Version

Release version – Sierra Workflow V7.1.1.0

Release date –  24 March 2020

Purpose of this release

This release contains a number of bug fixes as described below. This release can be used as a new installation or as an upgrade. There are no new features in this release.

This release should be used to upgrade systems running V7.1.0.0 in order to address the Custom Mark display issue reported in Assistance Request XGUSBLJKGH.

Information 

Any information which is new to version 7.1.1.0 is written in blue 

AML 

The AML date for this release is 1 January 2019. 

Bug Fixes

AR XGUSBLJKGH: Custom marks may not display in the document mode imposition view. The issue was introduced in V7.1.0.0 (Rendered output is correct). (Mac)  

AR XGUSBFRK8S: If management information exists in a stripping template that is subsequently converted to layout and the layout used in a PDF Export output, then the process will fail. Any management information contained in a layout template is now ignored by PDF Export.

PDF Export output is incorrect if the paper to plate offset is such that the paper falls outside the bounds of the plate.

If a job is being restored with the setting “Replace if Job Id already exists” the restore fails with error “Failed to restore job x because it is open

.pdf extension is not being added to exported files when “Overwrite PDF Exports if filename already exists” is deselected and the output filename doesn’t already exist.

AR XGUSBG5NP7: Raster PDF output is incorrect when outputting single pages other than page 1. Dynamic zoom function doesn’t work when using the imposition editor on a second monitor. (Mac)

AR XGUSBLJKGH Job name not being displayed in slugline or management information when viewing non-rendered imposition. The issue was introduced in V7.0.0.0.

AR XGUSBLJKGH: Custom marks may disappear from a non-rendered imposition view. The issue was introduced in V7.1.0.0 (Rendered output is correct). (Mac)  

Installation

The installation program (setup.exe) should be “Run as Administrator”

Currently, you cannot place multiple Preflight Services on a PC box.

The configuration tool allows spaces before the double backslashes in the Proofer UNC addresses. This causes an engine initialization error when using the device.

Right-click on the product in the job queue doesn’t show unavailable options as greyed out.

Mac Client forced to open in low resolution on retina displays. (Option to open in high resolution not available).

Upgrade

Before upgrading the Server software, users should restart the Server PC.

When upgrading a multi-platform workflow system, any standard configuration items that have been deleted from the Master box will be re-added.  This is to enable a secure method of restoring a known configuration. Users are advised to check the configuration after upgrading multi-box systems.

Mac OS X 10.9 and above. 

There is an issue related to the methods used by Apple when placing the Mac into “sleep” mode. When this happens the Server loses sight of the Client. This can be seen by examining the list of running processes in the Server GUI. When the Mac resumes from sleep mode, some connectivity with the Server still exists and the Client can carry out some tasks. However, jobs can only be opened in a read-only mode and some Administrative tasks are not be available. Restarting the Client reestablishes a full connection to the Server. The “Energy Saving” settings should be set on the Mac in order to minimize the effect of this issue. App Nap should also be disabled for the Client application. It has been found that disabling App Nap at a system level may also be required to prevent this issue. (To modify at a system level, open a terminal window and enter: defaults write 

NSGlobalDomain NSAppSleepDisabled -bool YES to re-enable: defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSAppSleepDisabled -bool NO) 

Action Lists 

The workflow supports Action Lists created with Enfocus PitStop Version 13.1. Action lists from newer versions of PitStop will be imported into the workflow but may not execute correctly. If upgrading, any custom Action Lists should be recreated.

Calibration Manager 

When creating Linearisation Curves in the Calibration Manager, the values for 0 and 100% should not be changed from their default (i.e. 0 and 100). Changing these values will cause errors within the software.  

General 

A transparent object made in Illustrator RGB mode is displayed differently in the workflow. Use “transparency splitting” in Illustrator to fix this.

A PDF that allows ‘Printing only’ will not have previews displayed either as thumbnails or in the viewer.  

Jobs containing no CMYK Process colors are automatically output to Plate, regardless of having no data on them. ‘Don’t Output Blank Separations’ should be selected in order to avoid this situation.

When using the Force Overprint: Always Knockout control in the overprint settings, any Dieline inks within a job will knock out any image below in the rendered result. Care should be used when attempting to force overprint settings in jobs that contain Dieline separations.

In the case of the 32bit CMYK image for the RIP Proof, ‘Print as Process color’ should be selected if you need to output the spot color exactly the same value with its alternative color. If you choose ‘Print As Spot’, the workflow calculates the output CMYK value using the spot color’s neutral density, and the value will be not the same as the alternative CMYK value as the result.

Imposition 

The standard template “Imported Layout Centred Pages” which is used for centering pages within page slots from Preps, cannot be incorporated within a Job Template. The workaround is to create a new Layout template. In the Imposition pane under the Layout Page Adjustment settings, ensure that the Enable page adjustment checkbox is selected. When this Layout template is used to send the Preps jobs to, the pages will be automatically centered.

Using Creep with Custom Imposition Patterns. Custom Imposition Patterns are always assumed to be Left Binding when created. If a user creates a custom imposition pattern for Right Binding then creep will be applied assuming that it is Left Binding and so incorrectly. The workaround is to create the custom imposition pattern for Left Binding and then when using this in the job changing the work style to Right Binding. Creep will then be applied correctly.

When the imposition size is the same as the maximum plate size for an engine then the renderer calculates that it will not fit on the media. This is due to the fact that it is not possible to image to the maximum plate size of an engine. This can be avoided by not attempting to create images at the limit of the imageable area of the engine.  

As the workflow is a totally PDF/JDF solution, PS/EPS objects cannot be used as imposition marks.   

Input 

 Input File Name Templates are NOT case sensitive. For example, it is not possible to use an uppercase letter ‘P’ as a delimiter if there is another instance of a lowercase ‘p’ previously in the file name.

Postscript files with missing headers may successfully distill in Acrobat but will need the ‘Force unknown formats to PS’ in order to be successfully handled by the workflow Page Preparation processes.

If files of unknown type are submitted to drop folders using file name templates, the job log may report that it attempted to convert the file type from Tiff.  This only affects files that the workflow does not recognize as valid file types.

Normaliser may exit or fail if there are more than 255 ICC profiles in the Windows system ICC profile store of the PC running the workflow server.   Reducing this number of profiles may also make Normaliser initialize faster.

The page number is not recognized for the mapping rule using “ * “, and it is not likely to be able to map it correctly. Please set the rule that the position of the page number becomes clear. (E.g. add a fixed character just before the page number in the rule.)

TIFF Export

From V6.6, the byte sequence for the tiff files is controlled by an entry in the Global.cml file. The default value forces the tiffs to be written in Intel, (little-endian), sequence.

sOutputLib.TIFFIntelByteOrder=1

To force the byte sequence to be Motorola, (big-endian), the entry should be changed to: sOutputLib.TIFFIntelByteOrder=0

If upgrading the system and this value is not present, it can be added to the .cml file using a text editor.

The delay between the output of tiff files can be controlled by an entry in the sOutputTIFF.cml file: output_file_delay_time=x

where x indicates the delay between files in seconds. (Default is 0). Changing this value can be useful in ensuring that the separation data arrives at a TIFF Catcher in the required order.

Note: After changing values in .cml files, a server restart is required.

MIS/JDF 

Importing JDF jobs when using Proforma Job Templates using Auto Flow may cause the incorrect flowing of pages - specifically the first sheet may not be recognized in the resulting job.  It is recommended that any job template created for JDF input does not also use AutoFlow.

When importing JDF created in Preps the job information and job title field are used to populate the job name and section name (prefixed by a number) in the workflow.

When importing a JDF job created in Adobe Acrobat, regardless of the content of the workflow template, the only products that will be created are a Press product and Plate product. If the workflow template contains a Plate product then its settings will be honored in the job.

In an MIS job, if the output is to a real device, no JMF feedback is returned when the proof or plate has completed, whereas if the output is to Tiff, the JMF is sent.

PDF Export 

Exported PDF documents containing layers and all Raster PDF files, must be viewed in an application that supports overprint preview to guarantee that all layers will be correctly displayed. Opaque layers may otherwise hide lower layers.

PDF Export cannot create files over 2GB in size.

ROOM Proof 

Compound and dual screens cannot be ROOM proofed accurately as the de-screening processes use only a single screen.

ROOM Proof only does patterning avoidance for the specifically selected screen selected. To ensure this takes place, the ‘Use selected screen set only checkbox’ must be checked.

Viewer 

The dot percentage values displayed in the Rendered view are of the Tiff images sent to the platesetter and include applied characterization and linearisation.  As linearisation curves allow for dot growth when exposing and processing, these values will not necessarily be the same as the dot values measured on the finished plate.  

Tiff Bypass 

In the job template for the TIFF Bypass job, the location offset value for the image can be set as both positive and negative values. But in the actual job, the workflow uses the positive value only when the plate size is bigger than the image size, and uses negative value only when the plate size is smaller than the image size.  

When the input image size and the plate size are different, the workflow re-creates the tiff file at the size of the plate for the TIFF Bypass.  

Archiver 

Online and Offline status is only updated after scheduled archives. If archives are moved between these events, the online status may be inaccurate.

Multi-box Installations 

If an APPE is running on a Slave PC which has been configured using UNC paths, and a slug line contains “Characterisation Curve”, the data is printed as “None”. This is caused by a timing issue that is NOT seen when “mapped drive” paths are used when configuring the multi-box installation. 

3DProof 

When the same page is assigned to more than one Plates products, 3D proofer cannot specify which rendered page should be displayed, so it displays the first page found.

Opening .jar files on the Mac requires V6 Java to be installed.

APPE 

On very few occasions processing complex PDF files or those with lots of transparent objects, the job may experience an “AMM Exhausted” or ”Error during transparency atomic region processing” failure. In these cases increasing the workflow virtual memory in the APPE setting of the

Configuration Tool may allow the file to process successfully. We recommend that for 32-bit systems with 2GB RAM fitted, this value should be 1536 MB, on all other 32-bit systems, (4GB RAM and above), it should be set to the maximum of 3072MB. (Systems with multiple APPE should have sufficient RAM to support 3072MB per instance).

For 64-bit systems running V7.0.0.0 or higher, the maximum limit of 3072MB is no longer applicable. Evaluation of the system resources should be made when setting this value. Recommend a minimum value of 4096 MB per APPE.

When a PDF contains layers for versioning, the finished PDF should not be used.

When PDFs that contain objects which fall outside the page are rendered, Plates or RIP Proof may fail with the error “Unexpected APPE error: 1, ‘Unknown Bravo Error’” in Job Log.

For a Slave PC to run an instance of the APPE, the installation path on the Slave must be EXACTLY the same as the installation path on the Master. If the paths are not the same, the instance of the APPE (displayed as RIP-0-xxxxxx) on the Slave Server window will show as ‘Disabled’ and the process will not run.

Specifications 

Master PC

Note: Graphics capability of server PC may not be sufficient to support client requirements. 

The size of the working store will depend on how many jobs are required to be live on the system at any given time, as well as the size, resolution and quantity of the output files. The minimum should be 500GB.

An additional drive may be required for handling APPE temporary files which can become very large when processing complex files with trapping. In these cases, allow 100 GB for each APPE. Solid State Drives are recommended for peak performance.

Installing the software on a virtual machine is not supported or tested by FFEI. Distributors who choose this option should carry out their own evaluation of any solution.

Slave PC

Client

Note that the above describes the minimum capabilities of the platform required to run the software. 

Libraries  

APPE - Version 4.6 (32 & 64-bit) 

PDFL Library - Version 15 

Enfocus Lib Version - PitStop 13