Configuring High Resolution and Proof Images

Configuring Proof Images

For proof images, you can set their file format, specify whether to crop them to safety lines, add a text watermark, and set up a preview mockup. The size of proof images is 500 x 500 pixels by default; you can change it using getProofImages or finishProductDesign like it is described in the Handling Product Customization topic. The resolution of proof images is 72 DPI and cannot be changed.

Watermarks

You can add a text watermark with the specified text, font, and font size. The watermark is gray and positioned at the center of the proof image; its position and color cannot be changed. All other settings can be configured:

Mockups

You can enable or disable mockups for proof images:

If you set proofImageMockupEnabled to false, then only print areas are rendered to proof images.

Mockups help visualize print products and they are not rendered into hi-res outputs. For example, the following code initializes the product with the envelopeLabel.psd design template and the underlying envelope.png mockup image:

productDefinition = {
    surfaces: [{
        printAreas: [{ designFile: "envelopeLabel" }],
        mockup: { down: { mockupFile: "envelope" } }
    }]
};

If a mockup is configured in the editor, then, by default, the same mockup is displayed on proof images. In our example, the proof image contains the envelope mockup if you do not specifically set up a different one for previews.

Using different mockups in the editor and for proof images can be useful. For example, if you want to give the user a better idea of what the real product will look like, you can create a proof image with a photographic picture of the product. However, a simpler version of the mockup can be used in the editor to allow the user to focus on the design instead of being distracted by a mockup with too many details.

To set a preview mockup or several preview mockups, do as follows:

productDefinition = {
    surfaces: [{
        printAreas: [{ designFile: "envelopeLabel" }],
        mockup: {
            down: {
                mockupFile: "envelope", 
                previewMockupFiles: ["coolEnvelope"] 
            }
        }
    }]
};

Cropping to Safety Lines

There are products, like business cards, that are cut after printing. You can set one of the product's safety lines to represent the bleed line to which the product will be cut. If it is not enough to just display the line, you can configure Customer's Canvas to crop the proof images to the bleed line. To perform this, specify the name of the line as the value of the proofImageCropSafetyLine configuration parameter in ~\Configuration\clientConfig.json, or via the IConfiguration interface like it is shown below:

configuration = { rendering: {proofImageCropSafetyLine: "bleed"} };
productDefinition = {
    defaultSafetyLines: [{
        name: "bleed",
        margin: 8.5,
        color: "rgba(0,255,0,255)",
        altColor: "rgba(255,255,255,0)",
        stepPx: 5,
        widthPx: 1
    }],
    surfaces: [ ... ]
};

If there is no safety line with the given name, proof images are not cropped.

Flipping Proof Images

You can flip proof images vertically, horizontally, or in both directions:

There are two ways to set up a flip mode for your product. To set it for all products by default, you should change ~\Configuration\clientConfig.json or use the IConfiguration interface for a specific product/page like it is shown below:

configuration = {
    rendering: {
        proofImageFlipMode: "horizontal"
    }
};

In order to flip only one specific surface, use ISurfaceDefinition:

productDefinition = {
    surfaces: [
            { proofImage: { flipMode: "both" } }
    ]
}

Technically, flip mode is set for designs only, so neither mockups nor watermarks are flipped.

Configuring Hi-res Output

For hi-res output, you can set their DPI, file format, image compression parameters, and color space. Color management is always enabled, and you can also specify color profiles for the hi-res output.

The color space and the file type of the hi-res output can also be specified through IFrame API using the IConfiguration interface. For example, the following snippet configures the system to render a product in CMYK PDF files:

configuration = { 
    rendering: {
        hiResOutputColorSpace: "CMYK",
        hiResOutputFileFormat: "PDF",
        hiResOutputDpi: 300
    } 
};

Setting Color Profile

Colors on the design may not match colors on the hi-res output, especially if you are using the CMYK format. This happens due to various factors, such as the device-dependency of image color formats, inks, paper color, etc., that affect output colors. To negate this effect, there is a special technique called color management, and Customer's Canvas supports it.

A system that implements the color management must be able to obtain the color characteristics from so-called color profiles, which uniquely define the color characteristics of the pixels. Customer's Canvas requires two types of profiles: a source and a destination. The destination is the profile for your hi-res output. The source is the profile for any graphics loaded into the editor. Different graphics objects may have different profiles. For example, if you load an image into the editor, it may have its own embedded color profile.

Color profiles for each output color space (grayscale, RGB, and CMYK) can be set in web.config, using the RgbColorProfileFileName, CmykColorProfileFileName, GrayscaleColorProfileFileName parameters, as follows:

<configuration>

    <configSections>
        <section name="Aurigma.GraphicsMill.AjaxControls.VectorObjects" 
        type="System.Configuration.NameValueSectionHandler, System, Version=1.0.3300.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089" />
...
    </configSections>
...
    <Aurigma.GraphicsMill.AjaxControls.VectorObjects>
        <add key="GrayscaleColorProfileFileName" value="~/grayscaleColorProfile.icc" />
        <add key="RgbColorProfileFileName" value="~/rgbColorProfile.icc" />
        <add key="CmykColorProfileFileName" value="~/cmykColorProfile.icc" />
    </Aurigma.GraphicsMill.AjaxControls.VectorObjects>

</configuration>

By default, profiles specified with these three settings are used as destinations depending on the color space passed in the hiResOutputColorSpace parameter. For example, if you render the products to a CMYK hi-res output, the profile configured in CmykColorProfileFileName will be picked as the destination profile.

With source profiles, the rule is simple. If a graphics object has its own embedded profile, it will be used as the source profile. If it does not have an embedded color profile, one of three profiles configured in web.config will be used as the source profile depending on the color space of the graphics objects. The profile configured in RgbColorProfileFileName will be picked for RGB objects, CmykColorProfileFileName for CMYK objects, and GrayscaleColorProfileFileName for grayscale ones.

If the color profiles are not configured in web.config or configured files are missing, they are set with default values:

• SWOP (Coated) 20%, GCR, Medium profile for CMYK
• sRGB IEC61966-2.1 profile for RGB
• Dot Gain 30% profile for Grayscale

Flipping Hi-res Files

We have already seen how to flip proof images above; this feature is supported for hi-res outputs as well:

The same way as for proof images, in order to set it globally for any product, you should change ~\Configuration\clientConfig.json:

configuration = {
    rendering: {
        hiResOutputFlipMode: "horizontal"
    }
};

To flip only one surface, use IPrintAreaDefinition:

productDefinition = {
    surfaces: [
            { printAreas: [{ designFile: "BusinessCard2_side1", hiResOutput: { flipMode: "both" } }] }
    ]
}

See Also

Manual

• Integration with E-commerce Overview

IFrame API Reference

• IProductDefinition
• IMockupTemplate
• IConfiguration