How to set up Fotoba trimmers?

Print tab

This tab allows you to choose the location of the marks, the algorithm used, and the mark adjustment.

 

Enable marks

This window part allows you to set the cut marks around the image. Depending on whether Step&Repeat or Nest-O-Matik are de/activated, their interpretations are different. The image at the top of the window is a symbolic reflection of the current setting. 

 

Single-mode

In normal mode (one image per page), this option determines which marks are present around the printed image. The selected marks will be printed, and the deselected ones will not.

 

With Step&Repeat or Nest-O-Matik

When Step&Repeat or Nest-O-Matik is activated, this function then defines the Digitrim marks to be printed (or not) on the border of the group of nested images, provided the corresponding mark is located almost at the edge of the media.

This is because some Digitrim and/or X/Y WideRoll cutters automatically detect the outline of the image if it is located only a few centimeters from the media’s edge. Thus, this setting can deactivate such marks.

The Digitrim marks are located between images and the ones that are placed on the outline (but far from the edge of the media) will always be printed independently from this setting.

 

Disable horizontal marks

Available since CalderaRIP V18 and exclusive to CalderaCare subscribers.

This option allows you to cut only vertically (no horizontal cutting and therefore no horizontal marks), improving cutting speed, and directly rewinding smaller rolls.

 

End of order

You can add, at the end of the job, an “end of order" mark. It will indicate the end of the job.

 

Layout Algorithm

This part allows you to switch among three automated nesting algorithms.

 

Digitrim layout

The Digitrim algorithm is meant for Digitrim cutters equipped with a mobile blade. The way the images are placed, the whole lot can be cut into two or three passes at the most (this depends on the advanced settings).

The sheet or roll on which the images are printed must be inserted into the cutter following the same direction as the one in which the printing was performed. The machine will then cut this sheet into strips that will have to be inserted afterward as well, by rotating them by 90°.

Depending on the case, you may need to perform a third pass, to get rid of all the finishing marks.

The Digitrim algorithm can also be used by X/Y cutters, without the vertical blades. This algorithm offers very good results when used together with Step&Repeat and Nest-O-Matik.

The Digitrim tab allows you to view and modify these algorithm parameters.

Example of a Digitrim layout with Step&Repeat

 

X/Y layout

The X/Y algorithm is only meant for X/Y WideRoll cutters. Not only are these equipped with a mobile blade identical to the one in the Digitrim devices, but they also have fixed blades able to cut the media vertically, in places that are defined exactly.

The layout is designed in such a way that all the images are entirely cut in a single pass. For this very reason, this nesting algorithm is much more restrictive when it comes to the dimensions of the printed images. Therefore, it yields the best results when used with Step&Repeat.

The X/Y tab allows you to view and modify these algorithm parameters.

Example of an X/Y layout with Step&Repeat

 

Standard layout

The Standard algorithm allows you to perform a Step&Repeat, or a standard nesting, by surrounding the block with Digitrim marks.

Example of a Standard layout with Step&Repeat

ASP layout

Exclusive to CalderaCare subscribers.

If you need to produce a lot of custom jobs with different sizes on a roll printer and lose time to manually cut each one, you can use the ASP (Automated Slicer Positioning) functionality. By selecting it as layout, the corresponding tab will activate.

Learn more.

 

One-Time-Cut

This function allows you to print several jobs consecutively to cut them all at once as if they were but a single task. It works according to the following principle: the physical margins of the printer are taken into account in the Digitrim marks.

Activating One-Time Cut implies the cancellation of one of the horizontal Digitrim marks: either the top mark or the bottom one, but never both at once. This is the reason why this mode can only be used with the “shared” type of marks (see the Digitrim and X/Y tabs). Please also note that by default, the bottom mark is kept.

One-Time-Cut enabled, the top-mark is automatically deactivated

The algorithm automatically integrates the top and bottom margins, defined in the Page Setup of the print client (in the case of the Legacy CopyRIP, these are the minimal margins defined for the printer). This margin is integrated in a smart way into the white parts of the Digitrim marks.

The Margin Adjustment value is a correction to apply when the actual margin of the printer does not exactly correspond to the defined page margins.

The moment One-Time Cut is activated, the size of the marks is checked, and the user may be offered to see a correction applied. To allow the use of One-Time Cut, the following criteria must be verified: the sum of the top and bottom margins of the printer and the adjustment value of the page must not be low enough to be encompassed in the bottom or the top white part of the Digitrim mark.

This must of course remain within the limits of the maximum thickness of the mark defined for the current cutter. If the margins are too wide, it will be impossible to use the One-Time Cut function.

 

Digitrim tab

This tab becomes available when you choose the Digitrim layout algorithm in the Print tab. It allows you to define the advanced parameters of the said algorithm.

The image in the top part of the window is a symbolic representation of the various possible settings.

 

Marks Type

This function lets you choose between shared and exclusive marks. In shared marks mode, images have only one mark in common, whereas, in exclusive marks mode, each image has its own Digitrim (in this way, marks are split between the images):

Example of shared marks	Example of exclusive marks

 

Marks length

This function allows you to choose between adjusted and full-page marks.

Adjusted marks have the same length as the adjacent image.

Full page marks are placed on the whole width of the useable media. This can be useful in some circumstances, to make the detection of the marks during the cutting easier.

Example of marks adjusted to images	Example of marks full page

 

Optimization

This lets you choose the optimization level of the layout.

In Paper mode, the algorithm attempts to place the images so that they will use as little media as possible. Some of these images will require up to three passes to be fully cut.

In Cutting mode, the images are placed so that two passes are enough to cut them completely; this is done to the detriment of more economical use of the media.

Example in Paper mode (three manipulations needed to cut)	Example in Cutting mode (two manipulations needed to cut)

 

Adjust

This option allows you to choose the edge for the adjusting of the images. When this is possible (taking into account the placing of the sensor on the cutter), the algorithm attempts to paste the images along the selected edge.

Left alignment	Right alignment

 

Rotate layout

When this mode is activated, the Digitrim placing is done in such a way that the printed tiles are rotated by 90° in the cutter. In other words, the first Digitrim cutting pass is processed from left to right (or from right to left), and not from top to bottom anymore, contrary to what it was like when using the normal Digitrim mode.

This allows you to use a media larger than the maximum width of the Digitrim cutter. You will always be sure that the block of images thus created is short enough, in terms of height, to be used in the cutter.

 

X/Y tab

When you choose the X/Y layout algorithm in the Print tab, the X/Y tab then becomes available.

It gathers all settings meant to control the behavior of the nesting application for the X/Y WideRoll cutters. The image located in the top part of the window is a symbolic representation of these various parameters.

 

How does the X/Y nesting algorithm work?

Before the first print, the configuration of the vertical blades is free. Their placing is determined by the nesting algorithm, depending on the images and the maximum amount of blades on the machine.

Once the first print is completed, the configuration of the vertical blades is then kept, until the user explicitly asks for it to be reset. This allows you to obtain the configuration (for the vertical blades) that is the most adapted to the printed images; it also gets rid of the need to continuously move the blades on the cutter between prints.

If an image cannot be nested, due to its dimensions being incompatible with the configuration of the vertical blades, the user will be warned, and resetting said configuration will be possible.

The following events trigger the fixing of the blades:

• Printing/printing in a file/computing the reprint of an image in simple copy or multi-copies.
• Printing/printing in a file/computing the reprint of an image in Step&Repeat mode.
• Finalizing an Autonest job in Nest-O-Matik.

The X/Y cutters often allow the use of two types of vertical blades: simple blades (single edge) or double blades, which are two simple blades placed at a fixed distance from each other (usually, this distance is 8 mm). The width of the double blades is defined in the Cutter tab.

The current nesting algorithm does not yet allow the use of single and double blades at the same time in the same nesting job.

 

Adjust

Left or right. This setting is the same as the Adjust one in the Digitrim tab and indicates the edge on which to align the images.

Adjust Left	Adjust Right

 

Horizontal marks

Type. This option allows you to choose between shared and exclusive horizontal marks. In shared marks mode, only one mark is common to the different rows of images. In exclusive marks mode, each row has its own Digitrim mark (two Digitrim marks are then placed between the rows).

Horizontal Marks Shared Type	Horizontal Marks Exclusive Type

 

Length. This function allows you to choose between adjusted and full-page marks. Adjusted horizontal marks have the same length as the adjacent image. Full page marks are placed on the whole width of the useable media. This can be useful in some circumstances, to make the detection of the marks during the cutting easier.

Adjusted marks	Full page marks

 

Vertical Marks

Mark. On X/Y WideRoll cutters, the vertical marks are often inactive, since the vertical blades must be fixed manually by a technician. This is the reason why these marks are not mandatory. They can be made up of two lines (Double), a single line (Single), or simply omitted (None).

The double vertical marks are defined in the Double Mark tab and are identical to the horizontal marks. The simple vertical marks are defined in the Simple Mark tab and are completely independent of the double marks.

You can also choose not to print marks by selecting: None.

Double Mark	Single Mark
None mark

 

Type. The spacing among the different images in a row partly depends on the vertical marks that are used.

• Shared marks. For vertical marks of the shared type, the following cases can be observed:

• • In the case of double marks, the spacing between two nearby images is identical to the width of the mark (as defined in the Double Mark tab).
  • In the case of simple marks, the spacing between two nearby images is the same as the width of the mark (as defined in the Simple Mark tab).
  • In the case where no vertical mark would be present, the spacing between two nearby images would then depend on the type of blades used. With simple blades, the images are placed on top of each other to allow the cutting to be performed exactly in between them. With double blades, the images are spaced out by the same width as that of the blades (normally, this width is 8 mm, but if your specific needs are different, it can be redefined in the Cutter tab).

Shared Mark Double	Shared Mark Single
Shared Mark None

• Exclusive marks. For exclusive vertical marks, the spacing between nearby images of the same row is determined by the minimum distance between two nearby vertical blades. This size is fixed by the manufacturer and can be specified in the Cutter tab.
  The spacing between two images will then be equal to this minimum distance, possibly added to the width of the blades, when double blades are used.

Exclusive Marks Double	Exclusive Marks Single
Exclusive Marks None

Blades. The Blades settings allow you to choose the type of vertical blades that are to be used. The difference will be noticeable with “None” and Shared Marks.

With no vertical marks, the space between the images is equal to the width of the blades: None for a single blade and ordinary 8 mm for the double blades but it can be specified in the Cutter tab.

Single blades	Double blades

Number. The Number field determines the maximum amount of blades to use for each nesting algorithm.

Sensor. This option allows printing a simple, continuous line on the left or the right of the block of printed images. It is meant to be used with X/Y cutters equipped with a sensor, and whose role is to adjust the vertical blades to correct the deformation of the media.

Left sensor mark	Right sensor mark
No sensor mark

 

Automated Slicer Positioning (ASP) tab

Exclusive to CalderaCare subscribers.

Learn more.

 

Double mark tab

In this tab, you can define the double mark used by the Digitrim algorithm (it can also be defined as a horizontal mark by the X/Y algorithm).

The mark is made of two black lines and three alternated white lines. Each of these elements can have a different width.

Two kinds of settings are available here: a simplified one (by default), and an advanced one.

 

Simplified Settings

The Simple settings make it so that the black strokes all have the same width and that the external white ones have twice the width of the internal stroke.

Using the fields available in the interface, it is thus possible to set the width of the black strokes, as well as the total width of the mark. As a result, the width of the white lines is automatically determined, according to the criteria listed above.

Shift Value. The shift value set is an additional one. It allows you to throw the mark off center by distributing the available space between the top and bottom exterior white lines.

When the shift is nil, the top and bottom white lines are of exactly equal size. If the shift is positive, the top white line is increased by the same amount, and the bottom line is decreased by the same amount as well. If the shift is negative, the contrary applies.

 

Advanced settings

The advanced setting allows you to set each of the five elements composing the mark independently (the two black strokes and the three white strokes). The total width of the mark is given for your information only, under the settings part.

 

Single Mark tab

This tab can only be accessed in the case of an X/Y layout, for which it allows the user to define the simple vertical mark that the associated nesting algorithm will use.

Contrary to the double mark, this one only contains one black stroke, surrounded by two white strokes. Apart from this, the settings available here are quite close to the ones of the double mark.

 

Simplified settings

In the Simple interface, you can define the thickness of the black line and the total width of the mark.

Shift Value. This setting is an additional one. It allows you to throw the mark off center by distributing the available space between the top and bottom exterior white lines.

When the shift is nil, the top and bottom white lines are of exactly equal size. If the shift is positive, the top white line is increased by the same amount, and the bottom line is decreased by the same amount as well. If the shift is negative, the contrary applies.

 

Advanced settings

The advanced interface allows you to modify the width of every stroke, independently. The total width of the mark is given for your information, directly under the settings.

 

Cutter tab

This tab allows you to define certain characteristics of the cutter to be used (these values are often given to you by the vendor).

 

Model

A list of predefined models is available; it is also possible for you to create new ones.

Choosing a cutter in the list copies the corresponding values in the other fields. When one of these values is changed manually, the model switches to Custom. The current settings can always be saved by creating a new cutter model.

 

Manage

The Manage button, at the right of the drop-down list containing the names of the models, opens a window in which you can remove existing models from the said list.

 

Settings

• Type. It indicates the type of cutter.
  • Digitrim machines are equipped with a horizontal mobile blade and allow the use of the Digitrim layout algorithm.
  • X/Y machines also have fixed vertical blades, which can be positioned manually. They allow the use of the X/Y algorithm, but also of the Digitrim one, provided the vertical blades are not activated.
• Minimal cutting width. This corresponds to the dimensions of the smallest image that can be cut according to the sensor’s width.
• Maximal cutting width. This corresponds to the maximal size of the media that you can insert into the cutter. If you want to use a media whose size is bigger, only a part of its width will be used for the nesting, and you will need to manually cut said media to then be able to insert it into the cutter.
• Minimal black/white thickness. This is the minimum thickness that a black or white stroke composing the Digitrim mark needs to have so that it can be recognized by the sensor of the machine. Usually, this width is equal to 0.5 mm.
• Maximal mark thickness. This is the maximal width of a Digitrim mark so that the latter can be detected by the cutter; it is normally 2 cm. This setting plays a determining role when the One-Time-Cut function is used. The Digitrim mark cannot be larger than the width fixed here.
• Minimal blade offset. This defines the minimal distance between two neighbor vertical blades. Usually, this distance is 7 cm. This is due to the way the blades are fixed. This setting is only available for X/Y cutters.
• Double Blade Width. The distance at which the two knives for the double blades are placed.
• Save as new cutter. This button allows keeping the current settings of the Cutter tab as a new model. Clicking it displays a dialog box in which you can then type the name of the new cutter:
  
  
  You will find your model in the list and you can also delete it using the Manage button: