---
title: "Imposition | Customer's Canvas Hub"
canonical: "https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/printer-guide/pipelines/examples/produce-imposition/"
---

# Imposition

> Learn how to arrange multiple design copies on one sheet using an imposition template.

Imposition is the process of arranging multiple copies of a design on a single sheet, commonly used for printing multiple business cards, labels, or stickers on one page.

## Creating Imposition Templates

To create an imposition template in Adobe Photoshop:

1. Create a new document with the final sheet size (e.g., 8.5" x 11" for letter)
2. Add placeholder rectangles where each design copy will be placed
3. Convert each placeholder to a **Smart Object**

![Imposition template example.](../tasks/images/imposition.png)

The `produce-imposition` task will automatically place the rendered design into each smart object placeholder, creating multiple copies on the sheet.

:::note
Consider the newer [`populate-psd-template`](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/printer-guide/pipelines/tasks/populate-psd-template.md) task, which supports vector masks and renders not only placeholders but also other design elements, addressing the limitations of `produce-imposition`. To migrate, change the task name and replace parameters starting with `"interpolation..."` with those beginning with `"output..."`.
:::

## The Imposition Flow

This example describes how you can render the personalized design with imposition, i.e. copying an artwork multiple times on a larger sheet.

To [produce imposition](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/printer-guide/pipelines/tasks/produce-imposition.md), it is necessary to prepare a template in Adobe Photoshop, where smart objects will be placeholders for inserting graphics.

First, let's split our goal into simple operations from getting a design from the project to cleaning up the pipeline and updating the project.

```mermaid
flowchart TB
    t1(Getting a design from order)
    t2(Rendering the design)
    t3(Adding crop marks)
    t4(Producing imposition) 
    t5(Finalizing) 
    t1-->t2
    t2-->t3
    t3-->t4
    t4-->t5
```

These operations are performed using the following tasks:

- [`extract-project-design`](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/printer-guide/pipelines/tasks/extract-project-design.md)
- [`render-vdp-hires`](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/printer-guide/pipelines/tasks/render-vdp-hires.md)
- [`draw-crop-marks`](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/printer-guide/pipelines/tasks/draw-crop-marks.md)
- [`produce-imposition`](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/printer-guide/pipelines/tasks/produce-imposition.md)
- [`finalize`](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/printer-guide/pipelines/tasks/finalize.md)

Artifacts are conveyed between these tasks as follows:

![Artifact flow.](./images/artifact-flow.png)

In this example, it is assumed that you have placed a **bc-8up-letter.psd** template in the **Images** > **imposition** folder. For reference, you can [download and unzip](pathname:///files/bc-8up-letter.zip) this template.

```json
{
    "tasks": [
        {
            "description": "Extract design from project",
            "name": "extract",
            "type": "extract-project-design",
            "parameters": {},
            "outputArtifacts": [
                "design"
            ]
        },
        {
            "description": "Render design",
            "name": "render-vdp-hires",
            "maxAutoRetryCount": 0,
            "type": "render-vdp-hires",
            "inputArtifacts": [
                "design"
            ],
            "parameters": {
                "hiResOutputDpi": 300,
                "hiResOutputFileFormat": "pdf",
                "hiResOutputColorSpace": "cmyk",
                "hiResOutputRgbColorProfileName": "",
                "hiResOutputCmykColorProfileName": "Coated FOGRA39 (ISO 12647-2:2004)",
                "hiResOutputGrayscaleColorProfileName": "",
                "hiResOutputToSeparateFiles": false,
                "hiResOutputChannelContainersToSeparateFiles": false,
                "hiResOutputChannelContainersRenderEmptyPage": true,
                "hiResOutputCompression": "Jpeg",
                "hiResOutputJpegCompressionQuality": 80,
                "hiResOutputFlipMode": "0",
                "hiResOutputPdfAuthor": "",
                "hiResOutputPdfCreator": "",
                "hiResOutputPdfKeywords": "",
                "hiResOutputPdfSubject": "",
                "hiResOutputPdfTitle": "",
                "hiResOutputInStringPlaceholderHintsEnabled": false
            },
            "outputArtifacts": [
                "hires-design"
            ]
        },
        {
            "description": "Draw crop marks",
            "name": "draw-crop-marks",
            "type": "draw-crop-marks",
            "inputArtifacts": [
                "hires-design"
            ],
            "parameters": {
                "drawCropMarkCropSizeHorizontal": 20,
                "drawCropMarkCropSizeVertical": 20,
                "drawCropMarkBlackCropLineWidth": 1,
                "drawCropMarkText": " "
            },
            "outputArtifacts": [
                "design-with-crop-marks"
            ]
        },
        {
            "description": "Imposition",
            "name": "produce-imposition",
            "type": "produce-imposition",
            "inputArtifacts": [
                "design-with-crop-marks"
            ],
            "parameters": {
                "impositionRenderDpi": 300,
                "impositionTemplateFolder": "/imposition",
                "impositionTemplateName": "bc-8up-letter.psd",
                "impositionRenderFormat": "Pdf",
                "impositionRenderSeparateFiles": false,
                "impositionRenderJpegCompressionQuality": 90
            },
            "outputArtifacts": [
                "imposed-design*"
            ]
        },
        {
            "description": "Finalize",
            "name": "finalize",
            "type": "finalize",
            "finalArtifacts": [
                "imposed-design*"
            ]
        }
    ]
}
```

For more details, refer to the tutorial [How to create pipelines](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/hub/printer-guide/pipelines/creating-pipelines.md).