You need to group quantities that are multiples of each other. For example if some are 1500, 3000, 9000 you would put 1 of the 1500 piece, 2 of the 3000 piece, and 6 of the 9000 piece. If you end up with one or two that just won't divide by the rest, then round up to the closest divisible number. It will be less costly to give the customer extra prints than to make more plates and do another press run.

Personally, I would make a quick excel chart with each piece name and the quantity, then sort by quantity. Then start your grouping. This will also act as a nice check list for you and production to make sure nothing gets missed.

Yeah, took me a bit to figure that out. Doesn't let you export anything...only for on-screen viewing for estimators to quickly see how many will fit on a press sheet.

Quote from: scottrsimons on March 14, 2024, 05:53:03 AM

Quote from: pspdfppdfxhd on March 13, 2024, 03:46:17 PMSoooo... i took a shot in the dark and contacted Xitron, the maker of our Harlequin CTP rip to see if the rip could rip up the jobs and and dump them into the Konicas somehow and they tell me it can be done. NOTE: I contacted their SALES department so all may be suspect. I will call them tomorrow. The harlequin rip is having no ripping issues with newer pdfs at this point. It is pretty up to date.

Here's a support article from Xitron's support forum. You could find other helpful articles there too.

Navigator DFE Supported Devices

That seems to only be referencing inkjet devices and CTP systems. Konica Minolta makes print heads for many inkjet devices out there that are sold by other brands. I'd be very interested to know if this works out. However, I sold KM production gear for 5 years and never heard of anyone doing this method. I guess I'm wondering why you're trying to complicate things...? You can simply print to the C6500 from Acrobat through a regular print driver. No need to get extra software in the mix. Otherwise, you can just buy a used Fiery for your C6500 on ebay like this one. Just make sure you have the interface kit to connect it.

Quote from: pspdfppdfxhd on March 13, 2024, 03:50:37 PMSometimes, lately, i have had to rip pdfs in photoshop then save them as pdfs to get them through the Konicas, same principle perhaps?

You can save a step by selecting "Print as Image" when printing from Acrobat. Click on "Advanced" in the print dialogue, the check "Print as Image". In some versions, there is also a drop down next to that check box to select the resolution. This flattens the image and rasterizes everything, including the text, all in one step.

Quote from: pspdfppdfxhd on March 11, 2024, 03:25:57 PMThe 6500 uses Job Centro.

That's the issue. It does have a RIP, it's just KM's own proprietary RIP/controller. You won't be able to send to this machine with Fiery. I'm surprised you have a functioning C6500 though! Those machines are ancient. I used to sell production gear for KM and those C6500 and C6500 were considered end-of-life around 10 years ago. You might get lucky and find a Fiery controller for  your C6500 on ebay or elsewhere if you really want that capability.

We have 5 Konica's in our shop. When you say one has a fiery controller and the other one has only a controller, do you mean it has the KM controller? Assuming you mean the built-in KM controller, you won't be able to send to that printer from Fiery, you have to use either JobCentro or the web browser access depending on the model. Job Centro is KM's equivalent to Fiery Command Workstation. Alternatively, you can send to either printer directly from Acrobat, though the preferred method is to drop directly into CWS or Job Centro. This allows you to take advantage of APPE.

You first need to decide what type of applications you think you will be doing mostly. If you'd doing indoor art prints, a low cost aqueous-ink printer will work just fine. If you're wanting to do outdoor prints that last a long time, there is eco-solvent, UV, and latex type inks. Eco-solvent is the most versatile because you can do outdoor prints that last a long time without fading, and you can even do vehicle wraps. You can't do vehicle wraps with UV because the ink doesn't stretch.

Another consideration is if you will be doing lots of prints that are mounted to foam board, corroplast, etc. If you have the space, you may want to consider a hybrid flatbed so you can skip the mounting step and just print directly onto the boards. UV and latex printers are ideal for this because those types of ink can set on virtually any material including wood, glass, plastic, foam, etc - and generally come with white inks to allow you to print on dark substrates.

Along with a printer, you'll want a laminator. A cold laminator with heat assist will suit 99% of your needs and it can also be used as a tool to mount prints to boards if you don't get a flatbed.

Additionally, you'll want a cutter (one that can die cut out any shape). It's worth noting that you can make labels with a wide format printer, but you may also need to cut out unique shapes for wall graphics. Many of the eco-solvent printers (such as the Rolands) have a cutter built into the printer. That is only good if you do low volume. You'll find yourself wanting an offline cutter because the cutting will slow down production if it's done on the same machine. However, if you do low volume, printing and cutting on the same machine is ideal because you don't have to mess with transferring the prints to another machine.

Lastly, you'll need a very large flat table with a self healing mat on the surface for doing all of the finishing. You'll need board cutters and large safety rulers too.

I'm looking for some feedback on how popular the Affinity design software suite is. (I don't work for Adobe or Affinity. I work at a county inplant). Thank you in advance!

If your printers have Fiery controllers, then Fiery now offers a free stand-along VDP software called FreeForm. The Fiery controllers already have built-in VDP, where you match a PDF file of just the VDP data already typed out to a background image - makes for very fast processing. However, that is quite confusing to setup for many people, so this FreeForm software simplifies it.

Otherwise, I also like Data Merge as other's have mentioned since it integrates within InDesign and it's also sold by Konica Minolta. I think the current name is Accurio VDP: https://kmbs.konicaminolta.us/kmbs/business-solutions/graphic-communications/variable-data-printing-solutions

Pantone has provided an explanation in this article:https://creativepro.com/pantone-color-libraries-are-leaving-the-adobe-apps/

Key notes:

   • Pantone VP explains: "...the future of Pantone colors in Adobe products lies in add-on software, Pantone Connect, which will let the color systems company sell complete and up-to-date color data directly to its own users. . .Pantone was unable to actively update the library to correct any changes to the color data or to update it with new colors," Cheng told CreativePro. "We had to find a way to address user problems regarding these outdated libraries.""
    • "On top of the usual Adobe Creative Cloud subscription plans, Pantone Connect will cost $7.99 per month or $35.99 for a full year for the first year and $59.99 annually thereafter."
    • "Nothing will prevent a user of the affected software from creating a brand-new color swatch as a spot color, selecting a color using RGB sliders to match the printed Pantone chip."
    • "Users of Photoshop on the Mac M1 processor will find that the Extension won't load at all, as Adobe has changed the file format for add-on software. Users wishing to access Pantone Connect and other Extensions will need to run the Intel version of Photoshop under Rosetta 2 or downgrade to version 22.2.0 via the Creative Cloud app."
    • "Existing documents—both native application documents and PDFs generated for publication or distribution—will be unaffected by any changes, with essential color information (though it might be from data that Pantone says is long outdated) remaining embedded in the documents that are created with current tools."

Quote from: Joe on August 18, 2021, 04:23:14 PM

Quote from: jwheeler on August 18, 2021, 10:53:56 AM
Who is an admin of B4Print.com and/or how do we contact them?

Sup?

Sent you a PM. Thanks!

Who is an admin of B4Print.com and/or how do we contact them?

If I were going back to school, my two biggest concerns would be battery life and weight. She won't always be able to plug in, so you'll want it to last as long as possible on its own power. And she'll already be carrying around enough text books that you don't want to add a ton of weight. Beyond that, most of them will be plenty fast these days. Another splurge if it's in your budget would be a backlit keyboard. Teachers often dim the lights to do a powerpoint presentation. Lastly, since it runs off an internet connect, which may not always be available, make sure her phone can do a hotspot as needed.

Nevermind...figured it out after a bit more digging. For those of you interested:

Go to the location of the stored templates:

You can find the location of the templates folder by opening Fiery Impose, then open Edit->preferences -> Impose.

By default the templates are stored in the following location on your Fiery or workstation:

C:\Users\Admin\Documents\Impose\template

Does anyone know how to export EFI Fiery Impose templates from one computer to another? Specifically the impose preset, not a job preset.