Prepare InDesign document

After the InDesign presettings, we now come to the editing of the InDesign document (template).

For this, all elements must be placed on certain layers and provided with tags and, if necessary, attributes.

Layers

Tags and Attributes

Download sample template

General notes:

Vector graphics

For vector graphics, files in SVG or PDF format must be used. (EPS, Illustrator, Corel, etc. are not possible).

SVG

• SVGs are always in the RGB color space; if the color is not adjusted in the editor via color mapping or effects, they are also in RGB in the print data.

• If SVGs are placed as assets in the template or are inserted by the user in the editor, at least PDF 1.4 (PDF X4) compatibility must be used to generate the print data (or the background PDF) (otherwise the print data of the draft will not be generated).

• The opacity (transparency) of SVG files cannot be changed in the editor.

• The following settings should be made when saving SVG files: Decimal places: 3 (minimum), deactivate Responsive, CSS properties: Presentation attributes.

PDF

• The Trimbox (final format) is generally used as the asset for PDFs. If a different box is to be used, this must be preset in the asset block in the IDML or using BlockSetting Preset, information on this can be found under use-box. (For example by using PDF files including bleed, the bleed is always cut off by the default.)

• The use of PDFs as a media type (for selection by the user in the editor) is not permitted by default and must be enabled in advance if desired.
  (For individual templates: Edit template > Editor > Media types; generally: Settings > Media > Media restriction)

• If PDFs may be inserted in the editor, it makes sense not to use a PDF/X standard (in the background PDF of the template), otherwise the user must create his PDFs in the same standard.

• If PDFs are used as a placed image (asset), the compatibility of the PDF/X standards must be taken into account both for placement in the IDML and for subsequent PDF use in the editor. (For IDML templates, this is automatically used from the background PDF created for it; for a free format, the standard can be selected in the template configuration).

• For example, only a PDF/X1 can be placed in a printformer template with PDF/X1 standard; if the printformer template has no standard, PDFs without or with X1, X3, X4 standard can be used.

InDesign shapes

• InDesign shapes can also be tagged and customized in the editor, but certain requirements for ShapeBlocks must be taken into account.

Pixel images

• The file formats JPG, PNG and TIF are possible for pixel graphics. (If a user uploads an image in WEBP format in the editor, it is automatically converted into a PNG.

  JPG files must comply with the JPG standard and must not have a transparent background (reduce to background level before saving).

  PNG or TIF files can be used with a transparent background

  In general, image files may only have 2 layer (Photoshop layers, adjustment layers and vector smart objects are not possible).

  The image file must not contain any channels other than cyan, magenta, yellow and black (or RGB).

  Clipping paths in Tif files are possible, but only one path may be present in the image file.

  If no clipping path is to be used, all paths must be deleted from the file.

  The color space of the image file (as well as the image size) is not changed for the creation of print data unless a color space conversion (via an effect) is stored in the template.

Text

• Text frames must be provided with the object format text frame (is automatically set when the frame is drawn using the text tool).

• Metric kerning is used for texts in printformer; possible adjustments using the InDesign feature, e.g. extended character formats, cannot be made. (If text has been formatted in the InDesign template, this is reset in printformer).
  Information on font files and text formatting

• Text frames can be created with the text frame option Inset Spacing.

• Text frames should not be reduced in size using the “fit the frame to its content” command as otherwise the last line of text may be cut off in the printformer editor.

• If the template contains empty text blocks (for filling in the editor) whose font formatting is predefined, a Paragraph style must be assigned to the text and an Object Style to the text frame. (Otherwise the standard formatting is used in the editor).

• Possible settings in the paragraph format: font, font style, font size, line spacing, line color

General information

• Tagged (later editable) elements must not be placed on master pages (otherwise, for example, the PFNonPrint layer function will not work).

• A placeholder with the pf-meta-page data key can be used for automated page numbers.

  If an image placeholder is created that is to be filled later with the Media Hunter, it must not contain a layout image (empty graphics frame).

• Color spaces/values are generally not changed in the editor (CMYK is converted to RGB for display in the editor)
  Gradients are not possible (only unchangeable via the background PDF or an asset). CMYK or RGB values are read from the IDML or SVG, spot colors cannot yet be read.
  Further information can be found under Colors.