This guide will walk you through using the basic features and functions of Production Manager. This guide is intended for new or novice users of the software. This will assume you have your printers and cutters set up. For assistance on that, please see: Adding New Printers and Cutters.
This guide is intended to show you how to print using an existing image and Production Manager. If you are designing or modifying artwork in Flexi and then wanting to print, see: Quick Guide to Printing a Job
Step 1: Add a job to Production Manager
There are two ways to achieve this: 1) through the RIP & Print Utility through Flexi and 2) Directly into Production Manager.
To use the RIP & Print utility, see: Quick Guide to Printing a Job
In Production Manager:
- Click the Job button OR go to File > Add Job
or - The Job will then land in the Hold List.
Step 2: Configure Job Settings and Properties
To edit the job properties of the job, choose one of the following:
- Double click the job in question
- Right Click and select "Job Properties."
You will then get the Job Properties window. Close to the top left, you'll see a line of tabs.
For more information on this window, see: Job Properties Overview. We will only cover two of the tabs in this guide.
On the first tab, Configure the layout of the job:
- Select the width of your Media from the drop down. Select "User Defined" at the bottom to enter in a custom width if you do not see a matching width. (Note: it is okay if the length is extremely long, the device won't go past the print job)
- Set the size of the margins to limit where the art can be printed on the media.
- Select how large you want the artwork to be.
- Enter the distance from the margins from step 2 to arrange the artwork on the print.
4a: You can also click and drag the art to place it where you want. - Choose how many copies you want to print, and then enter the margin between each copy.
Lastly, choose a color profile. Color profiles are critical to producing good color, as they make adjustments based on the absorption rate and whiteness of the material you are printing on, as well as numerous other factors. Your colors will not look good or accurate without a well tuned color profile. For more information on Color Profiles, read: Color Profiles / ICC Profiles. If you do not have color profiles, reach out to your dealer or manufacturer.
On the third tab:
- Select "Use Color Correction" from the Color Correction drop down.
- Select the profile with the media name you want to print on. Most also include the resolution, number of passes, and color mod in the name as well.
Once you've arranged your job and selected a color profile, click OK to save your settings.
Step 3: RIP and Print the Job:
"RIP" stands for "Raster Image Processor", or the process by which the software translates the image into the language the printer understands in terms of ink color placement on the material. The RIP Queue is where this occurs.
To send a job through the RIP and then Print queues, you can choose one of the following three ways:
- Click Send in the Job Properties Window.
OR - Click the Send button in Production Manager.
OR - Right click the job and select "Send".
The job will then process through the RIP Queue and then the Output Queue to your printer, which will then print your job.