Artwork Generation | Troubleshooting Common Print Job Problems

Artwork Generation | Troubleshooting Common Print Job Problems



Overview

This article is designed to help troubleshoot common problems related to print jobs or artwork generation

Optimisation

The amount of memory resource that a print job requires depends on numerous factors such as:

- Number of Print areas
- Print Area dimensions and dpi
- Artwork file size in mb and pixels
- Image area placeholder size in mb and pixels
- Print and image area masks in pixels
- Uploading image file size in mb and pixels
- Number of Aspects / Thumbnail generation

Each of these factors contributes to the amount of memory required to process a print job. When the server is in particularly high demand this can mean that some jobs take much longer or may even fail if they exceed the available memory resource.

To minimise these factors, we recommend following the guidelines in these articles closely to optimise your products:





The simple rule of thumb to follow is that this is a web to print service so ensure that all images are optimised for the web.

For example, it is not realistic to expect the servers to process a 200mb tiff image file so there's no point using such a file as an external artwork URL. Resize the image and change the format to create a file at a more appropriate size.

Colour shifts

The artwork generation routine in the KornitX platform uses the RGB colour space.

Colour shifts generally occur when an artwork file with a CMYK or LAB profile is added as artwork to a Virtual product. That file is then converted to RGB either when the product is viewed within a Smartlink iframe or when the print job is created as that product is ordered.  When the resulting file is compared to the original there may be a noticeable difference in the colours due to the difference in the gamut for each colour space.

When a Smartlink is in use and the user has the ability to upload an image file, or select one from a preset gallery, the image is automatically converted to RGB to be rendered in the iframe.

To prevent unwanted colour shifts, the best and simplest solution is to convert your file to RGB first before using it to create a Virtual product or adding it to a gallery.

The simplest way to ensure you are using RGB colour space is to save and upload image files in .png format

Rotations, Warping & Tearing

Although quite a rare occurrence, print jobs will sometimes exhibit unwanted rotation, warping or tearing.

Instances of this kind of behaviour are usually caused by the .JPEG/JPG image format and EXIF meta data stored in the file header.

JPEG/JPG is a widely used image format across many different types of devices and pieces of software and each has the ability to embed meta data in to the JPEG/JPG header which can have unwanted results in the artwork generation routine.

When encountering this problem with an order item, we recommend updating the image on the order first so that a correct print job can be generated and the order fulfilled.  Once that is done, preventative options can be explored to prevent it happening again (where possible). 
Note that if the cause of the problem was a user-uploaded image, then this can only be fixed at the order level, it's not possible to pre-emptively prevent it from happening without restricting the use of JPEG/JPG format entirely in the app which we do not recommend.

Replacing the image on an order and regenerating the print job

To correct the problem it's necessary to strip out the meta data from the header of the image.

1. Find the problem order item and edit it



2. Click on the Personalisation page and then click on the Image Elements tab



3. Download the raw image file using the button on the right

4. Take the raw file into an image editing program and save the file without including the meta data (or save out in a completely different format).  You can also run the file through a website like https://tinyjpg.com/ to strip out meta data. When using something like this, check the before / after quality to make sure you are happy with the results.

5. Go back to the Image Elements page and upload the new file against the order

6. Click on the Live Edit page on the left and then click on Add to Cart to submit a new print job to be generated.



7. Return to the order info page and wait until the new print job has Generated and review the Artwork on the Artwork page.

Check the new output file to make sure the issue has been fixed. If not there will still be some lingering meta data that needs to be removed so repeat steps 4-7 by trying different image formats or export options when saving the image file until the problem is addressed.

Preventative measures

The problem can be prevented from re-occurring by updating the image file associated with the product (the exception being if the image was uploaded by the end user whereby the above method must be used)

Take the original image file into an image editing program and save the file without including the meta data (or save out in a completely different format).  You can also run the file through a website like https://tinyjpg.com/ to strip out meta data. When using something like this, check the before / after quality to make sure you are happy with the results.  If you already completed this process in the step above, simply re-use the file you uploaded to the order.

Depending on the source of the order, update as follows:
a. The image file used as Artwork on the Virtual product.
b. Replace the image file used in the image gallery.
c. Use the new file as the external artwork being passed in to our system

User-uploaded image quality

Products that are set up to allow image upload to end-users can be susceptible to artwork generation problems due to low image quality.

The KornitX platform takes the uploaded file and proportionately scales it relative to the intended print dimensions.  If the original source image is low quality (pixelated or blurry) then the print job will simply be a larger version of this.

To prevent this from happening it is possible to set validation on preset image areas so that any uploaded images meet specific image dimensions.

This article goes into the process of setting minimum image dimensions on an image area.

Note that this solution is not compatible with apps that use dynamic image area generation.  In that scenario it becomes a customer service issue to contact the customer and inform them that the image they have provided is not of good enough quality to produce their order.

DPI

By default the platform assigns a DPI value of 300 to all new print areas.  With maximum print dimensions allowed of 1000 x 1000mm, for larger sizes it is necessary to reduce the DPI proportionately eg:

1000 x 1000 mm = 300
2000 x 2000 mm = 150
3000 x 3000 mm = 100

When using Print Layouts, remember to adjust the DPI value of the Print Layout to match that set on the Print areas. Note that in this scenario, all print areas included in the layout must have the same DPI value for predictable results.

Vector specific DPI notes
  1. The DPI value for Raster elements must be set at company level (default 100)
  2. Vector output does not currently support Print Layouts

Please note that if you have a product setup that features multiple different DPI values, it is important that the company settings for the company generating the print job are set as follows for the DPI to be calculated correctly:

Advanced > Artwork Generation > Version > v2



Extreme print area aspect ratios and accuracy

Print jobs generated from Print areas with extreme aspect ratios eg: 10:1 can suffer from problems with size and positional accuracy of text and image elements.

Even when the print area is maximised within the preview (leaving very little empty space), inaccuracy in the output file occurs because a single pixel on-screen can come to represent a much greater number of pixels in the output.  This means that the pixel rounding that the software has to do between the preview and the output is a lot more inaccurate; a single pixel change in position or size in the preview translates to a much bigger change in the output.

This can impact the following areas:
Text area positions and size
Image area positions and size
Image area masks
Placeholder images
If the personalised area of the product is in a specific location within the print area, we recommend creating a smaller print area for this purpose to 'capture' the personalisation and then placing it within a larger Print layout representing the full print area size. This will avoid the problems inherent with extreme aspect ratios.
​

Vector Output

There are a few key things to always remember about Vector output:

1. PDF files up to an including version 1.4 or must be used when using Vector artwork on a product or in a gallery

2. Vector output does not support transparency in raster elements

3. All text will be generated as a vector in the output and is subject to font compatibility. If characters are missing eg: blank spaces or replaced by rectangles, then this indicates that the font has missing characters and has not been optimised for web use

4. The colour mode from any vector files will be maintained in the output, even if CMYK. Any personalisation added to the file eg: text / images will be added as RGB elements meaning the resulting file will contain both CMYK and RGB elements.
All Vector options are set at company level (not product level). When Vector is set as a product-level override it will always use the default Vector output settings which include the backing layer for each element and also the white background fill.

Our recommended company setup for Fulfiller's who wish to use both Raster and Vector workflow is to have separate Fulfiller companies for each which would then have their own specific dropships to any Sales channels.  The dropships can be set to acquire the print job so that the dropships for the Vector products have access to the company-level vector settings.

A detailed article on Vector output and the company settings available can be found here: https://support.kornitx.net/portal/en/kb/articles/artwork-understanding-output-types-vector
Additional Note on Vector Print Tests: Please by mindful that the print test cannot use company settings, default settings are applied.  To test any company level vector options that you have enabled you must place a test order.


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