing plate: undefined
Placing mode: undefined
Paper definition: undefined

Folding schemes:
Scheme: F08-07_li_2x2 (in 2ups)

PDF document: MiniMalbuch_Inside.pdf

Print Media Academy – Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets 243

Complete forms:

Press sheet 1 – front and back printing form:

Press sheet 2 – front and back printing form:

244 Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets – Print Media Academy

Exercise description

In the first step of this exercise, we will create all the job parts. In the second step, you will
learn how to position schemes on the corresponding press sheet.

Job part 1: Montage – press sheet

1. Create a new Signa job by choosing File > New…

2. In the Job Assistant, enter the Job Code and the Job Name according to the task in
the Job Data window.

Job code = 0009

Job name = Combination sheet
Customer = Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

3. Click Next card to go to the Job Part Definition window.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets 245

4. In the Name text box, enter Press_Sheet and enable the Montage option in the
Working Mode region.

5. Click Next card to go to the Printing Plate window.

6. Select plate template SM102_composite mark from your directory of plate templates.

7. Choose the Sheetwise option in the Placing Mode pop-up menu.

8. Load the Paper Format named Creato_200_100x70 from the Training resource group.
246 Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets – Print Media Academy

9. Now select plate template SM74 from the Training directory of plate templates.

10. Choose the Sheetwise option in the Placing Mode pop-up menu.

11. Load the Paper Format named Creato_200_100x70 from the Training resource group.

12. Since the paper format is too large for the selected plate template, an information win-
dow opens.

13. Acknowledge the window by clicking OK and change the paper so that it has a width
of 700 mm and a height of 500 mm.

14. Since no 1ups are required for this job part, click Ready to create the job part.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets 247

Job part 2: Imposition – inner pages / maxi drawing book

1. To create the third job part, go to the Jobs tab in the Browser window.

2. Highlight the 0009_Combination sheet job in the list and choose New Job Part from
the shortcut menu.

3. In the Job Part Definition window, enter the designation Maxi drawing book – inner
pages in the Name text box, enable the Imposition option in the Working Mode regi-
on.

4. Enter at the option Start Conditions for First Press Sheet 2, First Folding Sheet 2 and
First Page 3 . Enter 16 pages in the Page Total text box.

5. Click Next card to go to the Master Pages window.

248 Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets – Print Media Academy

6. Enter the following parameters:

Width: 210 mm Height: 297 mm

Bleed: 0 mm
Trim Allowance for Pages:
Outer: 20 mm Inner: 0 mm
Top: 10 mm Bottom: 20 mm

7. Click Next card to go to the Binding Methods window.

8. Choose the Saddlestitch option in the Binding Method pop-up menu. Enable the Cut
Marks and Folding Mark options in the Automatic Placement of Print Control Elements
section.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets 249

9. Click Next card to go to the Printing Plates window.

10. Since the press plate and paper definitions of the first and second job parts are used
for this job part, no entries are made in this window.

11. Click Next card to go to the Folding Schemes window.

12. Choose the F08-07_li_2x2 scheme from the default scheme resource directory.

13. Click Ready to create the job part.

250 Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets – Print Media Academy

Job part 3: Imposition – inner pages / mini drawing book

1. To create the fourth job part, go to the Jobs tab in the Browser window.

2. The third Jobpart is nearly the same as the second Jobpart so click to the second
Jobpart in the list and choose Duplicate Product Part from the shortcut menu.

3. Aktivate the copy in the list Product Part and choose Edit Product Part from the shortcut
menu.

4. In the Job Part Definition window, enter the designation Mini drawing book – inner
pages in the Name text box. enable the Imposition option in the Working Mode regi-
on and enter 8 pages in the Page Total text box.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets 251

5. Enter 8 pages in the Page Total text box. The number of pages are now different to the
jobpart before. So you get these message.

6. Acknowledge the window by clicking OK

7. Click Next card to go to the Master Pages window.

252 Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets – Print Media Academy

8. Change the following parameters:

Width: 148 mm Height: 210 mm

9. Click Next card to go to the Binding Methods window.

10. In that window you don`t have to do any changes.

11. Click Next card to go to the Printing Plates window.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets 253

12. Since the press plate and paper definitions of the first and second job parts are used
for this job part, no entries are made in this window.

13. Click Next card to go to the Folding Schemes window.

14. In the option Unplaced Pages you see the value -8.

15. Change the number of schemes to 1.

254 Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets – Print Media Academy

16. Click Ready to create the job part.

17. Choose File > Save as... to save the job under the proposed name.

18. At the end of this exercise, four job parts should be displayed in the Jobs tab in the
Browser window.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets 255

Positioning job parts 2 and 3 on Press_Sheet1

1. Show the first press sheet by double-clicking job part Press_Sheet1 in the Jobs tab in
the Browser Window.

2. Since neither an assembly block nor a folding scheme has been assigned to this press
sheet, only the marks and the subject are shown.
256 Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets – Print Media Academy

3. In the Jobs Browser Window, show the folding sheets of the Maxi drawing book –
inner pages job part and drag and drop the first folding sheet onto the press sheet.

4. Open the Press Sheet Inspector by double-clicking the press sheet in the Press Sheet
Graphics Window.

5. Select the folding sheet on the press sheet or in the Assigned Folding
Sheets/Assembly Blocks list and rotate it to 90°.

6. Save the changes in the job.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets 257

Position Job Part 3 (Mini drawing book) on Press Sheet 1

The mini drawing book is printed as a 2up

1. In the Jobs Browser Window, show the folding sheets of the Mini drawing book – inner
pages job part and drag and drop the first folding sheet onto the press sheet.

2. Since this job part is to be printed as a 2up, drag the folding sheet onto the press sheet
again.
258 Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets – Print Media Academy

3. To position the folding sheets to eachother, choose the option Arrange folding
sheets/assembly blocks by click to the shortcut menu of the Press Sheet Graphics
Window.

4. Set all margins to 0, deaktivatethe option Automatic rotation and click AutoArrange to
arrange the folding sheets.

5. The folding sheets get there positions about the Trim Allowance for Pages.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets 259

6. To fit all marks and bleeds, choose the option Fit Marks and Bleeds by click to the short
cut menu of the Press Sheet Graphics Window.

7. To better assess the positioning of the folding sheet on the press sheet, go to the Press
Sheet tab in the Graphics Window and choose the Press Sheet Inspector. Click to the
button Both Directions to center the folding sheets.

8. Save the changes in your document.

260 Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets – Print Media Academy

Positioning job part 2 (folding sheet 2 of maxi drawing book) on Press_Sheet2

1. Show the second press sheet by double-clicking job part Press_Sheet in the Jobs tab
in the Browser Window.

2. In the Jobs Browser Window, show the folding sheets of the Maxi drawing book –
inner pages job part and drag and drop the second folding sheet onto the press sheet.

3. The folding sheet should now be centered on the paper. Open the Press Sheet
Inspector and activate in the window the option Both Directions.

4. For better control you should open the Press Sheet in the Graphics window. If you
need to clip the color control strip you should Fit Marks and Trims.
Print Media Academy – Notes 261

5. Save the changes to the document.

6. If necessary fit Marks and Bleeds.

7. Save the changes to the document.

Assigning pages to the individual folding schemes

Since the press sheets were created in the Montage working mode, the command Add
Pages using the shortcut menu in the Contents Browser Window or using the Not Assigned
List Window cannot be used to assign the pages; when the Add Pages command is issued
in Montage mode, a new assembly block is always created.

1. Import all the documents from the Signa_Training/Uebung 14 directory.

2. The pages of the MaxiMalbuch_Inside.pdf documents are to be assigned first.

3. Show the first press sheet by double-clicking job part Press_Sheet1 in the Jobs
Browser Window.

4. Then go to the Contents tab in the Browser Window.

5. Drag the folder of document MaxiMalbuch_Inside.pdf onto the first page of the asso-
ciated folding sheet.
262 Chapter 15: Exercise 13 – Combination sheets – Print Media Academy

6. Then drag the folder of document MiniMalbuch_Inside.pdf onto the first page of the
associated folding sheet.

7. Since a 2up is used here, each page is automatically assigned twice.

8. Save the changes and inspect both press sheets of the front and back printing form.

9. Then print both press sheets as PDFs and inspect the finished print files using Adobe
Acrobat.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part 267

Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job

part

Task

In this exercise we will process the cover and the inner pages of a 32-page flyer in the Impo-
sition mode. As printing press and paper for the cover differ from the printing press and the
paper used for the inner pages you will learn how to set up different parameters in one job
part.

Job data:
Job number: 0010
Job name Cantate
Customer: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Customer Code: 00001

Job part definition:

Name: Brochure
Page total: 32 pages
Working Mode: Imposition

Master pages:
Page format: A4 with 3 mm trim
Special Master Page: 207 mm x 297 mm

Binding Methods
Binding methods: Saddlestitch
Creeping: activate
Print control elements: Cut marks, folding marks, folding crosses, folding sheet label
and fold lay mark
Defaults for automatic
gap computation: enable: Max. head gap and Max. gap

Printing plates:
Plate: SM102 from your own group folder
Placing Mode: Work-and-turn
Sheetwise (front and back)
Separating Gap: 20 mm
Paper definition: Creato_200_100x70 from the Training group
Sujet Position on Paper AutoPosition Sujet, Center Sujet
Load plate and schemes: SM102_2x8S_A4_88x63
SM74_8S_A4_70x50

Folding schemes:
Scheme: 8S-Umschlag from your own Scheme group directory

PDF document: Documents from /Signa_Training/Uebung14

268 Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

Surfaces:

Press sheet 1: Work-and-tumble

Press sheet 2: Front and back printing

Press sheet 3: Front and back printing

Print Media Academy – Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part 269

Job part definition:

Name: Card
Page total: 8 pages
Working Mode: Imposition

Master pages:
Page format: 68 mm x 170 mm with 3 mm trim

Binding Methods
Binding methods: Leaflet Fold
Print control elements: Cut and fold marks

Printing plates:
Plate: SM52 from the Training group
Placing Mode: Sheetwise (front and back)
Press sheet layout: 20 mm
Paper definition: Zander_135_50x35 from the Training group
Sujet Position on Paper AutoPosition Sujet, Center Sujet

Folding schemes:
Scheme: 8S-Umschlag from your own Scheme group directory

PDF document: Documents from /Signa_Training/Uebung14

Completed Form:

Press sheet 4: Front and back printing

270 Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

Exercise description

Create new scheme

1. To create a new scheme click your custom group and choose New Scheme from the
shortcut menu.

2. The Folding Scheme Editor opens.

3. Type the 8-up cover designation in the Name text box.

4. Type 4 in the Matrix Columns and 1 in the Rows text boxes. Choose the Sheetfed option
using the neighboring pop-up menu.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part 271

5. The scheme is to be created on the basis of the folding rule. Click the symbol next to
the Folding Rule text box to open the Fold Assistant.

6. The Fold Assistant opens. Show the fold animation by increasing the window height
and then pulling the zoom in/zoom out tool upward.

7. The first fold is made upward in horizontal direction. Click the icon in the bottom right
corner of the folding scheme thumbnail view.
272 Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

8. The second fold is to be made downward in horizontal direction. Click the icon in the
bottom right corner of the folding scheme thumbnail view.

9. The third fold is made upward in horizontal direction. Click the icon in the bottom right
corner of the folding scheme thumbnail view.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part 273

10. Click Apply to apply the folding rule to the folding scheme.

11. Choose Leporello in the Pagination popup menu.

12. Since this is a scheme for a cover, you must decide upon the position the brochure con-
tent is to be inserted. There are two options: die Off-center Position or Insert at Index.
Insert at Index defines after which page number the content is to be inserted. Leave
number 4 unchanged in or example.

13. Click Save and then the Close button.

14. The new folding scheme appears in your group directory.

274 Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

Imposing different sheet sizes in one job part

1. To create a new Signa job, choose File > New…

2. In the Job Assistant, enter the Job Code and the Job Name according to the task in the
Job Data window.

Job code = 0010

Job name = Cantate

3. Load the customer data set of the Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG customer from the
customer data resource default directory.

4. Click Next card to go to the Job Part Definition window.

5. Type the Brochure designation in the Name text box.

6. Enable the Imposition option.

7. Leave the values in the Start Conditions region at First Press Sheet = 1, First Folding
Sheet = 1 and First Page = 1.

8. To do so, specify a value of 32 in the Page Total text box.

9. Click Next card to go to the Master Pages window.

10. Our sample document was created with pages in the A4 format with 3 mm bleed. Leave
the values for width 210, height 297 and bleed 3.0. Create an additional special master
page:
207x297: 207 mm x 297 mm

11. Click Next card to go to the Binding Methods window.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part 275

12. Choose the Saddlestitch option as the binding method.

13. Enable the Creeping, Automatic (paper thickness) and Offset options and leave the
value for Paper Thickness Factor at 1.0. Enable the Cut Marks, Fold Marks, Folding
Crosses, Folding Sheet Label and Fold Lay Mark options. Enable Max. Head Gap and
Max. Gap Width.

14. Click Continue to go to the Printing Plate window.

15. Choose the Plate Template named SM102_Combimark from your own group in the
Resources for the cover.

16. Choose the Work-and-tumble option in the Placing Mode pop-up menu.Specify a gap of
20 mm.

17. Choose the Paper Format named Creato_200_100x70 from the Training group in the
Resources.
276 Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

18. Enable the AutoPosition Sujet and Center Sujet options.

19. You can save separate press sheets in a product part template and load it into a job
when necessary to prevent having to start from scratch each time. To load a press
sheet, click the icon next to Load Plates and Schemes from Product Part Tem-
plate. A new window opens where you can load product part templates created as gang
run form. Select the SM102_2x8S_A4_88x63 template in the Training folder and con-
firm with OK.

The positioned scheme is loaded along with the plate. Make sure to assign a unique
name to the template since you will only see the contents of the first sheet. A product
part template could, however, contain several sheets.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part 277

20. Click the icon next to Load Plates and Schemes from Product Part Template again
and import the SM74_8S_A4_70x50 product part template.

21. The result should be as follows.

278 Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

22. Replace the plate templates on the gang run forms with the ones you just created.

23. Click Next card to go to the Folding Schemes window.

24. The product parts automatically loaded the positioned schemes. Now there are 8 unpo-
sitioned pages of the cover left. Choose the scheme named 8-up cover from your group
directory for the cover.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part 279

25. Click Automatic Gaps once for the cover. In this case PrinectSignaStation will not detect
a Leporello fold. Type 0 in the entire top column.
280 Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

26. As the scheme for the cover was added last it is now at position 4. Right click the folding
sheet and drag it to position 1.

27. Now assign special master page 207x297 to pages 2 and 7.

28. Click Ready to create the new job.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part 281

28. Choose File > Save as... and save the job under the proposed name.

29. In the Graphics window, go to the Press Sheet List tab.

30. All job part press sheets are shown here. You can set the view size with percentage val-
ues. The result should look as follows.
282 Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

Unproportionally scaling marks and clipping color control bars

1. The second press sheet is printed at one go. It is important for production reasons to
cover the color control bar in the sheet middle. This is done with the Clip Marks function.

2. Double click press sheet 2 in the browser window. The graphic window will automati-
cally show the front sheet. Use the magnifying glass to zoo into the following section.

3. Select the color control bar in the graphic window and then click the Path tool.

4. To add points to the path, hold the Ctrl key pressed. Add 4 points.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part 283

5. Clip the color control bar so that the middle does not contain any color. The result
should be as follows.

6. Apply the clipped color control bar to the back. The clipped mark is highlighted with a
blue frame.

7. The register crosses are too large for the selected small paper format. You can reduce
the mark size unproportionally here. To do so, select the Arc in the Press Sheet Inspec-
tor.

8. Click the icon to disable proportional scaling.

284 Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

9. Type 25% for Scale X and 50% for Scale Y.

10. Scale the other 3 Arc marks as well.

11. Select all 4 Arc marks on the front and copy them to the back.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part 285

Loading default formats for the trimbox

1. Import the PDF documents from the Signa_Training/Exercise14 folder.

2. Check the documents with the Document Inspector.

3. The trimbox for the cover does not have the correct size and is off center. You can now
manually specify values or click the icon to load default formats.

4. A new window opens. Select A4 in the Standard folder. Click OK. The values are
applied.
286 Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

5. Click all in Apply to. The changes apply to the entire PDF document.

6. The trim box is always centered in relation to the media box. The result should be as fol-
lows.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part 287

Assigning pages and inserting blank pages

1. Assign the first page of the cover to page 1 on the cover press sheet.

2. Now assign page 1 of the Klappseiten-Cantate.pdf document to the placeholder of

page 2.
288 Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

3. Select the Cantate_24S.pdf document, drag the entire PDF into the Page List and drop
it on the placeholder for page 3.
All pages in the PDF will now be inserted into the job, starting at page 3.

4. Select the still unassigned pages of the cover and the fold-out page. The pages will be
inserted into the next free placeholder.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part 289

5. The result should be as follows.

6. 2 pages of the cover are still lacking contents so 2 pages are missing in our example.
You have the option to add blank pages. To do so, go to the Page list in the graphic win-
dow. Right click the placeholder where a blank page is to be inserted. Choose Assign
Blank page in the shortcut menu.
290 Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

7. Repeat the last step on placeholder 30.

The result should be as follows.

8. The blank pages you inserted will move the subsequent pages to the rear. Pages
already assigned could then lose their assignment. The empty pages suppress any
warning regarding free placeholders during output.

9. Save the job.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part 291

Duplicating pages in the imposition mode

1. Create a new product part.

2. Type the Card designation in the Name text box.

3. Enable the Imposition option.

4. Leave the values in the Start Conditions region at First Press Sheet = 4, First Folding
Sheet = 1 and First Page = 1.

5. To do so, specify a value of 8 in the Page Total text box.

6. Click Next card to go to the Master Pages window.

7. Specify the following parameters.

68 mm x 170 mm
3 mm bleed

8. Click Next card to go to the Binding Methods window.

9. Choose the Leaflet Fold option as the binding method.

10. Enable the Cut Marks, and Fold Marks options.

11. Click Continue to go to the Printing Plate window.

12. Choose the Plate Template named SM52 from the Training group in the Resources.

13. Choose the Turn front and back option in the Placing Mode pop-up menu.
292 Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

14.Choose the Paper Format named Zanders_135_50x35 from the Training group in the
Resources.

15. Enable the AutoPosition Sujet and Center Sujet options.

16. Click Next card to go to the Folding Schemes window.

17. Select the Scheme named 8-up cover from you own group in the Resources. Click
Press sheet layout in the popup menu.

18. Specify a value of 20 for the Press sheet layout (plate). A 20 mm gap is inserted
between the 2 folding sheets.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part 293

19. Click Ready to create the job part.

20. Go to the Contents tab in the browser window and double click the first page of the PDF
document Karte_Cantate.pdf. The graphic window displays the page in the document
window. The document window that the trimbox is not in place. Click Rel. Position X.
You can now move the trimbox with the arrow keys on the keyboard under visual con-
trol.
294 Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

21. You can drag magnetic snap lines from the ruler for a better overview.

22. Now go back to the Contents browser window and right click page 1 of
Karte_Cantate.pdf. Choose Copy Pages to Clipboard from the shortcut menu.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part 295

23. Go to the Press Sheet graphic window and right click on the press sheet. Choose Paste
Pages from Clipboard from the shortcut menu.

24. The result should be as follows.

25. Repeat the last two steps for the second page of the document and paste the page on
the back sheet.
296 Chapter 16: Exercise 14 – Different press sheets in one job part – Print Media Academy

26. You must assign the PullLay mark another color since there is no black separation of
our file. A new color was introduced for lineart marks since you do not always know the
colors contained in the job. This is the DarkColor. When you select it, the respective
mark will be assigned to the darkest color and printed in this color. Apply this color to the
PullLay mark. Copy the changes to the back as well.

27. Save the changes to your job and output it as PDF.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 17: Exercise 15 – Plate layout template 293

Chapter 17: Exercise 15 – Creating and applying a plate

layout template

Task

In this exercise we will impose a 20-page drawing book with a CMYK cover and mono-
chrome black inner pages. The cover will be printed as a 4up since the entire job is to be
printed on one press. For the inner pages, four folding sheets are to be positioned on one
press sheet.

In the first step you will create a plate layout data set in the resources that defines the offsets
between the separate folding sheets, the fold lay mark and the orientation of the folding
sheets on the press sheet.

Plate layout:
Name: 2x2_head top
Folding sheet rows: 2
Folding sheet columns 2
Folding sheet orientation: disabled
Gaps: Horizontally and vertically: 40 mm each
Fold lay: swap by 180°

Job data:
Job code: 0011
Job name Children’s painting book
Customer: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Product part definition:

Name: Oscar
Working Mode: Imposition
Page Total: 20

Master pages:
Page format: A4 with 3 mm bleed

Printing plates:
Printing plate: SM102_composite mark from your own group
Placing Mode: Turn (front and back sheet)
Paper definition: Creato_200_100x70 from the Training group

Folding Schemes
Scheme: F04-01_ui_2x1

PDF document: MaxiMalbuch_Cover.pdf and MaxiMalbuch_Inside.pdf

Output parameter set: SM102 from the Training group

294 Chapter 17: Exercise 15 – Plate layout template – Print Media Academy

Completed forms

Press sheet 1: Front/Back printing

Press sheet 2: Front/Back printing

Print Media Academy – Chapter 17: Exercise 15 – Plate layout template 295

Exercise description

Creating a plate layout parameter set

In this exercise step you will create a new plate layout parameter set.

1. Select Jobs & Resources > Resources & Machines in the menu to go to the Resources
tab in the Browser window.

2. Click the gray arrow to show the contents of the Plate Layouts group.

3. Create a new group. To do so click the Plate Layouts item and choose New Group from
the shortcut menu.

4. The folder for the new group is created in the folder tree. Type your own name as the
group name.

5. To create a new plate layout, click the group you just created and choose New Plate
Layout from the shortcut menu.
296 Chapter 17: Exercise 15 – Plate layout template – Print Media Academy

6. The Plate Layout Editor automatically opens.

7. Type the 2x2_head top designation in the Name text box.

8. Specify a value of 2 each in the Folding Sheet Rows and Folding Sheet Columns text
boxes.

9. Specify 40 mm in the text box as the horizontal and vertical offset between the sepa-
rate folding sheets.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 17: Exercise 15 – Plate layout template 297

Each of the squares represents one folding sheet, regardless of the number of pages it
comprises.

The front is identified by the color yellow, the back by green.

10. Now change the fold lay for each of the folding sheets by 180°. For this purpose click
the icon of each folding sheet. The red line indicates the fold lay.

11. To save the plate layout, click Save and then the Close button.
298 Chapter 17: Exercise 15 – Plate layout template – Print Media Academy

12. The new plate layout you have created appears in your group folder.

Creating a Signa job

1. To create a new Signa job, choose File > New….

2. In the Job Assistant, enter the Job Code and the Job Name according to the task in the
Job Data window.

3. Load the customer data set as per the task.

4. Click Next card to go to the Product Part Definition window.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 17: Exercise 15 – Plate layout template 299

5. In the Name text box, enter the designation Oscar, enable the Imposition option and
specify 20 in the Page Total region.

6. Click Next card to go to the Master Pages window.

7. Define a width of 210 mm and a height of 297 mm for the master page. Leave the bleed
at 3 mm.

8. Click Next card to go to the Binding Methods window.

9. Choose the Saddlestitch option in the Binding Method pop-up menu.

300 Chapter 17: Exercise 15 – Plate layout template – Print Media Academy

10. Enable the Cut Marks, Folding Marks, Folding Sheet Label and Fold Lay Mark options
in the Automatic Placement of Print Control Elements section.

11. Click Next card to go to the Printing Plates window.

12. Select the SM102_composite mark plate template from your own group folder.

13. Choose the Sheetwise (Front and Back Sheet) option in the Placing Mode pop-up
menu.

14. Choose the paper format named Creato_200_100x70 from the Training group.

15. Click Next card to go to the Folding Schemes window.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 17: Exercise 15 – Plate layout template 301

16. Load the F04-01_ui_2x1 scheme from the default scheme resource folder.

17. As the first press sheet is to contain the first folding sheet only, you must change the
number of folding sheets to 1.

18. Load the F04-01_ui_2x1 scheme again.

19. Highlight the first folding sheet in the list.

302 Chapter 17: Exercise 15 – Plate layout template – Print Media Academy

20. Choose the Press Sheet Layout option from the Active Inspector Section popup menu.

21. Click the icon next to the Plate Layout Area option and load the plate layout created
earlier in this exercise from your group folder.
Print Media Academy – Chapter 17: Exercise 15 – Plate layout template 303

22. The folding sheets of the first press sheet are automatically rotated and arranged as per
the plate layout.

23. Then highlight the next folding sheet in the list.

24. Disable the Folding Sheet Copies Allowed option.

25. Load the plate layout you created from your group folder.
304 Chapter 17: Exercise 15 – Plate layout template – Print Media Academy

26. Click Ready to create the new job.

27. The Press Sheet graphics window should now show the following result.

28. Choose File > Save as... and save the job under the proposed name.

29. Import all documents of the Signa_Training/Exercise15 folder.

30. Assign all pages in the correct sequence.

Please note when assigning pages that the MaxiMalbuch_Cover.pdf document con-
tains the two first and two last pages.

31. Save the changes to the document and print it.

Print Media Academy – Chapter 18: Exercise 16 – SM74DI 305

Chapter 18: Exercise 16 – SM74DI

Task

In this exercise you will create a plate template for an SM74DI. The platesetter (SM74DI)
must be manually created since there is no *.ipr file. Following this, you will create appro-
priate output parameters and plate templates.

Press Plate Leading Gripper Max. Max. Number Width Tail Lat.
edge of paper printing of of edge of distance
print format ink ink print
zones zones
SM74DI 745 x 605 59.5 10 740 x 530 740 x 510 23 32.5 35.5 2.5

Imagesetters Press Plate size Imaging window Y offset

SM74DI SM74DI 745 x 605 740 x 510 59.5

Feasible order for creating machines and resources

I. Machines

1. Filmsetters/platesetters

2. Sheetfed press/web press

II. Resources

1. Output parameter

2. Marks

3. Plate templates
306 Notes – Print Media Academy
Print Media Academy – Appendix 307

Appendix

Data sheet: Platesetters

Imagesetter Press: Plate size Imaging Window

Topsetter102 PF SM102 / CD102 1030 x 790 1030 x 766

Topsetter102 PF CD74F 745 x 660 745 x 636

Topsetter102 PF SM74 / CD74C 745 x 605 745 x 581

Topsetter102 PF SM52 525 x 459 525 x 434

Topsetter74 CD74F 745 x 660 745 x 630

Topsetter74 SM74 / CD74C 745 x 605 745 x 575

Topsetter74 SM52 525 x 459 525 x 429

Prosetter102 SM102 / CD102 1030 x 790 1030 x 790

Prosetter102 CD74F 745 x 660 745 x 660

Prosetter102 SM74 / CD74C 745 x 605 745 x 605

Prosetter102 SM52 525 x 459 525 x 459

Topsetter74 SM74 / CD74C 745 x 605 745 x 605

Topsetter74 SM52 525 x 459 525 x 459

Polysetter QM46 340 x 505 340 x 495

Suprasetter 105 SM102 / CD102 1030 x 790 1030 x 790

Suprasetter 74 + 105 CD74F 745 x 660 745 x 660

Suprasetter 74 + 105 SM74 / CD74C 745 x 605 745 x 605

Suprasetter 74 + 105 SM52 525 x 459 525 x 459

Suprasetter 74 + 105 GTO 510 x 400 510 x 400

Suprasetter 74 + 105 QM46 340 x 505 340 x 505

308 Appendix – Print Media Academy

Data Sheet: Sheetfed Presses

Press Plate Leading Gripper Max. Max. Number Width Tail Lat.
edge of paper printing Ink ink Edge of distance
print format zones zones Print

GTO46 450 x 370 35 8 - 10 460 x 330 445 x 310 16 32.5 25 2.5

GTO52 510 x 400 35 8 - 10 520 x 360 505 x 340 16 32.5 25 2.5

SM52 525 x 459 58 8 - 10 520 x 370 520 x 360 16 32.5 41 2.5

MO 650 x 550 47.6 8 - 10 650 x 480 645 x 472 23 32.5 30.4 2.5

SM74 /
745 x 605 59.5 8 - 10 740 x 530 740 x 512 23 32.5 33.5 2.5
CD74C

CD74F 745 x 660 43 8 - 10 740 x 610 740 x 585 23 32.5 32 2.5

SM102/
1030 x 790 43 10 - 12 1020 x 720 1020 x 710 32 32.5 37 5
43x37

SM102/
1030 x 790 52 10 - 12 1020 x 720 1020 x 710 32 32.5 28 5
52x28

Data Sheet: Papers

Paper name Grammage Volume Thickness Grade

Profisilk 80 g/m2 1 0.07 mm matt art printing

Profisilk 90 g/m2 1 0.08 mm matt art printing

Profisilk 115 g/m2 1 0.1 mm matt art printing

Profisilk 135 g/m2 1 0.11 mm matt art printing

Profisilk 170 g/m2 1 0.15 mm matt art printing

Zanders 135 g/m2 1 0.11 mm glossy art printing

Zanders 170 g/m2 1 0.15 mm glossy art printing

Zanders 250 g/m2 1 0.22 mm glossy art printing

Creato postcard
200 g/m2 1 0.18 mm matt coated
cardboard

Profigloss 90 g/m2 1 0.07 mm glossy art printing

Profigloss 115 g/m2 1 0.08 mm glossy art printing

Print Media Academy – Appendix 309

Plate template element

7

8
4 6

Autoregister PullLay
80 mm

1 CPC bar (DIPCO 1.4) 4 Slugline

Reference Point: Upper middle 5 PullLay
Parent: Subject 6 PKS control bar
There should be a margin of at least Reference Point: Lower middle
5 mm paper white on every page Parent: Plate
between the control bar end and the 12F mark = CMYK + Spot
sheet edge. BW mark = Black/white
2 Registration marks CMYK mark = CMYK
Parent: Subject 7 Blue dotted line
3 Autoregister marks the maximum exposure area
There should be a margin of 10 mm 8 The red area
paper white between the AR mark and marks the critical area
the slugline.
310 Appendix – Print Media Academy

Feasible order for creating machines and resources

I. Machines

1. Filmsetters/Platesetters

2. Sheetfed press/Web press

II. Resources

1. Output parameters

2. Marks

3. Plate template

4. Papers

5. Schemes

6. Plate layout

7. Customer data

8. Report headers
Print Media Academy – Appendix 311

Machines/resources and Signa job dependencies

312 Appendix – Print Media Academy

Preferences

This section gives an overview of the possible Prinect Signa Station preferences. The Pref-
erences area lets you define default folders and make general settings applicable to pro-
gram operation. There are eight tabs where you can make settings: General, Paths, Names,
Defaults, Resources, Import, Processes and Option Chooser. For further information please
refer to the Prinect SignaStation Reference Manual.

1. To open the Preferences select File > Preferences...

Preferences – General

The General tab lets you set the view attributes, the interface language, the parameters for
automatic file names, and the default user. You can also permanently hide or show the mes-
sages again. Prinect Signa Station will start without login window using the specified default
user if you enable the Default User option.

Enable the Show Units checkbox to have every value followed by the selected unit

.
Print Media Academy – Appendix 313

Disable this checkbox when you do not wish to see units in the text boxes. You can verify
and, if necessary, also change the unit by way of the toolbar.

Use the Default unit of measure popup menu to define the unit used throughout the pro-
gram. You can, however, always change the selected default unit in individual text boxes by
manually typing the appropriate unit abbreviation.

The Cutting Die option appears in the Job Inspector’s Colors tab if you enable the Column
for cutting die color option. When you enable this option for a certain color, it will be treated
like the ProofColor during output.

Use the Display color popup menu to define the colors used for identifying folding
schemes/assembly blocks, paper, printing plate and the critical area. The critical area is the
printing plate part where ink cannot yet be applied.

1. To change the display colors, choose the desired option in the Display color popup
menu.

2. Then click the icon next the Display color popup menu.
314 Appendix – Print Media Academy

3. Adjust the desired color with the color sliders, or type values directly in the text boxes.
The selected color appears in the Current color area.

4. Click OK to apply the selected color.

Click the Reset button to return to the previous color.
Click the Default button to show the default settings.
Click the Cancel button to cancel the changes to the color settings.

You can enable or disable the file naming options that are to be automatically applied when
a Signa job is saved in the Parameters for Automatic File Names section.

Usage of the folding sheet animation depends on the graphics adapter in the PC where
Prinect Signa Station was installed. Disable the Use hardware support in folding sheet ani-
mation option if your graphics adapter does not support the folding sheet animation.

Preferences – Paths

You must define the default paths for saving resources, jobs (assemblies), temporary fold-
ers, and PDF documents when you start the Prinect SignaStation application the first time.
You can also define a default folder for your output files here.

Use the Paths tab to change default folders at a later time. When a company operates sev-
eral Prinect SignaStation work stations, you should set up the folders on a server and spec-
ify these folders so all work stations can use the same resources. This facilitates the stan-
dardization of jobs and helps prevent errors.
Print Media Academy – Appendix 315

default folders under Windows:

Path to the workspace: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Hei-

delberger\PrinectSignaStation_3\tmp
Path to jobs: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Hei-
delberger\PrinectSignaStation_3\SignaJobs
Path to contents: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Hei-
delberger\PrinectSignaStation_3\pdfdocuments
Path to output: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Hei-
delberger\PrinectSignaStation_3\Output
Path to CAD files: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Hei-
delberger\PrinectSignaStation_3\Packaging-CAD

MacOS X default folders:

Path to the workspace: Start volume\Users\Shared\Heidelberg\

PrinectSignaStation_3
Path to jobs: Start volume\Users\Shared\Heidelberg\
PrinectSignaStation_3\SignaJobs
Path to contents: Start volume\Users\Shared\Heidelberg\
PrinectSignaStation_3\pdfdocuments
Path to output: Start volume\Users\Shared\Heidelberg\
PrinectSignaStation_3\Output
Path to CAD files: Start volume\Users\Shared\Heidelberg\
PrinectSignaStation_3\Packaging-CAD
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1. Click the icon to change the path to a default folder.

2. Browse to the folder you wish to select and click the Apply button.

3. The selected folder appears in the Preferences Paths tab.

Prinect Signa Station uses PDF files and Delta lists. To process PostScript files – without
first converting them to PDF – you must assign the Acrobat Distiller application by specifying
the Path to Acrobat-Distiller in the Select External Executables area. When you select Post-
Script documents for imposition, they will be automatically converted to PDF using the appli-
cation’s Distiller settings and loaded.

Specify the application for viewing PDF documents in the Path to Acrobat Reader area. This
will allow you to open pages in the selected Reader from within the application. You can
make late-breaking corrections when the selected viewer is Acrobat Professional.

Preferences – Names

You can use several layers in Prinect Signa Station. In some cases this is necessary if you
wish to position different PDF documents on different layers. In addition, you can, for exam-
ple, process multilingual documents in one job. One document can hold up to 12 layers.

The Names tab lets you freely name layers – for a better overview when you later assign
documents to separate layers.
Print Media Academy – Appendix 317

1. To change the name of a layer, click the Name text box.

2. Enter the desired name. Use the Tab key to go to the next text box.

In the Surface Names region of the Names window you can accept the proposed names for
the sheet offset or web offset surfaces or assign custom names.

You can define the contents of marks variables Replacer 1 to Replacer 15 in the Free Text
Replacer Names table.
318 Appendix – Print Media Academy

Preferences – Defaults

In the Defaults tab you can specify defaults for Bleed, Routing Margin Min., Routing Margin
Max., Max. Head Gap and Max. Gap . These values are automatically imported when you
create a file if the respective option is enabled. You can always edit these values in the job.

We recommend that you enable the Scheme filter option if you wish to only view possible
variants in dependence of paper and single page size when selecting an imposition scheme.
One Folding Sheet per Sheet defines that exactly one folding sheet will appear on each
press sheet. 2ups, however, are still possible when this option is enabled. You can use the
arrow keys on your keyboard to, for example, move assembly blocks. The cut marks will
move according to the creeping values if creeping is enabled. Enable Fixed Cut Marks in
Creeping if the cut marks are to remain at their original page position.You can change the
folding sheet sequence in a Signa job because of pagination while the press sheet
sequence changes analogously. Enable the Constant Press Sheet Order option if you wish
the press sheet order to remain unchanged.It may not always be feasible to apply place-
ment rules and marks to all job pages. Changes will apply to the pages of the currently
selected folding sheet/assembly block only when you enable the Restrict ‘Apply’ functions in
Page Inspector option.

In this window you can define the increment of the unit you selected and the ProofColor line
thickness. The ProofColor will be printed up to the folding sheet edge and not on the paper
when you enable the Lines till folding sheet edges option.

The Custom Screen Angles for Other RIPs section lets you define screen angles for CMYK
and spot color output.
Print Media Academy – Appendix 319

Preferences – Resources

You can set your own marks for those marks Prinect Signa Station assigns automatically in
the Resources tab. The marks must be available in the Marks Resources. Here you can also
select the Barcode Font being accessed in the Marks Editor.

1. Click the icon next to the marks type to be changed if you wish to assign a mark
from another resource folder.

2. Highlight the marks set containing the desired mark in the Choose Mark window. Click
the small triangle to view the set contents.

3. Highlight the desired mark and click OK.

320 Appendix – Print Media Academy

Use the popup menu in the Default for Other Resources section to select a product part tem-
plate from the resources you want to use for the product part user’s spread. The product part
used in the template must have been created in the Autom. Imposition mode. To create the
reader’s spread of a product part, go to the Jobs tab in the Browser window. Highlight the
desired product part there and select Product Part in Reader’s Spread from the shortcut
menu.

You can save a list in the HTML format from the Lists window. Choosing the Report header
option lets you load a template from the Report header resources.
Print Media Academy – Appendix 321

Preferences – Import

In the Import tab you can specify that the JDF Connector automatically starts, and you can
define the input and output folders for JDF documents. You can define an output parameter
set for JDF output in the Resources Default for JDFs with Job Prep Data section. The folders
for Default Groups for Imports (JDF / Signa 9 Template) of Plate Templates or Schemes will
be searched first for a suitable plate template or scheme. You can also define Automatic
Gaps with JDF Import here. The MDS section lets you enable the use of MDS and specify
the MDS server address. This option is available in conjunction with Prinect Print Ready and
MetaDimension only.
322 Appendix – Print Media Academy

Preferences – Processes

Define attributes applicable to loading of PDF files in the Processes tab. You can specify that
loading PDF documents automatically results in a Preview (72 dpi) or a Hires Preview
(144 dpi). The One Page per Color in Separated PDF function causes each color separation
of a separated PDF document to be assigned a logical page. Page thumbnails embedded in
a PDF document can be used for display in Prinect Signa Station when you enable the Use
Thumbnails for Preview option. You can also define attributes for HTML report creation and
specify that the output dialog is to close automatically.
Print Media Academy – Appendix 323

Preferences – Option Chooser

In the Option Chooser tab you select the basic packages and options for the Prinect Signa
Station application. Here you specify the License Server name or IP address. You can use
the Refresh Connection option to verify if there is a connection to the License Server or
refresh the connection if it was interrupted. Changes made to any licenses will take effect
after a program restart only.

Click the Reset button to reset the values on the respective Preferences tab to the last saved
values. Click the Cancel button to reject any changes made in any of the tabs. Click Save to
adopt the changes made in any of the tabs.
324 Appendix – Print Media Academy

Prinect Signa Station Backup

To completely restore the SignaStation environment after a new installation, the following
folders need to be backed up. The workspace holds all resources. The Preferences folder
holds all settings such as Unit of Measurement, Colors, etc. The respective folders are sub-
folders of

PC:

Workspace default folder:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Heidelberger\PrinectSignaSta-
tion_3\

Preferences default folder:

C:\Documents and Settings\“User”\Application Data\Heidelberg\PrinectSignaStation_3

Mac:

Workspace default folder:

Hard disk -> Users -> Shared -> Heidelberg -> PrinectSignaStation_3

Preferences default folder:

Hard disk -> Users -> “User” -> Heidelberg -> PrinectSignaStation_3
Print Media Academy – Appendix 325

Prinect Signa Station 3 definitions

Plate template Templates in plate size in containing all marks relevant for printing
and imaging. The marks as such are dynamic in Prinect Signa
Station, i.e. they are related to the sujet, the paper or the plate. The
mark position changes as soon as a parameter changes!

Signajob (*.sdf) like a plate template + scheme or assembly block + contents (PDF
documents). A Signa job can comprise several product parts.

Template like a Signa job but without contents (PDF documents). A template
can comprise several product parts.

Prinect Signa Station Signastation 9

Combination of template and plate template but
Plate template
without scheme or assembly block

Signajob (*.sdf = Signa Data Format) Signature + plate template

Signature + plate template but without contents

Original
(PDF documents)

Prinect Signa Station key shortcuts

Zoom in specific graphics window area: Ctrl + space bar + left mouse button

Zoom out specific graphics window area: Ctrl + space bar + Alt + left mouse button

Enlarge graphics window: Ctrl + “+”

Reduce graphics window to full page (auto function): Ctrl + “-”

Hand pointer to pan section in the graphics window: Space bar

continue in the Job Assistant (1 step): Ctrl + space bar

go back in the Job Assistant (1 step): Ctrl + Shift + space bar

Mac users must press the Command key on the Mac keyboard instead of the Ctrl key.

The Help menu provide a complete list of all key shortcuts. To call up Help, either press the
F1 key or click the ? in the menu bar.
326 Appendix – Print Media Academy

Marks handling - hotspot - reference point

Each mark features one hotspot. The hotspot describes a mark’s zero point. All in all there
are 9 different hotspots (see the drawing).

Sujet reference points

Paper reference points
Plate reference points

A plate template features the reference to the plate, the paper or the sujet and also the refer-
ence points. There are 9 different reference points. Hotspot and reference point have the
same names.