Administration Guide : Output print queues : Configuring printer queues (more about the Edit Queue subtab)

Configuring printer queues (more about the Edit Queue subtab)
Xinet tries to establish logical default settings for queue configuration when you add a queue to the server. However, in many cases you may wish to change these settings. The Print/HotFolder, Print Queues, Edit Queue page shows the current settings for each established printer queue and allows you to change parameters for it. Because different types of queues handle jobs in different ways, the options displayed in the dialog box will be different according to the kind of queue you are examining.
Opening the Edit Queue page
To open an Edit Queue page:
1.
On the Administration view, click on the Print/HotFolder > Print Queues > Edit Queue subtab. Alternatively, click on the pencil icon associated with a queue on the Summary page.
2.
Configuration options for the selected queue will appear in the displayed page. The following is an example, for an already-established PDF Image Replacement queue.
Basic print queue options
The options which appear in the upper portions of the Edit Queue dialog page (without associated purple disclosure triangles) are the same for all printer types. Printer-type dependent differences appear in the lower portion of the page. This section describes elements common to all printer types. They include:
Spooling/Administration directory
Xinet will establish a separate spooling (printer administration) directory for each printer queue you establish. The Edit Queue page displays the path to the directory associated with the queue you’ve selected. While information from the directories’ files will be available in various parts of the Xinet Administration view, it is sometimes expedient to look at the directories by hand.
The files in each spool directory contain information drawn from the PPD assigned to the queue, a summary of settings established through nativeadmin configuration, current and old log files about the queue’s activities. and information about the current state of the queue, for example., whether it is idle, currently processing jobs, on hold, etc.
The default location of these directories depend on the operating system of your server:
Unix: /var/spool/Print_Queue_Name
Windows: C:\Program Files\Xinet\FullPress\Admin\spool\Print_Queue_Name
If you have many or very active queues where you’re storing a great deal of logging information, you may want to change the location of queue directories to another place in the file system. That can be done on the Print/Hot Folder, General Admin page, described in General global administration options for output queues. If a directory reaches 100% or its capacity, you’ll see errors in log files and only get partial or no output whatsoever.
Log file limit
By default, newly-established queues will have a Log file limit set to 200 kilobytes. If you turn on verbose logging or want to keep logging information for longer periods you may change the limit, on a queue by queue basis, using the Log file limit type in box.
ACL to grant access to queued jobs and logs
It is possible to grant access to printers through use of ACLs; by default, they aren’t available. Xinet ships with two predefined settings, (Everyone) and (No access). You may also define your own custom lists, as described in About Access Control Lists. You may also want to grant Administrative Privileges over print queues to some users. Granting Administrative Privileges provides details.
PostScript Printer Description (PPD) selection
The upper portion of the Edit Queue page allows you to review and specify which PostScript Printer Description (PPD) will be used by the queue. The PPD provides information about the printer, such as what fonts are available, the level of the PostScript interpreter, page sizes, etc. For many printers, Xinet will automatically pick the correct PPD.
Use the pop-up list, select a new PPD.
Xinet includes PPDs for many well-known types of printers. These appear in the pop-up list, as the figure above shows. If you do not see an appropriate PPD, you may copy the correct PPD to the server.
To add a new PPD to the server:
1.
Unix: /var/adm/appletalk/ppds/
Windows: C:\Program Files\Xinet\FullPress\Admin\ppds\
You may, however, choose another place to store PPDs.
2.
[optional] If you have chosen a different repository for PPDs on your server, use the path segments that follow from this directory and then, the Folders pop-up list in an iterative fashion until you have correctly specified the new PPD repository.
3.
Click the Populate PPD list (above) button so that Xinet can register new PPDs.
4.
New PPDs should appear in the Installed PostScript Printer Description pop-up list. Use the list to select the PPD appropriate for your queue.
Page options and Single-Image handling
Use the disclosure triangle to reveal these options. You can turn on or off the following printer configuration options by clicking in the box next to each option. A check or darkened box means the option is “on.”
Default Paper Size
Depending on the PPD assigned, the page may provide a pop-up list that allows you to choose the default paper size for the queue from among the possible sizes specified in the PPD. The size you specify will be the size used unless other information provided during the printing operation overrides it.
Scaling for jobs that are single images
The options is this pop-up list control how EPSF and raster image files are printed; the settings do not effect ASCII text printing. The options include:
– Scale (up or down) to fill page
– Scale down only
– Do not scale at all
– Set the page size to match the image
– Do not convert EPS to PostScript
If you choose Scale down only and the image is larger than the page, it will scale it down so the image will fit the page. If Do not scale at all is chosen and the image is larger than the page, it will be cropped. The scaling options will only affect images directly sent to the printing device and will not affect images that are imported into another type of file, such as a InDesign layout file.
Tip: Customers have found this option very useful when used in combination with hot folders. For example, after setting up a hot folder and selecting a scaling option for the queue, all a production user needs to do is drop a file into the hot folder to automatically produce the desired output. With Xinet, you can take this automation a step further, allowing remote customers to upload images through a Xinet Uploader to one of these hot folders. For more information about hot folders, turn to Adding and configuring input Hot Folders.
Page layout
(Options include Single page Portrait, Single page Landscape, Two-per-page Landscape, and Two-per-page Portrait) Click on the option you prefer.
Text Columns per virtual page
Allows you to specify the number of characters per column and the number of rows you want to appear on each virtual page.
Use ISOLatin1Encoding in PostScript font for text
Allows you to extend the range of characters in fonts beyond those normally represented by a 7-bit ASCII encoding system; for example, you might need special ligatures and accents or non-Roman fonts. By default, Xinet turns on this option. ISOLatin1Encoding is the standard extended encoding scheme used by the X Window System, and for that reason, will be found on most printers. A few printers, however, do not support ISOLatin1Encoding. If you are using such a printer you should turn off this option.

Some PPD-specific printer options
These options, similar to many Macintosh printing options, only pertain to jobs which do not come into the system via the papserver(1M) or lprserver(1M) utilities. They don’t apply to PostScript files from Hot Folders either. What you see in the box depends on the options described in the selected PPD. However, most PPDs contain two options which Xinet uses for printing ASCII text files. You should check, if present, that these settings are correct.

Page size
(depending on other input-tray selection options, defines page size for default paper tray or selects paper tray)

Page region
(defines the imageable area for manual feed and when users specify special input trays)
Preflight and Post-processing
Use the disclosure triangle to reveal these options. On a per-queue basis, you can check font usage in the documents and also run the image replacement preflight process before any output is created.
Font Checking
The font checking can be useful in a variety of workflows, especially when hot folders are being used, for in these cases, the normal LaserWriter font checks do not happen. Use the Font Preflight pop-up list to select one of the following:
If you engage one of these options for a queue, jobs that don’t meet the criteria will fail, with details written in the log file. Font checking works with both PostScript and PDF input.
Image replacement checking
This image-replacement checking feature can prevent film/plate/paper waste when printing directly to output devices (as the job will fail before the device is even opened). Keep in mind that this will take more time, so may not be appropriate for all queues. The option works in conjunction with the Fail jobs that replace an RGB image without ICC profiles found under the Image Replacement options for the queue and the Override options. Without preflighting, the conditions for failure will still occur, but during normal processing of the job.
Forwarding successful and failed jobs
You may set preferences for what happens to print jobs in the queue after they clear the printer, according to whether or not the job cleared the queue successfully. The default setting is not to do anything with the jobs, for example., they disappear from the server after they are printed. There are a number of instances when you might want to hold on to the jobs, for example, if you were initially spooling to a screen so that you could preview jobs, you might want to send them on to an image setter afterwards. You may set different options for successful and failed jobs:
Forward Job on success to
This option allows you to direct the input for jobs which successfully clear the print queue to another previously configured queue. The menu allows you to choose among all other queues previously configured on your server.
and on failure to
This option allows you to direct the input for failed jobs to other queues, such as a hold queue or to a previewer. This may be useful when you want to look at problems in the PostScript you’re producing. The menu allows you to choose among all the hold or preview queues previously configured on your server.
Tip: Many customers use job forwarding as a way to remove chances for errors and to streamline production. A single PostScript file or PDF file can be used to create multiple kinds of output. For instance, a layout person can print one time to a queue. The queue can replace images at 72 dpi and make a PDF file which is written into an area where the customer can log in through Xinet and soft proof that PDF. Or, the queue’s first destination might instead be a proofer (or even a remote proofer owned by the customer, with the printing happening over the Internet) — and then that printer queue’s success destination could be a hold queue for the image setter.
Although the operator prints only once, multiple copies are output. Many different output formats come from the same print job. To achieve the same thing otherwise, you would probably open the layout file and print a proof. Then a week or so later, open the file again and print to the image setter. Unfortunately, many things might be different between the job that was printed a week ago and the job printed today, meaning you might create a different job on the image setter compared with the job that came from the proofer.
ICC color profile selection for printer queues
Before enabling any color correction features, you may want to read more about Color Vérité and color management, as described in Setting global input ICC profiles. Also keep in mind that associating a profile with a printer queue is only one part of setting up color management on your system. Images must also have profiles associated with them.
You do not have to enable color correction if you do not want to. Automated color correction will not take place on the queue unless you specifically engage it and images have profiles associated with them.
Many vendors now provide ICC profiles along with their devices. Third party vendors also supply reliable libraries of ICC profiles. A number of profiling software packages also exist which allow you to build your own custom profiles. These profiles provide the best assurance of true color fidelity in your workflow because they describe the actual devices you use, not factory-perfect, theoretical devices.
To assign an ICC color profile to the print queue:
1.
On the Administration view, click Print/Hot Folders > Print Queues > Edit Queue and select a print queue from the drop menu.
2.
Engage the Use ICC profiles embedded in images check box to turn on the option.
3.
[optional] Some sites only apply color transformations to RGB and LAB images. If you want to take this approach, also engage the option to exclude CMYK images from color adjustment.
4.
5.
[Optional] If you don’t see the profile you want, copy your new ICC profile to an appropriate place on your server. Xinet uses the following as its default location:
Linux: /var/cms/profiles
OS X: /System/Library/ColorSync/Profiles
While Xinet recommends these locations, you may, use another place to store profiles.
6.
[optional] If you have chosen a different repository for profiles, use the path segments that follow from this directory and then, the Folders pop-up list in an iterative fashion until you have correctly specified the new profile repository.
Click the Populate Profile list (above) button so that Xinet can register new profiles.
New profiles should appear in the Output Profile selected pop-up list. Use the list to select the profile that is appropriate for your queue.
7.
[optional] Use the check box, Do not perform CMYK-to-CMYK color conversions, if you want to protect CMYK images from automated color corrections.
Some color correction workflows want to constrain correction to images that are in LAB and/or RGB. By turning on this option, automated color correction will not occur for images that are in the CMYK color space.
8.
[optional] Use the check box to Enable Black Point Compensation when converting pixels. This feature addresses problems that occur because of the varying darkness of black on different devices. It may help retain some detail in dark (shadowed) areas of images during color transformation. Without its use, unless you’re using a Perceptual Rendering Intent, the conversion process won’t consider Black. Black Point Compensation may also be effective when Profiles don’t accurately portray devices. You will have to experiment with how much it improves your results. Note that this option will have no effect if you select Absolute Colorimetric Rendering Intent.
9.
Use the check box, if present, to indicate whether to Assign output profile to the PDF queue. This ensures that the selected ICC profile will be loaded into the PDF file and used as the Output Condition, normally a PDF/X feature (part of Output Intents), but it also works for any of the Xinet PDF-writing print queues.
10.
Select the Preferred Rendering Intent for the queue. Profiles are built with a default rendering intent in mind, which is encoded in the profile itself. Choosing the (Profile’s Default) option in the pop-up list uses that Rendering Intent. The output profile, in conjunction with an image’s input profile, may support another Rendering Intent. You can choose one of these from the list below. If the selected preference is not supported by the two profiles, the output profile default will be used.
Perceptual
This Rendering Intent, sometimes also called “Photographic,” squeezes all the source colors so that they fit inside the destination gamut. It’s good for photographs, because, if necessary, hues may shift in order to preserve color-tone relationships. The result is to maintain image detail with some possible subtle color shifts. This is the most commonly used intent.
Relative Colorimetric
This Intent tries to reproduce color within the gamut of both input and output device as exactly as possible. If a color falls outside the gamut of the destination, the substitute color will have the same hue, but if necessary, different lightness and saturation. This is useful for trying to maintain careful control over important colors, such as you might find in a corporate logo where consistency is important. When using this intent with photos, you might lose detail in portions of the image that lie outside the gamut because two different source colors could end up being mapped to the same destination color.
Saturation
This Intent reproduces fully saturated source colors as fully saturated destination colors. It’s good for business and presentations graphics such as pie and bar charts.
Absolute Colorimetric
This Intent is just like Relative Colorimetric, except it uses an absolute CIE white point rather than taking into account the natural white point of the device itself. The natural white point of a printer is the color of the substrate. The natural white point of a scanner is the clear drum.
Set per colorspace
Allows you to establish various combinations of Intents, depending on the images’ colorspaces, for example, greyscale images may use one intent while RGB images another.
Image Replacement options for the queue
If you are unfamiliar with image replacement technology, Background provides a brief history and explains some of the terminology commonly used when discussing it.
The Image Replacement options for the queue disclosure triangle opens a display that shows queue-based options of image replacement, including parameters such as resolution, format, etc. You may also establish override criteria for these options for any spooler or hot folder that it feeds. There is an additional disclosure triangle, Advanced (or obscure Image Replacement options) (see Advanced (or obscure) Image Replacement options) for the few sites that need further refinement of these replacement options.
Image replacement options include:
Completely skip the Image Replacement phase of job processing [Not available on PDF-IR queues]
This option establishes that low-resolution images placed in layout files won’t be replaced. It also ensures that none of the other transformations that take place upon image replacement, such as source cropping, color correction, color-space conversion, etc. (This is typically used only for testing or very rough proofing.)
Don’t replace images
Image resolution will not be changed; however, other transformations that have been configured to take place on the queue during image substitution will still be applied.
Replace with full image
This means that images will be replaced by the high-resolution original at full resolution.
Scale (down only) to resolution entered below
This allows you to establish a value for the resolution of the substituted images. (Clicking on the buttons to the right of the type-in box allows you to switch units between DPI and DPCM.) This scaling option will greatly improve output times with no visible loss of information when sending to proofing devices.

There are, however, several instances when this setting will be ignored and the full, high-resolution image will be substituted:
a) When the resolution of the high-resolution image is lower than the printer’s. (See below for expanding images.)
b) When the image is a masked TIFF, 1-bit, or palleted
c) When image-replacement comments that normally set the placed size of an image are missing
Scale (up or down) to resolution below
When images have a higher resolution than the output device, the server will scale them down to the resolution you indicate; when they have lower resolutions, the server will scale them up to the indicated resolution. Notes b) and c) from above apply here too.

Keep in mind that expansion will only provide a softer, less-pixelated rendering, not a sharp blow-up.
Desired Image Resolution
This type in box and the associated unit buttons next to it allow you to specify image substitution resolution that will be used based on the options above.
Replacement sharpening options
This pop-up list allows you to automatically apply “unsharp masking” algorithms to images. It is particularly useful in situations where images are being scaled. You may choose between three options:
Disabled (the default)
Basic Sharpening when scaling
Sharpen non-CMYK images
It is also possible to customize sharpening with your own sharpening parameters. The files /usr/adm/appletalk/usm/basic (Unix systems) and C:\Program Files\Xinet\FullPress\Admin\usm\basic (Windows systems) contain details.
JPEG image compression
[Not available on PDF-IR queues (It’s set, with different options, under Options for controlling PDF creation.)]
This pop-up lists allows you to choose between degrees of JPEG compression which relate directly to the amount of data sent for each image and indirectly to the likelihood that the uncompressed images may not look exactly like the original. This feature makes remote proofing over long-distance data lines possible, for example over the Internet. Xinet does not recommend using JPEG-compressed images for final printing because the compression scheme doesn’t necessarily produce exactly the same image you started with when the image is uncompressed. (This is known as “lossy” compression.) In other words, a high-quality JPEG compression will produce a better-looking image, but also produce larger data files; low-quality JPEG compression produces worse quality images but smaller data files.Options include:
Disabled
This option establishes that replaced images not be compressed. They will be 8-bit binary encoded. It is the default for most printers.
Low Quality
Medium Quality
High Quality
Delete OPI comments after successful replacement.
With this option off, OPI comments are preserved in the output PostScript. This allows for future replacement at a different resolution. Turning on this option prevents any future replacement, and may be useful for some RIPs or imposition software that try to interpret the comments.
Always convert RGB and Lab images to CMYK (even without ICC profiles)
If you have input and output ICC profiles for an image, Xinet will ignore this option and use its ICC color-correction engine to convert the image. If, however, you’re sending a print job for which color profiles are missing, and you’ve enabled this option, the software will always convert images to CMYK. The software ships with built-in conversion tables. If you would like to build customized tables for your site, refer to Xinet Technote 105, available at www.northplains.com/xinet.
Include spot colors in composite (output must support DeviceN colorspace)
When this option is on and spot colors are used, Xinet will generate PostScript which contains DeviceN colorspace information. You should not use this option unless you have a Level III RIP that you know supports the DeviceN colorspace.
Preserve extra pixels when source-cropping images.
This option exists for instances where the RIP allows you to reposition images after image replacement has taken place. If images were source-cropped to their exact sizes, moving them would leave gaps at the edges.
Image replacement restrictions (Asset Timer)
This option works in conjunction with three Xinet built-in Asset Timer Data Fields: usage_end_date, usage_locked, and usage_start_date1. The Database, Data Fields, Edit Fields page allows you to configure these fields in the manner that they best fit the needs of your site. You will need to assign their use through a Template to at least one “Asset Timer Administrator” who can enter appropriate restrictions for assets. When they are in use and values have been assigned for assets, you may choose to have a queue that encounters these assets take any of the following actions:

None (Ignore Asset Timer settings)
Watermark expired assets (See page 250 and page 250 for more information about
the watermarks)
Fail jobs using expired assets
Create web links for placed images (for Interactive PDFs), with URL prefix
This PDF queue option works in conjunction the two Macintosh utilities, Xinet Annotator Plug-in for InDesign. See Annotator Plug-in for InDesign for an overview of this client program.
Turning on this feature will allow the queue to insert extra image-file-location information into PDFs. This can be used to display images from the PDF in a Web browser when a user clicks on the image.
For the links to work properly, the administrator must also make sure that the URL path prefix is appropriate. The default value, http://hostname/webnative/imageinfo? where hostname is the name of the Xinet server, will work for many sites. Some sites, however, might want to change the prefix; for example, if a site were using a Xinet Portal server as an interface to the Xinet server, the prefix would need to point to the Xinet Portal server, as follows: http://portalservername/PORTAL/IMAGEINFO.php?ipdf= where portalservername is the domain name or IP address of your Xinet Portal server.
If you use this method to point links to a Xinet Portal server, the links will always call up the default Xinet Portal site (set in /usr/etc/portal/PORTAL/defaults/defaults.php). Furthermore, for multiserver Xinet Portal sites, links will always reference:
The first server listed in config.inc.php, if the user is not logged in already
The server currently accessed if the user is logged in already
If you want the Interactive PDF to point to a Xinet Portal site other than the default, or to a specific server on a multiserver site, follow these steps:
1. Use a browser and login to the site you wish to use in the Interactive PDF URL. For example, http://portalservername/YOURSITE
2. After a successful login, browse one of the volumes listed. If this is a multiserver site be sure to select a volume from the server for which you are configuring Interactive PDF.
3. The URL shown in your browser will contain the server and siteurl variables. So, for example, the entire path in the URL bar of your browser might be something similar to:
http://portalservername/PORTAL/BROWSE.php?path=/space/DEMO&server=MjEyLjE4NS42Ni4zNQ==&siteurl=L2FsaG91c2U=&win=1033:879
Note that the last part of the URL (&win=1033:879) is not part of the siteurl variable.
4. Copy the server and siteurl variables:
server=MjEyLjE4NS42Ni4zNQ==&siteurl=L2FsaG91c2U
and paste them into the URL you use when configuring an Interactive PDF queue, in between php? and ipdf=, with the completed URL looking something similar to:
http://portalservername/PORTAL/IMAGEINFO.php?server=MjEyLjE4NS42Ni4zNQ==&siteurl=L2FsaG91c2U&ipdf=
Now, as a result, when you create an Interactive PDF, the images will be linked not only to the correct Xinet Portal server (from the server variable), but also the correct Xinet Portal site. Note, however: if a user has already logged into a different Xinet Portal site, the image will be called up from the logged-in site, not the site specified in the URL.
Override Image Replacement options
When you first establish a print queue, Override Image Replacement options will not be present. They appear, however, once you add spoolers or hot folders that point to a print queue for output. The GUI provides one set of override options for each spooler or hot folder directed at the queue.
The override options, which duplicate those found under the Image Replacement options for the Queue, add another layer of administrative flexibility, and will take precedence over the original replacement options set for the queue. For details about each option, please see the previous section.
Advanced (or obscure) Image Replacement options
Under most circumstances, administrators won’t need to invoke options here. However, they do exist for special circumstances:
Write ASCII image data (for example. 7-bit safe)
This option establishes that replaced images will be Hex encoded, as some older printers do accept binary data.
Fail jobs that contain OPI references to images NOT on the server,
For example, on a Macintosh or Windows desktop
Fail jobs that do NOT contain Xinet Annotator information
(The jobs have most likely not been saved with the appropriate XTension or plug-in installed.)
Fail jobs with CMYK images with ink density over (in Percent)
Enter a percentage value (which must be less than 400) for the limit of CMYK output ink density of images. If the queue is a Xinet-made PDF queue, the limit will be enforced on vector graphics as well.
Fail jobs that get errors reading image scanlines
Insures that image replacement doesn’t ignore broken scanlines, such as might appear in a truncated TIFF file
Print on top of each replaced image with its filename
Of course, this is only useful for proofing and not final output. It affects the printed pages only, not the log file.
Always decode EPS-JPEG images (for scaling and cropping) during replacement
The image replacement process will not apply scaling and cropping to JPEG-encoded images unless you turn on this option.
Do not use File IDs to locate images for replacement
Normally, the image replacement process looks for file location in the image-replacement comments, and if that doesn’t work, locates the file using its File ID. This option suppresses the second activity.
When using File IDs to locate images, require the file name to match OPI comments
This option limits the use of File IDs during image substitution. The file’s location in the file system may have changed, but its name must remain exactly the same. This option is independent of Do not use File IDs to locate images for replacement. However, when Do not use File IDs to locate images for replacement has been engaged, this option becomes irrelevant.
Threshold difference over which images will be scaled (in percent)
Normally, image replacement won’t scale an image when the source and target resolution differ by a very small amount because scaling images by a very small amount can make them fuzzy and introduce other artifacts. Still, because some preflighting software is very particular about resolution, it might be appropriate to scale images when it is in use. This option allows you to establish a threshold for scaling, with the default setting being 5%. (This setting, for example, would not scale down a 304.8 DPI image (120 dots per cm) to 300 DPI.) The larger the percentage, the greater the discrepancy between actual file size and the “scale to” file size must be before the image will be scaled.
Make all replaced Greyscale images transparent (for Shadow Caster XT) [PDF and TIFF queues only]
This option exists for PDF queues with PDF compatibility of level 1.4 or higher. When engaged, this option will treat all greyscale images as if they were transparent, providing a smooth transition from opaque black to transparent white.
Image Replacement Debugging
To set image replacement debugging options, click on the Image Replacement Debugging disclosure triangle. When enabled, the options described in this section provide specific information in the log file. You can view individual log files by selecting the appropriate queue and job through the Print/HotFolder, Queue Status, Completed Job Logs page.A sample Print Queue log file
Use the check boxes to turn on any of these Image Replacement Debugging options:
Remember that these settings won’t go into effect until you save the new configuration.
Custom processing options
The options which appear in the Custom processing options disclosure triangle depend on the type of queue in question. Some types of queues (for example, File queues) will contain a subset of what appears in other queues, say, Custom queues.
Also note that none of the changes you make to these settings will not be registered until you click the Submit button.
Here is an example of changing the command-line: Suppose you want to write XMP data into PDF files.
PDF 1.3 and earlier files do not include any XMP data support. You must use at least PDF 1.4 if you want XMP support. When you are setting up a Configureable PDF queue, a pop-up list in the GUI allows you to set this option. (Setting up configureable PDF queues provides details.) For other kinds of PDF queues, however, you must change the PDF level in the command-line box by hand
Furthermore, you may set, depending on your operating system, some options for how the command functions using check boxes and type-in boxes in the lower sections of the page. Options may include:
Send PostScript into above command using Standard Input
Turning on this option means that the server will pass the processed PostScript through a pipe directly to the program without first writing the data to a file on disk. When you use this option the data will disappear unless you specifically save the information with other Xinet options.
Put command in the background (not recommended)
Turning on this option allows the server’s lp(1) or lpr(1) system to process more than one print request for the queue at a time. If this were a preview queue, then users could see more than a single job at a time on the screen. Of course, if too many jobs were to run in the background simultaneously, server performance would suffer. Normally, Xinet does not recommend that you use this option. You should only use it for Preview queues.
Do not delete the input PostScript file after running the above command
Files which result from the command in the shell command box will be removed after processing unless you specify that you would like them to remain. Turning on this option is one way of doing that. Success and failure destination options, described in Preflight and Post-processing, provide another way of saving jobs before OPI replacement takes place.
Write each page to a separate output PDF file
This is available for all PDF queues.
X-DISPLAY environment for print job environment
This option, only used for screen previews, sets the monitor where the program will display the preview. It uses the X Window System, and assumes that unix:0 is the server’s primary display.
Pop-up job confirmation window when needed for success/failure queues
When using a previewer and the queue has a destination queue or queues, turning on this option will cause a job confirmation dialog box to appear on the X display to determine whether the job succeeded or failed.
None
Only printer failure messages will go to the log file.
Enable trace of job processing
Messages tracing the network packets required to communicate with the printer will go to the log file. You will only want to use this option when you are debugging a printer.
More verbose debugging
Detailed messages about all printer communications will go to the log file. You will only want to use this option when you are debugging a printer.
Output location and filename options
You may constrain the way the server names files created through printer queues and the destination of those files by setting any of the following:
Use the Destination/Working folder pop-up list and type in box to select an output directory. You may navigate backwards by clicking on any link within the established path name and use the (New Folder) option if you need to add a new directory to a location. Clicking the Create Folder button registers your choice.
Override above folder with Document source folder (when known and accessible):
This check box works in conjunction with the Annotator Plug-in for InDesign. (See
Annotator Plug-in for InDesign for more information about this utility.) The option turns on the Document Relative destination feature, where the default file destination can be overridden when a particular document’s location on the server is known (usually via the Xinet-supplied XTension or plug-in). By default, the file produced by the print queue will be redirected to the folder containing the printed document. The type-in box next to the check box to supply additional path segment(s) to append to that folder. For example, ../output would put the output file in a new folder, output, in the parent folder of the document’s folder.
Override printing system’s job title with Title from input
Some operating systems may change job names (for example jobname might become something like 241-1.pdf.) This option preserves the originating file’s name in the output name.
Include the print job owner’s name in output filename
Selecting this option will insert the name of the owner of the print job into the filename.
Limit output filenames to DOS (8.3) form
Selecting this option will cause the queue to limit file names so that they follow the DOS convention of a maximal 8 characters before the delimiting period and 3 afterwards. This is useful if you are sending files to a DOS-based RIP.
Filename uniqueness/overwriting
These pop-up options allow for control over filenames generated by the queue. There are three choices:
a. Add decimal numbers as needed to prevent overwrite
This option will insert decimal numbers starting with 001 (and, monotonically increasing) before any suffix that you specify; but only if some version of the “unadorned” filename already exists. For example, if file.ps already exists, the next version would be named file001.ps, and then file002.ps.
b. Use job name unchanged (overwrite existing files)
This option ensures there’s no protection for files of the same name. Rather than change a file name when one of that name already exists, the newer file will overwrite the existing file.
c. Always append unique HEX number to filename
This option will insert random Hex-encoded numbers before the suffix for every file. This is useful when the output is copied to another location, and the normal “uniqueness” test would not be sufficient to prevent file overwrites.
Append this suffix (including separator)
This type-in box allows you to append a particular suffix to files created through queues, for example “.ps”.
Remove any existing suffix
Checking this box will remove existing filename suffixes rather than appending to them.
Click on the Submit button when you have finished all the changes you want to make. If you click the Cancel button, all the changes you have just made will be forgotten.
Setting up configureable PDF queues
See Adding a PDF File(s) queue if you haven’t already created a configureable PDF queue. The Options for controlling PDF creation disclosure triangle, towards the bottom of the page, allows further configuration of PDF file queues. The particular options it presents depend on the kind of PDF queue you have established, so you may not see everything discussed in this section for a particular queue. PDF Image Replacement queues have their own subset of options, which are presented on Step 7.. Options for PDF-X variants are found in the following topic Creating/using PDF/X-1a:2001, PDF/X3, PDF/X-4, and Pass4press queues.
The following shows one example of these options.
Here’s a list of the options:
Color Model allows you to establish the color space for images. Choices include:
Gray (Requires a grayscale PPD)
RGB (Screen Preview)
CMYK (Printable)
CMYK + Spots (Requires Device N OPI support)
Color Conversion Strategy determines whether to do anything about graphics that don’t fit the colorspace above.
Choices include:
Convert to selected Color Model
Do not change source colorspace
Native Resolution (independent of images)
By default, Xinet will create PDF files that have a resolution of 576 dpi. You may want to change this to a lower resolution if smaller file size is important. The trade-off may be lower quality; particularly, in gradient blends. If you’re going to send files to a higher-resolution output device, you might want to select one of the higher-resolution options. The trade-off then will be larger-sized files.
PDF Compatibility
This option allows you to set the PDF-compatibility level appropriate to the RIP which will be processing your files for print or display. Unless you know you have an older RIP, higher levels will support more options. Please note: If you intend to write XMP data into PDFs so that Xinet can display Producer data, be sure to use PDF version 1.4 or later. Earlier versions do not provide that feature.
Compress PDF page data
This option, which works when viewing output with all versions of Acrobat, allows you to compress the size of files. The goal is to do so without too much sacrifice of human readability. If you find you are not able to read information, turn off the option.
ASCII-Encode page data
This allows you to set 7-bit rather than 8-bit encoding. It isn’t of particular interest in most workflows today.
Page Rotation (to force upright text)
PDF files can contain information about page orientation, based on rotating pages so the majority of text reads the right way.
Font Embedding
You may choose to embed fonts in PDF files or not. If you embed fonts, you can ensure that Acrobat Reader or your RIP will not substitute fonts for those it doesn’t have. Consider also that some RIPs require printer-resident fonts and will reject jobs that have them included; others require all fonts within each job. By making subsets of fonts, you’ll create a custom font for the particular job, which ensures that your fonts and font metrics will be used rather than those with a similar name encountered somewhere in production. Also keep in mind that TrueType fonts can contain a font-designer setting which prevents the font from being embedded in PDF files, no matter what you do here.

The pop-up list also offers a Convert Text to Outlines option, which many workflows have employed to get around font licensing issues; however, it makes any postprocess editing quite difficult.

The font must be included in the PostScript fed to the queue before Xinet can include it.
Subset when percent characters is used is below...
If you include subsets of fonts, you can place constraints upon the conditions under which you include subsets rather than the complete font. The trade-offs are between the potential for future editing vs. file size. Cut-off choices range from 99 percent–30 percent.
Preserve OPI comments (independent of replacement options)
This option exists for those who want to “repurpose” PDFs, replacing images at a later time at a different (probably higher) resolution.
Color Image scaling
Choices include:
Do not scale
Subsampled Downsampling
This averages pixel color in a sample area and replaces the entire area with the average color at the specified resolution. (See below.)
Averaged Downsampling
This uses a pixel in the mathematical center of a sample area to replace all of the pixels within that area at the specified resolution. (See below.) Averaged downsampling is less computationally intense; but usually produces less smooth gradients than subsampled downsampling.
Bicubic Downsampling
This uses a weighted average to figure out the color of pixels, producing the smoothest results of the options here, but because it is more precise, takes more time.
Color image target resolution, ranging from 40–400 dpi
This is the resolution to which color images will be scaled.
Downsample Colored Images above...
You may set a threshold resolution above which downsampling will be applied. Choices range from 40–600 dpi
Choices include:
Unencoded Binary
ZIP (lossless Flate Compression)2
Maximum-Quality JPEG
High-Quality JPEG
Medium-Quality JPEG
Low-Quality JPEG
Minimum-Quality JPEG
Creating/using PDF/X-1a:2001, PDF/X3, PDF/X-4, and Pass4press queues
See Adding printer queues to the server if you haven’t already set up one of these special PDF queues.
The Options for controlling PDF creation disclosure triangle shows features you may adjust for each of these queues. While the options are similar for each type, depending on the variant you have in front of you, you may not see everything listed below.
Here’s a list of the options:
Make a 2003 version PDF/X-3 (PDF/X-3 option only)
If you’ve established a PDF/X-3 queue, Xinet, by default, will use the 2002 standard. You may override that assignment, choosing 2003 instead, if you prefer.
Require valid page content boxes
You may indicate whether your workflow requires valid page content boxes. PDF content boxes consist of normally invisible rectangles drawn around the various objects on a page. The boxes tell where objects are located.
The Crop box is the invisible box which no graphics may extend beyond. It is not required by the PDF/X-1a:2001 specification.
The Trim box indicates the final page size after printing and trimming.
The Bleed box extends beyond the edges of the trimmed page size so you can be sure that ink extends to the edge of the page after trimming.
Preserve Halftones
Indicate whether you want to preserve halftones in files you create.
In general, PDF/X-1:2001 workflows are set up so that the file recipient will be responsible for screening the data in a way that’s appropriate for the printing conditions. However, some designers may specify screening parameters for particular images to achieve particular effects. This option allows for the Xinet server to pass on screening parameters when they’ve been set.
Warning: If you use this option, a “conforming” PDF/X reader may legally ignore halftones in incoming files. Test to see whether or not your reader preserves this information.
Color Conversion Strategy
This option handles elements in the job that aren’t effected through the queue’s image replacement strategy. PDF/X-3 ICC profile supports CMYK and PDF/X-4 ICC profile supports RGB.
Font Embedding
You may choose to embed fonts in PDF files or not. If you embed fonts, you can ensure that Acrobat Reader or your RIP will not substitute fonts for those it doesn’t have. Consider also that some RIPs require printer-resident fonts and will reject jobs that have them included; others require all fonts within each job. By making subsets of fonts, you’ll create a custom font for the particular job, which ensures that your fonts and font metrics will be used rather than those with a similar name encountered somewhere in production. Also keep in mind that TrueType fonts can contain a font-designer setting which prevents the font from being embedded in PDF files, no matter what you do here.

The pop-up list also offers a Convert Text to Outlines option, which many workflows have employed to get around font licensing issues; however, it makes any postprocess editing quite difficult.

The font must be included in the PostScript fed to the queue before Xinet can include it.
Input will be trapped
Indicate whether the input for this particular queue will be trapped. Most PDF/X-1:2001 workflows are set up so that the receiving system traps the file during the RIP-process. If the originating document already contains trapping information, however, use this option to mark the PDF/X as pre-trapped.
Use the Intended Output Condition pop-up list to select the situation which matches the production conditions that will be used. (PDF/X-3 option only)
The PDF/X Output Condition names the printing parameters one anticipates will be used when the job goes to press. For example, the SWOP standard, created by the Committee for Graphic Arts Technologies Standards (CGATS) and commonly used in North America for publications, implies such parameters as a minimum 133 lpi screen, a maximum of 300% ink coverage, colors and dot gain specified, etc.
With PDF/X-1a, Xinet also allows you to choose None; but this clearly violates PDF/X specifications. (This option only exists in this instance because Xinet doesn’t want to preset any of the other options as a default.) Note that while the PDF/X-1a:2001 specification requires an Intended Output Condition string in the stream, whatever setting you choose here makes no difference in the content of the PDF/X file Xinet produces, other than the string itself. With PDF/X3 queues, however None is a meaningful and valid choice if an ICC Profile has been assigned to the queue.
The PDF/X standards allow for use of any of the intended printing conditions included in the registry of characterizations maintained by the ICC (www.color.org/drsection1.html). As of this writing, the complete list appears in the GUI. If you have a more proprietary workflow that relies on a different registry, you can customize the available choices.
Crop Box source
Trim Box source
Bleed Box source

Use the three pop-up lists to establish which sources the queue should use for the PDF/X content boxes, for example., the source for Crop Box, Trim Box, and Bleed Box. The following choices exist for all three:
None (relies on page layout program)
Page Bounding Box
Paper Edges
You may customize these choices. You can, for example, add a very specific box set if all your output from this queue will be of the same dimensions.
Continuous tone image scaling
While most placed images should be properly scaled during the Image Replacement phase of job processing, some images may originate with the layout application and be passed through. You can use the options here to scale those images down to save space in the PDF. Be careful not to set this scaling option to a lower resolution than the Image Replacement setting, because that could cause replaced images to be scaled a second time.
Choices for PDF scaling include:

Do not scale
Subsampled Downsampling
This averages pixel color in a sample area and replaces the entire area with the average color at the specified resolution. (See below.)
Averaged Downsampling
This uses a pixel in the mathematical center of a sample area to replace all of the pixels within that area at the specified resolution. (See below.) Averaged downsampling is less computationally intense; but usually produces less smooth gradients than subsampled downsampling.
Bicubic Downsampling
This uses a weighted average to figure out the color of pixels, producing the smoothest results of the options here, but because it is more precise, takes more time.
Downsample Colored Images above...
You may set a threshold resolution above which downsampling will be applied. Choices range from 125–450 dpi and 60 dpcm–140 dpcm
Choices include:
Unencoded Binary
Flate (ZIP lossless Compression)3
High-Quality JPEG
Good-Quality JPEG
Medium-Quality JPEG
Keep in mind that JPEG compression saves space, but loses image detail and that it may be rejected by some PDF/X readers/verifiers.
Prevent PostScript override of PDF settings
This will discard any user-level PDF settings from Print dialog boxes.
Note: You will want to check some of the other Queue settings before saving, specifically: the ICC Profile set for the queue and OPI options. In an ICC workflow, you will need a profile that matches the Intended Output Condition selected in the PDF/X-1a options. Most of the image-replacement options are preset to make valid PDF/X-1a (e.g. delete OPI comments, always convert to CMYK), but you may also want to enforce some of the “fail on” options available under the Image Replacement options for the Queue disclosure triangle.
Preflighting information, details about colorspace conversion, and errors which cause jobs to fail, such as RGB images outside image replacement or bad page box setup, will appear in the print job log.
Notes for your layout application users:
If you’re implementing a PDF/X workflow, be sure that your clients:
1.
Install the XINETPDFX PDD (available from /usr/adm/appletalk/ppds or C:\Program Files\Xinet\FullPress\ppds) in the System folder/Extensions/Printer Descriptions folder (Os 9) or /Library/Printers//PPDs/Contents/Resources/en.lprog folder (OS X). They should select this PPD when setting up a PDF/X1-a:2001 queue.
2.
Print queue options for hold queues
Hold queues allow you to change only a few options.
You may change the time limit for the period for which the job will be held. To do this, you must turn on the Limit hold time to option and enter a time other than 0. Even if you enter a time, it will not be effective unless you also turn on the option.
You may choose to limit the size of the log file. To do this, type in a number in the Limit logfile size to field and click the button to turn it on. The minimum number allowed is 100 kilobytes. The default setting is not to limit the size of files.
AppleTalk (PAP) Communication options
These options only appear with AppleTalk queues. If your printer is connected via AppleTalk, you’ll find an AppleTalk (PAP) Communication options disclosure triangle at the bottom of the Edit Queue page. There, you may change any of the following AppleTalk communication options. In general, if you assigned the correct PPD when you set up the queue, Xinet will have already set these options correctly.
This fills out the job owner and machine name in status messages. You may want to turn off this option for older printers which do not support statusdict.
Turning on this option means that psf(1M) will try to query the printer to find out about the printer’s state. The option should be turned off for devices that do not answer queries or do not support bidirectional communications.
Turning on this option extends the normal 2-minute timeout in PAP connections. Some RIPs, most notably Linotype and older RIPs from AGFA, do not communicate on the network while they are RIPing a plate. Without this option, if the plate took longer than 2 minutes to RIP, the job would time out. This option extends that time to 20 minutes.
This removes exitserver commands from the PostScript stream. Doing so allows spooling to very old Level 1 devices that do not support exitserver commands.
This makes all queries wait longer for response. This is mainly for slow machines, or ones with very large font lists (thousands of entries).
Turning on this option causes psf(1M) to hold the connection open at the end of the job until the printer has finished processing the PostScript. This allows more reliable reporting of PostScript errors, and is necessary for accurate page accounting. This option exists for a few buggy printers which do not ever “hang up” when Xinet keeps the connection open waiting for results.
Use this option when the server can find the printer but can’t open it. (You’ll see warnings which state “Cannot open connection.”)
This prevents the server from attempting to open a connection until the printer reports that it is idle.
Some Epson printers require a final packet that signifies the end of a print job. Using this option allows Xinet to send that packet, which prevents the job from failing to finish.
Printer communications may fail if either the network or the output device has problems, such as when a job in the queue causes the RIP to fall over. On some devices, there is no output if communications fail. If you put a number here, your printer queue will stop sending any job after a given number of unsuccessful retries. Without a number, it will keep trying to send the job indefinitely. Establishing a maximum number of retries may help you minimize film wastage, particularly if you queue up long jobs to print unattended overnight or on weekends.
This changes the “type” of an AppleTalk printer from “LaserWriter” to “hostname LaserWriter” so that standard PAP clients (like the Os 9 printer drivers) will no longer see the printer.
Debug level
Allows you to determine how much information will be written to the log file. Options include Errors only, Trace the Connection, and Verbose debug of each job.
Saving or dismissing changes to printer configurations
The two buttons at the bottom of the window allow you to affirm or dismiss new settings in the Printer Configuration dialog box.
Use the Submit button to lock-in configuration choices you’ve made.
Use the Cancel button to leave settings as they were previously.
Adding PostScript slugs to print jobs on the server
If you want to add the same bit of PostScript to every print job that goes to a particular printer, you can create a file called OPTIONS.PS in the spool directory for a given print queue. The spool directory path names is shown at the top of the Edit Queue page, labeled Spooling/Admin Directory (or, if you’re looking at the /etc/printcap file, it’s the sd entry). The PostScript slug is inserted after the print job’s PostScript header.
In addition to a single OPTIONS.PS file, you can also create OPTIONS.spoolername files in the spool directory. If a print job comes in through a spooler with Object name spoolername, it will first have the OPTIONS.PS file inserted (if it exists), followed by the OPTIONS.spoolername file that matches the input spooler. If your spooler name includes 8-bit characters, or characters not allowed in Unix pathnames (like ‘/’), the OPTIONS.* filename must be converted to the :XX notation, a la AppleShare (and, don't forget about quoting spaces to the shell).
Turning on debugging under the Custom processing options disclosure triangle will put messages into the print queue’s log file about PostScript slugs that are being searched for and found.

1
These same Data Fields and their settings also effect Asset Timer use in Xinet Portal. Please refer to the Xinet Portal Administration Guide for more Asset Timer and Xinet Portal.

2
Works well on color or grayscale images that contain large areas of a single color. Not for continuous-tone photographs or images with a large amount of detail.

3
Works well on color or grayscale images that contain large areas of a single color. Not for continuous-tone photographs or images with a large amount of detail.