xry0610 01 frntmatter.qxd:layout 1 9/21/06 7:20 pm page 1 · printing one side of a sheet of paper,...

Q U A R K S O F T W A R E W O R K F L O W S O L U T I O N S A N D I M P L E M E N T A T I O N

Volume 4 • Number 5

X-RAY MAGAZINE • XRAYM

AG.COM

JOB JACKETS PART 2 • PARDON THE IMPO

SITION

VOLUME 4 NUM

BER 5

xry0610_01_frntmatter.qxd:Layout 1 9/21/06 7:20 PM

Reader’s Spread: A view ofdocument pagessequentiallyordered. This is thedefault view ofmost page-layoutapplications.

Imposed/Imposing/Imposition:Arranging pages in a document toensure properordering after the printed sheethas been foldedand trimmed.

Printer’s Spreads: A set of pages (as few as two)that have beenreordered to becomesequentiallyordered once abinding processhas beencompleted.

With a wide range of imposing software on the market

it is hard to make the right choice the first time to meet

the needs of converting your reader’s spread documents

to printer’s spread documents on the first try. Imposing

programs can range from software that makes a simple

booklet to a fully customizable printing application that

can handle large flats. So, is it necessary to have all the

features of the expensive programs? Yes and no.

Of course, you don’t want to pay a huge price for an

application with features you will never use, but if you

require imposition that changes with every project and

have custom-printing needs, you will be happy to have

all the features in the long run. It may also cost you the

same amount to have a patchwork of applications than

to just make the investment up front to meet the

majority of your needs. In the end you should look

at your specific imposition and printing requirements.

Perhaps customization of your flats is a high priority.

Do you have projects coming across your desk, all with

different needs? Maybe you only work with a basic

two-up or four-up flat. I think the following reviews will

help you narrow down your decision and choose what

imposition software is the right one for you.

20 X-RAY MAGAZINE | VOLUME 4 NUMBER 5

As in nearly all industries and even

dialects, words may mean different

things to different persons or can take

on a different meaning in different

regions. We’ve tried to define these

words as used within the context of the

article and in the context as used by

the manufacturer of the product.

When you see a word in color within

the text simply refer to the glossary

definition within the sidebar. The

definition slider color will

correspond with color of the text.

Pardon the Imposition BY RALPH EBERHARD

Flat: The assembledcomposite ofnegatives orpositives ready to make a plate.Many of theprogramsdiscussed in thisarticle will useplate or spreadinterchangeablywith this term toindicate the sheetof imposed pages.

Two-Up, Four-Up,and Eight-Up: Plate styles eachcorresponding tothe number ofdocument pageson a single plate.

xry0610_30_imposing.qxd:Layout 1 9/22/06 2:41 PM 0

Let’s start looking at imposing software with a basic

XTensions module. If two-up impositions are your main

requirement, Bookletizer should work just fine. Before

you start using the XTensions software make sure that

you are using a QuarkXPress project with facing pages.

Bookletizer will not work with single-page layouts. The

XTensions module only consists of one dialog box that

lets you define the amount of creep for your book.

Setting the creep amount will shift the pages on each

spread out or in to compensate for page folds and paper

thickness. Bookletizer does the rest. Your document will

be converted into two-up printer’s spreads.

The nice part about Bookletizer is that it allows you to

view your imposed document right in the QuarkXPress

layout. It is possible to make edits in this imposed view,

but not advised. It is best to unbookletize the document

and make edits in QuarkXPress’ reader’s spread layout.

While using the XTensions module, keep in mind these

three things: your total number of pages must be

divisible by four, there must be an even number of

spreads, and each spread can have only two pages.

Despite the limitations of Bookletizer, it is a good

XTensions software module for the price when all you

need is a two-up imposition. At well under US$100, if

you’re working with simple spreads that require a saddle

stitch this XTensions application is perfect. Vision’s Edge,

the manufacturer, also provides a fully functional demo

of Bookletizer to try before you buy. However, the basic

functionality of Bookletizer may not work for many

imposition demands. Let’s look at other XTensions that

deal with larger documents.

FEATURE • IMPOSING 21

Saddle Stitch: A typical bindingtype where thesignatures arefolded, and in thecase of more thanone signature,nested, and stapledthrough the spine.

Creep: The measuredamount an imagemust shift tocompensate for page folds and paperthickness whennesting signaturesfor binding.

Facing Pages: (See Reader’sSpread pg. 20)

Unbookletize: In Bookletizer,reverts the layoutview from printer’sspreads to reader’sspreads (facingpages).

BOOKLETIZER Mac or PC | US$69.00 WHERE TO BUY:

• • • • For casual users needing a two-up imposition, this product will workgreat. Stay away if you have any custom needs or larger jobs. http://www.thepowerxchange.com

Bookletizer: Mac or PC | US$69.00

xry0610_30_imposing.qxd:Layout 1 9/22/06 2:42 PM Page 21

Quark acquired the ALAP product line in early 2006.

ALAP’s imposing products have become a mainstay

of many companies over the years, and the renamed

QuarkImposer of the Quark Print Collection is no

exception. QuarkImposer, previously known as Imposer

Pro, has a new look for its QuarkXPress 7 release. The

dialog boxes are still very intuitive — you shouldn’t have

any problems adjusting to the new user interface.

QuarkImposer also has the functionality to edit bleed,

creep, crossover, gaps, and margins within one window,

making it easy for the user to quickly edit these values,

and any of the edits you make to these values in the

layout pane of QuarkImposer are easily viewed in the

preview pane. Another nice inclusion is the bundling

with MarkIt, Item Marks, and QuarkImposer for Acrobat.

The regular version of Imposer has been discontinued,

but this shouldn’t be much of an issue considering the

Quark Print Collection will give you more for your

money. With the upgraded release, Quark is also running

a 90-day promotional price of US$149 for existing

Imposer Pro customers.

To impose pages, you’ll start in the layout tab by selecting

either a two-up, four-up, six-up, or eight-up flat with the

desired binding. Standard, work and turn, work and

tumble, split web, or sheet-wise are available in the drop-

down menu. Using the work-and-turn option will produce

flats where the pages are turned from left to right to

accommodate the manner that the paper is fed through

the press. Work and tumble arranges the pages top to

bottom to accommodate paper that is tumbled before

being fed through the press to print the second side. Only

available in the eight-up configuration, split web allows

you to impose for a web press. While using split web, you

can specify the number of roll stands required for your

project by changing the number in the sheets field. Using

the sheet-wise layout, you have either four-up, six-up, or

eight-up plate sizes, the XTensions module will create

different plates for each side of the press sheets. Sheet wise

can also be used when using a web press to produce full

signatures that create one signature on a web press.

Changing the units fields corresponds to the units that are

produced while using sheet-wise printing.


QuarkImposer: Mac or PC (Part of the Quark Print Collection) | US$299.99

Bleed: The measuredamount of image that extends beyondthe trim area.

Crossover: The allowablespace for the pages to impingeon the gaps.

Gap: The amount ofspace that will beplaced betweenpages and plates in an imposeddocument.

Margin: The space betweenthe image area andoutside trim edgeof a document.

Work and Turn:Printing one side of a sheet of paper,turning it left toright, and printingthe other side withthe same plate.

Work and Tumble:Printing one side ofa sheet of paper,turning the sheetfront to back, andprinting thesecond side withthe same plate.

Split Web: Imposition type for use with a webpress. Allows youto specify thenumber of rollstands required for the project.

Sheet-Wise: An imposition typethat will createdifferent plates foreach side of thepress sheets. InQuarkImposer,sheet-wise can alsobe used whenusing a web pressto produce fullsignatures thatcreate onesignature out on a web press.

Standard: Creates twounique plates(front and back)for a chosen sheetstyle. For example,in a two-upstandardimposition, pagesone through fourwill be used tocreate the twounique plates.

QUARKIMPOSER Mac or PC | US$299.99 WHERE TO BUY:

• • • • Two, four, six, and eight-up flat options and several layout types. Limited customization. http://www.thepowerxchange.com


Continuing on to the bleed, creep, crossover, and

margins settings you will finish using the layout tab.

All of your settings can be easily saved for future use with

the styles drop-down menu. Simply choose add and

give your style a name. In the future, when you have a

similar project come across your desk, you just select

that style and all of the same settings will appear.

In previous Imposer versions, one of the more

cumbersome elements of the Imposer XTensions

software module was using the printer’s marks and

color bars. You did have the option to turn the marks

and bars on or off but that was the extent of it.

Fortunately, QuarkImposer is now bundled with MarkIt

to allow for customization of both the printer’s marks

and color bars on your imposed document. At the

bottom of the QuarkImposer dialog box, there is a

button allowing you to quickly switch to MarkIt.

The process of page reordering could benefit by

allowing the user more customization. If you are looking

for an imposition program that will allow you to order

pages in any way you please, QuarkImposer may not

be the right XTensions application for you, though it is

possible to rearrange the pages in all of the binding types

except stacked. While using saddle stitched and perfect

binding, you can select where the first page will be

placed and the remaining pages will automatically be

repositioned accordingly. I have had some customers

who want a completely custom layout type (page 1 next

to page 53, for example), but the closest you can come

to this is selecting None for the binding type. This will

let you choose what page you would like to place and

where, but only within the two flats that are in your

preview screen. In other words, if you’re using a four-up

layout, you can place pages one through eight anywhere

you please, but above page eight is not an option.

Rather than rearranging the document pages inside of

QuarkXPress, QuarkImposer works in the print stream

to create printer’s flats. This is a nice feature to keep your

QuarkXPress document in its original state and since

pages are not moved, you don’t end up with very

complex linked text box chains.

For this article, I was working with QuarkImposer and

saving an 80-page document in four-up flats to a PDF.

While going through the printer options you will want to

make sure that you do not use the generic Mac OS PDF

option. QuarkImposer requires the output device to be

PostScript compatible and the Mac OS PDF option will

not work. To generate a PDF from QuarkImposer, you will

need to use an application such as Acrobat Distiller.

For testing, I ran my 80-page document through

QuarkImposer with a basic four-up configuration, saddle

stitched, 12pt bleed, 2pt creep, and 0.5” margins. Printing

to a PDF took only a couple of minutes. Initially, looking

at the newly generated PDF, I found some gaps in

gradient boxes that were not part of my layout. These

were just artifacts created by the zoom in Acrobat and

the layout seemed to print fine. I also ran the same

document in a two-up position with perfect binding and

two-up with none selected for the binding; all imposed

quickly and as expected. This is a mid-range XTensions

module when it comes to imposition, and though far

more advanced than Bookletizer, it may not meet some

printer’s needs — especially those requiring larger flats.


Perfect Binding: As often seen withmagazines andbooks, this methodnests signatures of imposed pagesand adhesive isused to secure thesignatures together.

Stacked Binding: A binding typewhere yourfinished documentis three-holepunched, uses a spiral, or is comb bound.

Page Reordering:Changing thenatural page order(or pagination) of an imposeddocument.

Color Bar: Color or grayscaleswatches placedoutside thetrimmed edge of a document to ensure propercolor reproduction.

Printer’s Mark:Marks outside the trim area of adocument used bythe printer to helpwith cropping,folding, centering,and so on.


If you are not a QuarkXPress user or prefer to use Imposer

outside of QuarkXPress, you are in luck. QuarkImposer

is also available for Acrobat and is also bundled into the

Quark Print Collection. The interface and many options

are exactly the same as the QuarkXPress version.

Switching between them is very intuitive and shouldn’t

require any additional learning curve.

Using QuarkImposer for Acrobat quickly became my

favorite product in the Imposer line. For my workflow, I

prefer to export my QuarkXPress project to a PDF and

then impose it in Acrobat. Although you lose the

functionality of being able to edit the document directly

in QuarkXPress, QuarkImposer for Acrobat seemed to

run more smoothly than the QuarkXPress counterpart

in my testing. The main feature of QuarkImposer for

Acrobat that I appreciated was that a newly imposed PDF

was created. There was no worrying about page sizes at

output time, QuarkImposer for Acrobat simply creates

the flat based on the original PDF and it was much easier

than navigating the QuarkXPress print dialog boxes to

get the correct size for my output.

Summarizing the Quark Print CollectionBundling MarkIt, Item Marks, QuarkImposer, and

QuarkImposer for Acrobat was a good move for Quark,

you even get a lower price than the previous Imposer

Pro by itself. For those looking for a fully customizable

imposition product this would probably not be your

first choice. However, if you are looking for mid-priced

imposition software capable of handling standard

printing needs, this will be the right tool for the job.

If you’re looking for larger flats and a greater amount

of control over your imposition, read on.


QuarkImposer for Acrobat: Mac or PC (Part of the Quark Print Collection) | US$299.99

QUARKIMPOSER FOR ACROBAT Mac or PC | US$299.99 WHERE TO BUY:

• • • • Same interface as the other Imposer products. I found it easierto work with PDFs than with the QuarkXPress Imposers. http://www.thepowerxchange.com



By far, INposition 6.5 was the most-advanced imposition

software that I tested for QuarkXPress. Almost every

aspect of the software can be customized to your

specific needs. Where QuarkImposer leaves off,

INposition 6.5 launches and gives the professional printer

all the control they need over their documents. With all

the options this software provides, I could only scratch

the surface of the possibilities. Fortunately a demo is

available for you to try on your own and see what this

XTensions module can do in your workflow. Beware, this

product has a price tag to justify all these features, and

it’s certainly outside the range of the more casual users.

INposition adds its own drop-down to the menu bar.

You’ll start by creating a new plate style. The easiest way

to think of plate styles is in relation to QuarkXPress’

paragraph styles. The plate styles in INposition 6.5

encompass sheet guides, plate format, and imposition

order. It’s a good idea to name your plate styles

accordingly in this section; it will save you some time

in the future should you have similar documents. Start

creating your style by choosing how many pages per

plate you would like. The maximum allowable number

of pages is 32 per plate. You also get to choose how

many pages across you would like your plate to be. The

imposition order button lets you preview the plate and

define folds and page sequencing. If you choose to have

a custom page sequence, the shadow option is a great

feature. Select the page you want from the thumbnail

view, enter what page of the document you would like it

to be, and shadowing will automatically order the pages

on the proceeding plates. You only have to specify the

layout of the page in the first plate and INposition 6.5

takes care of the remaining plates.

From the initial plate styles window you will also find

a sheet guides button. I mentioned the limitations of

Imposer in regard to printer’s marks; INposition far

exceeds any expectations of customization in this area.

In sheet guides, you can start editing your page by giving

specific values to the spines and folds of your document.

This window also allows you to place any type of

printer’s marks that you may need. Color bars, grayscale

bars, crop marks, trim marks, center marks, and your

Center Mark: A printer’s markused by manystakeholders in the process thatindicates truecenter of the page.

Spine: The back of abound book thatconnects the twocovers. Also calleda backbone.

Imposition Order:The sequence your pages will be ordered. Seealso Pagination.

Plate Format: In INposition 6.5, a dialog box withthe total numberof pages per plate,number of rowsand columns, andthe row orientation.

Shadow: In INposition 6.5,used toautomatically selectthe paginationsequence. The userselects the pagenumber for thefront plate andINposition 6.5selects the correctpage number forthe back plate. Alsocalled mirroring inother applications.

Sheet Guide: In INposition 6.5, a dialog boxencompassing the settings forpage size, margins,gaps, and printer’smarks.

Trim Mark: Marks thatindicate to thebindery or finishingdepartment wherethe documentpage should betrimmed (cut)when printed on a larger sheet.

INposition 6.5: Mac | US$2,995.00

Plate Style: The plate styles in INposition 6.5encompass sheetguides, plateformat, andimposition order.

INPOSITION 6.5 Mac | US$2,995.00 WHERE TO BUY:

• • • •By far the most advanced imposition software for QuarkXPress.Fully customizable, will handle nearly any job. http://www.thepowerxchange.com



Publication Style:In INposition 6.5,the publicationstyles dialog boxallows the user toset preferencesregarding paperthickness, bindingtype, and plate andsignature styles.

Signature: An imposed printedsheet after it hasbeen folded. Insome regions, it issimply the imposedpages whetherfolded or not.

Signature Style: In INPosition 6.5,where yourpaginationsequence is set.Also calledImposition Order.

own custom text, are only a few of the options you can

place on the plate. Every mark and bar you place can also

be positioned on the plate using X, Y coordinates for

exact placement. If that weren’t enough, you can also

add your own custom marks using EPS or TIFF images.

All of this is expected in a high-end product, and

INposition delivers.

After creating your plate style, you will need to create

a publication style. This is where you can specify binding

type, creep, bleed, and crossover. You may also combine

multiple signature styles that you previously defined in

the plate styles. If your document only calls for one

signature style, you can simply select repeat signature

and it will be repeated as necessary for the remaining

pages in your document.

Now we’re finally ready to start imposing. As I

mentioned earlier, a nice feature of QuarkImposer is the

ability to keep your original document intact for future

editing. INposition 6.5 takes this idea one step further.

When you create a new publication you actually create

an INposition publication file. This means that you keep

that specific imposition for further use. Should you

have to switch jobs for a bit, you can simply save the

imposition file and come back to it later. You do not

even need to have the original QuarkXPress document

open to work on your imposition.

Select new publication from the INposition drop-

down menu and you’re ready to start adding pages.

The publication palette is where INposition really

shines. It’s a fairly intuitive menu, but will take a bit

of exploration before you become comfortable.

(It would be nice if while you hovered the mouse

over buttons and options there would be tool tips, like

those in QuarkXPress.) There are two basic views in the

publication palette, reader’s spreads and printer’s spreads.

While in either view you can nudge, rotate, and scale any

page of the document. However, only while in printer’s

spreads can you edit the bleed, crossover, and print

options. You will also have to switch to this view to

send your imposed document to a print device.

Another remarkable feature of this program is its ability

to pull pages from virtually any source. You are not

limited to the single project you have open at the time.

Pages from different QuarkXPress projects can be added

at any time in the creation process. Opening a new

document in the publication palette will give you the full

range of pages within that external document. This is a

perfect solution for a workflow where documents are

coming from different applications.

Suppose you have different production artists working

on separate parts of a magazine. No need to combine

the documents within QuarkXPress prior to imposing.

Simply open the documents and pull what pages you

need. In this same scenario, suppose you have a guest

columnist, the due date for the article comes and you

are surprised to find the layout in a completely different

format, the columnist may not have used QuarkXPress

at all. Don’t worry, thanks to the Tempus Plug-in,

INposition 6.5 can pull pages and add them to your

layout from a number of sources including EPS, PDF, TIFF,

PostScript, PICT, and others. A dialog box will appear

when importing for these sources and require you to

select the bleed and positioning for your new pages. Files

from some sources will require set-up prior to importing

them using the Tempus Plug-in, but the added

functionality you will receive is worth the time.

To test this against the other products, I ran the same

80-page document through INposition 6.5 that I ran

through QuarkImposer with no problems. Being able to

set different plate and publication styles made switching

signatures a snap. Jumping from two-up to eight-up with

different printer’s marks took no time at all and worked

effortlessly. Importing pages from an external PDF worked

just as well. I added eight pages from a PDF and was able

to rearrange, scale, and reposition them in the reader’s

spreads without any problems. From a simple two-up

flat to a huge 32-up flat, INposition 6.5 can handle

everything you throw at it. With a price tag of US$2,995

this will not be the imposition solution for everyone.

However, for serious and complex imposition needs

this is the perfect product, look no further.

xry0610_30_imposing.qxd:Layout 1 9/29/06 11:56 AM Page 26

If you would like the quality of INposition 6.5, but don’t

want the price tag, you should take a look at INposition

Lite. A stripped-down version of the original XTensions

module, INposition Lite can be a cost-effective

alternative. Although the price has been drastically

cut, so have the features.

INposition Lite adds basic and advanced tabs to your

QuarkXPress print dialog box. Unlike its full-featured

counterpart that can handle a 32-up flat, INposition Lite

only offers one-up through four-up flats. The basic

binding settings of saddle stitch, perfect, and none are

included. Users can choose size and positioning of

color bars and printer’s marks. Trim, fold, sheet, and

registration marks are activated using check boxes in the

print tabs. The INposition-advanced tab allows you edit

margins, bleed, spine, paper thickness, and maximum

creep. All print settings can be captured for use with

similar documents in the future.

I was disappointed to see that much of the functionality

of INposition 6.5 was lost in this version. Unlike the full

version, INposition Lite does not create a publication file

for you to save and reuse at a later date. There is also no

implementation of the import feature that we saw earlier

and adding pages from external files is not possible

either. Many of the customizable features of INposition

6.5 are missing in the stripped-down version. While still

being able to take limited control of printer’s marks and

color bars, it is very low level and only specified by right,

left, center, or off options.

Having said all that, documents imposed with INposition

Lite came out perfectly. Both two-up and four-up flats

were no problem. I successfully changed the binding and

printer’s marks in my documents with little hassle. A nice

feature of the software is the preview pane. You don’t

have to blindly jump straight into printing. In the preview

pane you have the options to hide or show different

aspects of the document for a clearer view of the

finished imposition.

I should also note that INposition Lite has limited

support for QuarkXPress versions and operating systems.

It is only compatible with QuarkXPress 4.1X and 5.X. If

you are a Mac user, Lite will only run on OS 8.6 and 9.X

— running in Classic in OS X will not work. For all the

Windows® users, the same QuarkXPress versions apply.

As for your operating system, INposition Lite will run on

Windows 95, 98, NT, and 2000. Taking all this into

consideration, for a simpler imposition program I would

suggest QuarkImposer. Less expensive, nearly the same

features, and greater QuarkXPress compatibility, it would

be a better choice for a printer looking to save a little

money while still meeting basic imposition needs.


INposition Lite: Mac or PC | US$495.00

If you would like the qualityof INposition 6.5, but don’t want the price tag,INposition Lite can be acost-effective alternative.

INPOSITION LITE Mac or PC | US$495.00 WHERE TO BUY:

• • •Comparable to QuarkImposer with several features added. Can bepricey depending on your needs. Limited OS support options. http://www.thepowerxchange.com

Registration Marks: Printers marks ona flat generallyused to alignnegatives ordifferent colors inprocess printing.


INPosition 6.5 is great but you don’t use QuarkXPress?

INPosition Lite really won’t handle your heavy workflow?

If you’re looking to start at the top, your search is over.

Dynagram has created the most-comprehensive

imposition software on the market, Dynastrip. There is

simply no beating this stand-alone application in terms

of features and ease of use. Be warned, this software will

be overkill for anyone other than serious professional

printers. Independent from any layout software,

Dynastrip will let you import pages from a wide variety

of sources. Let’s take a look at what it can do.

When you first enter Dynastrip, you are greeted with,

well, nothing at all. Don’t worry just yet; your document

will come together soon. Start by creating a new


Dynastrip: Mac or PC | US$2495.00

DYNASTRIP Mac or PC | US$2495.00 WHERE TO BUY:

• • • • •Bar none, the high-end leader in this field.Dynastrip will handle any job you throw at it. http://www.thepowerxchange.com


document from the pull-down menu and selecting

either Standard Method or Dynamo QuickLayout.

For our demonstration, we will choose the Standard

Method and create everything from scratch (the

Dynamo QuickLayout option will let you create an

imposition from pre-defined templates).

After you create the new document it appears in the

light table and this becomes the heart of the program —

all your editing and options are accessible from here. At

the top of this dialog box is the functions toolbar. Things

such as pagination, zoom, color specifications, and

output are found here. To the right of the palette is the

objects palette and actions toolbar. The objects palette

will let you change the view of the light table and what

you are currently editing. The actions toolbar is filled with

your edit options for your current view. It will change

depending on what is selected in the objects palette.

Start by selecting Sheet from the objects palette, this

will define the overall size of your flat. Next, move to the

Signature option in the objects palette. Define your

page size, number of rows, and number of columns

depending on your needs. Place the signature on your

previously created sheet. A very nice feature of Dynastrip

is the mirroring of the signature upon placing. It will be

set in the same position on both the front and back flat.

All flats are clearly labeled as front and back, that makes

browsing through them a snap.

The Page selection in the objects palette will allow you

to define custom gutters and move pages as needed.

Moving objects in Dynastrip can be done in several ways.

Once you select an object, it can be moved freely using

the mouse or using X, Y coordinates. If you choose to

use X, Y movement you will also be able to move your

selected object in relation to anything on the page.

Simply move the green distance line and place it at the

point you would like to measure, and the coordinates

will automatically be shifted. Whether you are creating

an imposition on the fly or creating a template to be

used many times, Dynastrip will let you be as simple or

complex as you like. Printer’s marks are virtually limitless

in this program. You can define the line style, length, or

width for any of the marks. Color bars and custom EPS

marks are just as easy to place and manipulate.

Once you have your signature set up, you will have to

create a pagination style for your document. Under

pages in the object palette, select the Page Numbers

icon to start. Dynastrip will ask you to select where each

page of your document is to be placed. Again, the

mirroring is available to speed up this process. Dynastrip

will automatically select page numbers for the back flat

depending on what you enter for the front. This option

can also be turned off if you have a custom fold.

What makes Dynastrip truly outstanding is its ability to

literally customize everything. From printer’s mark width

to pagination styles, it can all be defined by the user.

Once you have all your options set, they can be saved for

later use, combined, and rearranged as you like. With so

many options available in this program, there will be a

learning curve when you first jump into it. However,

Dynagram has done a great job of making the user

interface as friendly as possible without sacrificing

functionality. I highly recommend that professional

printers download the demo and give Dynastrip a try.

Dynastrip is also available in different versions with

different features. The version we looked at above is the

compact version. The only limitation of this program is

that sheets have a maximum size of 32" X 32". The full

version of Dynastrip will give you an unlimited sheet size

and be ideal for large printers. There is a price jump to

US$4,495 for this version.

The next two versions each have great features to help

Dynastrip integrate into your workflow and speed it up.

Dynastrip Automation will enable you to set up hot

folders to work with the software. Up to 200 hot folders

can be created where users can simply drop their files

and Dynastrip does the rest. This is especially useful for

documents such as newspapers where content will be

coming in at different times. The pages will be imposed

in the correct spot and sent to your desired output

device automatically. Dynastrip Automation retails

for US$6,495.

Our last version is especially useful for documents that

will need multiple languages. Dynastrip Fusion adds

versioning to the program. Up to 200 versions of the

same document can be created using a single template.

If easy editing and full customization are what you need,

look no further. The price of Dynastrip is fully justified by

the multitude of features you will receive — but only if

you will use this multitude. I would recommend this

program to anyone looking for a powerful and easy-to-

use imposition program.


Pagination: (See ImpositionOrder pg. 25)

Gutters: The inner marginor from theprinted area to the binding.


So far we’ve gone from the very basic to the extremely

advanced while looking at imposing software and for the

most part stayed within QuarkXPress. Here is a product

that covers what we missed; a mid-priced imposing

application exclusively for Acrobat. Quite Imposing from

Quite Software is somewhat of an oddity in our look at

imposing software. The user interface, and that it’s

exclusively an Acrobat Plug-in, sets it apart from most

of the other products we’ve examined.

In Acrobat, Quite Imposing will be listed under the

Plug-ins menu where you can bring up the control panel.

One of the first features I appreciated in this software

was the ability to see up front what options were

available. Everything can be executed directly from this

panel. With the easy imposition options you can start

editing your document. The booklet feature lets you

create standard two-up flats while n-up pages will allow

you to create larger flats. Join Pages will simply

combine your current page in the view with the next.

The next set of options is geared toward page

management. Most of these will probably be used prior

to imposing your document so give these a look before

jumping in and imposing. You can shuffle, trim, shift,

reverse, add blank pages and more. These options are

nice to have, especially while imposing a PDF where it

may not be as easy to just jump back to the original

document and make your edits.

Much like the other programs we looked at, you can

save your settings in Imposing for later use. I should

point out that Quite Software has put their own twist

on how this works. In QuarkImposer and INposition we

saw how settings were saved. In Quite Imposing it’s more

like saving an action in Photoshop. In fact, once you are

done editing your document select the Remember Last

button and all the actions you used in your last

document will be available. Give it a custom name and

use it the next time a similar document comes your way.

We’ve discussed the features in Quite Imposing that

more or less are also in the other imposing software, so

what makes this application different? As I said earlier, the

user interface has a twist that we haven’t seen much of

yet — it’s actually helpful! After selecting the action you

want from the control panel, Quite Imposing will walk

you through each of the steps necessary to complete


Quite Imposing: Mac or PC | US$475.00

Reverse:Reorderingdocument pages indescending order.

Shift:Repositioning of a document pageon the plate.

Shuffle: In Imposing, page reordering as defined by the user.

Trim: When used as a noun, the finalfinished size of thedocument. Whenused as a verb, the action ofcutting the page to a trim mark.

QUITE IMPOSING Mac or PC | US$475.00 WHERE TO BUY:

• • • •For the price, a better option than INposition Lite but only works inAcrobat. The user interface may be cumbersome for advanced users. http://www.thepowerxchange.com


that action. Most every option is also accompanied by a

short explanation. For users unfamiliar with imposing

software, this is just the place to begin. With a little help

from Quite Imposing you’ll get your document ready for

print. However, for advanced users this interface will

probably become tedious. I found myself just wanting

one screen to enter my settings.

Running my same 80-page document through Quite

Imposing went smoothly, even quicker than I expected.

I started arranging my document with the page-

management tools. As I mentioned, these are valuable

tools for quickly editing your document within Acrobat. I

added four blank pages, shuffled the pages so all evens

and odds were grouped, and reversed the order of the

pages with no problem. After editing the single sheets I

moved on to imposing the document. I first used the

booklet option, which was a no-frills way of getting

two-up saddle stitched flats. N-up let me arrange the

pages in four-up and eight-up flats with some minor

work. You’ll have to define your own custom paper size

when working with these larger flats to get the correct

imposition. My choice of flat size did not always mesh

with my custom paper size. This resulted in having to

switch between dialog boxes to fix the paper size to

allow the larger spread. It would be nice if these larger

spreads were generated as easily as the booklet option.

While running my document through the software, I

noticed the lack of color bar and crop marks options.

You can add basic crop marks and frames around the

pages but don’t look much further than that.

After using Quite Imposing, it was hard to decide

whether this software or QuarkImposer would be my

choice for imposing in Acrobat. For a few more dollars

Quite throws in the page-management tools, which are

absent in QuarkImposer. Quite Imposing definitely wins

out for being more customizable but lost some points

with me when it came to the user interface. One feature

Quite Imposing could benefit from is a dedicated

preview palette like that of QuarkImposer. I would

suggest trying the demo for both these products to

drill down on your decision.


Quite Imposing from Quite Software is a mid-pricedimposing application exclusively for Acrobat.


Like the other imposing software at which we have

looked, Imposing comes in two flavors, regular and plus.

Quite Imposing Plus has all of the same features as the

regular version, as well as several additions that printers

may find useful. With a higher price as well, this would

be a good candidate to run a demo first and see if it

meets your needs — before you make the investment.

The most noticeable additions are stick on and peel off

options in the control panel. Stick on will allow you to

add page numbers and masking tape to the PDF. The

masking tape will basically let you cover any part of the

document. As you might have guessed, peel off will strip

the document of these options if you later choose. This

process seemed analogous to Photoshop layers. In the

background, Quite Imposing Plus keeps track of these

latent layers and later allows you to delete them.

Also added to the control panel is a series of tabs at the

top. The sequences tab introduces us to a beefed-up

version of a remember-last button. Much like previous

action commands we saw, Quite Imposing Plus allows

you to create a series of commands to run within the

document. As an example, suppose you have multiple

documents that will require a two-up saddle stitch, two

blank pages added, and the pages will also need to be

trimmed. Quite Imposing Plus is just the ticket to get this

done. Set up each action to run in a sequence and you

can shoot all of your documents through, no hassle. The

sequences tab also allows you to speed up the process

by suppressing prompts and messages, a big

improvement from the regular version.

In fact, for me the most useful part of the plus version

was running the sequences. I loved the ability to

suppress the dialogs and prompts. I set my sequence up

to add blank pages, shuffle pages, and then create a four-

up flat of my document. I didn’t have much of a need for

the stick on functions but I tested them and everything

ran fine. The documents came out looking great. I have

to admit though, when I was finished I wasn’t sold on

the US$899.00 price tag. Like the regular version, give

this demo a try before you buy. See if it fits into your

workflow and budget.


Quite Imposing Plus: Mac or PC | US$899.00

Seeing the pros and cons of each XTensions

module should give you a starting point to

decide which will best suit your needs. Not

everyone will need the bells and whistles but

when you need them, they are indispensable.

Review your own needs and available resources to

best decide what will work for you. Fortunately, all

of the XTensions and applications mentioned

here are available as demos. Test drives are a great

way to help decide your ideal product and could

save you some headaches down the road.

Conclusion

QUITE IMPOSING PLUS Mac or PC | US$899.00 WHERE TO BUY:

• • • •The Plus version adds actions to Imposing, which speeds things up.The same user interface as Imposing, and can be difficult to master. http://www.thepowerxchange.com



Imposing Software at a Glance


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xry0610_63_galaxygauge.qxd:Layout 1 9/22/06 3:09 PM Page 57

Quark Print CollectionAvailable now from ThePowerXChange

Now you can.Quark Print CollectionMac or Windows, US$299QuarkXPress® reader’s spreads layouts are easilyconverted to printer’s spreads with just a fewclicks of the mouse. Use Quark® MarkIt, included, to finish it off with custom color bars andregistration marks. Output the QuarkXPressproject to PDF and use QuarkImposer for Adobe®

Acrobat® to generate your flats.

You’ll have nearly limitless output options withthe Quark Print Collection.

Call ThePowerXChange today at 877 940 0600 to pre-order, or download a free demo thatincludes QuarkImposer, Quark Item Marks, QuarkMarkIt, and QuarkImposer for Adobe® Acrobat® athttp://www.thepowerxchange.com/quarkimposer.

Add the Quark Print Collection to your pre-pressarsenal for only US$299. Upgrades are availableto current owners of Imposer or Imposer Pro forUS$149. Call 877 940 0600 today.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could easily output printer’s spreads from your reader’s spreads projects?

xry0610_63_galaxygauge.qxd:Layout 1 9/22/06 3:09 PM Page 58

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