Can anyone recommend good training videos for Preps 5?

[Fontaholic]

Hey everyone,

Against my better judgment, I'll have to be using Preps 5 in the near future to impose/creep a 68-page one-color catalog.

My training in this program is minimal, taught a couple years ago by somebody (a nice enough guy) who was using Preps 6 himself and often had to pause during the teaching process to remember how a particular thing was done in Preps 5... 

Does anyone know of any good Preps 5 training videos on YouTube or somewhere else that I can peruse and hopefully rekindle my dim memories of this?

Cheers, John the Fontaholic 

[Tracy]

If not we could walk you thru it I'm sure
I just moved from preps 4 to xmf, someone else using 5 might be of more help

1st thing is you need to do is create a saddle stitch template of the sheet size

[Farabomb]

I'm sure we can help you out. If you have the sheet size I may have one built for you already.

[Fontaholic]

I'm sure we can help you out. If you have the sheet size I may have one built for you already.

The finished size of the catalog is 8.375" wide by 10.875" tall.

These are being printed in 8-page signatures (four pages per side) on 80 lb. gloss text.

Cheers, John the Fontaholic

[Farabomb]

What's the sheet size? So you're running 8 8pg forms and a 4 page?

[Fontaholic]

What's the sheet size? So you're running 8 8pg forms and a 4 page?

Sheet size is 19" x 25", and you're correct about our running eight 8-page forms and one 4-page form (imposed two-up so it runs like an 8-page form).

Cheers, John the Fontaholic 

[Farabomb]

I'll see what I got tomorrow, it's after 5 so I'm done.

[Fontaholic]

I'll see what I got tomorrow, it's after 5 so I'm done.

I've looked through my archives and I found a Preps ".job" files already set up this way, which a previous person used for a different catalog of this customer's.  The page count isn't the same, but I figured I could email it to you so you have the basic parameters if you like... 

Cheers, John the Fontaholic   

[Farabomb]

If you have the .job file and the templates then you can easily mod it to your specs.

First make sure the template is correct and you have a 4 pager or modify the existing 8 to make it work. Decide where you want the 4 (we normally put it in the center but YMMV). Blank out the run list, load your files in there, add the 8 8pgrs (make sure the template is set as a SS) and put the 4 pgr at the end and you'll have the center as the 4pg. Calculate creep and set it in layout details in the add sig pane and bob's your uncle.

[Fontaholic]

If you have the .job file and the templates then you can easily mod it to your specs.

First make sure the template is correct and you have a 4 pager or modify the existing 8 to make it work. Decide where you want the 4 (we normally put it in the center but YMMV). Blank out the run list, load your files in there, add the 8 8pgrs (make sure the template is set as a SS) and put the 4 pgr at the end and you'll have the center as the 4pg. Calculate creep and set it in layout details in the add sig pane and bob's your uncle.

 :shocked:

Now if only I remembered / knew how to do half of that stuff, I'd be all set...

At our shop, the boss prefers to have the four-page signature be the first sig rather than at the end / in the center as you folks do, so I'd definitely need guidance on how to get things set up properly.   

Did you get the .job file I sent you last week, BTW?

Cheers, John the Fontaholic 

[Farabomb]

I did get the file but was a bit busy.

I can't do anything without the templates.

[Fontaholic]

I did get the file but was a bit busy.

I can't do anything without the templates.

Nae problemo -- I totally hear ya about being too busy for freebies like this.   :embarrassed:

What do you mean by "templates" again?  Are they Preps files without which you cannot do anything?

Cheers, John the Fontaholic 

[Joe]

the .job file (job file) looks for the template files (.tpl extension). the template files are what actually shows the sheet, pages, spacing, etc....

[Fontaholic]

the .job file (job file) looks for the template files (.tpl extension). the template files are what actually shows the sheet, pages, spacing, etc....

That dimly rings a bell in that tiny part of my mind that actually remembers the "training" I got on Preps at least two years ago...

Cheers, John the Fontaholic 

[Tracy]

In the previous job you found you should check out the templates and the run list
it probably has 2 different templates but 1 of them is used 8 times
and the other once, you can put the 4 pg in the front if you need to

the template just has to have saddle stitch selected in template information or something to that equivalent in the template.
 find file open template or something like that to view your template(s)

When Saddle stitch templates are used, preps will grab the 1st and the last page
then the 2nd pg and next to last pg etc.. etc... until all the pages are used

and for instance if perfect bind is selected in the template info it will just grab the pages in numerical order.
hope this helps, if it doesn't ask questions till you get it.