Abstract:
A method of automatically placing N-up images for imposition on media sheet for printing in which, for a user selected value of N, the co-ordinates of the sheet cells are determined and stored; and, the co-ordinates of the media, trim and bleed boxes of each of the images is determined and stored. The user selects, from a menu, a desired set of alignment rules and the system then compares the location of the appropriate bleed, trim or media box with the sheet cell boundaries and shifts the images and automatically locates the selected box on the sheet cell for the desired placement. The method is particularly useful for eliminating the template making in large print jobs for roll fed presses.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates to automatic printing and particularly to automatic printing of more than one image on a single sheet of print media, for example, where pages are to be imposed and printed on a single sheet for subsequent cutting of the pages or folding to create a multiple page folded document. 
     Where input document pages are placed on an imposed sheet, heretofore this permitted a single imposition template to be used for a range of input document sizes; however, the process did not permit imposition of documents that contain a bleed border. 
     Thus, it has been desired to provide the way or means for defining discrete areas such as trim and bleed on imposed documents in order that automatic placement of the images on the imposed document may be accomplished in various combinations and arrangements without the need for individual templates. Examples of such arrangements are gutterless centering of the images on the document or arranging the images with gutters along only preselected sides. 
     In digital printing in roll fed or sheet printers, it has been desired to reduce the time required for pre-press operations. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION 
     The present disclosure describes a method and apparatus for placement of plural (N-up) images on an imposed document automatically in a desired placement arrangement without the need for individual templates. In the exemplary embodiments disclosed the methods identify the coordinates of the various nested boxes on the image to be placed on the imposed document and compares the coordinates with the identified page cells of the imposed document and shifts the individual images according to user selected rules to arrange the imposed document for printing. 
     In one exemplary embodiment described in the present disclosure, adjacent images are placed on the imposed document with a predefined gutter between adjacent images and an aggregate boundary of the images automatically receives a gutter of half the inner image gutter at the edge of the sheet. In other exemplary disclosed embodiments, the images are clustered with images centered or cornered or edge aligned in the sheet cells. In further embodiments, selected areas of the images are rotated. The present disclosure describes apparatus and method which enable many different combinations and arrangements of the images on the imposed document without the need for individual templates for each type of image arrangement or placement. The disclosed method enables the ability to define a single set of image placement parameters that can be used in a variety of different print jobs with dissimilar dimensions without further operator intervention; and, the method has particular applicability to short run jobs in digital presses. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a pictorial representation of 4-up images to be imposed showing the bleed, trim and media boundaries of each image; 
         FIG. 2  is a view similar to  FIG. 1  showing the aggregates of the trim bleed and media boundaries defined; 
         FIG. 3  shows a plurality of images placed on imposed document with the trim box of each image located on the left media edge and centered vertically in the respective sheet cell; 
         FIG. 4  is a view similar to  FIG. 3  with a pair of the images inverted; 
         FIG. 5  is a view similar to  FIG. 4  showing an embodiment with the trim boxes centered vertically in the sheet cell and clustered at the spine; 
         FIG. 6  is a view showing the adjacent images placed with the trim boxes vertically and horizontally centered in the respective sheet cell; 
         FIG. 7  is a view of an embodiment with 6-up images placed with the image trim boxes clustered on the spine of the sheet cells and filling the sheet cells; 
         FIG. 8  is a view similar to  FIG. 7  showing 6-up images with the trim boxes spaced by a gutter; 
         FIG. 9  is a view similar to  FIG. 8  showing 6-up images spaced with a gutter and a half-gutter at the media edge; and, 
         FIG. 10  is a block flow diagram of the method of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a plurality of images where N-up equal 4-up indicated generally at  10 ,  20 ,  30 ,  40  are placed for imposition with the darker outer boundary  12 ,  22 ,  32 ,  42  respectively, comprising the media box for the particular image. The innermost border denoted respectively  14 ,  24 ,  34 ,  44  denotes the trim box for each image. The intermediate shaded border denoted respectively  16 ,  26 ,  36 ,  46  denotes the trim border or box respectively for each image. 
       FIG. 2  shows a defined aggregate media border of the 4-up images denoted generally at  50 ,  60 ,  70 ,  80  in darkened outline and denoted by reference numeral  100  with the innermost aggregate boundary denoted at  102  defining an aggregate trim box boundary; and, the intermediate aggregate boundary of the images is denoted by reference numeral  104  and defines an aggregate bleed box boundary. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , an exemplary embodiment 4-up image is shown with the images placed for imposition with the image trim boundaries denoted respectively by reference numerals  216 ,  218 ,  220 ,  222 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 3 , it is noted that the page cells are placed according to a user selected assignment rule which centers the trim boxes vertically in their respective sheet cells and abuts them on the left edge of their respective sheet cells. 
     In the present practice of the disclosure, the images may be in any of various document languages as, for example PDL, PDF, or TIFF. The sheet cell boundaries are denoted by the lines  208 ,  240 ,  212 ,  214 . 
     The dashed outline defines the trim box for each of the images as denoted respectively by reference numerals  216 ,  218 ,  220 ,  222 ; and, the solid outline edges of the image is the media box for the images as denoted by reference numerals  224 ,  226 ,  228 ,  230 . The solid outline intermediate the trim box and the media box defines the bleed box for each of the images as denoted respectively by reference numerals  232 ,  234 ,  236 ,  238 . The dashed line trim boxes  216 ,  128 ,  220 ,  222  are also known as page cells. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , another exemplary embodiment is illustrated in which 4-up images are identically shown placed as shown in  FIG. 3  for imposition except the left hand image of each pair is inverted. The trim boxes or page cells, the media boxes, the bleed boxes and the sheet cells bear primed numbers corresponding to the reference numerals in  FIG. 3  for similar features. In the embodiment of  FIG. 4 , the media boxes denoted respectively  224 ′,  226 ′,  228 ′,  230 ′ thus encompass an area outside of the trim boxes  216 ′,  218 ′,  220 ′,  222 ′ which effectively is the bleed area for each of the images. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , another exemplary embodiment is illustrated for 4-up imposition of images  270 ,  272 ,  274 ,  276  in which the sheet cells are formed by boundary lines  250 ,  252 ,  254 ,  256  with the page cells or trim boxes denoted by reference numerals  258 ,  260 ,  262 ,  264 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 5 , the page cells or trim boxes  258  are located with a side aligned with the spine or sheet cell boundary  250  and page cells or trim boxes  262 ,  264  have a side coincident with the sheet cell boundary  254  and the page cells are centered vertically within the sheet cell. Images  270  and  276  are rotated about 180° or inverted with respect to images  272 ,  274 ; and, the media boxes are denoted by reference numerals  278 ,  280 ,  282 ,  284  with the intermediate bleed boxes denoted  286 ,  288 ,  290 ,  292 . Although images  270 ,  276  are shown rotated about 180°, other intermediate angles of rotation may be used. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , another exemplary embodiment is illustrated for 4-up imposition in which the images  300 ,  302 ,  304 ,  306  are placed on sheet cells with central boundaries  308 ,  310 ,  312 ,  314 . The images in the  FIG. 6  embodiment are placed with the trim boxes  316 ,  318 ,  320 ,  322  centered vertically and horizontally in their respective sheet cell and located in the lower left corner of the media boxes. The embodiment of  FIG. 6  thus illustrates the versatility of the automatic dynamic placement of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , another exemplary embodiment is illustrated wherein 6-up images are placed for imposition in an arrangement where the trim boxes are clustered and completely fill the sheet cells along sheet cell boundaries  450 ,  452 ,  454 ,  456 ,  458 ,  460  and  462 . The clustered arrangement of the trim boxes in the embodiment of  FIG. 7  thus provides gutterless imposition. 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , another exemplary embodiment is illustrated for 6-up image placement for imposition in which the inner sheet cell boundaries are denoted by reference numerals  400 ,  402 ,  404 ,  406 ,  408 ,  410 ,  412  for the adjacent sheet cells. The boundaries of the page cells or trim boxes are denoted  414 ,  416 ,  418 ,  420 ,  422 ,  424  and are placed with gutters between the trim boxes and the inner sheet cell boundaries. 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , another exemplary embodiment is illustrated wherein the media sheet is divided for 6-up placement of images for imposition with common sheet cell boundaries  500 ,  502 ,  504 ,  506 ,  508 ,  510 . Each of the sheet cells thus formed by the aforesaid boundaries has the page cells (trim boxes) for the respective images denoted  514 ,  516 ,  518 ,  520 ,  522 ,  524  disposed according to a preselected gutter from the central sheet cell boundaries as denoted by the reference character “g”. The page cells  514 ,  516 ,  518 ,  520 ,  522 ,  524  each have a gutter with a width of ½ g between the respective page cell and the outer edge of the media sheet as shown in  FIG. 7 . This arrangement effectively centers each of trim boxes in their respective sheet cells. 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , the operation of the system for practicing the method of the present disclosure is indicated generally at  600 , in which, at step  602 , the system locates and stores the coordinates of the print media sheet boundaries and then proceeds to step  604  where the number of pages to be imposed on the print media sheet is selected. The selection may be either by the user or automatically by the system. The system then proceeds to step  606  and determines and stores the coordinates of the N-up image cells of the print media sheet. The system then proceeds to step  608  and locates and stores the coordinates of the various nested image boundaries such as the Outer (Media), the Bleed, the Trim, and if appropriate the Art and the Crop boundaries. The system then proceeds to step  610  where the selection is made by the user from a menu for stored sets of alignment rules that may be used for the imposition. The system then proceeds to step  612  and selects the nested boundary based upon the alignment rule selected in step  610 . 
     At step  614 , the system then determines and stores the coordinates of the selected one of the nested boundaries from step  612 . The system then proceeds to step  616  and compares the stored coordinates of the sheet cell and the stored coordinates of the selected boundary. The system then proceeds to step  618  and shifts the selected boundary to the position determined by the selected alignment rule. 
     At step  620 , the system proceeds to locate the outer (media) nested image boundary on the sheet cell; and, at step  622 , the system imposes the N-up images on the sheet. 
     The present disclosure thus describes and illustrates a method of automatically placing N-up images for imposition on a print media sheet in a manner which can accommodate a user selected arrangement from a set of assignment rules without the need for individual templates. The method has particular utility in simplifying prepress operations for digital printers running a large number of jobs with small print runs, and, particularly for jobs with dissimilar dimensions. 
     It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.