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1. ssscssscssesssssscscsssssssssseseseseseseess 32 Creating a new PixelBlaster Queue for a printer sseesseesseesseesseesseesseesseesseesseesseesseessessseesss 34 Configuring a PixelBlaster QUEUE sesesssesssesssesseesseessecssseossesseesseeeseroseeoseesseessersseesseesseeoseesseesss 35 WY TOW A EEA E ET T E E E S E 37 DE ON E EE A E E EA E E E E 43 BEV PUIG aE TE E E EE E P EE E TEE E A E E E AE S E 47 PrO A E E E EE AE E E 50 QUOI EE A A E EA N A E E E E E AE 53 Dai EE I E AAN AE AEA AA E NEE A N EE ses 56 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Managing a PixelBlaster Queue cccsssscccsssscccssssccccssscccssccessssscoees 63 PAUSING ANC resuming a QUCUEC scsssssssesssssecsssssssessssescscssssssesesesescsesssscsesesescsesesseseseaseesesaeseess 64 ET RGF a CN noar n T N 65 Deleting a GUCE rrur Treenaa eaen E EE NEEE ren en tere rere 66 OO Eh SS spin E EE EE ET E EASE E EEE A 67 FSU tS Er O naonna a 69 E a E cg A A EE NAA ATE E A aeerers arent 71 Managing JODS coiis iri EESE EE EEEN EEEE 75 Adding a job tO a QUE Ue ss ssesssessesssesseessesseessesseessesseessesseessesseesseoneesseosersseoseesseoseesseosersseoseesseosees 76 Reprinting aob sissioni anonn iedera eai ean n ea iioii 78 CRE VOD aE E E A A E E 80 Pausing and start jobs and printers sssessesssesseessesseessesseessesseessesseesseoseesseoseesseoseessesseessesseeseess 81 Viewing a processed Jo Drreniiassinuninini
2. PixeiBlaster CENTRAL USER MANUAL PixelBlaster Central User Manual Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Getting SUNT OO ncasds ces ccdacserdvastereecrisacssaieorsnancsioverecnsnieasueinvidr screens 7 Set p and Tt SINS acces sce ct acess sate ceysencesesstxenees bape exuecastneavssen esti sevsesetateerstneesasuelevetndinsestatpe bined 8 The Menu bar and Context MenU sesessseesssessssessseesssessseessseesserosseessseesseroseeosseesseeesserosseesseresss 15 The Tools palette and Tool baf ssessesseessessessessesseescesesseessessesseosesseesceneeeesseosesseoneeseesseneeeeoseesesse 16 The Quick Production Dar sssssisiseissnissusieniuasiesssaeniianssanivadsusaineaesiradincanusiissanrudeinkasosikineiendaiain tarasi 20 PO NENE e E E eee eee eee 22 Object edit OPTIONS uicverocaacenseseascevenseucurcacostxerccnssieuvesussvenssarsevenserseuietsninns 27 ECION TOOLS ari E AE A E 28 PRANI ODI C a A E E EE EE E T A E EA E 30 IO WIS ODE e aE E E A A ER 31 Copying and replacing ObjectS sesssesssesssessseesseessesseesssesssesssesseesseroseesseessersseessersseesseessessseesss 33 Pasting copied objects between two endpoints Of an object sssesssesseesseesseesssesssessses 34 AIONING ODJECE arar E E E E E 35 Crodling oDjJeCtS sererai rr AFE NE TE ETON 37 Overview of object types sssessssesssessseessseesssesssecssseesssessserosseeussessseossecesssrosseosserosserossrosseosseerssees 38 eand el E aaa TAA TE
3. sssessesssessesssesseessesseessesseesseoseesseoseessesseesseoseessesseessesseeseess 10 Installing the spectrophotometer ssesssessesssessesssesseessesseessesseesseoseesseoseessesseesseoseessesserssesseeseess 11 Installing the PixelBlaster software sseesseessesssessseesseesseessersseesseesseesseosseosscessceseeeseeosseosseosses 12 Installing PixelBlaster software on a Macintosh computer ssesssesssessscessersecsseesssesseessses 13 Installing PixelBlaster software on a windows COMPUTE ee ssesssesssessseeseeeseeesecsssesseessees 14 Registration and activation of software and license OPTIONS ssesssessseeseesecssecsssesssessees 15 Configuring output deviCeS s ssesseesssesssesssessseesseeseeeseessseossesnsessereseeoseeoseesseessersseesseesseessessseesss 18 Sharing PixelBlaster queues across the NetWorK ssessessseeseesseeseesseeseesseeseesseesersseeseesserses 21 Setting up the spectrophotometef s sseessesseesseseesseesecsseeseesseesecsseeseesseesersseeneesseeseeoseeseesserses 22 Setting the PixelBlaster Preferences sss sssesseesseesssesssesssesseesseeeserosecssecoseesseeonecoseroseeoseesseesseess 23 Backing up and restoring your PixelBlaster configuration es sssessssesssessssersseesssessseesss 26 Checking Tor Updates oueienn aasia orakade aiiiar 27 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster QUeUeS essssccccssccccssccecsssceees 31 About PixelBlaster Queues and Printer Media MOde
4. 1 Select the objects to which the gradient must be assigned 2 You can move the slider s in the Gradient panel above the color scale to set and change the gradient pattern Gradient E E E C Linea Radial 3 Doone ofthe following e For linear gradients drag a line from the start to the end point e For radial gradients drag a line from the inside to the outside PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 8 Object extra options Chapter 8 Object extra options Topics In this chapter Mask 92 Convert to path 93 Make pattern 94 Expand strokes 95 Outline 96 Object arithmetic 97 Group and ungroup objects 98 Compound 99 Layers 100 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 8 Object extra options Mask You can create a mask to display only a part of an object A mask is an object containing vector information A masked object is an object of which only the inter section with the mask is displayed Mask objects Open or import the objects that have to be masked Create a vector object that you will use as a mask Place the mask on top of the objects that have to be masked Select the mask and choose Arrange gt Bring to Front Select the mask object and the objects that have to be masked a uu fF WwW NY Choose Arrange gt Mask B a A Original B Mask Masked object Result Remove masks 1 Select a masked object 2 Choose Arrange gt Unmask The removed
5. 2 Clickthe Completed status indicator of the job in the Render column 3 Drag the selected job to the Job queue list The job is rerendered and then reprinted To reprint and rerender a job using a different queue Proceed as follows 1 Check the list of Processed Jobs and locate the job which you wish to reprint and rerender 2 Clickthe Completed status indicator of the job in the Render column Drag the selected job to a different queue in the Output to pane 4 Select the Paper Size and Paper Source and click OK The job reappears in the Render column of the Job queue list Its status is now on hold o 5 If necessary double click the Hold status indicator of the job in the Ren der column and check the information about the job 6 Clickthe Hold status indicator of the job in the Render column and click the Start job button La in the upper right corner of the main printer win dow The job is rerendered and then reprinted PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs Canceling a job To cancel a job Proceed as follows 1 Select a job in progress in the Job queue list 2 Clickthe Pause job button W The job stops and moves to the Processed Jobs list See also Deleting a job on page 84 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs Pausing and start jobs and printers About pausing and starting You can pause and start resume jobs but als
6. This is the current status as is without any adjustments made e If this is the second proof and measurement the set of measurements will be called Measurement1 indicating that these are the first adjustments you have made 9 You can now do one of the following e If the results are not satisfactory click Refine The target will automatically be reprinted and you can then measure this refined target again Repeat this step a number of times typically three to four times until the results are Satisfactory PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 2 Advanced applications e If the results of a particular set of measurements are satisfactory select the set in the list and click Finish For example you may have four sets of measurements of which the set Measurement3 had the best results If so select Measurement3 in the list and click Finish PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 2 Advanced applications Editing the paper color simulation white point correction About paper color simulation white point correction If you selected the option Paper Color Simulation when you configured your queue Proofing tab of the Queue Options you can change the simulation of the paper color in PixelBlaster Profiler This function changes the white point in the printer profile in accordance with the reference profile Reference Profile DeviceLink Profile To edit the paper color sim
7. To change the default document size 1 Do one of the following e In Microsoft Windows choose Edit gt Preferences e In Mac OS X choose PixelBlaster Central gt Preferences Click the Document size tab Do one of the following e Select Desktop printer page size e Select Custom size and fill in the desired values 4 Click OK PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started Grid You can use a grid and specify the distance between the horizontal and vertical lines of the grid You can make your objects snap to this grid for example to align them more easily Rulers grid and guides are available for working more precise With these options you can easily do your work and at the same time be sure you work precisely If you set a snap distance as described in the chapter Setup and preferences you can first choose to precisely place guidelines or to use a grid in order to place points objects or images on predefined coordinates The rulers easily show you where you are in the document Using the grid You can use a grid to work more precisely You can also make it a magnetic grid with a snap distance set in the Preferences 1 Choose View gt Grid 2 Ifyou want to use the grid with magnetic coordinates set with a snap distance choose View gt Snap to grid Using rulers and guides After you have enabled the rulers you can drag guidelines from the ruler 1 Choose View gt Rulers to display the rulers T
8. e Click the magnification percentage indicator and select a magnification factor e Choose View gt Fit page to place the canvas fit in your window e Choose View gt Zoom 1 1 to have the canvas shown at 100 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started Measure Tool You use the Measure tool in combination with the Tool bar It helps you to view information about the distance between two points al 5 916 pea 2 465 a of oo i i ele dees 1 Select the Measure tool from the Tools palette 2 Drag a measure line from a start point to an end point The Tool bar shows the measures of the dragged line PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started The Quick Production bar The Quick Production bar is placed below Menu bar and Tool bar T 2 002 6 267 x 11 693 aib MyPrinter MyMedia MyMode F MyCutter Defaut It gives access to e set media size and orientation e the Printer Media Mode popup e the Cutter popup if a cutter is configured e the Submit Job dialog Media size To set the media size for the current document 1 Click 826711693 in the Quick Production bar 2 Enter the horizontal or vertical dimension for the media If you wish to resize the media unproportionally unlink height from width s and enter the horizontal and vertical dimension i fal W Scale objects 3 To resize the image displayed in the media proportionally select Scale objects 4
9. fellow Black 2 Drag the mouse over the image The color of the image input and printer output are displayed in the Input and Output tab for the spot where the mouse curser is placed The Input tab also displays the Type of the currently selected spot Raster Path etc Switch profile Switch Input profile 1 Inthe Input tab click the ColorSync button a The Embed Profile window is displayed This window corresponds to the Color tab in the Preferences and the window when selecting Extra gt Embed Profiles Select the desired Colorspace Profile and Intent for the input Click OK Switch Output profile 1 In the Output tab click the ColorSync button 4 to choose an output profile 2 Inthe bottom of the Output tab you can also set the following PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 9 Objects Images e Convert spot colors to named colors e Add and remove extra Colorant definitions e Map spot color e Tonal corrections e Set a percentage for the Ink limit 3 Click OK PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 9 Objects Images Vectorize About vectorizing images Line tolerance Bezier tolerance Create corner at Number of colors You can vectorize images This means that the bitmap data will be converted to paths These paths are created according to the amount of colors you want to consider being of one path Vectorizing is useful if want your image to be cut out on a plotter
10. O object converting to outlines 96 converting to paths 93 object arithmetic 97 object style 82 object types overview 38 objects aligning 35 finding 30 grouping 98 moving 31 moving by dragging manually 31 moving numerically 31 moving using the arrow keys 32 scaling 63 skewing 65 ungrouping 98 outline 96 convert text to paths 50 outlines about 96 overprint 86 P paste special 34 pasting copied objects between two endpoints of an object 34 path creating by clicking points 44 creating by dragging 44 creating manually 44 cutting in half 67 putting text on a 49 path part replacing 70 replacing by bezier 70 replacing by lines 70 Path Tool 44 paths circular creating 45 patterns making 94 peellines using 52 perspective 75 creating manually 75 creating numerically 75 pie creating manually 39 placing text 47 text under a path 49 text upright 49 points aligning 80 joining within each others snap distance 66 positioning matrix 58 preconditions for printing 118 preferences 8 printer media mode 21 printing and contour cutting 138 tiles 136 production basics 118 production features extended 118 PS method Mac OS only 14 putting ona path 49 Q quick Production bar 20 PixelBlaster Central User Manual R rectangle 42 creating manually 42 creating numerically 42 rectangles editing 42 removing annotatio
11. See also o Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues gt gt on page 31 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs Creating a backup of a job About job backups A backup of a job is a ZIP file containing all the files which were used to process the job e ICC profiles e Printer profiles dfp e Job tickets e PDF files e An XML file containing the settings of your PixelBlaster printers and queues You may want to create a backup of a job in case you need support To create a backup of a job Proceed as follows 1 In the jobs lists locate the job of which you want to create a backup 2 Doone ofthe following e In Microsoft Windows right click the job e Inthe Mac OS Control click the job 3 Choose Back up Job 4 Select a folder and save the ZIP file PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs Viewing job information To view job information You can view information about a specific job This can be information about the job itself but also information about the queue in which the job was processed To view job information do one of the following e Double click the status indicator of the job in the Render or Print column e Select a job in the Job queue or Processed Jobs list and click the Job Info button us in the upper right corner of the main printer window PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs Generating a job ticket What is a
12. circular paths creating 45 color adding 83 89 duplicating 89 finding 84 list 83 mixer 82 picker 83 removing 84 89 color channels input 108 output 108 color edits Saving export RIP script 115 color information 108 color libraries custom vs default 84 color management change 24 override 24 preferences 13 color profile 108 PixelBlaster Central User Manual color space calibrated adding 83 colors moving 89 number of 110 combine documents 134 combine tool 134 comments inserting 54 removing 54 viewing 54 compound 99 creating 99 connect and split 78 constrain movement 31 context menu 15 contour cutting 138 about 138 convert text to paths outlines 50 to path 93 converting object to paths 93 objects to outlines 96 copied objects pasting between two endpoints of an object 34 PixelBlaster Central User Manual copying and replacing objects 33 corner creating 110 creating beziers or circular paths 45 compound 99 corner 110 ellipse manually 39 ellipse numerically 39 masks 67 multigon or star manually 41 multigon or star numerically 41 new document 22 new layer 100 path by clicking points 44 path by dragging 44 path manually 44 perspective manually 75 perspective numerically 75 pie manually 39 rectangle manually 42 rectangle numerically 42 template 120 templates 120 three point circle manually 40 three point circle
13. 42 creating 42 tuning 43 using 42 dot gain correction about 32 40 editing 40 dot gain curve editing 32 E editing break off percentage 40 dot gain correction 40 dot gain curve 32 gray correction curve 32 percent break off 40 properties of a spot color 48 spot color list of a printer profile 47 spot color list of a printer profile about 47 substrates 38 engine color 25 evaluating managed output 23 G gamut of the printer defining 17 selecting a printer gamut optimization method 17 gray balance correction 32 gray correction curve editing 32 ICC profiles regenerating 31 ink mixing curves about 20 adjusting 20 L linearization chart measuring 14 linearization target preparing 28 linearizing printer 14 loading spot colors from an existing printer profile or spot color library 49 PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual M managed output characterizing 25 evaluating 23 measuring linearization chart 14 media preparing 11 mixing curves ink 20 N name of the printer profile specifying 12 P paper color simulation 45 percent break off editing 40 percentage editing break off 40 photo printing queues creating printer profile 10 preparing linearization target 28 media 11 printer 11 spectrophotometer 11 printer linearization 14 preparing 11 printer gamut optimization method selecting 17 printer profile
14. Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues 1 Bit proofing queues A 1 bit proofing queue simulates a halftone printing process for which 1 bit TIFF source files are created such as for offset or flexographic printing Using the same 1 bit files generated for the press PixelBlaster composes and prints color corrected proofs As for color proofing queues the color space is limited to that of the refer ence profile The 1 bit TIFF format is secure and halftones in the prepress source files are preserved Screen printing queues A screen printing queue generates halftone separations from pre separated or composite files Outputs are ready to use silkscreen films About Printer Media Mode With the Printer Media Mode technology you can print from PixelBlaster Central to any configured printer without pre configuring the RIP with queues This way you can avoid to set up many different queues per printer ey Nevertheless for cutting it is necessary to define queues in PixelBlaster af Engine For details how to set up Printer Mode Media please refer to the PixelBlaster Cali brator user manual PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Creating a new PixelBlaster Queue for a printer To create a new PixelBlaster Queue for a printer Once you have defined a printer you can create one or more PixelBlaster Queues for this printer Proceed as follows 1 If you
15. PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 7 Object edit style Chapter 7 Object edit style Topics In this chapter e Object styles Colors Fills Strokes 82 e Finding colors 88 e Gradients and Gradient tool 89 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 7 Object edit style Object styles Colors Fills Strokes Style of vector based objects Color tab Every vector based object for example paths rectangles ellipses and text has its own style The style describes if the object is filled and with what color gradient or pattern it is filled The style also describes if the objects outline has a color and what the stroke width is The style of the selected objects is shown in the the tabs of the Color Fill Stroke palette e Choose Window gt Color or Fill or Stroke Color Fil Stroke Color Fil Stroke Color Fill Stroke Bz gt gt l Fill rule a Mia ci E sje Transparency qe Overprint TT The Color Fill Stroke palette shows per tab what fill or stroke color gradient or pattern is applied to the selected objects If a patch is crossed then no fill or stroke is applied If a patch contains a question mark then the selection contains multiple fill and or stroke styles You can create colors by using the Color mixer or you can select colors from the Color list When you drop a color patch on the Color palette the color will be applied to the currently selected objects When yo
16. The reference profile is not embedded in the printer profile 2 Click Next to get to the next wizard step See also e Profile wizard Dotgain on page 20 e Profile wizard Ink bleeding on page 23 PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers About adjusting ink limits To adjust ink limits Inkjet printers sometimes cannot constrain output as required by the gamut of reference profiles selected for calibration You can manually increase or decrease the channel specific ink limits that PixelBlaster sets for a printer profile on the basis of the spectral measurements of the linearization strip Proceed as follows 1 Select an ink channel from the list 2 Adjust the ink limit by moving the slider 3 Select the mode Maximum gamut or a Reference profile or select Manual to set the percentage manually via numerical input or via slider 4 Observe the dynamic effects of the change PixelBlaster The combination of printer ink and media results in a masimum reachable color gamut ou can if desired reduce this gamut to match better a specific reference profilegamut Reference Lab L 39 7 a 16 3 b 57 3 Maximum gamut F Reference profile e Percentage shows the channel capacity utilized at the current setting posi tion of the slider e Reference Lab shows the Lab value of the selected channel at the current setting of the slider e The chart shows the effects of the current se
17. W Fold o e Ae W Frame Solid al Black Z Bleed Se a Mirror No Corners W Grommets ee le afer 4 r 5 Default Horizontal E a ji7 4i7 17 417 Vertical E vt 11 056 11 056 Number of grommets D concel_ 7 Set the following as needed PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production e Fold introduce the extra material you need to add to provide fold tunnel or stitch The values introduced in the left top right and bottom fields will be added to the current job size Checking the Frame checkbox adds a line choice between solid dashed or dotted in the primary colors c m y or k on the current job size This can be used as folding line N M e Bleed introduce in the left top right and bottom fields the amount of image you want to put into the added extra material specified in step 1 Mirror will mirror the pixels e g used when creating tunnels for flags Stretch will duplicate the last pixel Solid presents you with a chooser to choose a solid color e g used to create a solid border for canvas frames e Grommets will add grommet marks also referred to as eyelets at the spec ified distances You can also create your own markers and save in the Grom mets folder inside the application folder It will then appear in the pop up list
18. creating 120 text 49 aligning 51 placing 47 placing under a path 49 placing upright 49 text Mac OS only 14 text box dragging 47 text on path 49 Text Tool 47 three point circle creating manually 40 creating numerically 40 tiles dividing jobs into 136 printing 136 tool bar 16 Tools palette 16 transparency 86 true shape nesting 134 types of objects overview 38 U ungrouping objects 98 union 97 units 9 changing 9 using peellines 52 tabs 51 V variable data 134 PixelBlaster Central User Manual vectorizing bitmap images interactively 111 images about 110 view color information 108 viewing annotations 54 views 15 W white generation tool 132 winding fill vs even odd fill 85 work disk 9 changing 9 Z Zoom Tool 17 PixelBlaster Central User Manual E al p gt 4 g d A R gt PixeliBlaster ENGINE USER MANUAL PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Installing PixelBlasterr ccccccsssssccssssccsssscccssscccccsssscccscssccsssscccsesscosess 7 installation OV OTIC WG gece wp coreasesttuce eusaceseasecscqesetnseces eosneencesstnc pteencsabatatdasnesteeaseatetarasenseaemeaeesesataeniorvent 8 Installing driver software for PeriPNerals cscssessssssessssssesssscessessesesesessesescsseseacsesseseseseesesees 9 Installing printer and cutter drivers
19. creating 28 creating for screen printing queues 28 defining 12 editing spot color list 47 relinearizing 30 removing spot color 48 specifying name and info 12 printer profiles about 8 creating for 1 bit proofing queues 10 creating for color proofing queues 10 creating for photo printing queues 10 PixelBlaster color engine 25 profile creating a printer 28 DeviceLink 42 printer 8 profile wizard 12 PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual profiles spot colors regenerating ICC 31 adding to the printer profile 47 editing properties 48 properties of a spot color editing the list of of a printer profile 47 editing 48 loading from an existing printer profile or spot color library 49 remove from printer profile 48 R tuning the visual representation 48 substrates regenerating ICC profiles 31 PROLE editing 38 relinearizing selecting 38 definition 30 printer profile 30 when 30 T removing spot color from the printer profile 48 target preparing a linearization 28 target printer S defining gamut 17 tuning screen printing queues creating printer profile 28 DeviceLink 43 visual representation of a spot color 48 selecting substrates 38 simulation W paper color 45 white point correction 45 spectrophotometer preparing 11
20. gt Setup and preferences gt Topics on page 8 o Getting started gt Setup and preferences gt Grid on page 10 Creating beziers or circular paths Creating beziers or circular paths is easy and precise because of the extra function ality of key combinations There are more ways of creating circular paths than by drawing it manually but the basics described below give you a powerful tool to create different objects Proceed as follows to turn a path into a bezier 1 Using the white selection tool R select a path 2 Select the Path tool from the Tools palette 3 Click the selected path hold down the mouse button and drag a bezier The selected line will be transformed into a bezier Handles will appear from the points that define the start and end of the path See also o Creating objects gt Circle and ellipse on page 39 Key combinations You can use different key combinations to create different path types e Dragging without a key pressed results in a cubic bezier going through the cursor position e If you hold down the Shift key while dragging you create a similar bezier as would be if no keys were pressed The difference is that in combination with the Shift key the bezier will be drawn smoothly in regard to the previous and next path e If you hold down the Control key Windows or Command key MacOS while dragging you create a circular path which consists of multiple points with handles PixelBlaster Cen
21. if the text has to be condensed or italic Below are some examples of text with a specific style normal text spaced text 3 mm condensed text 60 condensed text 130 Mtl feat 0 Alc Lend QP Dene nespia bewen the space between characters 5 Se SS the stretch above 100 means extended text text PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Putting text ona path Text on path You can place text on paths also on paths that are in a compound A compound is a group of objects put together as if it concerns one object 1 Select the Text tool from the Tools palette 2 Move your cursor over a path or a compound of paths The cursor change from the regular text symbol to a text symbol with a waved line 3 Click the path of your choice to type text on a path Text is placed upon the path and will follow the shape of the path AC gi Vlg Place text upright 1 Place text on path 2 Choose Type gt Upright characters P a ay ped Mei ot Place text under a path 1 Place text on path 2 Choose Type gt Align bottom aaa Ce A combination is also possible upright text aligned at the bottom of the path pao ond o specifi WE PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Convert text to paths outlines You can convert text to paths so that text becomes objects also called outlines You can apply more options to objects than to text Once a text is converted int
22. mistake before PixelBlaster processes them PixelBlaster actually prints composite reproductions of 1 bit TIFF files on inkjet printers The composite reproduction printed for each job integrates the set of 1 bit TIFF files placed in the input hot folder of the queue for processing 3 Click the Browse button 1 in the Input area and specify the input hot folder Every PixelBlaster Queue has a hot folder for processing input Any file which arrives in this hot folder will automatically be processed by the queue provided that the file format is supported By default the input hot folder e Has the same name as the queue e Isasubfolder of PixelBlaster Hot Folders For Mac and Windows XP this folder is located in the PixelBlaster installation folder for Windows Vista and Windows 7 either in the individual user s folder or in the public folder If necessary you can change the name or path location of the input hot folder This does not have any effect on the name of the PixelBlaster Queue An input hot folder e Need not bea subfolder of PixelBlaster Hot Folders e Can be located on a server volume mounted before PixelBlaster Engine starts SAi recommends setting up queue specific hot folders for processing input files generated by workflows 4 Ifyou do not want PixelBlaster to monitor subfolders of the main hot folder for incoming files check No subfolder scan S PixelBlaster should not monitor subfolders if a workfl
23. 43 Path Tool 44 Text Tool 47 Putting textonapath 49 Using tabs 51 Using peellines 52 Crop tool 53 Annotation tool 54 Dimension Tool 55 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Overview of object types Below is an overview of the most common objects that you can create with Pixel Blaster Central Rectangle Ellipse Multigon Star Path sketched Text Text on path Compound Image Dimensioning PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Circle and ellipse An ellipse is drawn in an imaginary rectangle By defining the rectangle the maximal ellipse is calculated and drawn within this rectangle Create an ellipse manually 1 Select the Ellipse tool o from the Tools palette 2 Dragthe ellipse 3 You can do the following e Hold down the Shift key while dragging to create a circle The X radius and the Y radius will be the same e Hold down the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS while dragging to start from the middle point instead of the upper left corner Create an ellipse numerically 1 Select the Ellipse tool o from the Tools palette 2 You can now do the following e To create an ellipse enter the desired centre values in the Tool bar Enter the desired x radius and y radius e To create a circle click the Link symbol amp both values will be the same e To create a pie fill in the values of the angles and se
24. Adobe InDesign or QuarkXPress open the file which you want to add to a queue Choose File gt Print Select a PixelBlaster queue instead of a regular printer Select other print options and then click OK or Print U A W N Switch to PixelBlaster Engine The file which you just printed to a queue will appear in the Job queue list To add jobs by using a hot folder When you set up your queue you specified a hot folder for that queue in the Work flow tab Now you can simply collect your files in this hot folder After a given number of seconds they will automatically be added to the queue and processed There are various ways to collect your files in a hot folder You can do the following e Select files in Windows Explorer or the Finder Mac OS and copy or move them to the hot folder e You can print to a file from within your source application and specify the path of the hot folder for example C PixelBlaster hot folders queue_1 color ad ps e You can use an existing output folder of a third party application as your PixelBlaster hot folder See also o Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues gt gt on page 31 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs Reprinting a job About reprinting jobs You can reprint a job or part of it If you do so you can also decide whether the job should be rerendered or not You may wish to rerender the job if e An error occurred when printin
25. C Color specific indicator whose value is different for each file and corre sponding plate Fixed job name Fixed number x of sequential nonspecific characters in the file name that PixelBlaster ignores when parsing the name of an incoming file Valid separating characters depend on the imagesetter RIP that generates the 1 bit files PixelBlaster can recognize these characters e Space e Underscore _ e Period e Left and right parentheses Left and right curly brackets PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Export For example In between sepa FixedText Cyan tif j_Yn_ c P FixedText_1_ Cyan 01 tif FixedText Magenta FixedText M Part of filename 10 1c FixedText_C tif FixedText_M tif and FixedText_Y tif 2 Select the matching condition that is compatible with the file name structure Options include In between Expects a color indicators within each file name in between the character selected from the list As extension Expects a color indicator as the extension of each file name Expects a color indicator for each file name As part of name Expects a color indicator within the section of the file name from delimited by the first and last characters selected from the list User defined 3 Enter the number of offset plates files submitted for recognizable jobs in the Number of plates b
26. Click the Output tab 4 Set the output properties of the PixelBlaster Queue e Printer profiles e Spot color library e Convert all spot colors to process e Convert all CMYK spot colors to process e Color edits mmm Observe the tips in the More info area to help you make the correct BG choices A printer profile is specific to each printer and media type that you are using for each queue Printer profiles Select the printer profile that most closely matches the target inkjet printer media combination Ei WA To be able to create a queue in PixelBlaster Engine or to print to the RS PixelBlaster Engine from PixelBlaster Central you need to have profiles installed for that printer in the Calibration folder You first need copy profiles in the Calibration folder or if you don t Ha have any create them with PixelBlaster Profiler You can find existing printer profiles in e The PixelBlaster library of printer profiles which is distributed on CD and updated in the Support area of http pbsupport saintl biz e The PixelBlaster Calibration folder on your computer which can contain standard or user defined printer profiles For Mac and Windows XP this folder is located in the PixelBlaster installation folder for Windows Vista and Windows 7 either in the individual user s folder or in the public folder PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues If the best match
27. Color Picker appears N Using the color picker compose a color The values you enter here will automatically be used in PixelBlaster The exact values can be translated to all other color spaces available in PixelBlaster 3 Click OK to add the color space Color list You can use the Color list palette for the following purposes e To store frequently used colors or colors which are specially mixed e To find a color in one of the color libraries Add color 1 Drag a patch from the Style palette or the Color mixer palette PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 7 Object edit style 2 Drag over the Color list palette A marker indicates the position at which the color will be inserted into the list 3 Drop the patch The color is added to the list Remove color 1 Drag the color from the list 2 Drop the color on the Trash button located in the top right corner of the pal ette Find color There are two ways to look up a color e You can browse through the color libraries e You can mix a color and add it to the color list or use another existing color and find a color which is near to that color in the color library See also e Finding colors on page 88 Browse 1 Click the book icon which is the second icon from the left A dialog box appears displaying the colors of the first library Select the desired library from the menu Select the color from the library 4 Click OK to add the color to the l
28. Dot shape DA Observe the tips in the More info area to help you make the correct T choices 5 If you want PixelBlaster to smooth dither the edges of the printed dots select Anti aliased halftones A Anti aliasing on B Anti aliasing off To add a channel Proceed as follows 1 Click the button PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues 2 _ If necessary double click New Channel and rename the channel Cyan ai Magenta C fellow B Slack E hy BlueChannel You can give the new channel a generic or a specific name e If you don t rename the channel and use the generic name New Channel all non CMYK channels will be screened using the angle frequency and dot shape settings which you specified for this particular channel e If you use a specific name for example Warm Red only the non CMYK channel with that particular name will be screened using the angle frequency and dot shape settings which you specified for this channel 3 If necessary double click the color patch next to the channel name and define its display color PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Chapter 3 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 3 Managing a PixelBlaster Queue Chapter 3 Managing a PixelBlaster Queue Topics In this chapter e Pausing and
29. Fisheye Perspective tools E e e Super tile Crop Place holder tools and Measure Dimension Annotate tools E D e Finishing tool and Cutter Registration Mark tool g ql e Pan tool i e Hand tool and Zoom tool iw e Generate white tool The Tool bar below the menu bar goes together with the selected tool from the Tools palette The most controls in the Tool bar change according to the selected tool and expands its functionality in some cases with sub functions which themselves may also change the other controls in the Tool bar PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started Hand Tool Zoom Tool For example some sub tools of the black Selection tool and their further controls are represented as follows T K n Alafo c g m e Epa a l Apply w j 4 Use the Hand tool to reposition your entire canvas instead of using the scroll bars You can use a key shortcut to temporary switch to the hand from any tool by pressing the space bar Use the magnifying glass to magnify or reduce the view of the document 1 Select the Magnifying Glass tool from the Tools palette 2 Click in the middle of the area from which you want a magnified view If you want a reduced view hold the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS while clicking Two symbols can appear within the cursor of the magnifying glass e The sign tells the new view will be magnified e The sign tells the new view will be reduced You ha
30. In Mac OS X choose PixelBlaster Central gt Preferences 2 Click the shortcuts tab In the left Commands pane choose the menu command which you wish to assign to a keyboard shortcut 4 Onthe right side of the window enter the Key and if desired check the Modi fier key Strg Alt Shift 5 Click OK PS Method Mac OS only You can select the method to convert your PostScript files to PDF e Using Ghostscript e Using the Adobe Normalizer Text Mac OS only You can specify the default font for new text which you type in PixelBlaster Central PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started The Menu bar and Context menu Menu bar Context menu The menu bar contains the following entries File Program and document related options like open save and print Edit Basic edit options like preferences cut copy and select View options of your window fit page zoom rulers grid and guides Arrange Arrangement of object options like group compound mask lock and object sequence Image Commands to make overall adjustments to an image Font type options such as align and font size Options that give the program extra functionality Twain profiles peel lines and all other extra options Most of these functions are only avail able with the Advanced Production Editor option Select the active window and define window sequence From this menu you can also select the palettes Pressing the rig
31. Link symbol both values will be the same uu BF W N Click Apply Edit rectangles numerically 1 Using the black selection tool select the rectangles you want to change 2 Select the Rectangle tool Ej from the Tools palette 3 Fill in the desired height and width 4 Click Change PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Sketch Tool Sketch modes You can use the Sketch tool to draw lines There are three different sketch modes NAS Freehand mode Stroke mode Calligraphic pen mode Freehand mode hairlines 1 Select the Sketch tool from the Tools palette 2 Select the Freehand mode g in the Tool bar 3 Drawa hairlined path Stroke mode Select the Sketch tool from the Tools palette Select the Stroke option gj in the Tool bar Enter the desired minimum and maximum pen width in the Tool bar A Ww N Draw a stroked path Calligraphic mode Select the Sketch tool from the Tools palette Select the Calligraphic pen a mode in the Tool bar Enter the desired minimum and maximum pen width in the Tool bar Enter the desired angle in the Angle box of the Tool bar U A W N Draw the calligraphic path PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Path Tool You can create lines and beziers by using the Path tool pi The Path tool has extra functionality when you use the Shift Control and ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS Using the Path tool
32. Proceed as follows 1 Double click the PixelBlaster Queue of your choice 2 Make sure that the correct Queue type is selected 3 Click the Workflow tab 4 Set the workflow properties of the PixelBlaster Queue Input e Job name recognition 1 bit proofing queues only e Export em Observe the tips in the More info area to help you make the correct BM choices 1 Enter a unique descriptive name for the queue in the Queue Name box Input By default PixelBlaster names the queue as follows queue type number for example Color Proofing 1 You may wish to rename this queue so that the name reflects the printer make and model and printing media as in Epson7600_SemiMatte Observe the following when re naming PixelBlaster Queues e The first character of the name must be a letter of the alphabet e Use underscore characters _ not spaces to separate the elements of a compound name e Use only characters which are allowed in file names by your operating system For example do not use a backslash in Microsoft Windows or a colon in the Mac OS PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues 2 Ifyou want to share the PixelBlaster Queue across the network make sure that the option Register as a printer is selected If you configure a 1 bit proofing queue click to clear the Register as a printer check box Otherwise people may try to print 1 bit TIFF files by
33. Select landscape or portrait orientation of the media Press the Enter key or click in the document PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started Printer Media Mode With the Printer Media Mode it is possible to print from PixelBlaster Central to any configured printer media and mode i e profile without pre configuring queues in PixelBlaster Engine So it is not necessary to create a queue for each printer and media combination which potentially results in a huge number of queues on the network when multiple printers and media types are used Nevertheless for cutting it is necessary to define queues in Pixel Blaster Engine For details how to set up Printer Mode Media please refer to the PixelBlaster Profiler user manual 1 Click a MyPrinter MyMedia MyMode in the Quick Production bar 2 Choose printer media and mode from the dropdown menues My Printer bal l MyMedia r o Myklode v Cutter The Driver settings button allows to define the settings of the job that are not fixed by the mode like cut after heater settings or cutting pressure 1 Click P myCutter Defaut in the Quick Production bar 2 Choose cutter and media from the dropdown menues fas MyCutter e Submit job 1 Click in the Quick Production bar The Submit Job window is displayed See also o Job preparation and production gt Printing tiles Submit Job on page 136 Pi
34. Select the queue which contains the printer profile which needs relinearizing 3 Click Edit 4 Click Next until you reach the Printer linearization window in the profile wiz ard 5 Print and measure the linearization target 6 Click Save Check your proofs by means of certified jobs Recalibrate your printer if the results of the relinearization are not satisfactory See also o Calibration on page 10 o Profile wizard Printer linearization on page 14 Certifying a job in the PixelBlaster Engine User Manual PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers Regenerating the ICC profile About regenerating ICC profiles You can regenerate the ICC profile if you wish to recalculate it with different settings without having to go through the complete calibration process You may wish to do this to test which ICC profile produces the best results To regenerate the ICC profile Proceed as follows 1 If necessary click the Printer tab 2 Select the queue which contains the ICC profile which needs regenerating 3 Click Edit 4 Follow the instructions in the profile wizard to regenerate the ICC profile See also Profile wizard Select printer gamut and adjusting ink limits on page 17 Profile wizard Dotgain on page 20 Profile wizard Ink bleeding on page 23 Profile wizard Color engine on page 25 PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers Editing the do
35. The calculated paths will resemble the background picture automatically In the Tool bar you can set the values for determining lines beziers when to create a corner and when to consider a color range to be of one path The line tolerance defines the extent to which lines will need to get around points sticking out or cutting into the picture The value is set in points or pixels the same pixels which make up the image The bezier tolerance indicates by how many points points which make up the image the bezier curves may deviate from the calculated lines The greater the tolerance the fewer the amount of beziers The setting Create corner at indicates the extent to which the transitions in the paths must be fluent If two successive lines form an angle that is greater than the value set the path will not be fluent at that point By default the angle is set at 60 If the value is set to 0 the contour will not be fluent at any point and so will create Straight lines only The value for number of colors defines when or if a certain color is included in one path The greater the value the higher the amount of paths PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 9 Objects Images Set values Select the image you want to convert to vectors Select the Vectorize tool from the Tools palette Enter the vectorization values for the conversion in the Tool bar A WN Click Apply Vectorizing bitmap images interactively Ex
36. additional specifications numerically The next window will appear after you double click a tab Tabulator setting Align Position mm Align char Cox PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Using peellines About peellines If text is used to create output for a cutting plotter that cuts out the text contours you can use the option Peellines If you have used peellines you can easily peel off the media around the text without tearing up the text Proceed as follows 1 Select a text box 2 Choose Extra gt Peellines The Peelline option dialog box appears 3 Select the option to place the peellines at half the text height or below every text line Peellines at halfthe Peellines below Original l i J text height each text line 4 Click OK to create peellines If you reposition the text make sure you reposition the peellines also PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Crop tool You can use the Crop tool to resize objects to the selected frame to rotate and move objects and to crop a file based on the PDF box Crop resize move and rotate 1 Select the Crop tool from the Tools palette 2 Draga wireframe over the object or In the Tool bar specify the Result size of your wireframe numerically 3 You can resize the wireframe by selecting and dragging one of the handles You can rotate the wireframe around
37. as the round cap but square Using the Join option you can set the corner of an angle Sharp A Prt Round Ay Flat A sharp angle can be defined by setting the miter limit to the level up to where the angle should be truncated PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 7 Object edit style Dash Editor Click the Dash Preview in the Stroke tab to invoke the Dash Editor Edit Dash SS SS SS CJC HEEF o Rest Creel GD You can use the Dash Editor to create dashed lines By entering values for the drawn dashes and the whitespaces you can create custom dashed lines and apply them to paths PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 7 Object edit style Finding colors 1 If necessary choose Window gt Color list to display the Color list panel Select the color which you wish to replace Click the Magnifier button in the Color list panel A dialog box appears in which the colors of the first library which are near enough are shown 4 Enter the maximum tolerance in AE distance in CIELab that the colors may vary from the original color 5 Select the desired library from the menu The colors shown are sorted by AE distance 6 Select the color from the library Click OK to replace the color PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 7 Object edit style Gradients and Gradient tool You can use the Gradient Editor to create gradients e If you drop a gradient patch on the
38. element If just one point is dragged within the selection frame all other points will be selected too e In combination with the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS select one path from a compound e In combination with the Shift key and the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS Include all points of an object by just selecting one point e By selecting a point that defines a bezier you can adjust the bezier handle with the use of the white selection tool Appearance oe Filled square Selected point Empty poet Not selected but part of an object from which other point s are selected Ne Square with handles defining a bezier oo Path from which one point filled is selected ee Path from which all points are selected Select all Choose Edit gt Select all The selected objects are indicated by means of a colored selection line Invert selection Choose Edit gt Invert Selection to select all objects that are currently not selected PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 2 Object edit options Finding objects You can select every object or item by using the Find function This function lets you specify which objects or items need to be selected The Find function roughly works identical to the MacOS Find function 1 Choose Edit gt Find A dialog box appears in which you can set the search criteria for the items you want to select Select where to search for items by clicking Document or Sel
39. folder for Windows Vista and Windows 7 either in the individual user s folder or in the public folder See also o Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues gt Output in the PixelBlaster Engine User Manual PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers About calibration Using PixelBlaster Profiler you can create and maintain custom printer profiles that target user defined printer setup media combinations If you do so you will need to calibrate your printer Calibration comprises the following major steps 1 The calibration process proper describes unmanaged and managed behaviors of the target printer setup media combination by e Measuring unmanaged output to capture nonlinearized results e Modeling ink limits and linearization to optimize managed output 2 The characterization process generates a custom ICC profile by e Measuring managed output to capture linearized results e Generating and recording lookup data required for color conversion PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers Creating a printer profile for photo printing color proofing and 1 bit proofing queues Process The process of creating a printer profile for photo printing color proofing and 1 bit proofing queues goes as follows Calibration 1 Preparing the printer media and spectrophotometer Profile wizard Specifying the printer profile name and info Profile wizard Printer
40. in the Tool bar An anchor will be shown on that position 4 Specify the mirroring angle e A positive angle means that the mirroring is counterclockwise e A negative angle means that the mirroring is clockwise 5 Click Apply or Copy PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 4 Editing objects Scaling objects You can change the dimensions of objects by scaling them By means of a scale adjustment you can enlarge or reduce the size of an image from the basis selected by yourself horizontally x axis as well as vertically y axis or from both axes Scale by dragging manually 1 Select the objects you wish to change with the black Selection tool 2 Select the Scale tool uy from the Tool bar 3 Click the position from where you wish to scale An anchor appears on this position 4 You can do the following e Drag the cursor to scale the object a e To scale the object proportionally hold down the SHIFT key e To copy the object while scaling hold down the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS Scale numerically 1 Select the objects you wish to adjust Click the Scale tool Bh from the Tool bar Click the position from where you wish to scale or fill in this position numeri cally in the Tool bar An anchor appears on this position 4 You can enter new dimensions in the Tool bar in two ways e Size Enter the horizontal and or vertical dimensions the corresponding percentual scale will be calculated
41. is not close enough you can create a printer profile with Pixel Blaster Profiler See also o Calibrating printers in the PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Spot color library You can use a specific spot color library for this queue Click the Browse button and select the library file you want to use The custom spot color library supplements the standard spot color libraries provided in the PixelBlaster Libraries folder For Mac and Windows XP this folder is located in the PixelBlaster installation folder for Windows Vista and Windows 7 either in the individual user s folder or in the public folder You can add or modify a custom spot color library later on Convert all spot colors to process You can convert all spot colors to process colors When you select this option Pixel Blaster looks up the process values for spot colors used by a job e Inthe input CMYK profile set on the Input tab of photo printing queues e Inthe reference profile of proofing queues See also Input gt ICC profiles and rendering intent on page 47 Convert all CMYK spot colors to process You can convert all CMYK spot colors to process colors To be convertible CMYK spot colors must have process CMYK names C or Cyan and so on PixelBlaster looks up process values e Inthe input CMYK profile set on the Input tab of photo printing queues e Inthe reference profile of proofing queues See also 8 Input gt ICC profiles and
42. know where to find the basic elements in the struc ture of PixelBlaster Central All elements are described at the same time as the actions are described in each chapter Topics In this chapter e Setup and preferences 8 e The Menu bar and Context menu 15 e The Tools palette and Tool bar 16 e The Quick Production bar 20 e Document 22 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started Setup and preferences Preferences You can find the preferences for PixelBlaster Central e In Microsoft Windows choose Edit gt Preferences e In Mac OS X choose PixelBlaster Central gt Preferences General The General preferences contain several preferences which apply to the general behavior of the PixelBlaster Central You can change the following settings Constrain angle The constrain angle is the angle to which the movements will be limited when the Shift key is pressed Snap value The cursor will snap to guidelines points or desig nated points if the cursor is within the snap distance as set in the preferences By setting the Snap distance you can work more accurate Undo levels The undo level is the maximum number of actions which are remembered No more than this number of undos are possible Display When more than the given number of objects are selected the bounding box of these objects frame will be dragged instead of the outlines of the objects Fixed RIP server The RIP server is normally found autom
43. linearization Profile wizard Select printer gamut and adjusting ink limits U A W N Profile wizard Dotgain Characterization 1 Profile wizard Ink bleeding 2 Profile wizard Color engine See also Creating a printer profile for screen printing queues on page 28 PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers Preparing the printer media and spectrophotometer Preparatory steps 1 Prepare the following items e Printer of the target model and connected to the PixelBlaster computer e Media of the target type e Spectrophotometer of a supported model e Third party ICC profiling software Optional PixelBlaster displays Lab values but actually uses spectral data to perform linear ization You must use a spectrophotometer to input spectral measurements of linearization targets Colorimeters do not provide spectral data On Windows PCs driver software for the spectrophotometer must be installed on the computer to which the printer is connected ICC profile generation by PixelBlaster is a feature of the Advanced Color option Turn on the target printer and perform a nozzle check Log on with an administrator account to the PixelBlaster computer Start PixelBlaster Engine U A W N Set up the spectrophotometer e Configure the spectrophotometer for use by PixelBlaster if necessary e Calibrate the spectrophotometer Optional See also o Setting up the spectrophotomet
44. mask will be put on top of the unmasked object as a hairline path PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 8 Object extra options Convert to path About converting objects to paths You can use the function Convert to path to change vector objects or text into paths Thus you can alter the shape like any other path This function comes in handy when you have created objects or text from which you wish to edit certain parts To convert an object to paths 1 Select the vector object which you want to convert to paths 2 Choose Extra gt Convert to path The selected objects will be converted to a path from which you can edit each part Tt Jt Plain text Text converted Edited paths to paths PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 8 Object extra options Make pattern About patterns You can open or create artwork and use this artwork as a fill pattern for objects or even text which you create in PixelBlaster Central You can create patterns from line art but also from pixel images xelB aster Text with a fill pattern created from a pixel image To make a pattern Proceed as follows 1 Open or create the artwork which you want to use as pattern 2 Select the object s and choose Extra gt Make Pattern 3 If necessary choose Window gt Color to display the Color palette The pattern which you have just created is added to the Color palette A A Pattern in the Color palette You ca
45. numerically 40 crop tool 53 cropping by dragging manually 53 custom library default library 84 cutter 21 cutter registration marks tool 135 cutting contour 138 path in half 67 shape from object 67 D dash editor 87 default document size changing 9 defining style 48 Dimension Tool 55 dimensions adding to your drawing 55 distance and angle measure and apply 80 distorting 73 dividing jobs into tiles 136 document creating 22 document errors view and correct 25 document size adjusting 22 dragging text box 47 duplicating color 89 layer 100 E editing multigons or stars numerically 41 rectangles numerically 42 ellipse creating manually 39 creating numerically 39 EPS multipage 102 error messages configure settings 13 14 even odd fill vs winding fill 85 excluding 97 expanding Strokes 95 export RIP script saving color edits 114 extruding 72 PixelBlaster Central User Manual E fill even odd vs winding 85 finding color 84 objects 30 finishing tool 16 127 fisheye 74 fonts 11 forced square 79 freehand mode hairlines 43 G generate white 132 gradient 89 gradient tool 89 graphic file formats supported 104 grid 10 grommer layer 129 grommets rings 129 grouping objects 98 PixelBlaster Central User Manual guides 10 removing 11 H hairlines 43 Hand Tool 17 handles of bezier curve
46. printers 18 Bonjour printers Macintosh only 18 printers 18 queues 35 USB printers Macintosh only 18 contract proofs solid black 51 converting all CMYK spot colors to process 54 all spot colors to process 54 creating backup of a job 90 backup of your PixelBlaster configuration 26 group of queues 67 new PixelBlaster queues for a printer 34 new queue based on an existing one 65 CSF loading 49 D deleting a group of queues 68 jobs 84 part of ajob 84 queues 66 DeviceLink profile selecting a for a queue 50 driver 56 setting the properties of a queue 56 software for peripherals installing 9 duplicating queues 65 E embedded profiles honoring 48 export specifying the folder of a queue 41 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual exporting jobs 89 f file formats supported 76 files specifying in the preferences when to delete files 25 fonts preferences 25 formats supported file 76 G generating job tickets 92 grouping queues 67 groups deleting of queues 68 renaming 67 H hiding job preview 94 honor embedded profiles 48 hot folder using a to add jobs to a queue 77 ICC profiles and rendering intent 47 information about jobs viewing 91 input 47 setting the properties of a queue 47 installation steps 8 installing driver software for peripherals 9 printer drivers 10 PixelBlaster on a Macintosh computer 13 PixelB
47. printing color corrected CMY and spot color raster points K black raster points are only color corrected if mixed with CMY In other words a set of CMYK plates is under full color management a K plate is omitted only in the absence of other colors Recommended for newspaper proofing Pure dot Prints all CMYK raster points without color correction Pure dot can improve moir detection and visibility of the rosette struc ture of a print Recommended for imposition printing If you want to compensate for a plate curve in the imagesetter or platesetter RIP that generates the 1 bit source files then define and select a similar curve from the Plate curve compensation list Applying an appropriate plate compensation curve makes printed output linear The list contains all user defined curves defined for this purpose and stored in the PixelBlaster PlateCurves folder You can click Define to create or modify a user defined plate compensation curve If you want to print 1 bit separations in black only select Print separations as black If 1 bit sources provide negative plates or films and you want to print positive proofs select Negative plates PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Output To set the output properties of a PixelBlaster Queue Proceed as follows 1 Double click the PixelBlaster Queue of your choice 2 Make sure that the correct Queue type is selected 3
48. resuming a queue 64 e Duplicating a queue 65 e Deleting a queue 66 e Grouping queues 67 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 3 Managing a PixelBlaster Queue Pausing and resuming a queue To pause and resume a queue Proceed as follows 1 Select a queue in the Output to pane 2 Choose File gt Queue gt Hold 3 To resume processing choose File gt Queue gt Hold again PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 3 Managing a PixelBlaster Queue Duplicating a queue Creating a new queue based on an existing one Duplicating a queue allows you to quickly create a new queue which is similar to one of the existing queues Once you have duplicated a queue you can change the properties for example the media settings of the queue To duplicate a queue Proceed as follows In the Output to pane select the queue which you want to duplicate Choose File gt Queue gt Duplicate If necessary select a different Queue type Click the Workflow tab Enter a unique descriptive name for the queue in the Queue Name box a uu BF WN Click the Browse button fal in the Input area and specify the input hot folder 7 Check and if necessary change the other properties of the queue and click OK when finished See also o Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues on page 31 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 3 Managing a PixelBlaster Queue Deleting a queue About deleting a queue To delet
49. select the PixelBlaster queue which you want to share and choose File gt Queue gt Setup 2 Inthe Queue Options dialog click the Workflow tab and make sure Register as a printer is selected 3 Click OK See also Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues gt on page 31 To share a PixelBlaster queue across the network You can share a PixelBlaster queue across the network in the same way as you share a regular printer Refer to the Help of your operating system for more information on sharing printers PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Setting up the spectrophotometer Configure and calibrate If you use a Spectrophotometer with PixelBlaster Profiler you need to configure and calibrate it on the PixelBlaster computer Configuring the spectrophotometer is necessary e When you use the spectrophotometer for the first time e If the configuration changes To set up the spectrophotometer Proceed as follows 1 In Microsoft Windows make sure that the spectrophotometer driver is already installed on the PixelBlaster computer 2 Doone of the following e Start PixelBlaster Calibrator select a queue and click Create printer profile e If you re in PixelBlaster Engine select a queue and click the Go to Profiler button isi in the main printer window Click the Measuring tab 4 Select your Type of spectrophotometer and the Port to which it is connected Click Calibrate De
50. started gt Setup and preferences gt Topics on page 8 Copy Hold down the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS while dragging The cursor changes into a double cursor indicating that a copy will be made when you release the button Move objects numerically 1 Select the objects which you want to move 2 Select the selection tool from the Tools palette 3 Move the objects using the Tool bar e Enter the new position of the left top position of the selection e Enter the horizontal and or vertical displacement e Enter a distance and an angle under which the selection has to move the entered distance You can also make a copy of the selected item s by filling in the number of copies Gi PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 2 Object edit options 4 Click Apply Move using the arrow keys nudging 1 Select the objects which you want to move 2 Press the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the selected objects step by step PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 2 Object edit options Copying and replacing objects Making copies There are several ways to make copies of the selected objects e Hold down the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS while dragging the selected objects The cursor will change into a double cursor e Enter a value for the number of copies in the Tool bar qi The current settings will be applied on the copy e Choose Edit gt Copy A copy of the selected objects will b
51. the rotation center by clicking outside the selection and by dragging the handles rotation mode You can move the rotation center by clicking to the rotation center in rota tion mode Or You can choose a cutout from the PDF Box dropdown menu in the Tool bar which allows quick removal of crop marks if the document is cropped To resize the document based on one of the PDF boxes e g Trim box To do this choose the appropriate item from the PDF Box drop down list POF Box None 4 Select Resize document in the Tool bar if you wish to fit the selection into the document s borders 5 Click Apply in the Tool bar PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Annotation tool Function The Annotation tool allows you to place an annotation in the active window ona special layer Annotations will not be printed or visible in further processes and are for use in PixelBlaster Central only To insert annotations 1 Do one of the following e Select the Annotation tool on the Tools palette e Click the Measure tool ey or the Dimension tool on the Tools palette and hold down the mouse button until the Annotation tool appears Click at the location where you want to place an annotation Type an annotation in the Tool bar To view annotations Select the Annotation tool and click the annotation icon in your active window To remove annotations 1 Select the Annotation tool and click th
52. to delete 2 Doone of the following e To delete a complete job click the job name Notice that the Interpreting Rendering or Printing parts of the job are selected e To delete a job in progress click the status indicator in the Render or Print column and click Pause job i e To delete multiple jobs hold down the SHIFT key when clicking the job names e To delete part of a job click the respective status icon in the Interpret Render or Print column 3 Click the Delete job button U The job is removed from the list See also Canceling a job on page 80 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs Media and nesting About nesting To load a roll The media size set in the Media settings dialog defines the nesting size not the media size set in a queue To save media you can nest i e combine several images on one printed sheet The media settings allow to define the nesting settings for the printer The nesting preferences are specific for all jobs sent to the printer The nesting will be applied on all jobs sent to the printer It will only combine jobs with the same media type and print mode and reference profile when originating from a proofing queue Jobs that are going to be nested will stay in the active print job list until the nesting criteria are met As soon as the criteria are met all jobs that are nested together will start printing and show a progress bar Th
53. to the printer output profile when printing the job This can be overruled in the Submit job dialog Viewing defines how the file is soft proofed on screen No Softproof The file will be displayed as if there was no color management and it will not show the printed result Printing standard This will display the chosen printing Standard or embedded output intent when checked on screen Printer output This will display the result of the chosen printing Standard on the printer using the chosen render intent Relative Colorimetric or Perceptual PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started Errors Color PixelBlaster Central contains an error reporting tool with which you can check the quality of the file when opening or at any stage of the job preparation It contains checks on color spaces text sizes image resolutions and more To configure the setting for error messages 1 Do one of the following e In Microsoft Windows choose Edit gt Preferences e In Mac OS X choose PixelBlaster Central gt Preferences 2 Click the Errors tab In the left Report pane check the items you wish to have verified in the file 4 Forsome items you can choose the precise setting for the item to be checked in the right Error Settings pane 5 Inthe Generate report on open dropdown list choose the option for generat ing a report Ask Always or Never Next to the default set of checks you can create your own checkli
54. when files needs specific settings in the Submit job dialog See also o Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues gt Layout on page 43 in the Pixel Blaster Engine User Manual Besides saving your document as a PostScript or PixelBlaster file you can choose to create a stationery file A stationery file is a file that you can open as an untitled document to be used as a template Proceed as follows to create a default stationery file 1 Start PixelBlaster Central 2 Choose File gt Document Setup 3 Checkand if necessary change the settings for example the document format or orientation portrait landscape 4 Choose File gt Save as and save your file as Default stationery in the Pixel Blaster folder PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production 5 Quit and restart PixelBlaster Central The default stationery will now be used each time you start PixelBlaster Cen tral PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production Finishing Tool amp The Finishing tool allows to e place grommets rings and eyelets e add borders for sewing cutting or folding and e add bleed The borders and bleed functionality offer the necessary tools for creating flags banners and more with specific parts of the image which need to be mirrored and enlarged 6 Select the Finishing tool from the Tools palette Er Finishing cep 17 417 cel 11 056
55. window click the Add Job button amp See also In the PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues gt Input Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues gt Output Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues gt Screening Creating the printer profile 1 2 In PixelBlaster Engine select the queue that you just configured for creating the profile and where you printed the target on Click the Go to Profiler button i in the main printer window PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers 3 Refer to Profile wizard Specifying the printer profile name and info see page 12 4 f necessary click Choose to import an existing ICC profile for a press or other CMYK target into PixelBlaster RH The selected ICC profile is a CMYK profile that e Is chosen for embedding in the printer profile set on the Output tab of the Queue Options dialog box e Serves as a separation profile PixelBlaster produces rasterized CMYK output from RGB images by converting incoming images colors e From those in the profiles set on the Input tab e To those in the embedded separation profile Do not quit PixelBlaster during the process of generating and calculating the ICC profile Instead minimize the PixelBlaster Engine and Profiler windows 5 Click Finish to save the desktop fingerprint dfp file in the Calibration folder PixelBlaster automa
56. 0 a 16 b 57 ai og t Saar nee mpor n A The ink mixing lever functions as a virtual border that ink mixing curves cannot cross Pulling the lever down changes the mixture such that less light ink and more solid ink is used PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers B The black diagonal line B models the linearity of the ink channel given the proposed settings Pulling the ink mixing lever too hard can result in a non linear curve that compromises the quality of printer output C The colored background C models ink laydown given the proposed settings D You can click Reset to undo manual edits performed on the curves themselves This action does not undo manipulation by the ink mixing lever E To facilitate the choice in ink mixing there is a fixed set of ink mixing presets only visible when light inks are present e Typical default setting as in previous versions This still allows the same manipulations as before e Economy uses less light ink Max 30 reducing the overall ink usage but can lower print quality e Quality keeps using minimum of 20 light inks Improves smoothness of the print can trigger over inking of the print e Quality ECO keeps using minimum of 10 light ink while reducing the overall usage of light ink to 30 compromise between quality and economy F A target to check linearity and print quality will be printed usi
57. 14 Registration and activation of software and license options 15 Configuring output devices 18 Sharing PixelBlaster queues across the network 21 Setting up the spectrophotometer 22 Setting the PixelBlaster preferences 23 Backing up and restoring your PixelBlaster configuration 26 Checking for updates 27 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Installation overview System requirements The system requirements are listed on the product pages on the SAi Web site http pbsupport saintl biz Administrator account required To install and use PixelBlaster you need to log on to your computer with an administrator account Installation steps Installation for PixelBlaster includes 1 a uu fF W N Installing driver software for peripherals e Inkjet printers e Spectrophotometer Installing the PixelBlaster software Registration and activation of software and license options Configuring output devices Sharing PixelBlaster queues across the network Setting up the spectrophotometer PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Installing driver software for peripherals Peripherals used by PixelBlaster and requiring driver software include e Inkjet printers e Spectrophotometer PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Installing printer and cutter drivers Manual installation of printer drivers Requiremen
58. 3 4 Ul Click the Circle tool on the Tools palette and hold down the mouse button Select the Multigon Star tool A Fill in the desired radius angle and number of corners If necessary fill in the desired centre in the Anchor boxes By default 0 0 is used as centre Click the Multigon or Star zl button and specify the size Click Apply Edit multigons or stars numerically 1 U A W N Using the black selection tool select the multigon or star which you want to change Click the Circle tool on the Tools palette and hold down the mouse button Select the Multigon Star tool Change the desired values in the Tool bar Click Change p Ifyou have changed the number of corners in the Tool bar this number will become the default value PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Rectangle 0 Create a rectangle manually 1 Select the Rectangle tool Ej from the Tools palette 2 You can do the following e Draw the rectangle e To create a square hold down the Shift key while dragging The width and height of the rectangle will be the same e Tostart from the centre point instead of the upper left corner hold down the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS while dragging Create a rectangle numerically 1 Select the Rectangle tool Ej from the Tools palette Fill in the desired top left corner values Fill in the desired width and height To create a square click the
59. 42 Editing the paper color simulation White point correction sesssessesssessesssesseessesseessess 45 Editing the spot color list of a printer profile esesssessseessesssesseeessesssessseossceseceseeesecossessseosses 47 PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual PixelBlaster Engine User Manual PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers Chapter 1 Calibrating printers Precondition Ry Before doing anything with PixelBlaster Profiler make sure that PixelBlaster RS Engine is started Topics In this chapter e Printer profiles 8 Creating a printer profile for photo printing color proofing and 1 bit proofing queues 10 e Preparing the printer media and spectrophotometer 11 e Profile wizard Specifying the printer profile name and info 12 e Profile wizard Printer linearization 14 e Profile wizard Select printer gamut and adjusting ink limits 17 e Profile wizard Dotgain 20 e Profile wizard Ink bleeding 23 e Profile wizard Color engine 25 Creating a printer profile for screen printing queues 28 Relinearizing the printer profile 30 Regenerating the ICC profile 31 Editing the dot gain or gray correction curve 32 PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers Printer profiles About printer profiles PixelBlaster controls the output of inkjet printers through the use of printer profiles Printer profiles optimize output for printin
60. About the Actions palette 78 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 6 Object Actions About the Actions palette You can use the Actions palette to apply conversions to points and paths To display the Action palette choose Window gt Action The Action palette appears FS 4d 9h Oe AEH x aD Whenever you select or define an action this action will be stored in the memory for further use Thus the measuring and applying of the distance or angle between points can be applied to multiple objects consecutively In all cases you first select the path or point and then apply the action You measure the angle or distance select the action and then apply it by clicking the points you want to have adjusted By Shift clicking your can apply the action to more than just one pair of points Connect and Split i Connects selected points with the same coordinates or that are within the snap distance If two points are selected that are not within the snap distance a line will be drawn between them 3 lt Splits a path at the selected points Round and Sharpen A Rounds a selected angle See Editing objects gt Round on page 68 N Replaces multiple paths by an angle See Editing objects gt Sharpen on page 69 Style measure and apply a If an object is selected and has a certain style you can measure the style by clicking the Measure style action button The measurement will be stored in memory This means all sty
61. Blaster Central gt Preferences Click the Fonts tab Click Add and select the folder which contains fonts To remove locations 1 Do one of the following e In Microsoft Windows choose Edit gt Preferences e In Mac OS X choose PixelBlaster Central gt Preferences 2 Click the Fonts tab 3 Select the fonts folder to be removed 4 Click Remove These settings are not applied in the Text tool FA The Text tool is using TrueType and PostScript fonts See also o Creating objects gt Text Tool on page 47 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started Standard To facilitate standardized printing this tab defines what to do with files that do or do not contain an output intent and how you want to softproof view them in the Central Printing standard defines which reference is set when opening a file Printing standard Choosing an ICC profile from the dropdown menu dropdown menu assigns this ICC as output intent or reference to the file at opening Use PDF X output intent The embedded intent will be used rather than the profile set in ICC profile Printing standard Produces the job exactly as the designer intended including all transparency and overprint effects Choosing this option will accurately convert all colors from input to output intent and then to the printer profile If this is not desired the check box should be unchecked Colorimetric or Perceptual Defines the default way to convert
62. Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Select the job ticket of your choice from the list Note for proofing queues Using PixelBlaster you can measure the IDEAlliance media wedges to verify that the colors of the proof are within industry standard or user defined tolerances PixelBlaster 1 Compares the colors of the patches of the media wedge to points in the reference profile 2 Determines whether delta E values are within the limits defined by the chosen standard ISO or custom See also o Generating a job ticket on page 92 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Input To set the input properties of a PixelBlaster Queue Proceed as follows 1 Double click the PixelBlaster Queue of your choice 2 Make sure that the correct Queue type is selected 3 Click the Input tab 4 Set the input properties of the PixelBlaster Queue e ICC profiles and rendering intent e Honor embedded profiles e Black point compensation e Pure hue e Load CSF em Observe the tips in the More info area to help you make the correct bA choices Screen printing queues Color conversion of images depends on the selection of a reference profile that serves as a separation profile This reference profile is embedded in the printer profile used by the queue For example to set up generation of halftone separations from an RGB image you could 1 Select Adobe
63. Gradient panel the gradient will be applied to the currently selected objects e If you drop a patch directly on a object only the object will be affected SS i hl Gradient Color list ra q cal 4 cs E C Linear oo f FRadial 100 047 100 100 Gradient Add color 1 Drag a color patch from the Color list palette 2 Drop it on the desired position on the gradient in the Gradient panel The dropped color is added to the gradient on the dropped position Duplicate color 1 Hold down the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS and drag a color patch from the gradient 2 Drop the color patch on the desired position on the gradient The dropped color is added to the gradient on the dropped position Remove color 1 Drag the color patch out of the gradient slider 2 Release the mouse button in the area just below Linear and Radial in the Gra dient panel The color is removed from the gradient If there are no more than two colors the remove action will be cancelled Move color 1 Drag the color patch you want to move from the gradient PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 7 Object edit style 2 Drop it on the desired position on the gradient The color will be moved to the new position in the gradient If there are not more than 2 colors than the move action will be cancelled Apply a gradient pattern You can use the Gradient tool ay to assign the current gradient to one or more objects
64. I R 39 Creating a three point circle sessessesssesseesserseesseeseesseeseesseoseessesseeoseoseesseoseeoseoseesseoseeoseoserssesseesses 40 MOGO E aae E E E E E E AE 41 KERE E E E E E A E E AE A E E A 42 OKC TOOL oiingan a a EEEE EAEE Ee EESAN EE E E EE E A teers 43 PA TOO E A EEE A S S E E E eeceeeseeee de 44 TORC TOOL aaran e E E E E EE E E sestsnaccceseutcs tects 47 PUTO OE ON a ae a ea EE E E E A E EEA AA 49 OET EE e e EE E E T E E A E sonecenteeeantonnts 51 Veng pecie errara EE E A E E E 52 Eae COON ENEE EAEE I AEA E AEA AN E AE TE 53 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 PixelBlaster Central User Manual ANNON TOON aenea E E E EEEE A E etre EE eee eee 54 DIME LOT TOOP oarn E A E 55 Lolila Kol eT e n A E E E E 57 POSKIORINO TNO TI graiia aE AE EEI TEEN E E ATE EEN 58 FOU ACS OD S05 o a E E E AE 59 NOODI S pirori E E E E EAE EE 61 S EL Sele E S EE AE AE EAT E A A EE A E 63 KOW ODJECE sonnan TE E T 65 DON a E E E EE E A E 66 E18 EPEAN E E TITI A NAA E ATEO A 67 ROUNO ie E a Get eee ance esac ecetsee 68 DV LID IY E lt tc 2esg E E E A 69 FS 00 ACU S cease cere cect NE E AN E A OE A 70 Opj ct special FF Kescsceccesveseasssncessenactecessavecnavusesessnsstvescvessscescesevancenauvesecass 71 ECS acre csc E EAN I A A OA EE A A A VE eavasoneeaeteacee 72 DIOR a E E E een errr earner rern ree 73 EAE E E EE A A E E E N EEE EAA E E E E 74 Por DECI a E E 75 ODject Actions cases ssicaccasenseascscesneesusecesseu
65. Ifyou wish to copy the object while rotating it specify the number of copies 7 Click Apply PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 4 Editing objects Mirror objects amp You can mirror an object through an imaginary axis This axis can be horizontal vertical or have any angle Mirror by dragging manually 1 Select the objects which you want to mirror Select the Mirror tool from the Tools palette Click the first point of the imaginary axis through which the object must be mirrored An anchor will be shown on that position Place the cursor on the second point of the imaginary axis and drag the axis until you reached the desired angle To use a constrain angle hold down the SHIFT key while dragging The angle will be constrained to 15 or the value you set in the Preferences To copy the object while rotating it hold down the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS while dragging The cursor changes into a double cursor indicating that a copy will be made when you release the button See also Mirror numerically Getting started gt Setup and preferences gt Topics on page 8 Select the objects which you want to mirror Select the Mirror tool from the Tools palette Do one of the following e Click the first point of the imaginary axis in which the object must be mirrored PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 4 Editing objects e Fill in the coordinates of the anchor
66. ML file containing the settings of your PixelBlaster preferences printers and queues To create a backup of your PixelBlaster configuration Proceed as follows 1 Choose Edit gt Back up settings 2 Selecta folder and save the ZIP file To restore a backup configuration Proceed as follows 1 If necessary create a backup of your current PixelBlaster configuration Any changes which you have made to your PixelBlaster configuration since RS the latest backup will be removed when you restore the backup For example if you created a new queue since then the queue will be removed 2 Choose Edit gt Restore 3 Select the backup file zip which you created earlier and click Open 4 Restart PixelBlaster RIP PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Checking for updates Automatic update check for PixelBlaster software and printer profiles Updates for PixelBlaster software and printer profiles are always checked automati cally when the computer is connected to the internet When there are updates for printer profiles or software available you are asked to download them now or to update later e g A new version of PixelBlaster is now available PixelBlaster is now available you have 2 0 0 5000 Would you like to download it howe Release Notes HP DesignJet 3000 102 Profile update for HP Designlet 3000 Remind Me Later Install Update 1 Select Install Update to update imm
67. Mag9e sssessesssesseessesseessesseessesseessesseessesseeseesseeses 105 CI SS a A E E EE 106 aoe I O ON ep E E E EEA 107 Color profile information se sssessessseeseessessessseeseesseeseesseoseesseoseesseoseesseoueesseoseesseoseesseoseeoseoseeeseeseess 108 YO ONZ E E E E E E Term rremcrr rer etry rete 110 Export RIP Script saving color edits ssssesssessssessseesssessseessseessseosseesssessseessseosseessseesssesssees 114 Job preparation and ProductiON cccsccccsscccsssccssscccscscccssscccssccoscsces 117 Producton SCS arcresnri nanen EE E E A 118 Creating templateS seessessessseeseesseeseesseeseesseeseesseesersseeseessteseesseoseesseoneesseoseesseoseesseoseroseoseeoseoseess 120 EEES EA E A E E E A E E T E 127 SUPET TIE OO oniiir EE EA EAE ANENE ENA EEA 130 Generate Wte TOOL paenan aR 132 COMPE TOO an E yer eieearhterr errata rrr 134 Cutter registration marks tool esessesssessesssesseessesseesseoseesseoseesseosersseoseesseoneessesseesseoseesseoseessesseess 135 Printing tiles SUDNMmiit JOD sssrinin e in aieeaa oi e NEE arae Ae rE aSa TiN 136 Printingand contour CUING agesayqveterincy receneressscpteancnetacesaceseuteneaea a broreeoea nartieoeseereieocaaie 138 PixelBlaster Central User Manual PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started Chapter 1 Getting started Before starting to create and edit objects you should get an overview of the main controls of the application and
68. Open an image and adjust its colors using one or more commands in the Image menu Choose Image gt Export RIP Script Save your color edits in the PixelBlaster ImageEdits folder For Mac and Windows XP this folder is located in the PixelBlaster installation folder for Windows Vista and Windows 7 either in the individual user s folder or in the public folder w Color edit files can only be used in PixelBlaster Queues if SS Ea 1 x e They are saved in the PixelBlaster ImageEdits folder e They have the imgedit extension Do not rename or move a color edit file once you have used it in a Pixel Blaster Queue 4 InPixelBlaster Engine select the queue in which you wish to use the color edits and do one of the following e Double click the PixelBlaster Queue e Choose File gt Queue gt Setup e Click the Queue Options button ES and choose Setup Queue Click the Output tab 6 Select your imgedit file from the Color edits list Color edits color edit ingedit 7 Click OK See also o Creating and configuring PixelBlaster queues gt Output in the PixelBlaster Engine User Manual PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 9 Objects Images PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production Chapter 10 Job preparation and production Topics In this chapter e Production basics 118 e Creating templates 120 e Finishing Tool 127 e Super Tile Tool 130 e G
69. P licenses st Editor licenses 6 Single Driver ID FI E I E I T 04 Driver class 1 Driver class 2 Driver class 3 Driver class 4 Driver class 5 Print count Status code suUs502 5 Activate License info This shows detailed information about installed PixelBlaster products license type which licenses are in use on which computers IP addresses number of licenses the validated driver classes for the license and the status code of the license Options This shows all installed options You can install the license add or remove options Add remove licensed options 1 Start PixelBlaster Engine on the license server with an administrator account 2 Choose Help gt License Info The License Info window appears with all licensed options checked which are currently installed Activate deactivate the checkbox es for the option s 4 Click Activate The Activate license window is displayed 5 Enter the registration code from your license voucher and click OK PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster About license server 6 Quit and restart PixelBlaster Engine License Server is a program which allows you to use multiple PixelBlaster programs on multiple computers in a network It does so by distributing the licenses over your network Only one License Server can run in a network If a second License Server is started the first one will quit without warning but this eve
70. RGB as the input profile set on the Input tab 2 Select ISO Coated ICC as the separation profile embedded in the printer pro file set on the Output tab PixelBlaster in turn 1 Converts the supplied image from RGB to CMYK with reference to the profile settings 2 Generates halftone separations from the resulting CMYK image ICC profiles and rendering intent You can set the input ICC profiles and rendering intents for images and vector graphics PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues If you re going to print images or vector graphics of a given color space to this queue it is strongly recommended that you select and ICC profile for that color space If the workflow uses a known ICC profile you can use that profile If you select the RGB to Gray profile conversions are from RGB to Lab Gray For the Cie Lab color space PixelBlaster always uses the CIE Lab D50 profile For proofing queues it is recommended not to select any profiles Honor embedded profiles Images and vector graphics may already be tagged with an ICC profile If you expect this to be the case you can select the option Honor embedded profiles The ICC profiles embedded in images and vector graphics will then take precedence over the input ICC profiles you specify for the PixelBlaster Queue For proofing queues it is recommended not to select this option Black point compensation If
71. The value set in the left top right and bottom fields will be the center of the grommet relative to the current job size No grommets will be placed on a side if 0 is set as value Grommets will be placed outside of the current job size if a negative value is set Either define a specific number of grommets horizontally and vertically fields or specify the desired distance between grommets 8 Click OK PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production Grommet layer If you add grommets these will be put on a separate layer Rings layer e WE W Ifyou specify an invalid number of rings with respect to their size and posi tion the OK button will be dimmed If so change the size position or number of rings A See also Layers on page 100 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production Super Tile Tool Tilling a job 1 Click the Super Tile tool 4 on the Tools palette 2 Double click on the job to open the Tile Properties dialog Tile properties Overlap Top 0 079 Dimensions X positian 3 Y pasition g Left 0 079 Width 2 282 Right 0 079 Height 1 074 Label ET Will be produced Divide me ee 3 Then click the Divide button to access the Divide tile dialog Bottom 0 079 Divide tile Divide vertically into ie 2 tiles L 1 074 tiles Overlap opti
72. Topics In this chapter e Extrude 72 e Distort 73 e Fisheye 74 e Perspective 75 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 5 Object special F X Extrude g Using the Extrude tool fi you can create objects with dimensions Every created object can get a 3D look with this tool 1 Select the object you want to convert to a three dimensional item 2 Select the Extrude tool a from your Tools palette A red box appears with one handle in the upper right corner 3 Doone of the following e Drag this point over your canvas A box will be created in which the depth of your new object will be placed e Enter the values for the displacement in the Tool bar and click Apply After dragging or inserting the values a three dimensional object is created A red line with handles lets you define in what way the effect will take place It gives a preview of how it will convert the objects you selected PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 5 Object special F X Distort 7 The Distort tool r lets you alter the dimensions of an object or a group of objects You can give the object s a 3D look or create the illusion of perspective 1 2 3 Select the object s you want to alter Select the Distort tool r from the Tools palette Select the type of distortion from the Tool bar that you want to apply A red line with handles lets you define in what way the distortion will take place It gives a preview of how it will dis
73. ad spot colors from an existing printer profile or a spot color library e You can measure a spot color on a proof and save the measured values e You can specify the spot color s values and opacity Once you have defined spot colors you can also tune their visual representation The spot colors which you add to the printer profile take precedence over any other custom or standard spot color libraries See also o Spot color handling in the PixelBlaster Engine User Manual To edit the spot color list of a printer profile Proceed as follows 1 Click the Spot Color tab 2 Select the queue which has a printer profile of which you want to edit the spot color list 3 Click Select and Tune Spot Colors gt Edit 4 You can now do one of the following gt To add spot colors to the printer profile e To remove a spot color from the printer profile e To edit the properties of a spot color e To tune the visual representation of the spot color e To load spot colors from an existing printer profile or spot color library To add spot colors to the printer profile 1 Click the plus button below the spot color list 2 Type a name for your spot color PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 2 Advanced applications Do one of the following e To enter the values of your spot color manually select CIELab or CMYK values and specify the respective values Specify the Opacity by moving the Slider or by entering a value e Mea
74. amples You can interact in the vectorizing process when you are going to vectorize bitmap images At this moment it is not possible to do this with color images The calculated paths will automatically resemble the background picture In the Tool bar you can set the values for determining lines beziers when to create a corner and when to consider a color range to be of one path as you would do with color images described at the previous page The interaction lies in the fine tuning of the preview path that is calculated and applied after clicking Apply If you select the Vectorize tool 2 and the image is a bitmap image black and white a cyan preview path will appear which you can alter as follows e Hold down the Shift key and click the path to add or delete points where the path will be calculated through e Press the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS to add points where the path will be calculated fluently through In the palette you can choose to view the preview path as lines or as curves Below you see two examples of cyan previews The numbers define the values set in the Tool bar for the following settings e Line or bezier e Line tolerance e Bezier tolerance e Create corner at Original PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 9 Objects Images Line 2 8 2 60 Curve 2 8 2 60 Curve 2 8 1 60 This example shows the preview where the contour will be formed by lines The set line tol
75. anual Chapter 9 Objects Images Scan images You can directly scan from TWAIN supporting scanners The scanned image will be placed on the canvas of your document To select a scanner 1 Choose Extra gt Twain Select Source 2 Select your scanner and click Select To scan an image 1 Choose Extra gt Twain Acquire The Twain scan preview window of your scanner manufacturer appears For information on how to scan or set up your Twain preferences refer to the user documentation of your scanner 2 Select the area which you want to scan and click Scan PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 9 Objects Images Image information You can see specific information about an imported or scanned image Using the black Selection tool amp double click the image The Image info dialog box shows you the following information about the image Profile 150 Coated H eight 424 Size 541024 Location on disk Properties Transparency _ _ o Oo verprint _ Transformed PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 9 Objects Images Color profile information View colors of an image You can view the color channels of the displayed image based on a selectable color profile 1 If necessary choose Window gt Input or Window gt Output to display the Color channel panel Input Output Input Output ISO Coated wz ECI Colorspace Adobe RGE 1 998 A Cyan ae Type Raster Magenta
76. ard Dotgain see page 20 uu BF W N Profile wizard Ink bleeding see page 23 Characterizing Managed Output Set up generation of the ICC target and custom ICC profile to embed in the printer profile PixelBlaster complies with the Committee for Graphic Arts Technologies Standards CGATS standards for data interchange format and is compatible with compliant applications such as GretagMacBeth ProfileMaker and Color Solutions BasicColor Proceed as follows 1 Select the preferred method for generating the ICC profile Options include PixelBlaster Color Engine PixelBlaster internal color engine see page 25 Third party color engine Existing third party ICC Any third party see page 26 target application Sy The PixelBlaster Color Engine method is available if the Advanced Color RS option is licensed In this case you do not need any third party applica tions 2 Click Next to get to the next wizard step PixelBlaster Color Engine Generate the ICC target for the compensated printer setup media combination Proceed as follows 1 Load media in the printer PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers 2 Select the ICC target Ss a a x The Save and Load buttons support access to previously used ICC targets 3 Click Print to produce the ICC target PixelBlaster starts a print job named Target 4 Click Next to advance to the Measure color chart window Using a spectro
77. ariirdine t innii a AAAA A i 83 PVT SO e E E A E E A ET 84 Media and nesSting ssesseesseeseessesseesseeseesseeseesseensesseesecsseenecsseeseesseeecsseeseesseeeesseeseeoseesecoseeseroseesersss 85 SFI UG eh E e EE EEE AEA A E E PEA 87 eaa EE 21S E E EEE E A EE E EP E EE vats 89 Creating a backup of a job esesssesssesssesssesssessscosscesseeseeesecssecossesseesneesseeoseeoseesseessersseesseesseesseesseosss 90 Viewmg Job OLE AON occsssedsocs cadets chose ceeseea ceangtaccucesnts tssira teers ee cbeateaesatacessenecuortatenorsseeeaeensiod 91 Generating a job ticket sseessesseesseesessseeseesseeseesseeseesscesersseeseesseeseeoseeneroseeneeoseoseeoseoseesseosersseosersses 92 Changing the job previeW sesssessessseeseesseesersseeseesseeseessceseesseeneesseeneroseoseroseosseosesseesseosersseoseesses 94 DOE COON FUMING seisseen nae oaa ria neleusenuiacsbosestaneenesennvesnctctaonseles 95 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Topics In this chapter Installation overview 8 Installing driver software for peripherals 9 Installing printer and cutter drivers 10 Installing the soectrophotometer 11 Check the license information 15 About license server 17 Installing the PixelBlaster software 12 Installing PixelBlaster software on a Macintosh computer 13 Installing PixelBlaster software on a windows computer
78. aster Central has extended production features which enable you to completely control your output The pre production work that you have to do to create output the way you want it to be consists of e Making sure that your image fits the media or is placed on tiles e Assigning the proper profiles to the images e Gather all information needed to print Profiles are needed to use color management in your production process Before printing you have to assign profiles to your images and specify to which plotter or printer your data will be sent PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production In short color management is based on controlling the translation between different devices and color spaces and its color information Profiles contain the information to correctly translate the colors and they have to be assigned to partic ular data in order to let color management do its work PixelBlaster Central seeks PixelBlaster Production on the network or at the system There has to be a computer running PixelBlaster Production in order to send data to the printer plotter The production in PixelBlaster Central comprises to setting dimensions options such as spacing and cutting marks and output specifics PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production Creating templates About templates To create a template You can create templates for creating Billboards and banner
79. atically Enter the IP address of the machine running the RIP if it is not detected in the network automati cally Fixed license server The license server is normally found automatically Enter the IP address of the machine for floating license distribution in the network if it is not detected in the network automatically See also Object edit options gt Moving objects gt Move objects by dragging manually on page 31 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started Units To change the units 1 Do one of the following e In Microsoft Windows choose Edit gt Preferences e In Mac OS X choose PixelBlaster Central gt Preferences 2 Click the Units tab Select one of the available unit systems 4 Click OK Work disk PixelBlaster Central can temporarily need disk space if not enough free memory is available virtual memory This disk space will be taken from the disk which is indi cated by the work disk preference The startup disk will be used by default To change the work disk 1 Do one of the following e In Microsoft Windows choose Edit gt Preferences e In Mac OS X choose PixelBlaster Central gt Preferences Click the Workdisk tab Select one of the available work disks 4 Click OK Document The default size of a new document is defined by the Document size preference The default document size can be copied from the default paper size of the default desktop printer or can be any custom size
80. automatically PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 4 Editing objects e Percentually You can enter the percentual enlargement or reduction as well the corresponding sizes will be calculated automatically To scale the object proportionally click the Link symbol 5 To create scaled copies enter the number of copies 6 Click Apply PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 4 Editing objects Skew objects Skewing objects in two directions You can skew objects horizontally and or vertically Skew by dragging manually 1 Select the object which you want to skew withe the black Selection tool 2 Select the Skew tool 12 from the Tool bar 3 Click the point from where the object must be skewed An anchor will be shown on that position 4 You can do the following e Drag the cursor to skew the object 4 e To restrict the skewing direction to strictly horizontal or vertical hold down the SHIFT key e To copy the object while skewing hold down the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS Skew numerically 1 Select the object which you want to skew with the black Selection tool Select the Skew tool 12 from the Tool bar Do one of the following e Click the point from where the object must be skewed e Fill in the coordinates of the anchor in the Tool bar An anchor will be shown on that position 4 Specify the horizontal and vertical skew angles To create skewed copies enter the number of cop
81. bsupport saintl biz Barbieri Swing 50xy LFP LFP RT GretagMacBeth Spectroscan Spectrolino Eye One Eye One lO iSis XRite DTP41 DTP41 USB DTP45 DTP70 For other supported devices please refer to PixelBlaster Profiler You or your SAi reseller if they are the actual user of the device should install neces sary driver software on the PixelBlaster computer if it is a Windows PC Refer to the installation instructions of the respective spectrophotometer See also Setting up the spectrophotometer on page 22 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Installing the PixelBlaster software Mac OS or Microsoft Windows Instructions for installing PixelBlaster software are specific to e Macintosh computers e Microsoft Windows computers PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Installing PixelBlaster software on a Macintosh computer To install PixelBlaster software on a Macintosh computer Proceed as follows 1 Connect and turn on the first printer of those licensed to be configured for PixelBlaster Ry Cif USB printers are daisy chained ensure that the printer you want to set up RS for PixelBlaster is the first one in the chain 2 Login with an administrator account to the PixelBlaster computer 3 Insert the PixelBlaster CD into the CD ROM DVD ROM drive of your computer 4 Locate and double click the PixelBlaster installer 5 Follow the on scree
82. csssscsssecessecsssesssssssecessecssssssessssecsssecsssscseeesseeesses 14 Profile wizard Select printer gamut and adjusting ink limits oe eeeseeeeeeeeeeeees 17 Prole Wl Zell 2 DOtOA N spcecc ates cceccaccendenen tatatesossscctancacesssecssaneaee a aana duia aE PaNNa 20 Profile wizard Ink bleeding sec cccscev acest secsccsassace esaseectsnsescoacsesveusns aaeessunstessacteesenpensecctsontseansiaeees 23 Profile wizard Color engine sais cetstssscsseveccctsssnndesiasdcvschessoassatox atesasenseeststoesessencesacalsehotniantasteavens 25 Creating a printer profile for screen printing qUEeuUeS ssesssessseesseesseesserssersseessesssessseesss 28 Relinearizing the printer profile ssessseesssesseesseessessseesseesseesseesseesseesseesseosseesscesseeneeeseeosseosseosses 30 Regenerating the ICC profile sseesseseseesseesssesseesseesseesseessessseesseesseenseesseesseosseosscessceseeeseeosseosseosees 31 Editing the dot gain or gray correction CUIVE ee ssessseesseesseesseesseesseessessseosseesseesseeseesssessseosses 32 Advanced applications sscecsccccccccccecsccosccccccecscecoccocscesccoccsceesceosceesseessee 37 Selecting and editing substrates Advanced Color option only sssesssesseessessseesseesseess 38 Editing dot gain correction and break off percentage Advanced Color option only 40 Using a DeviceLink profile sss sseessessseesseesssesseesseesseeoseesseesseesseesseesseessessseesseosscesceeeeneeosseosseosses
83. e a queue If you delete a queue it will be removed from the Output to pane If this queue was registered as a printer it will also be removed from e The list of Printers and Faxes in Control Panel Windows e The Printer List Mac OS The jobs which were processed by this queue however will not be removed They will stay in the list of Processed Jobs and the folders and files of these jobs will still be in the work folder which you selected in the PixelBlaster preferences If you wish you can still reprint these jobs See also o Sharing PixelBlaster queues across the network gt To register a PixelBlaster queue as a printer on page 21 o gt General on page 23 Proceed as follows 1 Select a queue in the Output to pane 2 Choose File gt Queue gt Delete PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 3 Managing a PixelBlaster Queue Grouping queues Managing multiple queues If you ve got multiple queues for a printer you can organize them into groups This will make them easier to manage M 1 bit Proofing 1 taal Color Proofing 2 Queues organized into groups To create a group of queues Proceed as follows 1 Select a queue in the Output to pane 2 Choose File gt Queue gt New Group 3 Type a name for the group and click OK 4 Select a queue and drag it into the group folder To rename a group Proceed as follows 1 Do one of the following e Double click the group e Select a group and cho
84. e an error report for the file settings 5 Choose Generate report or No report and click OK Sy The color management can be changed after opening the document by wm selecting Extra gt Embed Profiles and the color management of the Pixel Blaster Central overrides the color management settings for the file in Pixel Blaster Engine PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started View document errors PixelBlaster Central contains an error reporting tool with which you can check the quality of the file when opening or at any stage of the job preparation It contains checks on color spaces text sizes image resolutions and more Indicators in the Errors window Errors ol e No problem with this criterion found cc ra a in the file E Resolution at e Problem with this criterion found in af Image resolution the file ef Text size to small E Color Tools in the Errors window RGB without profile eff CMYK without profile E e Checks the document with the al Gray With profile aracda obres currently active checklist Overprint ef white objects not knock out See Errors on page 13 ef Qverprints and blends ef Spokcolor blends ES Cutting af Open cul contours af Intersecting cut contours E Layers ef Layers not printable ef Layers hidden i Misc ef Font not embedded _ ha dhin san Aeeiirseek e View the items that generated an error e g image with too low
85. e annotation icon you want to remove 2 Click Remove in the Tool bar PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Dimension Tool gt Function You can use the Dimension tool Ay measure the distance between two points and include these dimensions in your drawing To add dimensions to your drawing 1 Do one of the following e Click the Dimension tool on the toolbar e Click the Measure tool or the Annotation tool on the toolbar and hold down the mouse button until the Dimension tool appears PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects 2 You can now do one of the following e TO measure the distance between two points drag a line from one point to another e To measure the vertical or horizontal distance between two points which are not aligned hold down the Shift key and drag a line from one point to another e Select the Round option in the Tool bar to round off the measured distance to the nearest whole number 3 You can set the following in the Tool bar Al e Found ca He E B A D C A Select whether the figures should be rounded off or not B Specify the size of the text in the dimensions box C Specify the size of the arrow D Use text in combination with or instead of the dimensions if you select the check box the text will be displayed instead of the dimension width if you do not select the check box but just typ
86. e nesting layout can be inspected by double clicking a job that is currently waiting to be nested Proceed as follows 1 Click the Load Roll button L or choose File gt Printer gt Load roll The Media settings dialog is displayed Media settings Media selection Type Media Size Media Source Rall hi Nesting Start printing wher l zan No jobs have been received in iE min Used media length exceeds 76 53 rm Number of pages exceeds Options Space between parks f 0 mm Cancel PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs 2 Under Media selection select a previously Type of media previously defined for the device select Size and the Media Source input 3 Ifthe print should be nested activate the Nesting checkbox and set the crite ria for Start printing when and under Options set the space between the nested images 4 Click OK To start printing a job without waiting until the nesting criteria are met can easily be done by selecting the print job and clicking the Play button PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs Certifying a job About certifying jobs Certifying jobs means that you check whether the proof s colors are up to ISO or custom standards The process goes as follows 1 You print a job with a IDEAlliance control strip 2 You measure the values and compare these values with the tolerances allowed b
87. e on page 65 Job name recognition 1 bit proofing queues only In the Job name recognition area you define conventions for identifying the 1 bit files which a RIP outputs to the hot folder File name structure definition A file name structure is a user defined sequence that can include e Constants e Variables e Separating characters A file name structure does not include an extension such as tif The structure is the same for all of the multiple files that belong to a 1 bit job The embedded color indicators that vary with the files and offset plates include e CyanorC e Magenta or M PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues e Yellow or Y e Black orK The file name structure must contain the color indicator but need not include any other elements The number of expected files or colors can be preset in terms of the number of offset plates PixelBlaster uses the matching condition set up for the queue to ensure identifica tion of the color indicator embedded in the file name structure The color indicator must occur at the same location in the name of each of the incoming files for a job The placement of the c variable defines this location in relation to the other elements of the file name structure To configure job name recognition 1 Enter the file name structure You can combine constants separating characters and the following variables in any order
88. e printer icon will display a list of all available tools e None the objects on that layer will not print nor show e Inherit the layer takes the same property as the layer below e Default the objects on the layer will be cut with the default tool of the cutter chosen in the job s Quick Production bar e Print the objects on the layer will print If a layer is set to other than print the objects on it will show in outline with the color associated with that layer This color can be set changed by clicking on the colored dot If the cutting device supports other tools e g V Cut Routing etc these will be available as choice also Open the Layers palette if not already open 2 Choose New from the Layers palette menu 3 If necessary double click the layer name and rename the layer You can duplicate a layer with all elements into another one PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 8 Object extra options 1 2 3 4 1 Open the Layers palette if not already open Open the Layers palette if not already open Click the layer you want to duplicate Choose Duplicate from the Layers palette menu If necessary double click the duplicated layer name and rename the layer Remove layer Click the layer you want to remove Choose Remove from the Layers palette menu Showing or hiding layers You can show or hide layers Sometimes you may want to view all or just a few or even none of the layers Eve
89. e stored on the clipboard This enables you to paste the objects in this or another Pixel Blaster document see Paste Replace You can replace selected objects by the objects in your clipboard 1 Copy an object This object is now stored on your clipboard Select the object you want to replace with the item on the clipboard Choose Edit gt Replace and then one of the following commands in the sub menu Width and height of the original are maintained Objects pasted adjusted to the smallest width and height value of the original K Average Objects pasted adjusted xX to the average width 4K and height value of the original PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 2 Object edit options Biggest Objects pasted adjusted to the biggest width and height value of the orig inal Objects pasted adjusted to fit the exact height and width values of the original Pasting copied objects between two endpoints of an object Paste Special You can paste objects between two endpoints of an object To do this you have to define e Two endpoints in the object that is to be cut or copied e Two endpoints in the target path where the object in the clipboard must be pasted in between Source Target Result Proceed as follows 1 Select an object or a group of objects with two endpoints 2 Cutor copy the object s onto the clipboard 3 Select an object or a group of objects with two endpo
90. e text in the box the dimensions and the text will be displayed for example 13 mm wide You can set font used in the dimension box by choosing a default font in the prefer ences See also e Getting started gt Setup and preferences gt Fonts on page 11 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 4 Editing objects Chapter 4 Editing objects Topics In this chapter Positioning matrix 58 Rotate objects 59 Mirror objects 61 Scaling objects 63 Skew objects 65 Join 66 Split 67 Round 68 Sharpen 69 Replace path part 70 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 4 Editing objects Positioning matrix 24 In the Tool bar for the Mirror tool mirror rotate skew and scale or Selection tools you can use the positioning matrix to define the anchor that will be used as the point of origin By clicking on the squares symbolizing the corners of an imaginary frame around the selected object s you can easily place the anchor on an exact spot The symbol right under the positioning matrix is to place the anchor on the centre of gravity The centre of gravity is the visual centre of the object s FEREG ae 4 751 es f1 269 C Horizontal FA Vertical 42 0 Angle ney Copy E A A Anchor used as point of origin B Anchor placed on the centre of gravity PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 4 Editing objects Rotate objects You can rotate objects around an arbitrary point Rota
91. e toolbar The black selection tool always selects an entire object e Selects all objects that are within the selection frame or are clicked e In combination with the Shift key select multiple objects e In combination with the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS Select an object only when it is entirely within the selection frame e In combination with the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS and Shift key Include whole object when entirely within frame You can activate the black selection tool from every tool by pressing the Control key Windows or Command key MacOS on your keyboard When you double click an object using the black selection tool the tool automati cally switches to the tool that has created the object for example rectangle multigon etc PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 2 Object edit options White selection tool The white selection tool selects parts of a path e Selects all points that are within the selection frame or are clicked If an object is partially within the selection frame only those points that are within the selection frame will be selected e Select a whole object by dragging it within the selection frame this is the same as the black selection tool or click the fill of the object e In combination with Shift key select multiple points e In combination with the Control key Windows or Command key MacOS Clicking an entire object selects the whole vector
92. ection Select the type of object which you want to find Type items not equal to certain types of objects or items join of a certain kind or with a certain miter limit Color color that does not meet the criteria Short lines lines of a certain length Area locatecertainareas certain locatecertainareas locate transparencies these are often objects that need close inspection after color management Softmark locate shadows these are often objects that need close inspec tion after color management Overprint locate overprints these are often objects that need close inspection after color management Select a comparison operator from the middle list for example less than or equal to Fill in a value or select an item if needed for a specific criterion If necessary click More choices to combine search criteria PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 2 Object edit options Moving objects Move objects by dragging manually Using the selection tool click an object and drag it to its new position Be sure to start dragging on an already selected object Otherwise if you start on an object that isn t selected this object will be selected and al other objects will be dese lected Constrain movement Hold down the Shift key while dragging The movement will only be along an axis which has an angle which is a multiple of 15 or the value you set in the Prefer ences See also Getting
93. edia selection Resize e Position Marks Mirror e Automatic job rotation e Template e Job ticket DA Observe the tips in the More info area to help you make the correct RA choices Media selection 1 If necessary select the size of the media loaded in the printer or select a cus tom media size y Ifyou do not replace the default setting lt Specified by Job gt users must a a specify a paper size for every individual job processed by this queue 2 Select the feed method from the Paper source list The default setting Tray Roll or Manual is determined by printer make and model If there is potentially more than one paper source of the selected type the actual source is determined by the combination of paper size and availability PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Resize You can select one of the following Resize options Resize the width and height of the print proportionally to a given percentage of the original Scale to fit Scale the print to fit the media size Position Select the position on your media where you want to print the file Observe the tips in the More info area Marks You can select one of the following marks and specify the length of the marks mi oe iz Tel q T P Crop marks Border marks c_temp_filename Subscript Mirror PixelBlaster mirrors printing in the horizontal direction You typically select th
94. ediately and follow the instructions dis played on your monitor 2 Select Remind Me Later when you want to install the update the next time when an automatic check is done or when you want to install manually Manual update for PixelBlaster software Proceed as follows 1 Make sure that there aren t any jobs in progress because PixelBlaster will auto matically quit when updates are installed 2 Doone ofthe following e In Microsoft Windows choose Help gt Software Update e Inthe Mac OS choose PixelBlaster Engine gt Software Update 3 Follow the instructions displayed on your monitor Printer profiles can be updated only automatically PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Chapter 2 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Topics In this chapter About PixelBlaster Queues and Printer Media Mode 32 Creating a new PixelBlaster Queue for a printer 34 Configuring a PixelBlaster Queue 35 Workflow 37 Layout 43 Input 47 Proofing 50 Output 53 Driver 56 Screening 58 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues About pixelBiaster Queues aNd Printer Media Mode E S To be able to create a queue in PixelBlaster Engine or to print to the RS PixelBlaster Engine from Pixe
95. enerate White Tool 132 e Combine tool 134 e Cutter registration marks tool 135 e Printing tiles Submit Job 136 e Printing and contour cutting 138 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production Production basics Preconditions Before starting to produce your output e You have to assign the profile and setup and the preferences for color handling Standards Also a profile for your printer media and ink has to be set in the PixelBlaster Engine To be able to create a queue in PixelBlaster Engine or to print to the RS PixelBlaster Engine from PixelBlaster Central you need to have profiles installed for that printer in the Calibration folder You first need copy profiles in the Calibration folder or if you don t E have any create them with PixelBlaster Profiler You can find existing printer profiles in e The PixelBlaster library of printer profiles which is distributed on CD and updated in the Support area of http pbsupport saintl biz e The PixelBlaster Calibration folder on your computer which can contain standard or user defined printer profiles For Mac and Windows XP this folder is located in the PixelBlaster installation folder for Windows Vista and Windows 7 either in the individual user s folder or in the public folder Before starting to produce your output you also have to make sure that PixelBlaster Engine is launched Extended production features PixelBl
96. er ance will have no effect because there will not be any curves The value set for the corner tolerance will define the amount of corners This example shows the preview where the contour will be formed by curves The values set in this example are the same as the example above The bezier tolerance that is set in the Tool bar defines when a point is placed These points can be removed by using the Shift key You can also add a point by holding down the Shift key and clicking the original These are examples of a change in the value for the bezier tolerance By using a low value you can define a contour that may not differ from the original too much The result will be close to the original but will be formed by a lot of points PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 9 Objects Images The values set are the same except for the bezier tolerance A moderate value will give a reasonable comparison to the original without forming too many points The little closed points reflect the fluent angles whereas the bigger open points stand for non fluent corners Curve 2 8 6 60 The example is a rather simple image but when you are vectorizing a complex design it may be better to choose for moderate values you can always change points add or remove them Higher values will create a more or less round result and will deviate from the original Curve 2 8 10 60 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 9 Object
97. er in the PixelBlaster Engine User Manual PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers Profile wizard Specifying the printer profile name and info About the profile wizard The generation of a profile to use with Printer Media Mode method is done by a wizard which will guide you through all the necessary settings depending on the device for which the profile is to be generated The wizard has an intro page explaining the process what is needed printing and measuring and giving an indication of time needed to complete the process At the end of the calibration process a summary page provides following feedback e Printer name e Medianame e Mode name e Name of the profile in the Operating System e Creation date e Internal delta E gives an idea on the internal quality of the ICC profile e Delta E calculated against ISO Coated v2 gives an idea of whether the printer media combination s gamut is sufficient to print to ISO Coated v2 important for Standardized printing and proofing Printers under calibration and affected queues if available can remain in use during the calibration process To define the printer profile 1 Inthe Profiler choose the printer where you want to create a profile for 2 Set media pop up to new media and click Create The information window of the wizard is launched 3 Click Next 4 Inthe Print mode setting step set the driver settings you want to use for this media
98. eting 66 driver properties 56 duplicating 65 grouping 67 layout 43 managing 67 overview of properties 36 pausing 64 registering as a printer 21 renaming groups 67 resuming 64 setting the input properties 47 sharing across the network 21 R reference profile 50 PDF X 51 registering a queue as a printer 21 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual renaming groups of queues 67 rendering intent 47 reprinting jobs using a different queue 79 jobs using the same queue 78 jobs without rerendering 78 resize 44 restoring backup configurations 26 your PixelBlaster configuration 26 resuming jobs 81 jobs on hold 82 printers on hold 82 queues 64 roll loading 85 rollback 27 ROOM queue 19 69 ROOM queue Rip Once Output More 69 rotating jobs automatically 45 S screen printing queues about 33 setting the input properties for 47 screening 58 setting driver properties of a PixelBlaster queue 56 input properties of a PixelBlaster queue 47 layout properties of a PixelBlaster queue 43 output properties of a PixelBlaster queue 53 preferences 23 proofing properties of a PixelBlaster queue 50 screening properties of a PixelBlaster queue 58 workflow properties of a PixelBlaster queue 37 setting up spectrophotometer 22 sharing PixelBlaster queues across the network 21 showing job preview 94 simulation of paper color 51 substrate 51 solid black color proofing queue only 51 sorti
99. form in gloss e Mottled e Sticky e Swollen If the target shows any of these above mentioned symptoms you will have to cut off patches and reprint it to be able to take accurate measurements You are most likely to observe these symptoms when printing on plastic media or with ultraviolet resistant inks but they can also occur in other situations PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers 5 If necessary use the cutter tool and click the patches which are too wet or too solid PixelBlaster marks patches selected for cropping with an X and does not allow you to skip over adjacent patches After cutting you need to reprint the linear file 6 Click Measure to measure the dry linearization target with the spectropho tometer PixelBlaster Print and measure the linearization chart ou can select the row you would like to measure and cut off any patch that gives you a undesired Lab yalue Please measure 1 Point to elements to get more information if present e Before you start measuring the window shows the linearization target as gray Each step wedge transforms into color patches as you measure the printed chart e Import Export buttons You can import or export measure data in csv format e The arrow indicates which step wedge to read next If it is necessary to reread a row for example because you read the wrong row or the meter was tilted use the a
100. g e Settings of the queue have been changed e You wish to use a different queue than last time Job waiting for media You can specify which media type and size you have loaded on your printer When printing jobs to the printer that require other media type or size they will remain paused and will only be processed when the right media and or size has been loaded To indicate that a job is waiting for media type and or size an icon showing a sheet with a question mark is displayed in the Print column 9 Standby The meaning is The job currently doesn t have loaded the required minimal size and or media type As soon as the requested media has been loaded the icon will disappear and the jobs will start printing Ry it is only possible to select media for which you have ready profiles on your N E system in the Application Calibration folder To reprint a job without rerendering Proceed as follows 1 Check the list of Processed Jobs and locate the job which you wish to reprint 2 Clickthe 1 Completed status indicator of the job in the Print column and drag the job to the Job queue list 3 Specify the pages which you wish to reprint and the number of copies and click OK The job is reprinted To reprint and rerender a job using the same queue Proceed as follows 1 Check the list of Processed Jobs and locate the job which you wish to reprint and rerender PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs
101. g and proofing applications by e Maximizing the color accuracy and quality of printed output e Minimizing consumed quantities and costs of ink A printer profile targets a highly specific combination of driver settings for a printer model the printer setup and media Each printer profile bundles interdependent information into a neat package Bundled information includes e Printer model specific driver settings e Compensation data for ink limits and linearization e Acustom generated ICC profile Printer profiles and PixelBlaster Queues Each PixelBlaster queue uses one printer profile Many queues can use the same profile SAi provides a library of printer profiles that target standard printer setup media combinations c SA To be able to create a queue in PixelBlaster Engine or to print to the RS PixelBlaster Engine from PixelBlaster Central you need to have profiles installed for that printer in the Calibration folder You first need copy profiles in the Calibration folder or if you don t have any create them with PixelBlaster Profiler You can find existing printer profiles in e The PixelBlaster library of printer profiles which is distributed on CD and updated in the Support area of http pbsupport saintl biz e The PixelBlaster Calibration folder on your computer which can contain standard or user defined printer profiles For Mac and Windows XP this folder is located in the PixelBlaster installation
102. hapter 2 Advanced applications 11 In PixelBlaster Engine double click the queue and then click the Proofing tab Notice that the reference profile is now the one with the edited dot gain curves Reference Profile ISO Coated with my dot gain curve PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 2 Advanced applications Using a DeviceLink profile About DeviceLink profiles To improve the color accuracy of your proofs you can create and use a DeviceLink profile A DeviceLink is a link between the reference profile and the printer profile of your queue The DeviceLink profile directly transforms color from one color space to another without using an intermediate device independent color space CIELab L You can use a DeviceLink profile in the standard version of PixelBlaster To create and tune a DeviceLink profile however you need to license the Advanced Color option To create a DeviceLink profile Advanced Color option only Proceed as follows 1 In PixelBlaster Engine make sure that the queue in which you want to use a DeviceLink has a reference profile and a printer profile Double click the queue and check the Proofing and Output tabs Click OK to close the Queue Options dialog box In PixelBlaster Profiler click the DeviceLink tab If necessary select the queue for which you want to create a DeviceLink Click Tune DeviceLink gt Tune Type the name of the DeviceLink and click Generate
103. have more than one printer defined choose View and select the printer for which you want to create a new PixelBlaster Queue PixelBlaster Job queue Job Hame A Name of the printer in the active printer window 2 Doone of the following e Choose File gt Queue gt New e Click the Add Queue button The Queue Options dialog appears 3 Configure the PixelBlaster Queue See also o Configuring a PixelBlaster Queue on page 35 Configuring output devices on page 18 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Configuring a PixelBlaster Queue Using the Queue Options dialog To configure a PixelBlaster Queue you use the Queue Options dialog You do this when you create a new queue but you can also change the configuration of a queue later The idea is that you 1 Select a queue 2 Open the Queue Options dialog 3 Go through the tabs and select the appropriate options DA Observe the tips in the More info area to help you make the correct BA choices r ya if A Input Output Driver Select the printing method to be used for the queue Color Proofing Simulates a printing process such as offset printing The color space of the proof will be limited to the color space of the printing process you are simulating More info S a eee _ B Paint to elements to get more information if present A Tabs B More info area To access the Q
104. he rulers appear with measures in the unit you have defined in the prefer ences Place your cursor on a ruler Drag a guideline from the ruler and release your mouse button if the guideline is in its place 4 Ifyou want to use the guides as magnetic lines with a snap distance choose View gt Snap to guides You can precisely set the guides by means of a window in which you can define the exact coordinates You can also make copies of existing guidelines 1 Place your cursor on a ruler 2 Draga guideline from the ruler and release your mouse button if the guideline is in its place Double click the guideline 4 Set the precise coordinates for the guideline and set the angle for the guide If necessary you can set a number of copies the angle and the space between the copies of the guide 6 Click OK PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started Fonts Remove guides 1 Choose View gt Remove Guides 2 Select the type s of guides which you want to remove 3 Click OK The font locations are used by the PostScript interpreter Whenever the PostScript interpreter needs a font it will search the given paths and its subfolders in the given sequence Default search paths are the fonts folder the extensions folder and the disk on which the PixelBlaster Central is installed To add locations 1 Do one of the following e In Microsoft Windows choose Edit gt Preferences e In Mac OS X choose Pixel
105. his printer from now on will be put on standby To start resume a printer Click the printer status icon U in the Render or Print column heading The status icon changes to La and all jobs on standby will be processed PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs Viewing a processed job PixelBlaster Q The PixelBlaster Q allows previewing the currently ripped result sent to the printer You can preview the exact data which is sent to the printer it includes raster and color information Proceed as follows 1 Select a job from the Processed Job list Make sure you only select the part in the Print column 2 Then right click and select Edit job from the contextual menu The PixelBlaster Q is launched and opens the selected job Zeaaagsaa This allows you to e View processed jobs before they are printed and or cut e Sample actual ink percentages of each ink channel by moving the mouse cursor over the image e Inspect screening for both stochastic as halftone PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs Deleting a job Deleting a complete job or part of a job You can delete a complete job or just the interpreting rendering or printing part of a job For example you may want to delete the interpreting and rendering parts to save disk space but keep the printing part for reprints To delete a job Proceed as follows 1 In the jobs lists locate one or more jobs which you want
106. ht mouse button the Context menu offers quick access to commonly used menu bar functions The items in the context menu vary slightly depending on the context where the context menu is called e g Undo Rectangle Undo Single Mark Froperties Can t Redo Redo New Text Divide Delete Selection d coal m Eee Will be Produced Sa ExpandContract cut paths Select All Undo Document Setup liye Bring to Front ene eda ee Bring Forward Make transparent Send Backward Convert bo path zoom In Send to Back zoom uk Selection b Move to current layer PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started The Tools palette and Tool bar Tools palette Tools bar Normally the Tools palette is always displayed in the program window If it isn t 1 Choose Window gt Tools to display the Tools palette and the Tool bar Some tools in the Tools palette are marked with a small triangle in the right bottom corner indicating that these tools can be toggled to one or more different tools with similar functionality by holding down the mouse button for a while e g 9 lt 1 e The black and white selection tools wje See Selection tools on page 28 a by e Path tool and Text tool o e Ellipse Circle Multigon tools and Rectangle tool fn Fi e Find contour Vectorize tools and Sketch tool 4 e Split tool and Join tool eer D e Mirror Sharpen Round tools and Align tool o a e tool and Boxletter Distort
107. ibrary lets you manage media and mode names for existing profiles It scans the Application Calibration folder at startup to check for available media To launch the PixelBlaster Library proceed as follows e in PixelBlaster Engine select File gt Media Manager The PixelBlaster Library is displayed Generic Paper Gloss Proofing Paper 250g Semi Matte Proofing Paper 280g Semi Glossy Transparent Film Vinyl OracleRemoveablesS The media names present in the profiles dfp from the profile folder will show on the left pane If no media names have been defined the case with pre v2 profiles then the Generic Media name will show Check media and modes To check media and modes proceed as follows e Select a media name in the left pane All modes profiles available associated to that media are displayed in the right pane Every Mode name corresponds to a physical profile in the Calibration folder Change media name If you want to change the media name contained in a profile proceed as follows 1 Click the button to create a new media name This name will appear in the left pane PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 3 Managing a PixelBlaster Queue Select the media then the mode that needs to be changed Drag the mode from the right column onto the newly created media in the left pane 4 The mode is now associated with the new media name Change mode name If you want to change the mode name contained in a
108. ical printers starting with step 4 Integration with Zund Cut Center ZCC The Z nd drivers with Z nd Cut Center integration in offer extensive functionalities e Automatic retrieval of the material list in ZCC displayed in PixelBlaster Engine o Tool selection cut kiss cut route specified from within PixelBlaster Central o Tool configuration from within PixelBlaster Central o Allows for all the processes cutting creasing perforation etc to be done in one go Configuring additional physical printers You can configure additional licensed printers at any time after installing Pixel Blaster software Proceed as follows 1 Start PixelBlaster Engine PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster 2 Choose File gt Printer gt New The Printer Options dialog appears 3 Select a configuration method e Install for the automatic configuration of a USB or Bonjour printer e Manual and proceed with step 4 4 Select the Printer Manufacturer and Model from the list Specify the Connection settings e For USB connections select a printer Port e For TCP IP connections enter the IP address of the printer e Choose ROOM queue and define a folder where the ripped files will be placed that need to be printed using PixelBlaster Profiler Network hardware sometimes prevents PixelBlaster from communicating via a TCP IP connection If you cannot configure a supported printer append the printer port
109. ick the Reference tab If necessary select the queue for which you want to select and edit substrates Click Select and edit substrates gt Edit ul BF W N Select your substrate from the list PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 2 Advanced applications 6 Adjust the curve as shown in the examples below Select and Edit substrates Select and Edit substrates L_ More info More info Point to elements ta get more informaticn if present Point to elements to get more information if present Typical curve for lower quality media used in Typical curve for textile printing the effect of the offset and gravure printing textile substrate is equally visible over the entire A Intensity of the simulation tonal scale B Tonal scale C Curve rises to 90 in the midtones D Curve falls to 60 in the shadows E Curve has 30 effect in the highlights Click Save Type a name for the changed reference profile and click OK From now on this reference profile will be used by your queue 9 In PixelBlaster Engine double click the queue and then click the Proofing tab Notice that the reference profile is now the one with the information for sub Strate simulations 10 Select the option Substrate simulation and click OK PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 2 Advanced applications Editing dot gain correction and break off percentage Advanced Color option on
110. ies 6 Click Apply PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 4 Editing objects Join 4 About joining Points can be joined together by means of a path This path will be drawn between two points thus connecting them Join line between points 1 Select the Join tool from the Tools palette 2 Click one point that you want to connect to the next 3 Click the second point A path will connect the two points Joining points within each others snap distance Two points can be joined when they are within each others snap distance Proceed as follows 1 Select the Join tool A from the Tools palette 2 You can do one of the following e Drag a selection frame using the white selection tool and capture two points that are supposedly within each others snap distance The two points will be joined if within each others snap distance If not you can click the points with the Join tool This will result in a line between the two clicked points e Select and drag a point to another point The two points will be joined if within each others snap distance PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 4 Editing objects Split You can use the Split tool to cut paths in two Cut path in half Create masks Select a path Select the Split tool from the Tools palette Drag a line over a path and release the mouse button A point will appear on the place where the cut has been made An extra f
111. igns selected points on a vertical axis Aligns selected points on an axis formed by the selected start and end point Angle and Distance measure and apply Measure the angle between two points 1 Select two points 2 Click measure angle The angle of the line in relation to the X axis will be measured and stored in the memory Apply the measured angle to the path between two clicked points 1 Click apply angle to activate the measured angle in memory 2 Selecta point to define it as the starting point A circle shows that the selected point is the starting point for this action 3 Select another point to define it as the end point The measured angle stored in memory will be applied to the path between the two selected points Measure the distance between two points 1 Select two points 2 Click measure distance The distance between two points will be mea sured and stored in the memory A Apply the measured distance to the path between two clicked points Click apply distance to activate the measured distance in memory Select a point to define it as the starting point A circle shows that the selected point is the starting point for this action Select another point to define it as the end point The measured distance stored in memory will be applied to the path between the two selected points The measure and apply actions can be combined you can measure both the angle and distance and apply them to selected points
112. ile in the Output tab eat i Sh F l i 2 A EH MIO Queue type Workflow Layout Input Output Driver C E a DFI vao B Dotsize Automatic w nR Et Matte black Light w Bi Directional A Printer profile selected in the Output tab B Dimmed driver options C Padlock button indicating that the options are locked You have the following options e You can click the padlock button a to unlock the color critical settings and change these settings temporarily Temporary changes remain in effect until you click the padlock button al again An exclamation mark will appear on the PixelBlaster Queue icon A Photo Printing 1 Exclamation mark on the queue icon indicating that some of the color critical driver settings have been unlocked and changed temporarily e You can permanently change color critical driver settings by creating a printer profile in PixelBlaster Profiler You can then select this printer profile for your queue in the Output tab PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Screening To set the screening properties of a PixelBlaster Queue Proceed as follows 1 Double click the PixelBlaster Queue of your choice 2 Make sure that the correct Queue type is selected 3 Click the Screening tab 4 For each of the color channels check and if necessary change the e Halftone screen angle e Screen frequency lpi e
113. image proportionally to the smallest side of the placeholder PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production Average Resize the image proportionally to the average of the smallest and biggest side of the placeholder Biggest Resize the image proportionally to the biggest side of the placeholder Resize the image to fit the width and height of the place holder PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production 8 Ifnecessary select the Marker type and size Standard a a z E Crop marks PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production Border 9 Choose File gt Save as and save your template as a stationery file st3 10 In PixelBlaster Engine select the queue in which you wish to use the template and do one of the following e Double click the PixelBlaster Queue e Choose File gt Queue gt Setup e Click the Queue Options button co and choose Setup Queue 11 Click the Layout tab PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production Save as stationery 12 Select your template from the Template list Template ee Custom Job ticket m photo album sheet Moreinfo _Lmystationey i y O PO coals i get mors A EBA Lox 13 Click OK Ry Alternatively a template can also be opened in PixelBlaster Central This is wa necessary
114. ints where the item s stored in the clipboard has to be pasted in between 4 Choose Extra gt Paste Special 5 Select the option to rotate or mirror the object that is to be pasted and click OK PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 2 Object edit options Aligning objects About aligning objects You can align selected object s using the Align palette as follows FGHI J A Align to the left bound B Align to the right bound C Centre vertically D Distribute vertically E Stack objects vertically F Align to the top bound G Align to the bottom bound H Centre horizontally I Distribute vertically J Stack objects horizontally Align with selection If you click Selection in the Align palette the objects you selected are aligned rela tive to each other Align with document If you click Document in the Align palette the objects you selected are aligned rela tive to the document For example if you want to put an object in the upper left corner of your document proceed as follows 1 Select the object 2 Select Document in the Align palette 3 Click the and buttons PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 2 Object edit options PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Chapter 3 Creating objects Topics In this chapter Overview of object types 38 Circle and ellipse 39 Creating a three point circle 40 Multigon Star 41 Rectangle 42 Sketch Tool
115. is option e To compensate for mirrored plates of 1 bit source files PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues e To print on the back of transparent material Automatic job rotation Template Job ticket PixelBlaster can automatically adapt the orientation of your jobs to economize on media You can lay out and print multiple copies of a document as defined in a template You may want to do this for example to create a photo contact sheet or a photo album sheet A Template for a photo album sheet B Template for a photo contact sheet You can select one of the templates in the list The templates you see here are statio nery files st3 You find these files in the PixelBlaster Templates folder For Mac and Windows XP this folder is located in the PixelBlaster installation folder for Windows Vista and Windows 7 either in the individual user s folder or in the public folder You can use PixelBlaster Central to create your own templates A job ticket can be e Amedia wedge or control strip e Job specific information A job ticket is appended to the bottom of each print job You can use one of the predefined print jobs that come with PixelBlaster for example the PixelBlaster control strip or you can generate your own job ticket The job tickets which you generate are saved in the lt Path gt Public PixelBlaster Tickets folder PixelBlaster Engine User Manual
116. ist Custom library Default library The selection of colors in your color list can be saved as a custom color library Thus you can create sets of colors that can be opened for specific jobs 1 Add colors to or remove colors from the list 2 Click Add library third button from the left A window appears to save your color list as a custom library PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 7 Object edit style Fill tab 3 Enter a name or save your color list as default library If you name it default PixelBlaster will use the color sets in this library the next time it is started Save custom colors Default Where J Libraries HA f The Fill tab of the palette shows the fill properties The patch displays the fill for the selected object s The section Stroke of the Style palette shows the stroke proper ties You can set the stroke width in the edit field When you set the stroke width make sure you press ENTER to apply it The patches can be changed by dragging a patch from the Color Mixer Color List Gradient Editor or Pattern Editor and drop it on the patch that has to be changed The fill patch will accept colors gradients and patterns The stroke patch only accepts colors The Dash Preview shows if there is a dashed line applied to a path The dash can be reset or adjusted by clicking the Dash Preview Even odd Fill or Winding Fill You can define the type of fill by choosing Even Odd Fill
117. ixelBlaster Central and Submit job window Fixed License Server The license server is normally found automatically Enter the IP address of the machine for floating license distribution in the network if it is not detected in the network automatically You can select the columns you wish to see in the jobs list of your printer Proceed as follows 1 If you have set up multiple printers click in one of the main printer windows 2 Choose Edit gt Preferences and click Views 3 Select the columns you wish to see in the jobs list of this printer The following columns have an icon in the column heading Cutjob Cutjob _ Jobs sent from PixelBlaster Central for cutting Jobs sent from PixelBlaster Central for Jobs sent from PixelBlaster Central for cutting RIP job Jobs sent from PixelBlaster Central with the RIP option selected for that layer Certification g Jobs which are certified using color certification strip If you select a new column to be displayed it will be inserted to the right of the columns which are currently displayed You can move this column as follows 1 Click the column heading 2 Drag the column to the position of your choice PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Fonts Files Sorting the Job queue table If you click an arrow in the table head either of the Job Name or Queue Name or User or Date Time column you can sort the table ascending or descending ba
118. job preview Click the Show Hide Preview button E in the main printer window To change the location of the job preview Proceed as follows 1 If necessary click the Show Preview button E in the main printer window to display the job preview 2 inthe Preview pane click the Switch Preview Location button ied and select a location for the job preview to the right or at the bottom of the jobs lists PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs Spot color handling How PixelBlaster handles spot colors in jobs Jobs may contain spot colors If so PixelBlaster will check the profiles and libraries for these colors in a given sequence If the spot color cannot be found an error will be generated This is how PixelBlaster handles spot colors Job contains spot colors v Color in reference or ICC profiles Use color from here onwards Yes N Color added to printer profile dfp gt Use color from here onwards Yes l No Color added to spot color library Use color from here onwards set on the queue in the Output tab Yes o Color in Custom colors cxf file Use color from here onwards O in Libraries folder Yes 1 No Color in Pantone cxf file gt Use color from here onwards in Libraries folder Yes o Color in other standard library gt Use color from here onwards in Libraries folder Yes o Show Error in Render colum
119. job ticket A job ticket can be e A media wedge or control strip e Job specific information A job ticket is appended to the bottom of each print job You can use one of the predefined print jobs that come with PixelBlaster for example the PixelBlaster control strip or you can generate your own job ticket The job tickets which you generate are saved in the lt Path gt Public PixelBlaster Tickets folder Once you have generated a job ticket you can select it for your queue Template Custom e Job ticket am Ugra FOGRA M edienkeil 2 0a e Jobticke GATF Proofing bar Ticket name vTickt gt 1 bit info Text height Pt Generating a job ticket and selecting it for your queue To generate a job ticket Proceed as follows Choose File gt Generate Job Ticket Type the name of your job ticket Specify the size of the text If necessary click Image to select an image and specify its width and height Select the information which you want to see in the job ticket Click OK QA uu BF WwW NY See also o Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues gt gt on page 31 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs To change a job ticket You can open and edit a job ticket in PixelBlaster Central Refer to the PixelBlaster Central User Manual or Help PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs Changing the job preview To show or hide the
120. lBlaster Central you need to have profiles installed for that printer in the Calibration folder You first need copy profiles in the Calibration folder or if you don t I have any create them with PixelBlaster Profiler You can find existing printer profiles in e The PixelBlaster library of printer profiles which is distributed on CD and updated in the Support area of http pbsupport saintl biz e The PixelBlaster Calibration folder on your computer which can contain standard or user defined printer profiles For Mac and Windows XP this folder is located in the PixelBlaster installation folder for Windows Vista and Windows 7 either in the individual user s folder or in the public folder You can set up the following types of PixelBlaster Queues e Color proofing queues e Photo printing queues e 1 Bit proofing queues e Screen printing queues Or you can use the Printer Media Mode technology e About Printer Media Mode Color proofing queues A color proofing queue simulates a specific printing process The queue is config ured to reproduce the colors of the reference profile when you print a proof on your inkjet printer Photo printing queues A photo printing queue prints reproductions of source images and vector graphics Output is optimized for the gamut of the target inkjet printer Applications include large format printing photo printing poster printing and fine art printing PixelBlaster Engine User Manual
121. lar attention to identify physical problems such as Obviously wet Dry but too thick too wet on application Non uniform in gloss Mottled Sticky Swollen Single ink limit Judging the target from right to left look for uniformity issues bleed mottling matting effects and other visual artifacts When detected check the name of the primary inks associated with the lines that show problems and limit the ink in the linearization faze in the beginning of the procedure Single ink limit 09090000 0 0 oii O O Yellow olekelolexexexeleleye Total ink limit judge from right to left until the patches show no physical problems like drying smudging uniformity issues bleeding mottling matting effects etc then check the to fill in in the Wizard hlusiti irik firit 1710 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 10 Oa eae le 0 Identify the first patches at which the above problems do not occur anymore Enter the value of this column for the ink limit Click Next to get to the next wizard step Profile wizard Color engine on page 25 PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers Profile wizard Color engine Previous steps Make sure you have completed the previous steps 1 Profile wizard Specifying the printer profile name and info see page 12 Profile wizard Printer linearization see page 14 Profile wizard Select printer gamut and adjusting ink limits see page 17 Profile wiz
122. laster on a Windows computer 14 spectrophotometer 11 updates of PixelBlaster 27 J job backups about 90 job information viewing 91 job name recognition 1 bit proofing queues only 39 job preview changing 94 hiding 94 showing 94 job rotation automatic 45 job ticket 45 changing 93 defined 92 exporting 92 generating 92 job waiting for media media selection for waiting job 78 jobs adding by dragging them to the main printer window 77 adding to a queue 76 adding to a queue from within your source application 77 adding to a queue by using a hot folder 77 adding to a queue overview of methods 76 canceling 80 certifying 87 creating backups 90 deleting 84 exporting 89 pausing 81 reprinting using a different queue 79 reprinting using the same queue 78 reprinting without rerendering 78 resuming 81 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual jobs on hold resuming 82 L layout 43 setting the properties of a queue 43 library spot color 54 license information checking 15 License Server checking whether it is running 17 deleting Mac OS 17 licensed options about 15 Internet connection Unavailable 16 load CSF 49 loading a roll procedure 85 M managing multiple queues 67 manual installation printer drivers 10 marks 44 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Media Manager 71 media selection 43 mirror 44 N nesting 85 network
123. le settings such as fill stroke cap join font corps etc A If a style is stored in memory after using the Measure style action you can apply this style to the objects of your choice All style settings will be applied to the selected objects when clicking Apply style PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 6 Object Actions Proceed as follows to measure the style from one object and apply the style to another object 1 Select the object of which you want to measure the style 2 Click the Measure style button Fa 3 Select the object to which to want to apply the style 4 Click the Apply style button al Square forced and arbitrary Ei Forces selected angles to square angles with horizontal and vertical paths moving the points describing the angle regardless of their coordinates B Ye Forces angles to square angles while trying to keep the points as close to the original coordinates as possible C AP A Original Bezier bulge and smooth Ed Straightens the beziers of a selected point to beziers with the same bulge B 4 Smoothens a selected angle by averaging the handles of the beziers C JOU A Original PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 6 Object Actions Bezier to line Align points Xft e Transforms a bezier to a line 1 displays the selected bezier clicking the convert to line action tool results in a flattened line Aligns selected points on a horizontal axis Al
124. lect Wedge e To create an arc segment fill in the values of the angles and do not select Wedge 3 Click Apply Create a pie manually 1 Create an ellipse A marked point will appear at the most right centre of the circle 2 Drag the point to create a pie PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Creating a three point circle You can create a circle or a circular path by using the three point circle When the three point circle tool is active you can create a circle by defining three points Create a three point circle manually 1 Click the Circle tool on the Tools palette and hold down the mouse button 2 Select the Three point circle tool O 3 Click at three positions in your document The three point circle will automatically be drawn You can create a circular path by shift clicking the points Create a three point circle numerically Using the Tool bar you can create a circle numerically 1 Click the Circle tool on the Tools palette and hold down the mouse button 2 Select the Three point circle tool ef 3 Fill in the values and coordinates in the Tool bar and click Apply PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Multigon Star Create a multigon or star manually 1 2 3 Click the Circle tool on the Tools palette and hold down the mouse button Select the Multigon Star tool Drag the multigon or star Create a multigon or star numerically 1 2
125. lly use this new printer profile for the queue you selected in step 2 9 Click OK See also o Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues gt Output in the PixelBlaster Engine User Manual PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers Chapter 2 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 2 Advanced applications Chapter 2 Advanced applications Topics In this chapter Selecting and editing substrates Advanced Color option only 38 Editing dot gain correction and break off percentage Advanced Color option only 40 Using a DeviceLink profile 42 Editing the paper color simulation white point correction 45 Editing the spot color list of a printer profile 47 PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 2 Advanced applications Selecting and editing substrates Advanced Color option only About substrates If you have licensed the Advanced Color option you can set up your PixelBlaster queue to simulate substrates The process goes as follows 1 You create an image of your substrate for example by scanning it 2 You select the substrate in PixelBlaster Profiler and edit it 3 You select the option Substrate simulation for your queue To select and edit substrates Proceed as follows 1 Create a grayscale image of your substrate and save the file as PDF in the Pix elBlaster Substrates folder In PixelBlaster Profiler cl
126. ly About dot gain correction and break off percentage For flexography or gravure printing you can edit the dot gain curves of the refer ence profile of your queue and or insert a break in the curve to simulate loss of detail in the printing process which is typical for these printing techniques To edit dot gain correction and break off percentage Proceed as follows 1 In PixelBlaster Engine double click a proofing queue then click the Proofing tab and check which reference profile this queue uses This reference profile will be replaced by the reference profile with the edited dot gain correction curves 2 In the PixelBlaster Profiler click the Reference tab UY If necessary select the queue for which you want to edit a dot gain correction curve Click Dot Gain correction and break off gt Edit Select the ink channel for which you want to specify dot gain correction Specify the Break off position and click Break to apply it yY AU A Do one of the following e Enter the input percentage and measured output percentage in the In and Out text boxes respectively e Click on the curve to add an adjustment point and drag the point to the required position The input and output percentages change correspond ingly in the In and Out text boxes Repeat steps 5 through 7 for all the ink channels Click Save 10 Type a name for the changed reference profile and click OK PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual C
127. n also align the text boxes or align text on paths Place text Before actually typing the text you should define the text specifications in order to see direct result You can always alter the specifications afterwards You can either choose for text in a predefined box or you can type your text directly In the latter case a box will be created outside the text you have typed These boxes are for selection purposes only and will not be printed Proceed as follows 1 Select the Text tool from the Tools palette 2 Inthe Text palette select a font from the Font list 3 Specify the font size and if necessary the line spacing 4 Choose Text gt Tabulator to open the tabulator palette in order to set the tab ulator alignment and width Ul Select the text color in the Color palette 6 Click on the canvas and type your text Drag text box You can also drag a text box and define its size in the text Tool bar Proceed as follows 1 Make sure that no text is currently selected 2 Select the Text tool from the Tools palette 3 Drag a text box on your canvas 4 Specify the properties of the text box in the Tool bar for example the size of the text box and the text alignment Ul Click Apply 6 Type your text in the text box PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Define style You can set the text style in the text Tool bar By filling out specific values you can adjust the text spacing
128. n or in Job Information window PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs See also Viewing job information on page 91 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Index Numerics 1 bit configuring queues 52 1 bit proofing queues about 33 A accessing preferences 23 queue options dialog 35 adding 58 jobs by dragging them to the main printer window 77 jobs to a queue by using a hot folder 77 jobs to a queue from within your source application 77 jobs to queue 76 licensed options Internet connection unavailable 16 additional printers configuring 18 administrator account 8 automatic job rotation 45 backup and restore about 26 of a job about 90 creating a of jobs 90 creating a of your PixelBlaster configuration 26 restoring configurations 26 black solid 51 black point compensation 48 Bonjour printers configuring Macintosh only 18 C canceling jobs 80 certifying jobs about 87 procedure 87 changing job tickets 93 location of the job preview 94 channel adding 58 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual checking for updates 27 license information 15 CMYK spot colors converting to process colors 54 color edits using ina queue 55 color management override 36 color proofing queues about 32 compensation black point 48 configurations restoring backup 26 configuring additional physical
129. n and production Printing tiles Submit Job Dividing jobs into tiles If your image exceeds your media size you have to divide your job into tiles These tiles can be printed separately and later put together to get the complete image See also gt Super Tile Tool on page 130 To print tiles Proceed as follows 1 Choose File gt Submit Job 2 Select the Media Size to which you want to print and set the Margins 3 Select the Media Source and the PDF X Intent to which you want to print The PDF X intent drop down menu lets you specify the render intent to use to go from the chosen embedded output intent of the file to the printer s output profile Media Size 22 meter roll Media Source Rol POF Inbernt Colorimetric Of Submit pagesties Imei Perceptual 4 Select if you want to Submit pages tiles as separate jobs or nor 5 Click the Document Setup tab E PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production 6 In the What list select Manual tiles E what Manual tiles soy Document ll Selection Manual tiles Eal La sl Center Spacing o 39 Job ticket lt none gt z 7 Select or specify the other document setup options and click OK PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production Printing and contour cutting About printing and contour cutting Printing and contour cut
130. n be changed Fonts Shows the fonts which are used in the document Description A text page with information about the document for example contents description or production information can be entered Document Shows technical description and numbers of contents 2 Click Close to confirm the changes Save The first time you save an untitled document save as is automatically invoked Save can only be used when a document has been saved before Choose File gt Save Save as When you want to store the document in another format or when you want to store the document using another name you can use Save as 1 Choose File gt Save as 2 Enter the name and choose the format in which you want to save the docu ment 3 Select the folder where you want to store your document and click Save Save layout This saves the tile information and mounting instructions as low res PDF that can be sent to the customer for approval Choose File gt Save Layout PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started Open a document Open 1 Start PixelBlaster Central 2 Choose File gt Open 3 Select a file Depending on the setting in the Color Preferences you may be asked to per form color management for the document or leave the file s color setting untouched 4 Choose Color Management or Leave untouched and click OK Depending on the setting in the Errors Preferences you may be asked to gen erat
131. n installation instructions See also Configuring output devices on page 18 o Configuring a PixelBlaster Queue on page 35 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Installing PixelBlaster software on a windows computer To install PixelBlaster software on a Windows computer Proceed as follows 1 Connect and turn on the first printer of those licensed to be configured for PixelBlaster Ry Cif USB printers are daisy chained ensure that the printer you want to set up RS for PixelBlaster is the first one in the chain Log in with an administrator account to the PixelBlaster computer Insert the PixelBlaster CD into the CD ROM DVD ROM drive of your computer Locate and double click the PixelBlaster installer uu FB W N Follow the on screen installation instructions S You can select custom installation to modify the path of Destination RS Folder if you do so do not deselect installation of individual PixelBlaster options See also Configuring output devices on page 18 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Registration and activation of software and license options About PixelBlaster licensing Licenses are linked to the computer hardware and software activations will require a valid activation code ey The computer on which you will register the software does not have to be the computer running the software but the licensed comp
132. n now type text or create new objects using the PixelBlaster Central drawing tools and use the fill pattern you have just created PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 8 Object extra options Expand strokes About expanding strokes To expand strokes You can use the function Expand strokes to convert strokes into an object in the Same way as you convert text to outlines If a stroke has a pen width set it can be transformed to a path covering the outlines of that stroke 1 Select the stroke s which you want to expand 2 Choose Extra gt Expand stroke The selected strokes are converted into an object PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 8 Object extra options Outline About outlines You can convert objects to outlines using the outline definition of that object To convert objects to outlines 1 Select the object s which you want to convert 2 Choose Extra gt Outline The Outline dialog box appears O Manual Automatic Copies A Join styles B Result of the conversion C Distance from original D Number of outlines to be created Places the resulting item outside the original path by the value set in the distance field without the source object remaining on its place Places the resulting item inside the original path by the value set in the distance field without the source object remaining on its place Places the resulting item outside the original path by the value set i
133. n the distance field with the source object remaining on its place Places the resulting item inside the original path by the value set in the distance field with the source object remaining on its place Places the resulting item outside as well as inside the original path by the value set in the distance field with the source object remaining on its place See also e Printing and contour cutting on page 138 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 8 Object extra options Object arithmetic Arithmetic operations The following arithmetic operations are available e Union e Intersect e Exclude e Subtract You can apply these operations on a selection of vector objects by choosing Extra gt Object arithmetic Union Unites the objects Intersect Results in an object which is the overlap of the original objects Exclude Results in an object which is the union of the original objects minus their overlaps Difference Results in an object which is the bottom object minus the other objects Simplify Removes all overlaps and self intersections Add intersection Points are added to the objects where they intersect the other objects PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 8 Object extra options Group and ungroup objects About grouping and ungrouping objects Use the function Group to group two or more objects together This group will be treated as one object If you want to edit every object from a gro
134. nN OO UW fF W N In PixelBlaster Engine double click the queue and then click the Proofing tab Notice that the DeviceLink which you just created is now selected for this queue PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 2 Advanced applications To tune a DeviceLink Advanced Color option only Tuning a DeviceLink can improve the delta E values for proofing and can make color reproduction more accurate through an iterative process However tuning can only be effective if the following conditions are met e The reference profile must be suitable for proofing on the printer with the respective media If not the combination of the reference profile with the printer profile may not be optimal e The quality of the printer profile must be good enough Proceed as follows Click the DeviceLink tab Click Tune DeviceLink gt Tune Click Print target Select the target s position and orientation and click OK Click Next Measure the printed DeviceLink target with a spectrophotometer VN OO WwW A WN Wait until all the rows of patches display the measured data and then click Next An overview of all measured patches is displayed with their respective refer ence and measured Lab values and the difference between both as delta E values 8 Click Next A summary of the delta E statistics is displayed e If this is the first proof which you printed and measured this set of measure ments will be called MeasurementO
135. ng Job queue table 25 spectrophotometers installing 11 setting up 22 supported 11 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual spot colors converting to process colors 54 how PixelBlaster handles 95 library 54 Starting jobs on hold 82 printers on hold 82 substrate simulation 51 supported spectrophotometers 11 system requirements 8 template 45 ticket changing a job 93 exporting a job 92 generating a job 92 U units 23 updates 27 checking for 27 installing of PixelBlaster 27 USB printers configuring Macintosh only 18 V viewing job information 91 views 24 W work folder 23 workflow 37 Z Zund Cut Center ZCC 18 a i ee T 4 E v A PixelBlaster PROFILER USER MANUAL PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Calibrating printers ssscessscccssccocsccccsccocsecoccccecsscecsoccocsscesssccesseecsseesssseos 7 PUN e DONIC ea A E E 8 Creating a printer profile for photo printing color proofing and 1 bit proofing queues sssssssesssesssesssessscosseesecesecesecsseeossessetsnersseroseroseesseessersseesseesseeoseesseesss 10 Preparing the printer media and SpPectrOPNOtTOME tel ssessesssesseessesseessesseessesseessesseessess 11 Profile wizard Specifying the printer profile NAME and INFO ssseesssessssessseesseessseesss 12 Profile wizard Printer lin ariZation ccccsss
136. ng PixelBlaster gt Configuring output devices on page 18 Setting up PixelBlaster Q 1 Launch PixelBlaster Q from the PixelBlaster Program group D z A D E LO SG ES Flag Media HP Heavy Weight Coated Paper v15 Mode 23 HP HW Coated PaperviS Date Te created 22 07 2011 09 45 26 am E Copi Size 99 ago 32 mm Flag Media HP Heavy Weight Coated Paper v15 Mode 23 HP HW Coated PaperviS aa Ma created 22 07 2011 12 47 04 pm O M Size 99 61x221 52mm lt o a8 Ri 32 mm Le S Job 2 Open the Preferences window from the system menu Preferences Update About Help PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 3 Managing a PixelBlaster Queue 3 In PixelBlaster Q preferences set up the same printer as described in Prerequi site on page 69 Local folder Users bartfret Oocuments TIF PrintStatio E Fl Fast job intake 127 0 0 1 Set up the connection to the device either by USB port FireWire or Ethernet IP address Under Local folder browse to the folder chosen in Prerequisite on page 69 Check Fast job intake if you want to start printing when the job is being buff ered Note if the printer seems to pause because it does not receive data fast enough uncheck this option Click OK PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 3 Managing a PixelBlaster Queue PixelBlaster Library PixelBlaster L
137. ng the linearization and ink mixing when click ing the Print button This chart contains linear and radial blends of the primary inks Loh a 3 Repeat steps 1 through 2 for each ink channel PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers 4 Click Next to get to the next wizard step See also a Profile wizard Ink bleeding on page 23 PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers Profile wizard Ink bleeding Previous steps Make sure you have completed the previous steps 1 Profile wizard Specifying the printer profile name and info see page 12 Profile wizard Printer linearization see page 14 2 3 Profile wizard Select printer gamut and adjusting ink limits see page 17 4 Profile wizard Dotgain see page 20 Evaluating Managed Output Evaluate the effects of the proposed ink limits and linearization on the behavior of the target printer setup media combination The ink bleeding chart demonstrates ink usage as limited by the previous steps in this procedure Visual examination is the basis for further limiting ink usage Proceed as follows 1 Load target media in the printer 2 Click Print to produce the ink bleeding chart PixelBlaster starts a print job named Inkbleeding 3 Examine the ink bleeding chart immediately without waiting for it to dry Study the patches from right to left more ink to less ink Paying particu
138. nology of the target press To achieve certification proofs must be within tolerances set by ISO 12647 for the selected printing technology 8 Compare the results and click Next PixelBlaster displays the color difference for each of the test patches highlighting in red any test patches for which the color difference delta E exceeds the tolerances allowed by the selected standard 9 Determine whether the proof passes certification and if not take the neces sary corrective measures 10 Doone of the following e To create a detailed report in PDF format click Report and then save the report e To create a summary of the report on a label click Print See also o Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues gt on page 31 o Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues gt on page 31 o Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues gt on page 31 o Adding a job to a queue on page 76 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs Exporting a job To export a job You can specify an export folder for your queue and then export the original Post Script or PDF file of a job to this folder Proceed as follows 1 Make sure that you have specified an export folder for the queue double click the queue in the Output to pane and click the Workflow tab Select a job in either one of the jobs lists Click the Export Job button 5 The job is exported to your export folder 4 Check your export folder
139. ns 54 color 84 guides 11 layer 101 locations 11 masks 92 replacing 33 path part 70 path part by bezier 70 path part by line 70 rings layer 129 RIP script exporting saving color edits 114 rotating by dragging manually 59 numerically 59 objects 59 round 68 and sharpen 78 rulers 10 PixelBlaster Central User Manual S Save aS template 125 save layout 23 saving 23 as Stationery 125 color edits export RIP script 115 scaling by dragging manually 63 numerically 63 objects 63 scanner selecting 106 scanning images 106 scrolling through layers 102 selecting all objects 29 scanner 106 selection inverting 29 selection tool black 28 setup 8 shape cutting from object 67 sharpen 69 and round 78 showing alllayers 101 layers 101 simplify 97 size of the document adjusting 22 sketch modes 43 Sketch Tool 43 skewing by dragging manually 65 numerically 65 objects 65 objects in two directions 65 square forced and arbitrary 79 star or multigon creating manually 41 creating numerically 41 stars or multigons editing numerically 41 stroke mode 43 strokes expanding 95 PixelBlaster Central User Manual style defining 48 measure and apply 78 object 82 of vector based objects 82 submit job 21 136 Super Tile Tool 130 supported graphic file formats 104 tabs aligning 51 using 51 templates about 120
140. nssanscsavpsevnsvestenicesssvedseesscenscseaneans 77 About the Actions palette seessesseeseeseessessesseosesseeseesseeeseeosesseeseoneeveesseseesseosesseeseoneeeessesseseeosesss 78 Ble a CCG SS E TE EEA EE 81 Object styles Colors Fills StrokeS s sssessseessesssesseesssesssesssesseessersseesseessersseessersseesseessesssersss 82 PAANI COO eara E E E A EAA E E 88 Gradients and Gradient tOOl seseseeseseesesessesessesesesseseseeseseeseseseesesessoseseeseseeseseseesessssosesseseseeseseeses 89 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Object extra options essssscessssscossscccosssecosssccoosssecossssceosssssoossscessssseoso 91 PON RS EIA E E E A A A A A E A A A E A N A 92 ST SEU EOP UU Nes cosas cases cd sees AEs EEE EE AE EEST AEE 93 DONALD ACCP I ra ENEE E NEEE A EEEE 94 EAEEREN N E VI EO E O AE OTA A OE ANA E N 95 OUN O eee R san cx sete tea cet sceateten cates acer cce sauce czas scnesueeacaes teesueessns cesses cawseeteao 96 SCE SNIPS U IG septs E E E AA E E E ES 97 Group and UOT OUD Objects rarievsecssccrastoresaycrsccaneesexstninisretconsactnroraesine ns ntorenacumntnonanaieen 98 IT OE oann ecctsen veg E ew caacon cacseeeacecsteestaaccacotevtssaiiecieaoustuseetpsctees estiessvetioeseyeussencsteensoeees 99 PAN SS sa cheese EEE EEE A N E E A iti E 100 ODjects MAES seran iS 103 NRR EE EEE E NA IE A N IA EI N A AEA T EA A A A 104 Importing extracting and replacing an i
141. nt will be logged on the Mac OS If you use License Server and check the License Info in PixelBlaster you will see To check whether License Server is running Do one of the following o In Microsoft Windows Check Control Panel gt Administrative tools gt Services gt PixelBlaster License Server e On the Mac OS check the Console Log To delete License Server Mac OS Remove the following components from your System Library e System Library Application Support PixelBlaster LicenseServer e System Library LaunchDeamons LicenseServer PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Configuring output devices Supported devices Supported output devices for PixelBlaster Engine are e Printers e Cutters and e Files Configuring found USB or Bonjour printers Macintosh only In Macintosh OS X PixelBlaster can detect the printer model and connection type on the local network for e Printers with USB connections e Bonjour compatible printers Bonjour is the Apple technology formerly known as Rendezvous PixelBlaster automatically configures Bonjour printers for processing jobs PixelBlaster opens the Printer Options dialog after installation on detection of the first printer in a USB chain To configure the found printer do one of the following e Click Install for automatic configuration of a USB or Bonjour printer e Click Manual and follow the instructions in Configuring additional phys
142. nts into one sheet ready to print and contour cut 1 Choose File gt Combine The Combine dialog is displayed Name W Combine documents Variable data ii M True shape nesting Steps 45 e 2 Apply one or more of the following e Combine documents when checked it will combine all the open docu ments into one multipage document This allows to nest multiple jobs when printing from Central e Variable data when checked and a tab delimited text file is chosen it will replace all indicated text strings and load images in the placeholder when used The supported file format is regular tab delimited text file which can contain texts and paths to files like images e True shape nesting creates a new file at the specified dimensions with the number of copies specified Nested on the shape of the item 3 Click OK PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production Cutter registration marks tool With this tool you can manually place Cutter registration marks for use with Zund Cut Center or iCut based systems 4 5 6 Select the Cutter registration marks tool from the Tools palette lt gt If needed set the tool options in the Tools bar Either place the marks randomly by clicking or choose a defined space around the contour cutter guides or a specific number of marks per to be cut object PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparatio
143. o paths you can edit the shape The text will obviously lose its text properties you will no longer be able to edit the text using the Text tool 1 Using the black selection tool click a text box 2 Choose Extra gt Convert to path The text is now converted to paths See also Object extra options on page 91 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Using tabs Align text In the text Tool bar select the alignment for your text Align tabs Tabs are used for text in columns Every time a tab is inserted in the text a default tab distance is used After typing your text with tabs you can set the tab stop positions with the help of the tabulator palette 1 Choose Text gt Tabulator The Tabulator palette appears Select the text in which you want to align the tabs by using the Text tool IT After opening the Tabulator palette if not already open click Snap The Tabulator palette snaps to the text box so that it creates a temporary ruler in which you can define the tab stop positions 4 Select one of the tabulator styles by clicking one of the buttons in the upper left corner of the palette 5 Place a tab position by clicking in the part just above the ruler 6 Drag the tab to the wanted position After a tab is placed you can still change its specifications by clicking the tab and clicking of the buttons in the upper left corner By double clicking on a tab you can set
144. o printers You can do so in either in one of the following processing stages Pine a e its You can use the following buttons to pause and resume jobs or printers ESSE a FUMWES Were Render Completed gt Standby i Hold E Completed C D A Start job B Pause job C Printer is started D Printer is paused If you pause a printer the processing of jobs which are currently in progress will continue Only jobs which you added to the queue since you last paused the printer will be stopped The status of these jobs change to Standby They will be processed as soon as you start the printer again To pause a job Proceed as follows 1 In the Job queue list click the status indicator of the job which you want to pause 2 Clickthe Pause job button iU in the upper right corner of the main printer window The status indicator of the job changes to Hold PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs To start resume a job on hold Proceed as follows 1 In the Job queue list click the Hold status indicator of the job which you want to pause 2 Click the Start job button La in the upper right corner of the main printer window The status indicator of the job changes to Standby and the job will be pro cessed To pause a printer Click the printer status icon La in the Render or Print column heading The status icon changes to Li and all jobs which you add to the queues for t
145. ob command PostScript PS EPS PDF PDF X The Add Job button E singh he pin ers In your source application print File by file oo f pS to queue Drag and drop Multiple files at once manually Single file and multi file Hot folder Multiple files at once automatically formats for example 1 bit TIFF TIFF IT nCT nLW etc To add a job in PixelBlaster Engine Proceed as follows 1 Select a queue in the Output to pane 2 Choose File gt Add Job or click the Add Job button i 3 Select a file and click Open 4 If you are using multiple queues make sure that the correct queue is selected in the print options dialog box 5 Select other print options and then click OK PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs To add a job by dragging it to the main printer window Proceed as follows 1 If you have set up multiple printers do one of the following e Resize the main printer windows so that you can see all of them e Choose View and select the printer to which you want to add a job 2 Inthe Finder Mac OS or Windows Explorer select one or more files and drag them to a queue in the Output to pane 3 Ifyou are using multiple queues make sure that the correct queue is selected in the print options dialog box 4 Select other print options and then click OK To add a job to a queue from within your source application Proceed as follows 1 In your source application for example
146. ons Overlap 0 079 E Top M Bottom Reset existing overlaps of n this tile Divide horizontally into ic 2 tiles cr 2 282 tiles Overlap options Overlap 0 079 Left M Right Reset existing overlaps of G this tile cencel_ _ OK _ The Divide tile dialog lets you e specify number of tiles horizontally and vertically e or specify a specific size of tiles e and specify a general overlap top bottom or top bottom and left right or left right for every tile 4 Click OK to apply the tiling to the document PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production Tiling a job manually via dragging 1 With the Super Tile tool selected move to the outer boundaries of the job until the cursor changes from cross to lt gt Then click and drag to define the tile size Repeat until tiling setup is as desired Modifying tiles You can double click a tile to access the Tile Properties dialog where you can define the tile s size coordinates and overlaps If you click the Divide button to access the Divide tile dialog you can even sub tile an existing tile Using multiple tile setups in one job This is used for special applications like vehicle wrapping where you use multiple materials self adhesive vinyl and one way vision material in one job e Mirror tile setup e g for left right side of cars e Multiple tile setups per document e g fo
147. or Winding Fill Mia Winding Fill The Winding Fill style fills an object by establishing the direction of the path that it encounters Every time a path is encountered that has the same direction as the previous path the enclosed area will be filled If however a path is encountered with the opposite direction the enclosed area will not be filled PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 7 Object edit style Stroke tab Even Odd Fill The even odd fill rule supposes that you draw a line between a point inside the shape outline x and a point y outside its outline If that line crosses the line of the shape an odd number of times the shape area to which the point x belongs is filled If the number of crossings is even the area is not filled a Transparency You can set transparency for any color that is selected or composed This means that you are able to use transparency for that color in your design and ultimately on your prints Overprint If you want to use overprint instead of trapping you can activate overprint for a particular object by checking the Overprint box Cap amp Join You can control the way angles between and endings from lines will behave By using the Cap option you can set the ending of a line Eg Straight cap The line ends straight through the point Round cap The line ends around the point The cap size is defined by 1 2 of the line width f Square Defined
148. ose File gt Queue gt Edit Group 2 Change the name of the group and click OK PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 3 Managing a PixelBlaster Queue To delete a group If you delete a group all queues in that particular group will be deleted too If you just want to remove the group but keep the queues you have to move the queues out of the group first Proceed as follows 1 If necessary select the queues in the group which you wish to keep and drag them out of the group Output to 2 Select the group and choose File gt Queue gt Delete Group A warning appears saying that all the queues in the group will be deleted too even if the group does not contain any queues anymore 3 Click Yes to confirm PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 3 Managing a PixelBlaster Queue PixelBlaster Q PixelBlaster Q is an interface to manage jobs ready for output on the printer Furthermore sending multiple jobs via PixelBlaster Q to the printers can unburden the RIP Instead of driving the printer directly from the RIP you can choose to RIP a file once from the ROOM queue Rip Once Output More and define number of copies nesting positioning etc in PixelBlaster Q Prerequisite When creating a new printer or changing the printer s setup set the following e Choose ROOM queue and define a folder where the ripped files will be placed that need to be printed using PixelBlaster Q See also o Installi
149. ow for example A1 A wm Screen TrueFlow outputs files to temporary folders in the process of producing input files in the main hot folder PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues 5 Inthe Timeout box specify the number of seconds that PixelBlaster should allow for ensuring that copying of individual files to the input hot folder is complete For 1 bit jobs PixelBlaster uses the timeout period to determine whether each of the files needed for processing the jobs is completely written to the hot folder The queue can process files as the conditions are met Files in the hot folder are checked every three seconds while the specified timeout period is elapsing The timeout period defines the total number of seconds allowed for each file to comply with all of the following conditions during a periodic check e The file has increased in size e The file can be overwritten is not write protected e The file is stable readable PixelBlaster assumes that multiple files belong to the same job if e The file names are identical except for embedded color plate indicators C M Y K e The files appear in the hot folder during the same timeout period The composite reproduction includes all files that meet these criteria See also o Adding a job to a queue gt To add jobs by using a hot folder on page 77 o Managing a PixelBlaster Queue gt Duplicating a queu
150. ox Use this option when the number of plates is constant as in newspaper printing which always requires four separations because spot colors are never used Do not select this option for queues whose jobs plates and separations vary in number 1 If necessary click the Browse button a in the Export area and specify the output hot folder PixelBlaster Queues do not have export folders by default Queues for which you do not set up export folders do not export files for processed jobs PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Multiple PixelBlaster Queues can share an export folder SAi recommends setting up queue specific export folders for generating files for the next application in a work flow that is when PixelBlaster export folders function as input hot folders of other applications 2 Select the export file format Original PS or PDF 1 Bit proofing queues can only export the original file format See also o Sharing PixelBlaster queues across the network on page 21 o Exporting a job on page 89 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Layout To set the layout properties of a PixelBlaster Queue Proceed as follows 1 Double click the PixelBlaster Queue of your choice 2 Make sure that the correct Queue type is selected 3 Click the Layout tab 4 Set the layout properties of the PixelBlaster Queue e M
151. photometer measure the color patches in the ICC target DA Do not quit PixelBlaster during the process of generating and calculating RS the ICC profile Instead minimize the PixelBlaster Engine and Profiler windows 6 Specify the Black start value see profile wizard e If your printer has light black ink you can leave the Black start value set at 0 e If your printer does not have light black ink it is recommended to set this value between 40 for high resolution printers and 60 Specify the Max black value 8 Select a color replacement technique e GCR Gray Component Replacement to replace process colors with black over a greater tonal range e UCR Undercolor Removal to replace process colors with black ink in the shadow areas of an image and in neutral shades Third party color engine Generate the ICC target for the compensated printer setup media combination Proceed as follows 1 From PixelBlaster obtain the ink limit that the third party application of your choice should use for generating the ICC target 2 Through the third party application generate the ICC target using the ink limit Load media in the printer In PixelBlaster Profiler click Choose to import and print the ICC target Browse to and select each of the files that comprises the ICC target qa uu A W Through the third party application use the spectrophotometer to measure the color patches in the ICC target 7 Generate the ICC
152. printer setup Click Next 6 Inthe Profile name and info step click the symbol to create a new media name if needed Then enter a name for the print mode Enter the name the profile this is the name of the profile in the finder If desired Give an extra optional comment for the profile in the bottom text box PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers 10 Click Next to get to the next wizard step See also e Profile wizard Printer linearization on page 14 e Profile wizard Dotgain on page 20 PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers Profile wizard Printer linearization Previous steps Make sure you have completed the previous steps 1 Profile wizard Specifying the printer profile name and info see page 12 Measuring the linearization chart Measure the nonlinearized behavior of the target printer with the selected media Proceed as follows 1 Load media in the printer 2 Click Print to produce the linearization target PixelBlaster starts a print job named Linear The resulting linearization tar get contains one 18 patch step wedge for each channel print head 3 Allowat least 15 30 minutes for the linearization target to dry unless the chart is obviously too wet 4 Check the linearization target and make sure that it does not contain any patches which are e Too wet to measure e Dry but too thick too wet on application e Non uni
153. profile PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers e Through the third party application of choice generate the profile e Through PixelBlaster import the generated profile Do not quit PixelBlaster during the process of generating and calculating RS the ICC profile Instead minimize the PixelBlaster Engine and Profiler windows PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers Creating a printer profile for screen printing queues Process The process of creating a printer profile for screen printing queues goes as follows 1 2 Preparing a linearization target using PixelBlaster Engine Creating the printer profile using PixelBlaster Profiler Preparing a linearization target PixelBlaster provides a standard halftone step wedge whose percentages are read by the densitometer Proceed as follows to prepare the linearization target 1 Prepare the following items e Printer of the target model and connected to the PixelBlaster computer e Film media of the target type e Densitometer 2 Turn on the target printer load film and perform a nozzle check 3 Login with an administrator account to the PixelBlaster computer 4 Start PixelBlaster Engine 5 Select a screen printing queue 6 Click the Screening tab and make sure that the halftone angle frequency and dot shape are set correctly 7 Click OK to close the Queue Options dialog box 8 Inthe main printer
154. profile proceed as follows 1 Double click on the Mode name that needs to be changed 2 Enter the new mode name 3 Click OK Chapter 4 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs Chapter 4 Managing jobs Topics In this chapter Adding a job toa queue 76 Reprinting ajob 78 Canceling ajob 80 Pausing and start jobs and printers 81 Viewing a processed job 83 Deleting ajob 84 Media and nesting 85 Certifying ajob 87 Exporting ajob 89 Creating a backup of ajob 90 Viewing job information 91 Generating a job ticket 92 Changing the job preview 94 Spot color handling 95 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs Adding a job to a queue Various ways to add a job to a queue You can add a job to a queue in various ways e In PixelBlaster Engine using the File gt Add Job command or Add Job amp button e By dragging a file to the main printer window This is handy if you want to add multiple jobs simultaneously e By printing to a queue from within your source application for example Adobe InDesign or QuarkXPress e By printing to a queue from within PixelBlaster Central e Using a hot folder Supported file formats The way in which you add jobs to a queue depends on the file formats you are using and the method you prefer In PixelBlaster Engine using File by file Single file formats for example The File gt Add J
155. r different media 1 on gray back 1 on contravision etc This is ideal for vehicle wrapping setups Proceed as follows 1 Set up a tiling setup for one material as explained in Tiling a job 2 Then click the pencil button in the Tool bar to name the created tiling setup e g Vinyl 3 Duplicate the tiling setup using the button in the Tool bar and give a name to it e g One way vision 4 You can now switch between the two tiling setups with the drop down menu from the Tool bar 5 Deactivate the tiles that don t need to be printed per tiling setup by clicking them once They will get a gray overlay 6 Youcan modify each tiling setup individually Sy To create a mirrored version of an existing setup click the mirror tiles verti m Cally button Lf or the mirror tiles horizontally button in the Tool bar See also Job preparation and production gt Printing tiles Submit Job on page 136 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production Generate White Tool m White printing For printing on glass or dark e g Black forex material it is often necessary to print a white base layer before printing the image This and more can be done using the Generate white tool 1 Click the Generate White tool on the Tools palette 2 Double click on the job to open the Tile Properties dialog 3 Select the White Method White method Flood Fill all selec
156. reference profile if a reference profile embedded in a PDF X file should always take precedence over the reference profile set up for this queue This option does not affect how PixelBlaster converts input color spaces to the output intent set in a PDF X 3 file Substrate simulation If you have licensed the Advanced Color option for PixelBlaster you can simulate the texture substrate qualities of the reference media To do this you proceed as follows 1 In PixelBlaster Profiler select and edit a substrate for the reference profile of this queue 2 In PixelBlaster Engine select Substrate simulation The Advanced Color option provides additional functionality relating to substrate simulation See also o Selecting and editing a substrate in the PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Solid black color proofing queue only Select this option to use only the black ink instead of four inks to print all vector graphics and fonts that are 100 black You can thus preserve the sharpness of small text Do not select this option for contract proofs PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues 1 Bit 1 2 Select a raster printing mode from the Output mode list Accurate Color Provides full color management by printing color corrected CMYK and spot color raster points Recommended for color proofing Accurate Color Pure Black Provides partial color management by
157. rendering intent on page 47 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Color edits You can create color edits in PixelBlaster Central and save these as imgedit files in the PixelBlaster ImageEdits folder For Mac and Windows XP this folder is located in the PixelBlaster installation folder for Windows Vista and Windows 7 either in the individual user s folder or in the public folder If you have done this you can select the color edit file for this queue here Color edits do not modify either the source files that are printed or the printer profile See also o Export RIP Script saving color edits in the PixelBlaster Central User Manual PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Driver To set the driver properties of a PixelBlaster Queue Proceed as follows 1 Double click the PixelBlaster Queue of your choice Make sure that the correct Queue type is selected Click the Driver tab A W N Set the driver properties of the PixelBlaster Queue DA Observe the tips in the More info area to help you make the correct 9 choices PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Locking and unlocking driver settings Some of the driver settings may be dimmed These are color critical settings which have been locked because you previously selected a printer prof
158. resolu tion will be highlighted e Fix the reported problem if possible The problem must be selected and highlighted in the error list e Open the Report Settings window containing the list of items to be checked See Errors on page 13 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 2 Object edit options Chapter 2 Object edit options Topics In this chapter Selection tools 28 Finding objects 30 Moving objects 31 Copying and replacing objects 33 Pasting copied objects between two endpoints of an object 34 Aligning objects 35 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 2 Object edit options Selection tools Wm About the selection tools Black selection tool To edit an object it has to be distinguished from other objects You can do this by using the black and white selection tools e The black selection tool selects entire objects only it also can combining move scale rotate and skew e The white selection tool can select certain parts of paths it allows also editing inside transparency group masks etc Quick switching to the selection tool If you are using different tool you can still quickly select or deselect objects by pressing the Control key Windows or Command key MacOS The Control key Windows or Command key MacOS lets you temporary use the black selection tool while another tool is selected from th
159. rpen Using the Sharpen tool P you can convert multiple consecutive lines and beziers in one path to a point This point straightens the paths in between SANN PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 4 Editing objects Replace path part The Replace Path Part tool lets you replace certain path parts by lines or beziers Thus you can easily change the shape of an object by defining two points on a path and replace it by one line or bezier Replace path part by line 1 Select the Replace Path Part tool E from the Tools palette 2 Click the point that will become the start point of the replacement on a path 3 Clicka second point on a path that will become the end point of the replace ment 4 Double click the end point A line is drawn between the two defined points replacing the original paths between the points 1 Select the Replace Path Part tool E from the Tools palette Replace path part by bezier 2 Click the point that will become the start point of the replacement on a path 3 Click a second point on a path that will become the end point of the replace ment 4 Click the cyan preview line and drag this line to a bezier Handles will appear and after releasing the mouse button the bezier will be drawn between the two defined points replacing the original path parts between the points PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 5 Object special F X Chapter 5 Object special F X
160. rrow to reset focus to the beginning of the target row 7 Click Next to get to the next wizard step PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers See also e Profile wizard Select printer gamut and adjusting ink limits on page 17 o Relinearizing the printer profile on page 30 PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers Profile wizard Select printer gamut and adjusting ink limits Previous steps Make sure you have completed the previous steps 1 Profile wizard Specifying the printer profile name and info see page 12 2 Profile wizard Printer linearization see page 14 Defining the gamut of the target printer Define the gamut that you want the target printer to use for the target media Proceed as follows 1 Select one of the following options Maximum gamut Maximizes the printer gamut by optimizing the amounts of inks used This option is generally appropriate for photo printing queues Reference profile Matches the color space of the printer as closely as possible to that of the chosen reference profile by reduction This option is generally appropriate for proofing queues Select the target reference profile from the list of available profiles You may select a CMYK reference profile for a photo printing queue See To adjust ink limits on page 18 The calibration process never modifies a reference profile which represents a stan dard
161. ry new layer which you create is visible by default The visibility of a layer is marked under the eye icon Hide a layer 1 Open the Layers palette if not already open 2 Click the mark under the eye icon Show a layer 1 Open the Layers palette if not already open 2 Click in the respective position under the eye icon Hide all layers 1 Open the Layers palette if not already open 2 Choose Non visible from the Layers palette menu Show all layers 1 Open the Layers palette if not already open 2 Choose All visible from the Layers palette menu The strength of layers lies in the security of separated objects and in the fact that you can print one layer and cut the objects of another layer Layers are typically used for print and contour cutting See also o Job preparation and production gt Printing and contour cutting on page 138 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 8 Object extra options MultiPage EPS You can open multipage EPS files in PixelBlaster Central Each page will be placed in a separate layer Using the Layers palette you can control which page you are going to use edit and print Scroll through layers You can scroll through layers by using the Page Up and Page Down keys on your keyboard PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 9 Objects Images Chapter 9 Objects Images Topics In this chapter Images 104 Importing extracting and replacing animage 105 Scan image
162. s adjusting 46 hiding layers 101 image importing 105 image information 107 images extracting 105 importing 105 replacing 105 scanning 106 importing image 105 information about a document 23 inserting annotations 54 intersection adding 97 inverting selection 29 J jobs dividing into tiles 136 join line between points 66 joining 66 joining points within each others snap distance 66 K key combinations 45 shortcuts 17 L layer behavior 100 creating new 100 duplicating 100 hiding 101 new 100 removing 101 layers 100 hiding 101 hiding all 101 scrolling through 102 showing 101 showing all 101 layers about 100 line tolerance 110 locations adding 11 removing 11 M magnifying an area of the document 18 making copies 33 patterns 94 masking objects 92 PixelBlaster Central User Manual masks creating 67 removing 92 Measure Tool 19 mirroring by dragging manually 61 numerically 61 objects 61 moving colors 89 objects 31 objects by dragging manually 31 objects numerically 31 objects using the arrow keys nudging 32 multigon or star creating manually 41 creating numerically 41 multiPage EPS 102 N nesting 139 new document creating 22 new layer creating 100 PixelBlaster Central User Manual notes inserting 54 removing 54 viewing 54 nudging 32 number of colors 110
163. s Images Export RIP Script saving color edits About RIP scripts and color edits If you have licensed the Advanced Editor option you can adjust the colors of images by using the commands in the Image menu e Levels e Hue Saturation e Brightness Contrast e Color balance If you do so you permanently alter the colors of the image However you may also wish to keep the original image but only apply the color edits when you print the image on a specific PixelBlaster Queue Or you may wish to apply the same color edits to multiple images You can do so by using the Export RIP Script command you then save your color edits and use these color edits in your PixelBlaster Queue without having to change the printer profile of that queue gt 82 E amp Input Proofing Output ener Creator PetfectProof Creation date 21 05 2007 16 55 19 _ Description E78kPP_MattePaperMK_N Inks Cyan Magenta Yellow Black Driver Settings DPI7204720 Ink set Matte black Light BiDirectionalFalse Cutter mode Cutter Off Convert all spatcolors ta process O Corver CMYK spatcolors to process _ Use OnSpot tables Color edits color_edit imgecii i lt none gt i sae Point to elements to get more information if present cone J Lox A Color edits used in a PixelBlaster Queue PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 9 Objects Images To save your color edits Proceed as follows 1
164. s as well as photo contact sheets or photo album sheets The idea is that you 1 Create placeholders 2 Save your file as a stationery file 3 _Use this stationery file as a template in PixelBlaster Central or your PixelBlaster YMEXo lt ox lt ners SRX XXIS lt Px lt B lt A Template for a photo album sheet B Template for a photo contact sheet Proceed as follows 1 Do one of the following PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production e Click the Placeholder tool H on the toolbar e Click the Crop tool or the Super Tile tool kii on the Tools palette and hold down the mouse button until the Placeholder tool appears Using the Placeholder tool H draw the placeholders on your canvas In the Tool bar specify the size and position of the placeholders 4 Specify the identifier ID of the placeholder Placeholders with the same identifier ID will contain the same image so e If you are creating a template for a photo album sheet make sure that all your placeholders have the same ID e If you are creating a template for a photo contact sheet make sure that all your placeholders have a unique ID Specify the alignment of the image in the placeholder 6 If necessary select crop to crop the image to the size of the placeholder In the Resize type list select the way in which the image will be resized to fit in the placeholder Keep the original size of the image Resize the
165. s 106 Image information 107 Color profile information 108 Vectorize 110 Export RIP Script saving color edits 114 PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 9 Objects Images Images Supported formats Images are objects containing pixel and or vector information You can import images or directly scan from TWAIN compatible scanners You can open images of the following file formats e PS e EPS e DCS e PDF e TIFF TIFF IT e PDF IT e nCT nLW e PNG e BMP e JPEG RAW e DXF e HPGL e PSD Al e PICT e Targa Some of these supported file formats are optional Check your configuration and consult your dealer for optional file format plug ins PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 9 Objects Images Importing extracting and replacing an image To import an image Do one of the following e Choose File gt Place select the image and click OK e Drag an image file from the Mac OS Finder or Windows Explorer onto the canvas To extract an image You can open a displayed image in the system defined external editor Photoshop Illustrator etc to edit or save it to the disk After editing the image the result will be reloaded in PixelBlaster Central e Choose Image gt Extract Image To replace an image You can replace a displayed image in a document with a different image of the same file format TIF EPS etc e Choose Image gt Replace Image PixelBlaster Central User M
166. sed on this column e g DateTime Ducky Newhedia John 22 07 2011 13 33 37 Unbenannt 1 Photo Printing 1 Bill 25 07 2011 15 39 21 A e A Table is sorted descending by Date Time criterion If necessary click Add and select any folders which contain fonts To save disk space you can delete files of processed jobs automatically either immediately after the job has been printed or after a given number of days If you activate Delete PDF Jobs and or Delete Print Jobs in the Files tab jobs are deleted automatically after the set period The following will happen e The jobs will be removed from the Processed Jobs list in the main printer window e The folder of the jobs will be removed from your PixelBlaster work folder for example lt Path gt PixelBlaster Work folder See also o General on page 23 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Backing up and restoring your PixelBlaster configuration About backup and restore Once you have set up and properly configured your PixelBlaster printers and queues it is recommended to create a backup of this configuration You may also wish to do this before you are going to make any thorough changes in your configu ration A PixelBlaster backup is essentially a ZIP file which contains e ICC profiles e Printer profiles dfp i e only the ones chosen in queues e Job tickets e DeviceLink profiles e Substrate simulation files e An X
167. sharing queues across the 21 O options licensed 15 output 53 output Inspector view ripped result 83 override color management 36 P paper color simulation 51 pausing jobs 81 printers 81 queues 64 PDF X reference profile preferring 51 peripherals installing driver software 9 photo printing queues about 32 position 44 prefer PDF X reference profile 51 preferences deleting files 25 fonts 25 setting 23 preview of jobs changing the location 94 hiding 94 showing 94 printer pausing 82 printer drivers installing 10 manual installation 10 printer profile selecting a for a queue 53 Printer Media Mode 33 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual printers configuring 18 pausing 81 resuming 81 Starting 81 printers on hold resuming 82 PixelBlaster backing up and restoring your configuration 26 installing on a Macintosh computer 13 installing on a Windows computer 14 installing updates 27 overview of queue properties 36 PixelBlaster configuration creating backup 26 PixelBlaster queues about 32 presented as a printer 21 profile DeviceLink 50 honor embedded 48 ICC 47 selecting a printer for a queue 53 proofing 50 properties of a queue 50 pure hue 48 Q queue options accessing 35 queues about 32 adding jobs 76 configuring 35 creating groups of 67 creating new 34 creating new based on existing ones 65 del
168. st 6 Click the symbol to enter a name for your checklist and save it by clicking OK in the edit window After this you can choose your this settings for document error checks from the Report dropdown menu See also Document gt View document errors on page 25 Defining color management preferences in the preferences dialog applies these settings when opening a file in the PixelBlaster Central The preferences also define whether the settings should be applied automatically or semi automatically by asking for a confirmation Color management for an individual image can also be set using the Extra gt Embed profile menu option or the color button in the Input Channels palette A The color management settings of the Input tab of the queue in Pixel RS Blaster Engine are ignored when sending a job from PixelBlaster Central The Central fully defines the color management Under the Embed profiles section in the Color tab it is highly recom mended to set Apply on open to Never PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started See also 2 Document gt Open a document on page 24 8 Objects Images gt Color profile information on page 108 Shortcut You can assign key combinations to frequently used menu commands or change existing keyboard shortcuts To assign a shortcut to a menu command or change the assingnment 1 Do one of the following e In Microsoft Windows choose Edit gt Preferences e
169. sure the spot color using a spectrophotometer If you have purchased and installed the Advanced Color option you can also add tints of a spot color by specifying a percentage in the box and clicking the plus button L b ao e lin A Tint of a spot color Click Change Click OK To remove a spot color from the printer profile Select a spot color in the list and click the minus button To edit the properties of a spot color 1 2 Select a spot color in the list and click Edit You can now the following e Change the name of the spot color e Select CIELab or CMYK and change the values of the spot color e Change the Opacity of the spot color by moving the slider or by entering a value To tune the visual representation of the spot color 1 2 3 Select a spot color in the list and click Tune If necessary move the slider from Fine to Coarse to increase the variations Click Print to print the variations on the selected queue A job named SpotColors is added to the queue Check the proof and determine the printed patch which matches your refer ence spot color best PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 2 Advanced applications 5 Indicate this best match Spot Color Tuning dialog box and click OK ERE ERE EERE The values of the spot color are automatically adjusted to the values of the patch you selected 6 Click OK To load spot colors from an exis
170. t gain or gray correction curve About dot gain correction You can compensate for dot gain curves in the imagesetter or platesetter RIP You can also edit the dot gain curve if you want to make visual color adjustments The dot gain correction curve is saved in the ICC profile See also Curves in the Adobe Photoshop Help About gray balance correction You can use gray balance correction to visually correct the gray balance To edit the dot gain or gray correction curve Proceed as follows 1 If necessary click the Printer tab 2 Select the queue of which you wish to edit the dot gain or gray correction curve 3 Doone of the following e Click Dot Gain correction gt Edit e Click Gray correction gt Edit 4 Select an ink channel You can now do the following e Select the respective curve and drag it to the desired position and or e Click on a point in the curve and fill in the input and output percentages of this point 6 Repeat steps 4 through 5 for each of the ink channels 7 Click Save W You can always click Reset to revert to the original position of the curves am even after you have saved the curves PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers 8 _ If necessary change the name of the printer profile You may wish to change the name of the printer profile to indicate that dot gain compensation or gray correction has been used If you do so PixelBlaster will automatica
171. te by dragging manually 1 Select the black Selection tool from the Tools palette 2 Select the objects which you want to rotate 3 Then select the Rotate tool from the Tool bar 4 Click the point around which the object must be rotated An anchor point will be shown on that position 5 Place the cursor on the second point of the imaginary axis and drag the axis until you reached the desired angle 6 Touseaconstrain angle hold down the SHIFT key while dragging The angle will be constrained to 15 or the value you set in the Preferences 7 Tocopy the object while rotating it hold down the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS while dragging The cursor changes into a double cursor indicating that a copy will be made when you release the button See also Getting started gt Setup and preferences gt Topics on page 8 Rotate numerically 1 Select the black Selection tool from the Tools palette 2 Select the objects which you want to rotate 3 Then select the Rotate tool from the Tool bar 4 Doone of the following e Click the anchor point around which the object must be rotated PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 4 Editing objects e Fill in the coordinates of the anchor numerically in the Tool bar An anchor point will be shown on that position 5 Specify the rotation angle e A positive angle means that the rotation is counterclockwise e A negative angle means that the rotation is clockwise 6
172. ted CO Under color CO Under white Transparency O Density White amount 100 Spread Choke White Color Spread al Cyan Choke Magenta Black Flood fills the whole document with a white base layer Fill all selected Selection must be done before opening the dialog fills the selected area with a white base layer Under color prints white under parts that contain image Under white prints white under non image areas Transparency uses the information in the image s alpha channel if present Density fills with white ink relative to the density of the image the more density in the image the lesser white ink is used White amount the percentage of white ink generated Select the Spread Choke PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production 5 Select the presentation of the White Color from the dropdown menu This can be any color channel available on the output device 6 Click OK If you have generated white the object s are put on a separate layer White layer PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production Combine tool The combine tool allows to e Combine open documents into one multi page document e Apply variable data on a template e Nest jobs together with True shape nesting All of the functions can be combined as needed When using combine and true shape nesting at the same time for example you can nest several open docume
173. tically sets this printer profile for your queue E Fi Z ND pE Queue type Workflow Layout Input Proofing Cutout This wizard will help vou to create or edit 4 you would like to make a profile You need Output Please select the media name used by prin Media MyMedia MyMedia Mode MvMade Please enter the mode name For the printe MyMode If necessary you can now switch to PixelBlaster Engine and select input profiles for your screen printing queue This is not necessary however for applications that rasterize only CMYK files See also o Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues gt Input and Output in the Pixel Blaster Engine User Manual PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers Relinearizing the printer profile What does relinearizing mean Relinearization is the process of adjusting the existing calibration of the printer to the color shift that this printer has gone through This color shift can have various reasons e Changing environmental conditions e Degrading print heads e Differences in media quality When to relinearize You need to relinearize the printer profile in the following cases e When you notice a color shift in your prints e When the printer shifts in such a way that the prints are out of tolerance of the ISO specifications To relinearize the printer profile Proceed as follows 1 If necessary click the Printer tab 2
174. ties of a PixelBlaster Queue Reference profile DeviceLink profile Proceed as follows 1 2 3 4 l7 w Double click the PixelBlaster Queue of your choice Make sure that the correct Queue type is selected Click the Proofing tab Set the proofing properties of the PixelBlaster Queue e Reference profile e DeviceLink profile e Paper color simulation e Prefer PDF X reference profile e Substrate simulation e Solid black color proofing queue only e 1 Bit Observe the tips in the More info area to help you make the correct choices Select the reference profile for the printing process you want to simulate Select the DeviceLink profile if appropriate and already available l7 ae a A SS Ld You can configure a DeviceLink profile later on after linking the target reference and printer profiles in PixelBlaster Profiler You can create a DeviceLink profile only if the Advanced Color option is licensed See also Creating a DeviceLink in the PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Paper color simulation You can simulate the paper color described in the reference profile using absolute colorimetric rendering intent Paper color simulation applies absolute colorimetric rendering to the refer ence to printer conversion Prefer PDF X reference profile You can select the option Prefer PDF X
175. ting can be divided into two application domains e Cutting the bounding box of the job e g cutting the border of a banner or Billboard e Cutting out a predefined shape POS display etc Cutting the bounding box of the job Proceed as follows 1 Prepare job as usual tiling finishing tool adding fold etc 2 Select File gt Submit Job to enter Submit Job dialog 3 Inthe Cutting tab select Cut for Border This will send the border of the file also the borders of individual tiles to the cutter selected in the job s Quick Production bar Bleed jo Border Cut ha Jo Mark type Standard marks Mark size jo qi Registration marks T Crop marks Label Tiles Overlap lines Zero line marks I Tile ID Avoid tile matching issues Overlap white g 4 Set the other options in this tab as needed PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production 5 Then choose the mark type which is depending on the cutter chosen in the job s Quick Production bar i S All Selection Manual tiles SRS Center Spacing o 39 Job ticket none DA The border of the image can also be printed as a solid or dotted line in the cae E primary colors for manual cutting Nesting If your document contains multiple pages you may want to click the Best Fit button and make sure that the Center option is not selected Thus
176. ting printer profile or spot color library 1 Click Load 2 Selecta printer profile dfp or spot color library cxf and click Open The PixelBlaster folders where you can find printer profiles and spot color libraries are e PixelBlaster Calibration for printer profiles e PixelBlaster Libraries for spot color libraries You can also use cxf libraries from other cxf compatible programs 3 Click Done PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 2 Advanced applications PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Index Numerics 1 bit proofing queues creating printer profile 10 A adding spot colors to the printer profile 47 adjusting ink limits 18 ink mixing curves 20 bleeding ink 23 break off about 40 editing percentage 40 C calibrating about 9 printers 25 characterizing managed output 25 chart measuring linearization 14 color engines 25 PixelBlaster 25 color gamut of the printer adjusting ink mixing curves 20 color proofing queues creating printer profile 10 correction dot gain 40 gray balance 32 white point 45 creating DeviceLink profile 42 printer profile for 1 bit proofing queues 10 printer profile for color proofing queues 10 printer profile for photo printing queues 10 printer profile for screen printing queues 28 curves ink mixing 20 PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual D defining printer profile 12 DeviceLink profile about
177. to the IP address Use the manufacturer specific port number in the following table and insert a colon in between the IP address and the printer port number 6 Set your own printer name in the name input field Printer Options Manulacturer Model Connection f Folder This way you can easily identify your printers later on s When you have multiple printers of the same brand and model you have to name them differently Otherwise the software will not allow you to add a printer w PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster 7 Click OK The Queue Options dialog appears You now have to configure the queue for the printer See also o Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues on page 31 o Managing a PixelBlaster Queue gt PixelBlaster Q on page 69 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Sharing PixelBlaster queues across the network PixelBlaster queue presented as a printer When you set up a PixelBlaster queue you will at some point have the option Register as a printer The PixelBlaster queue will then appear as a printer e Inthe list of Printers and Faxes in Control Panel Windows e Inthe Printer List Mac OS You can then share this PixelBlaster queue across the network just as you would do for a regular printer To register a PixelBlaster queue as a printer Proceed as follows 1 In PixelBlaster RIP
178. tort the objects you selected Click Apply Using the Fisheye tool you can create the illusion of objects being round or hollow This visual effect can make objects come out from the paper or sunk into it Select the object s you want to alter Select the Fisheye tool from the Tools palette Enter the values for the effect in the Tool bar Click Apply A red line with handles lets you define in what way the effect will take place It gives a preview of how it will convert the objects you selected PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 5 Object special F X Perspective The Perspective tool E lets you apply 3D effects to your objects by the means of altering the angles on the XYZ axis Create perspective manually 1 Select the object s you want to alter 2 Select the Perspective tool E from the Tools palette 3 Click the canvas and hold down your mouse button A red preview grid will appear 4 Drag to get the right perspective 5 Release the mouse button when the right perspective is reached Create perspective numerically Select the object s you want to alter Select the Perspective tool 3 from the Tools palette Enter the values for the XYZ angles in the Tool bar A Ww N Click Apply PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 5 Object special F X PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 6 Object Actions Chapter 6 Object Actions Topics In this chapter e
179. tral User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Adjusting bezier handles Using the white selection tool you can adjust bezier handles You can set both bezier handles separately by using the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS To adjust two handles at once 1 Select the point from which you want a bezier handle adjusted If a point is the start or the end of a bezier then the handles will appear 2 Drag one handle so that the bezier will get the correct shape If one handle is adjusted the other will automatically change along If you release the mouse button the bezier is adjusted To adjust only one handle 1 Select the point from which you want a bezier handle adjusted If a point is the start or the end of a bezier then the handles will appear Click the handle and hold down the mouse button While holding the mouse button press the ALT key Windows or Option key MacOS 4 You can now drag the selected handle so that the bezier can get the correct shape If you release the mouse button the bezier is adjusted PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects Text Tool Combined use of the text tool and text related palettes You can easily and accurately place text by using of the Text tool in combina tion with the Tool bar You can start to type text from any point Text is put in text boxes or can be placed on paths Within boxes you can define the alignment and tabulator values You ca
180. ts for installing manufacturers driver software are generally plat form specific Manual installation of printer drivers is e Almost never necessary on Macintosh computers Mac OS X displays messages in the exceptional cases that include Canon printers with USB connections e Required on Windows computers for USB printers and FireWire connections but unnecessary for network connected printers gy Automated configuration of the first printer used by PixelBlaster depends E on your connecting and turning on the device prior to installing Pixel Blaster software On Windows PCs manufacturers printer drivers establish printer ports that PixelBlaster detects on installation If the driver for a printer connected to a USB port or parallel LPT port of a PixelBlaster computer is unavailable the printer is not configurable upon completion of the installation procedure PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Installing the spectrophotometer When do you need a spectrophotometer You need spectrophotometers to perform the following tasks e Creating printer profiles e Relinearizing printers that have fallen out of calibration See also o Calibrating printers in the PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual o Relinearizing the printer profile in the PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Supported spectrophotometers PixelBlaster supports the following spectrophotometers and any others identified on http p
181. tting on the printer gamut with the yellow and green outlines delimiting the printer and reference gamuts respectively PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers 5 Repeat steps 1 through 4 for each of the ink channels 6 Click Next to get to the next wizard step See also e Profile wizard Dotgain on page 20 e Profile wizard Ink bleeding on page 23 PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 1 Calibrating printers Profile wizard Dotgain Previous steps Make sure you have completed the previous steps 1 Profile wizard Specifying the printer profile name and info see page 12 2 Profile wizard Printer linearization see page 14 3 Profile wizard Select printer gamut and adjusting ink limits see page 17 About adjusting ink mixing curves Ink mixing curves can sometimes direct printers to lay down more ink than target media can absorb for sufficient drying You can reduce ink output by manually adjusting the channel specific ink mixing curves that PixelBlaster sets for a printer profile For example you can correct over inking by adjusting the mixtures of light and dark inks applied by individual channels to low quality paper or plastic media To adjust ink mixing curves Proceed as follows 1 Select an ink channel from the list 2 Adjust the ink mixing curve in terms of light and solid ink utilization by moving either handle of the ink mixing lever A 1004 Reference L 4
182. u drop a patch directly on an object only that object will be affected Color mixer Using the Color mixer you can create a color in uncalibrated CMYK RGB and HLS The Color mixer also supports calibrated colors Monitor RGB and CIELab are avail able by default The monitor RGB is taken from the Tool bar ColorSync system profile PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 7 Object edit style By shifting the handles you can mix the color you want By filling out the boxes you can also enter specific values to compose your color Calibrated colors OQ falar Color co Cow a CMYK RGB a HLS _ _ _ M 99 6 Gray Ys 6100 Z Lab Cobr Space Frofik Kp Cobr LCD i Add calibrated color space 1 Click the ColorSync symbol next to the Color space pop up menu A dialog box appears listing all the ColorSync 2 0 ICC profiles which are installed in the ColorSync Profiles folder You find this folder in the Prefer ences folder N Select the profile that describes the color space of the device of which you want to create colors 3 Click OK to add the color space If a color is mixed in a calibrated color space and you switch to another calibrated color space the color will be matched automatically Color Picker If you select the RGB color space from the menu you can access the Apple Color Picker 1 Click Picker just below the color sliders The default Apple
183. ueue Options dialog Do one of the following e Double click a PixelBlaster Queue in the Output to pane e Select a PixelBlaster Queue and choose File gt Queue gt Setup PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Overview of PixelBlaster Queue properties The properties of a PixelBlaster Queue are arranged in categories presented by the various tabs in the Queue Options dialog Some tabs are available for some types of queues only For example the Proofing tab is only available for Color Proofing and 1 Bit Proofing queues You can click the greater than signs gt gt in a cell to navigate to the respective configuration instructions gt A Queue type Workflow Layout Queue Workflow Layout Type Color gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt Proofing Photo gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt Printing 1 bit gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt Proofing Screen gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt gt Printing The settings of the color management in PixelBlaster Engine are over ridden by the settings from PixelBlaster Central when the job is submitted directly from PixelBlaster Central The job will only use the printer profile set in the Output tab PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Workflow To set the workflow properties of a PixelBlaster Queue
184. ulation white point correction Proceed as follows 1 In PixelBlaster Profiler click the DeviceLink tab 2 Select the queue of which you want to change the paper color simulation A reference profile and a printer profile need to be specified for this queue 3 Fillin the target values in Lab or LCh of the simulation of your choice Notice the CMYK values of the inks at the bottom of the White point correction dialog box 4 Click Print to print two patches one with the current values and one with the adjusted values A job named paper white target is added to the queue If the values you specified are out of the printer s gamut it will be indicated on the print L 95 9 C 3 5 h 277 7 L 80 0 C 4 0 h 300 1 Out of gamut PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 2 Advanced applications Adjust and print the values until the result is satisfactory Click Save and if necessary change the name of the printer profile The printer profile you have just saved will automatically be used by the respective queue Creator PerfectProof Creation date 19 06 2007 21 08 03 Description E72kPP_MattePaper_MK_N with white point correction PixelBlaster Profiler User Manual Chapter 2 Advanced applications Editing the spot color list of a printer profile About editing the spot color list of a printer profile You can add spot colors to a printer profile and you can do this in various ways e You can lo
185. unction of the Split tool is to create masks Using the Control key Windows or Command key MacOS you can cut out a part of an object This single click action is roughly the same as making a compound of two paths and exclude the shape of the top object from the bottom object The objects have got to be paths Cut shape from object 1 2 3 4 VI Select two objects that are placed on top of each other If the selected objects are no paths choose Extra gt Convert to path Select the Split tool from the Tools palette With all objects selected control click the top path you can click a point or the path Move the top object using the selection tool PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 4 Editing objects Round You can use the Round tool A to make round corners All selected corners will be converted to fluent circle parts If no corners are selected then corners that are clicked will be rounded The conversions will only be done when applied to paths if you have selected a mathematical object and want to apply the Round function on it you have to convert the object to paths by choosing Extra gt Convert to path 1 2 3 4 Select the corner s you want to round with the white selection tool Select the round tool from the Tools palette Insert the value in the Tool bar that stands for the round distance Click Apply PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 4 Editing objects Sha
186. up separately you need to ungroup the group To group or ungroup objects 1 Selecta number of objects or a group of objects 2 Doone of the following e Choose Arrange gt Group e Choose Arrange gt Ungroup PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 8 Object extra options Compound About compounds A compound is an object which consists of multiple paths and is handled like an ordinary path To create a compound 1 Select the objects of which you wish to make a compound 2 Choose Arrange gt Make compound If you want to edit every object of a compound separately you need to release the compound 1 Select the compound which you want to release 2 Choose Arrange gt Release compound PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 8 Object extra options Layers About layers Layer behavior Create new layer Duplicate layer You can work with layers in which you can place objects compounds and groups Thus you can make modifications to objects in a certain layer without having the problem of changing other objects by mistake You can also define whether a layer should be printed cut creased locked and be visible or hidden To work with layers you use the Layers palette Choose Window gt Layers A layer can only have one action cutting OR printing OR creasing etc If a second layer is created it will take the properties of the layer underneath it By clicking on the layer underneath th
187. uter and the software running computer must be in the same network However typi cally you would install and register on the same machine To license your PixelBlaster installation you will need to e Receiving your license voucher e Create a http pbsupport saintl biz user account e Register your license e Activate your license Make sure to register yourself and your software on http pbsupport saintl biz first to receive the necessary activation rights S Detailed information about is given in the FAQ on http pbsupport saintl biz for instructions on registering and software activation SS w Check the license information All PixelBlaster options are installed on the PixelBlaster computer but individual software options must be licensed to your site You can verify the licensing of purchased options through PixelBlaster Engine Do one of the following e In Microsoft Windows choose Help gt License Info e Inthe Mac OS choose PixelBlaster Engine gt License Info The License Info has a Status code showing internal details about the license acquired PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster ee License Info Options Certify 1 Bit Advanced Color Advanced Editar Cut Raster Creator Production Editor Advanced Integration Variable Data License info Product name Editor RIF Calibrator Serial number 29290 License type Mot For resale Location 192 166 0 56 RI
188. ve reached the maximum or minimum magnification if there is no symbol at all You can also drag a frame for the area you want to magnify and use key shortcuts Key shortcuts You can use a key shortcut to temporary switch from the tool you are using to the hand and zoom tool Switch to the Hand Press the spacebar Press the spacebar tool Zoom in Hold down the CTRL key Hold down the Command and then press the key 6 and then press the spacebar spacebar Zoom out Hold down the spacebar Hold down the spacebar press the ALT key and and then press the Option then press the CTRL key key PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started Magnify an area of the document 1 Select the Magnifying Glass tool from the Tools palette 2 Draga selection frame around the area you wish to magnify 3 Release the mouse button The area will be shown in the maximum magnification which still shows the complete area In the lower left corner of the document window you will find three ways to quickly change the magnification There s also an infobox for page number indication in case of a multiple page document the active page is displayed the arrows besides can be used to toggle between pages in the last box the selected object dimen sions are displayed 200 x afl dl q 1 You can do one of the following e Click the Small Mountain or Big Mountain button to reduce increase the magnification by factor 2
189. vice See also o Installing the spectrophotometer on page 11 PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Setting the PixelBlaster preferences To access the PixelBlaster preferences General 1 Choose Edit gt Preferences 2 Set the PixelBlaster preferences in the following tabs Views Fonts e Files Work folder The PixelBlaster work folder is the place where the actual jobs will be saved The default work folder is the PixelBlaster installation folder If you wish to change this click Select and select a different work folder Ry Make sure you select a folder on a hard disk or network drive which has RS sufficient free disk space See also Files on page 25 Units You can select the unit of measurement which you want to use in PixelBlaster Also the job previews will use this unit of measurement p Sit hee Linearisation target Job Hame Linear Queue Name Color Proofing 1 DateTime 17052007 10 08 13 Width 76 02 mm Height 230 5 Media dimensions 100 Job Soe 58 KE PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 1 Installing PixelBlaster Views See also o Changing the job preview on page 94 Add job method Set here wether to open a new added job in the Preview pane of the RIP or in Pixel Blaster Central e Easy using build in job setup Opens a new added job in the RIP Preview pane e Advanced using Editor Opens a new added job in P
190. xelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started Document Create a new document When the application is started a new document will be created automatically It is also possible to create a new document yourself Choose File gt New An Untitled document appears See also Save as stationery on page 125 Adjust the document size 1 Choose File gt Document Setup You can change the size as follows You can select a predefined size from the list or enter a custom width and or height Select portrait or landscape Scale objects Scale the objects on the active page to the docu ment size You can scale the objects proportion ally meaning that width and height will be scaled with the same scaling factor Calculates the smallest bounding box around the objects with an optional border This border can be an absolute value or a percentage of the bounding box size The default is 0 no border 2 Click OK If you choose to enlarge your document you can check scale objects to have the objects already placed in the document scaled along with the document PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 1 Getting started Information about a document Save the document Information is added to a document so applications like Cumulus or Fetch can find and locate files using this information 1 Choose File gt Document Info A window appears in which the following information is shown or ca
191. y the standard 3 You save the result of this comparison in a certification report You print a summary on a label which you can then attach to the proof Results according to ISO 12647 2 2004 Offset Job name TESTdesign Printer profile A78kPP_ContractProofPaper_PK_N Reference profile USWebCoatedSWOP icc Date and time 12 04 2007 17 21 23 delta E Tolerance dE Substrate 0 83 3 00 Average 1 01 Maximum Primaries To certify a job Proceed as follows 1 If necessary double click a queue in the Output to pane and make sure that your queue has the components necessary for certifying jobs Layout An IDEAlliance control strip selected as Job ticket Proofing A reference profile A printer profile 2 Check whether the queue is not set for nesting jobs it should not have the nesting icon If so click the queue and choose File gt Queue gt Nest to clear the nesting setting at o Jobs processed by queues set for nesting cannot be certified Add the job which you want to certify to the queue In the Processed jobs list locate and select the job Choose File gt Certify Job PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 4 Managing jobs 6 Measure the control strip with a soectrophotometer and click Next 7 Doone of the following e Select a standard from the list e Click New set and create your own set of custom tolerances PixelBlaster evaluates data for certification with reference to the tech
192. you can e Create any form or shape e Create lines from and to existing points e Add curves to existing lines e Replace curves Create a path manually To create a path by clicking points 1 Select the Path tool from the Tools palette 2 Click a starting point and an end point to draw a line between these two points 3 You can do the following e Double click the last point drawn to make it the endpoint e Place multiple points and double click to stop creating more points for this particular path To create a path by dragging 1 Select the Path tool from the Tools palette 2 Click a starting point and drag to an end point 3 You can do the following e If necessary you can drag multiple points and double click to stop creating more points for this particular path e You can combine the drag and place options to create a path By choosing another tool you ll define the last point placed as the end point If a point is going to be placed within the snap distance of another point a guideline ora magnetic grid point it will snap to that place If that particular point is an end or starting point of another path it will be joined The snap distance is set in the Pixel Blaster Central preferences To create a line that is constrained to a certain angle hold down the Shift key The constrain angle is set in the preferences PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 3 Creating objects See also Getting started
193. you want PixelBlaster to map the black point of input profiles to the black point of the output printer profile check Black point compensation 1 EPRE EA a robe ern aauaea In some cases black point compensation can enhance shadow detail For od oe PA e a queues it is recommended not to select this option Select Pure hue if you want to print text and vector graphics using pure primary and secondary colors red green blue cyan magenta yellow Pure hue This option turns off color management for text and vector graphics composed of primary and secondary colors but not for images In other words only vector elements that are built up with primary and secondary colors are printed with pure ink colors For example a yellow vector element is printed using yellow inks only The resulting output is pure yellow but colorimetrically incorrect For proofing queues it is recommended not to select this option PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Load CSF This option is only recommended for photo printing queues To synchronize color handling by PixelBlaster and Adobe Photoshop you can click Load CSF and select a Color Settings File csf created through Photoshop See also o Adobe Photoshop Help gt Search for color settings file PixelBlaster Engine User Manual Chapter 2 Creating and configuring PixelBlaster Queues Proofing To set the proofing proper
194. you will nest the pages to make optimum use of the media Cutting out a predefined shape Proceed as follows 1 Make sure you have cutting information in a layer selected for cutting 2 Set the right tool in the layer if none then set Default 3 Select File gt Submit Job to enter Submit Job dialog 4 In the cutting tab set Off for Border if you don t want the border to be cut as well 5 Then choose the mark type which is depending on the cutter chosen in the job s Quick Production bar PixelBlaster Central User Manual Chapter 10 Job preparation and production PixelBlaster Central User Manual Index A actions palette about 78 adding calibrated color space 83 color 83 89 dimensions to your drawing 55 intersection 97 locations 11 13 14 adjusting bezier handles 46 document size 22 aligning objects 35 points 80 tabs 51 text 51 with document 35 with selection 35 angle and distance measure and apply 80 annotation tool 54 annotations inserting 54 removing 54 viewing 54 arbitrary square 79 arithmetic object 97 operations 97 arrow black 28 bezier bulge and smooth 79 creating 45 handles adjusting 46 to line 80 tolerance 110 black selection tool 28 bulge and smooth bezier 79 C calibrated color space adding 83 calligraphic mode 43 cap amp join 86 changing default document size 9 units 9 work disk 9 circle and ellipse 39

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