Using Signastation Imposition (top)

The layout is a very important part of the prepress stage. The Signastation workstation can not only combine individual pages into one sheet, but also collect CIP3-PPF (Print Production Format) data to ensure tight connection between printing and finishing operations. . The following briefly introduces the main functions of Signastation imposition software, and talk about some experiences in the process of using Signastation imposition, and hope to help people who are engaged in prepress desktop production.

Signastation has 5 main imposition ways:
1 One-sided free layout (Montage);
2 Montage front & back.
3 Automatic imposition method (Automatic imposition);
4 Non-automatic folding method (Imposition);
5 Automatic or manual packaging (Packaging or Packaging manually).
Below we will use a 16-page booklet as an example to explain how to spell a complete page. It contains various printed marks.
We can get the following information from its PS document: This document contains 16 monochrome pages. There is a 3mm amount of bleeding at the top of each page. The page size is set to 148mm x 216mm, and the output page size after cutting should be 148mm x 213mm. The plate size is 640mm x 450mm and printed on the front and back.

The first step: define the printing plate

1. Select "automatic imposition" in the mode drop-down menu of the montage inspector menu.
2. Enter your signature size parameter (640mm x 450mm) in the montage inspector as shown in Figure 1.
You don't need to enter any value in the margins box. Simply select "horizontal center" and "vertical center" to place the imposition layer in the center of the plate. Signature will automatically calculate the boundary blank based on your plate. size;
3. Select "new" in the file menu.
According to your definition of the plate size (640mm x 450mm), an imposition window will appear on the system and some page templates will be generated automatically.

Step 2: Create a Template

Defining imposition layers In the montage inspector, we can define a group mode and an imposition layer based on your imposition job.
1. Select "scheme" in the montage inspector and click on "scheme editor".
2. Select F16-06dd-4×2 in the standard layer options and click on “Load”. This selects a desired imposition layer, as shown in Figure 2.
3. Click on "load".
Now enter the montage inspector dialog box, the selected imposition layer appears in the dialog box in a simplified form. Define the distance between individual pages. A vertical distance of 6mm must be set between pages and it is not required in the horizontal direction. This is because there is a 3mm amount of bleeding between the pages and it is in the cutting area. Leave a 26mm margin along the center of the plate for labeling.
4. The horizontal and vertical distance between pages is shown in Figure 3.
5. Select "turn" in front & back. Now define the size of the layout, the number of pages, and the position of the page. Since all pages have the same pattern, you don't need to enter the information for each page individually, just define the same size on all pages of the plate.
Determining the page format Since this booklet is printed in the A5 format, the format must be defined according to the main page of the plate.
1. In the montage inspector, select "master pages". In the trimmed format, there is a drop-down menu. You can select the standard format (see Figure 4).
2. Click this drop-down menu and select A5.
Now the main page is A5 layout: 148mm wide and 210mm long.
Select the binding method

We will use saddle stitching.
1. Select "binding" in the montage inspector and select "saddlestitch" in the drop-down menu (Figure 5).
2. Select "Apply" in the lower right corner of the montage inspector and you have created a new imposition mode. The corresponding location of these templates will be placed in a PS document. The number of pages you see is their corresponding index (Figure 6).
Preparation is complete. Now we can deal with the real group work based on this template.

Step 3: Assign PS page

1. Select "document" in the left area of ​​the dialog. You can choose the PS file here.
2. Click new.
3. Select "sample3.ps" from the PS document options and click "Open" to exit the dialog box.
4. Click "add" to get the selected page.

Step 4: Check Single Page and Adjust Main Page

When you create a main page, you define the size of the PS document and their relationship to the layout.
Select Page 13 in the montage window and activate the page inspector with the left page button.
In the input box of the trimmed format area, the distance between the pages, the coordinates (x, y) of the upper left corner of the layout, and the page format are displayed. The Page index Navigator shows the specific location of the selected page in the imposition layer. In the orientation navigator, you can see the top and bottom of this page (see Figure 7), and then you can select the second and tenth pages to check.