PUBLICATION CENTER

A: It’s really quite simple. Use Onyx Quick Sets to automatically apply settings to specific workflows. No fuss, no muss, no problem …

By John Rusanchin

“There has got to be an easier way! Something more automated!”

“This is such a repetitious waste of time!”

“Every time I get a job from Joe, I have to take out a bunch of magenta and add a touch of cyan. I wish there was a way to do it automatically.”

Certainly phrases like these have been tossed around your shop. Fortunately, there is a simple response to all of them: Onyx Quick Sets.

So what are Quick Sets? How and why would you use them? When should you use them? All of these questions will be answered in very simple terms, and soon you will be able to unlock the power hidden within the Quick Set workflow.

Even if you’ve never set up a Quick Set, but you’re using Onyx, you are actually using a Quick Set… the default Quick Set.

What is a Quick Set?

Basically, a Quick Set is a bunch of pre-defined settings that are automatically applied to a job. Basic things like media, resolution, profile, and sizing, and more advanced things like labels and marks, cutting workflow, color correction filters, and so much more can all be instantly applied with a Quick Set.

When?

When, on more than one occasion, you find yourself opening up PreFlight to apply a setting, save time and create a Quick Set for that setting. In the earlier example referring to Joe’s color correction troubles, we can quickly solve the problem by correcting the color once, saving the color correction filter, and then applying it through a Quick Set…

Now, when we open Joe’s jobs through the Quick Set we created specifically for his color problem, the color filter is automatically applied.

Or, perhaps you need to run a print-and-cut job such as printing a series of decals on the printer, then cutting them out on the vinyl cutter. With a cutting Quick Set created, the CutContour color (the color that defines the cut path) will not cut, but instead will be used to create the cut file for the vinyl cutting application...

Another great time to use Quick Sets is when you are using the same few media types and resolutions all the time. For example, create a Quick Set for adhesive-backed vinyl at 720dpi and another at 540dpi. Then create a Quick Set for glossy banner at 720dpi, and another for matte banner at 720dpi. Now, when you open your files, you can easily choose which Quick Set to open them with, and have the media and resolution automatically applied...

How do I use Quick Sets in my workflow?

Answering this question is when many people begin to see the beauty and power of Quick Sets. Every time a Quick Set is created, a hot folder is generated as well. These hot folders can then be shared over the network. This allows the graphic designers to either drag-and-drop files into the hot folder, or save the files into the hot folder. From the hot folder, the job will instantly appear in the RIPQueue to begin processing with the settings applied from the Quick Set.

Another way to send a job through a Quick Set is through the virtual printer. This is when the designer prints directly to the RIP from the design application. Within the “print” dialogue, there is a pull-down menu to choose the desired Quick Set.

Or, the RIP operator can choose the Quick Set through the “open” dialogue. If a job is sent through a Quick Set for a specific media, and that media is not loaded on the printer, no worries! The job will be on hold, waiting for the correct media to be loaded.

Now that you can see the huge, useful potential lurking within Quick Sets, I hope you will reach in and unleash the power! Streamline your workflow!

John Rusanchin is the Director of Business Development  at Onyx Graphics. He has 15 years of industry experience ranging from graphic design and prepress to tech support, from image setters to inkjet and all things large format; he has been on the end-user side, the dealer side, and now on the vendor side of things, so he has seen every angle. He is a graduate of the Center for Creative Studies.