Flexmail Software SET UP with DS1000/DS1200 Inserters

Transcription

1 Flexmail Software SET UP with DS1000/DS1200 Inserters Written By: Colin Langridge Issue: Draft Date: N/A 1 Date: 22 nd June Date: 03 rd December Date: 22 nd January 2009 Inserters v3.doc Page 1 of 15

2 Flexmail Setup with DS Inserters (DSI) This document explains the setup procedure for using the Flexmail software with the DS 1000/1200 inserter (DSI) for controlling the AS-3060 DEP envelope printer During all of the associated documentation we refer to the envelope printer as DEP The DEP printer is controlled by a software application called Flexmail. This software application sends commands to the printer as well as the data that needs to be printed on the envelope. The DSI communicates with the Flexmail software application via a script file. For more detailed information on using and setting up Flexmail see Flexmail Getting started document. Flexmail requires a project to be setup for each printing application. The project determines the Envelope size, the print head position, the data to be printed, where the data is stored as well as many of customizable settings (DPI, orientation etc) NOTE Once the Neopost DL project is installed and tested it is recommended that this project be used as base for all future projects. This ensures that all of the required settings are correct. The following settings will need to be defined for new projects Envelope size (go to File - Page Setup) Position of the Print heads relative to the Envelope (select the rule on the left hand side and drag the print heads to the desired location. Repeat for U1 and U2) Position of Variable data (picture) (double click the picture to select the source, click and drag to re-position) Fields to be used in the variable data (text) (dependent on the database mapping field names) (Double click on the text box and select the required fields to be printed) (click and drag to re-position) (Create new text boxes if required) DPI required (450DPI for DS1000 and 400DPI for DS1200) Transport Speed 1080 mm/s for DS1000 and 1440 mm/s for DS1200 Position of fixed data (if any required)(click and drag to re-position) Print direction is a printer setting (not part of the project) When the printer is installed. Please ensure that the direction under the properties tab is set to reverse. Auto select direction will not work but is always selected starting a project. Direction can be locked at the printer to prevent this problem. See last page of this document for instructions on how to do this The project has two main areas of interest which both need to be setup before printing can commence 1. Database This is what is used to determine which address is printed on which envelope. A link needs to be set to the required database. This contains all of the variable data that is going to be printed on the envelope. If the mode of operation is not Sequential (print address 1 on envelope 1 and address 2 on envelope 2 etc) then the database must contain an ID field, so the correct address information can be looked up in the database and printed on the correct envelope. It is recommended that all databases have column headings that can be Inserters v3.doc Page 2 of 15

3 defined as an ID Fields this ensures that the script file is common and only the ID field names are changed for each project defined First define the database to be used for the project. Navigate to Data and select Link Data. Then select the required database (.xls or.mdb format) then select the range Enable the option: First row contains field names Then select Guess Then select finish. You will then be prompted to complete field mapping Select Yes Inserters v3.doc Page 3 of 15

4 When the desired database is selected each of the fields in the database need to be mapped to the Flexmail field type. (This is because Flexmail cannot automatically identify what type of data is in each field of a database) Field mapping tells Flexmail what data to expect in each field. This way, regardless of name, Flexmail knows where to look for the information it needs to perform certain tasks. Ensure all fields that are going to be used in the envelope design are mapped otherwise they will not be selectable when trying to complete the envelope design / layout Once the data is mapped the design of the envelope can be setup. This is done in the part of the project called designer Inserters v3.doc Page 4 of 15

5 2. Designer The designer part of the project sets up all physical aspects rather than data of the item to be printed. This includes: Envelope size. Print Head Position. Position of variable data. Position of fixed data (if any). Printer Settings (print quality etc) Please use the provided project as a starting point when first designing your envelope layout. For detailed information on all of the settings within Flexmail please see the separate instruction documentation mentioned at the beginning of this document Text Text can be one of two formats fixed or variable. The method for adding text is the same for both formats. Create a text box and then add the required text to it. (if text box already exists then double click to add / change the contents If the text is fixed (common for all envelopes) then type the desired text into the box If the text is variable and obtained from the database then add the required fields to the text box. Envelope design will then update to display the text from the fields from the database Inserters v3.doc Page 5 of 15

6 Pictures Pictures are edited / added in a similar way to text. Add a picture box or double click on an existing image to define the source of the picture Pictures should be: tif format (other formats may result is lower print quality) Black and white Not Greyscale No complex shading Pictures take up allot of data that is slow to transfer from the Flexmail PC to the DEP printer. It is recommended that all pictures are fixed and downloaded at the start of the job. This ensure the data is saved in the printer prior to processing any envelopes (this speeds up the data transfer as the amount of data is greatly reduced) Ordering of Pictures It is possible to have multiple images overlapping and get all images printed. The Neopost DL Project has a second image underneath the ribbon2 image saying, We value your mail. This will be printed on all the envelopes (run a test print to see this) Downloading Fixed Data All data that is fixed (text and pictures) needs to be set to download. This decreases the data transfer time during run time. Navigate to File, Print Set up, Downloads and select all fixed data (for all layouts) Inserters v3.doc Page 6 of 15

7 Example of a test print from the Neopost DL project Text for the address is variable and obtained from fields in the database Pictures are fixed and downloaded before run time (this shows the extra picture We Value Your Mail that is beneath the visible logo) Settings Offset is dependent on the envelope width. DL project uses a 114mm envelope and the offset is 12.7cm. Offset is measured using the scale on th eprinter entry cover To obtain the correct general offset for the printer position an envelope in the interface unit so the envelope is underneath the entry guide and read the value from the scale where the envelope is. (Note the value will always be the lower value as the envelope width is used (taken into account) in the project settings) Advanced Settings Text Box properties: Hide Empty Lines. Selected Text Box properties: Hide Empty Spaces. Selected Line Spacing is: Printer Optimised Inserters v3.doc Page 7 of 15

8 Offsets U1 and U2 U1 and U2 refer to the two print heads in the printer. These can be positioned to print anywhere on the envelope. They can be individual (2 x 38mm print area) or linked for a larger print area To adjust the position of the print heads relative to the envelope select either U1 or U2 on the left hand side rule and drag to position A F E G B C D A= Print Area U1 original position B=Print Area U1 new position (dotted outline) C=No print area D=Print Area U2 E=U1 adjustment F=Left hand side rule G=U2 Adjustment Fonts All fonts used are the pre loaded standard DEP printer fonts. For example: Helv10 (Rena) or TmsRmn 12 (Rena) All other fonts need to be down loaded this applies even if it is just the font size that is non-standard. See layout section on how to achieve this. Large size and non standard (complex script style) fonts take along time to download and are not able to be downloaded during run time (Envelope arrive at the DEP input sensor before all the print data has Inserters v3.doc Page 8 of 15

9 Print Quality DPI and Transport Speed Transport Speed should be set to 1080 mm/s for DS1000 or 1440 mm/s for DS1200 DPI should be set to a maximum of 450 dpi for DS1000 or 400 dpi for DS1200 Speed of printer transport is still controlled by dpi set in Flexmail Height adjustment for pack thickness and print quality is a manual setting (follow instructions in DEP documentation for help) All print cartridges are black (HP C8842A) (3 per print Head) Pack thickness consistency can only vary by 1-2mm as print heads are fixed Page Setup Orientation always Portrait Paper type always Envelope Envelope size user defined (example shown is for a DL 235mm x 114mm) (ALWAYS USE THE MEASURE DOCUMENT FEATURE ON THE DEP PRINTER AND MAKE SURE THIS IS THE SAME AS THE WIDTH SET IN THE FLEXMAIL PROJECT) NOTE All standard settings are correctly set in the Neopost DL project use this as a starting point and save changes under a new project name. All dimensions are dependent of the envelope size and what data is printed where on the envelope Inserters v3.doc Page 9 of 15

10 LAYOUTS If using a standard font supported by the DEP printer then it is not necessary to use multiple layouts. If the font is non standard or a large point (greater than 14) then you will need to define a second layout to enable all the font characters to be downloaded prior to processing envelopes Basic Process When two layouts are defined then the data from layout two is downloaded to the DEP printer on start-up. Once all the data has been downloaded the clear buffer command is sent to the printer. The print data is deleted. (So that no envelope has to be printed with layout two s data) The printer retains the font information so for all subsequent envelopes the only data transferred are co-ordinates. This decreases the transfer time Note If using fixed data (text or pictures) on layout one it must also be on layout two to ensure they are downloaded to the DEP printer during start-up (prior to run time) this decreases the amount of data transfer and allows the system to cycle at higher speeds Setting up Multiple layouts Follow these instructions to enable layout 2. Select layout and add a new layer Copy layout 1 (this ensures any fixed data is copied across) The apply the following condition COUNTER(1,1)%2 = 0 This allows easy navigation between the two layouts for setup Setup layout two as shown Navigate between the each layout NOTE Layout two must contain all of the characters (alphanumeric and symbols) used in layout one. They must be the correct size and font (if multiple fonts or sizes then these have to be added as well) add them to a text box as fixed data Inserters v3.doc Page 10 of 15

11 Layout two showing all characters used / required The text box contains all of the characters in the font and size as shown. This enables any of the se to be used in layout one during run time (printing Envelopes) NOTE All fixed data must also be included on layout 2 as per the above example Inserters v3.doc Page 11 of 15

12 Setting up Layout 2 for Use with Print System The condition needs to be changed so the Neopost script can use that layout 2 and download the font characters to the printer The condition text is dependent on the field (column) headings in the database. The example below is valid for the Neopost DL project / database The field used in the condition must be in the database. All data in that field / column must be alpha characters only This uses Surname as this is a an alpha column in the database The Condition is [Surname] = -PRINT- The section in [ ] is the column heading from the database. This can change depending on the structure of the database The same column heading is refereed to in the script file (this is used to control the DEP printer via the Flexmail PC from commands from the DSI) See separate document for detailed information on the script file structure Script A script file is used to link the DSI and the DEP printer. Commands from the inserter are sent serially to the Flexmail PC (this runs the script file within the project) these commands are then converted to appropriate printer commands (PCL). The script file has been developed by Neopost to work inline with the DS1000 / DS1200 inserters (DSI). The scrip file allows for three modes of operation (Pass-through, Mail shot and Matching) as well as the ability to clean the print heads, clear the print buffer and handle any type of font. (A Separate document explains in more detail what the script file does and what the operator has to alter in the script file for their particular project) Inserters v3.doc Page 12 of 15

13 Navigate to tools then select script then select Run script Select Neopost 1 (again this is the script file for the project Neopost DL. Use this script file as a stating point for all other scripts. The script file has a couple of lines that are related to the project / database and needs to be updated for each new project Make sure that the correct script for the project you are running is selected. If the wrong script is selected or the script is not valid for the selected project then it will not run and an error message will be installed. The most likely cause of an error is a COM port not defined correctly or the script file is trying to use a database filed / column heading that is not in the database used for the selected project Inserters v3.doc Page 13 of 15

14 Once the script is running the project screen will look as follows As the job is processed commands from the inserter and to the printer will appear in the dialog window. These are merely a progress indicator. To confirm that all the cables are correct and that the COM ports are set correctly ensure that when clear and re-start is pressed on the inserter run screen that commands are displayed in the dialog window this will confirm the system is configured correctly and ready to process the job Typical example of commands sent and received by the system Inserters v3.doc Page 14 of 15

15 Adding Printer After installing the Flexmail application Add a printer. This will have been done at the factory prior to delivery. Follow the onscreen wizard to install the printer Connection will be LPT1 whilst using the parallel cable connection (USB connection not currently supported) Printer Drivers Printer driver install will list the printer as follows Manufacture: Rena GmbH Print System Printer: Digital Desktop Printer/A Version: 4.19 or later Note. Once a printer has been added it is necessary to manually select the print direction / orientation within the flexmail project. The software will select the direction as Auto select each time the application is loaded / run. This is not correct / compatible the DSI envelope printing system. To prevent this manual adjustment follow the instructions below to lock the direction at the printer. Power on the printer, Turn the printer offline and navigate as follows: Select Home, Job Parameters (press right arrow), Layout (press right arrow), Orientation(press OK), select direction as REV, Press and hold the OK button until the padlock symbol appears in the top right hand side. Now return to the printer run screen and press ONLINE The direction will always be reverse regardless of the settings on the PC Licence Whilst the print system was tested at the factory prior to delivery the software application was run on a trail licence only A licence certificate number is displayed on the rear of the Flexmail Software CD case. Please register the software (This requires an internet connection) (this has not been completed here, as it needs to be filled in by the end user) Inserters v3.doc Page 15 of 15