Modified:
May 5, 2009
Created:
Jun 5, 2008
Views:
4538
Author:
JH

Composite Layouts are Individual Prints in Production

If you have designed a composite layout and ordered it then found that it appears as a series of individual prints in production, here is why that happened....

All layouts in ProSelect can be used to produce either a Composite Layout (where all images are printed on one piece of paper) or as a Traditional Matted Layout (where each image is produced as a separate print).

When you add a template to your price list you must specify whether it can be ordered as one type or the other. (You can setup a template so that it can be ordered as either type by creating a separate price list item for each type.)

When you order a layout based on a template in the price list then ProSelect's production will treat the layout according to the Type that was ordered. That is, if the layout was ordered as a Composite Type then production will produce it as a composite and produce it on one piece of paper and visa versa.

Hint: In the Place Order Dialog's drop-down menu for the layout, you will notice that composite items start with a "C" and traditional matted items start with an "M". eg "C 8x10 Composite Art Print".

If you are using the Custom Product button in the Place Order dialog to create a new product to order "on-the-fly", then you can set the type in the dialog box.

 

Changing the "Type"

You can mark a template as defaulting to being a Composite Type in the Template Editor and it will appear with a dark green background when viewed in Thumbnail view, otherwise it will appear with a dark red background indicating that it is a Traditional Matted type.

When you create a layout from the template it will keep that same default type. You can change the default type of a template using the Set Selected Template Type to... command under the Templates Menu. Likewise you can change the default type of a layout using the Set Selected Layouts Type to... command under the Album Menu.

ProSelect will honor the default type when you create a new price list item or use the Custom Product feature in the Place Order window.  HOWEVER, you can still setup and order a layout with the opposite type to the default type, and as mentioned above, production will use the ordered Type to determine the way in which the product is produced.

Book Designs

When using Working with Books in ProSelect,  the Book Design that you setup and assign to a book determines how production will treat the book pages when you send them to production.

If you have already used the book design, you won't be able to edit it.

Instead you will need to create another in the book design area (under Templates-- > Edit Book Designs) by duplicating the current design and setting the Page Format to "Composite Layout" set.

Then

  1. Assign the new design to that book
  2. Remove Book from production-> Selected book (under Production menu)
  3. Send Book to Production -> All pages (under Production menu)

Summary

If your layouts in production are not the type that you expected them to be, then it is because they have been ordered as the incorrect type. If your books in Production are not the type that you expected, then you will need to create a book design and set the page format to "Composite Layout".


KnowledgeBase Article: Composite Layouts are Individual Prints in Production