DuraFlex TIFF Input instructions

DFE for DuraFlex r6 and later.


Overview

Capability to submit jobs to DuraFlex comprising a set of TIFF files and a JSON Job Submission File specifying them.

The set of TIFFs need not be complete when the JSON is provided.


Requirements

DuraFlex installation with Navigator RIP Manager 8.4.7.1 or later and clrip.exe v2.1.0.4 or later.


Installation

Install a DuraFlex system as normal. The workflow must be simply Hot Folder and Render Action. Other actions such as Ink Remap and XiPosition are not supported for TIFF output.  

In Navigator RIP Manager, edit the DuraFlex System Device and in the Advanced Configuration dialog, select (check) **Tiff Input Settings** and **Don't expand group files**.  

Set the **Wait for page (secs)** field to the number of seconds the DuraFlex Spooler should wait for the arrival of an expected TIFF page before erroring the job.  



 Preparation

Open the Client Workflow Editor using the pencil button, and in the Hot Folder tab, obtain the path to the Workflow folder. This will be a network path.

Locate the corresponding local path to this folder on the PC. It will be in the Workflows directory, and have the same name as the workflow, for instance, `C:\Navigator\Workflows\One` or `C:\Navigator\Workflows\DFE`.  

It is into this folder that you will be putting folders of TIFF page files.


Jobs comprise:


  * a set of composite TIFF images; the format details are specified below.

  * a Job Submission File in JSON format which lists the location of the TIFF files, and specifies any job overrides.


Operation

To submit a job comprising a set of TIFF files:


  1. Put the job's TIFF files into a folder in the Workflow folder, named for instance 'Incoming'.

  2. Put the job's JSON file next to the 'Incoming' folder. It will be in one of the formats below, and specify the location of the TIFF files.

  3. The JSON file will be moved to the 'Output' folder alongside the 'Incoming' folder.

  4. The TIFF jobs will be added to the workflow in the same order they are listed in the JSON file.

  

The TIFF files will remain in the 'Incoming' folder until the job which refers to them is deleted. 

This means that either


  * separate jobs must use separate 'Incoming' folders with different names, or

  * all the TIFF files must have unique filenames.


Notes:

  * It is not necessary for all the TIFF files listed in the Job Submission File to exist before it is submitted. 

  * TIFF files will be processed in the listed order and the DuraFlex Spooler will wait for the time configured on the System Device Advanced Configuration dialog if any do not yet exist. 

  * This allows printing to commence while some TIFF files are still in preparation upstream. 

An exception to this is Mode 2, if the optional *FileCount* tag is omitted.

  * TIFF files which are listed in the Job Submission File will be processed as soon as they are seen. If they are not being produced in a single operation, to avoid them being processed before they are complete, create them with a `.tmp` filename extension, and rename them to `.tif` when they are complete.


TIFF file format

Composite 4-color 8-bit TIFF images, one per page. Each color plane is screened/dithered so it contains only the values 0x00, paper white and 0xFF, ink. 

The filenames must end in an underscore, a page number, and `.tif`.

The resolution should be 1600dpi horizontal, and either 1600dpi or 954dpi vertical, to match the configuration of the workflow.  


Job Submission JSON file format

The JSON files specify the location of the TIFF files being submitted.

The same TIFF pathname must not be referred to by more than one JSON file.  


Modes 1 and 2 are used for TIFF file submission and contain one or more job file paths.

The following path styles are supported, and must have escaped backslashes as path separators:


  * Fully qualified, e.g. `"C:\\Navigator\\Workflows\\DFE\\TestPage_1.tif"`.  

  * Relative to the workflow folder, e.g. `"Incoming\\TestPage_2.tif"`.  

  * Network, e.g. `"\\\\RIP_PC\\Workflows\\JobSubmissionTest\\Incoming\\TestPage_3.tif"`.  

  

Both modes support overrides. For instance:


    "overrides": {

        "Job Ticket": {

            "NumberOfCopies" : 1,

        },

        "Rip Action": {

            "PSUConfig": "name_of_render_config_template"

        }

    },

    

This allows an alternative named RenderConfig to be specified, which allows the resolution to be defined for the job. This will be obtained from e.g. `C:\Navigator\Navigator\Config\RenderConfig`.

    

Mode 1

This supports an array of filenames. For instance:


    {

        "mode": 1,

        "overrides": {},

        "JobFilePaths": [

            "\\\\RIP_PC\\Workflows\\JobSubmissionTest\\Incoming\\testfile_1.tif",

            "\\\\RIP_PC\\Workflows\\JobSubmissionTest\\Incoming\\testfile_2.tif",

            "\\\\RIP_PC\\Workflows\\JobSubmissionTest\\Incoming\\testfile_3.tif",

            "\\\\RIP_PC\\Workflows\\JobSubmissionTest\\Incoming\\testfile_4.tif",

            "\\\\RIP_PC\\Workflows\\JobSubmissionTest\\Incoming\\testfile_5.tif",

            "\\\\RIP_PC\\Workflows\\JobSubmissionTest\\Incoming\\testfile_6.tif",

            "\\\\RIP_PC\\Workflows\\JobSubmissionTest\\Incoming\\testfile_7.tif",

            "\\\\RIP_PC\\Workflows\\JobSubmissionTest\\Incoming\\testfile_8.tif"

        ]

    }


Mode 2

This supports a path defining a filename stem and a file count. The names of the TIFF files to be processed will be generated by adding an underscore and a page number in the range 1 to *FileCount*. The *FileTypeSuffix* must be specified as `"tif"`.


    {

        "mode": 2,

        "overrides": {},

        "JobPath": "\\\\RIP_PC\\Workflows\\JobSubmissionTest\\Incoming",

        "FileNameBase": "testfile",

        "FileCount": 8,

        "FileTypeSuffix": "tif"

    }

    

This example will look for `testfile_1.tif`, `testfile_2.tif`, ... `testfile_8.tif`.


Optionally, the *FileCount* may be omitted, in which case the TIFF files must all exist in place before the Job Submission JSON is put into the workflow folder.  

If no *FileCount* is specified, the pages may be processed and output in arbitrary order; the page sequence number may not be honored.  


    {

        "mode": 2,

        "overrides": {},

        "JobPath": "\\\\RIP_PC\\Workflows\\JobSubmissionTest\\Incoming",

        "FileNameBase": "testfile",

        "FileTypeSuffix": "tif"

    }


This example will look for one or more files with names matching `testfile_<one or more digits>.tif`, and the files may be processed in arbitrary order.