Print Preview (see Figure 27-8) is a separate application window and includes its own command menus, toolbars, property bar, status bar, and toolbox. When Print Preview is open, CorelDRAW is still open in the background. The Print Preview utility provides a higher level of control over the finished print than preferences you set in the File | Print dialog. Browsing and Viewing Previews The first thing you’ll want to do in Print Preview is to examine how your printed pages will look. Across the bottom of the Print Preview window, you’ll find page controls, shown next, so you can browse each printed page. Use the arrow buttons to move forward or backward in the sequence, or click a page tab to display a specific page. As you do this, you’ll discover 874 CorelDRAW X5 The Official Guide FIGURE 27-8 Print Preview is a program within a program, with its own interface, tools, shortcuts, and commands. Zoom tool Imposition Layout tool Pick tool Marks Placement tool Close Print Preview Standard toolbar Property bar Status bar Print preview of page each printed page is represented—including individual ink separation pages for each page in your document when you’re printing separations. Ill 27-7 You can view your pages in a number of different ways based on output mode, color, and object type. To change view modes, choose one of the following from the View menu: ● Show Image Choosing this lets you hide the display of page contents to speed screen redraw times when you’ve got a lot of objects on a specific page. ● Preview Colors Choose this to access three basic previewing states. Auto (Simulate Output) shows each page’s color according to your selected options and your printer’s capabilities. If your chosen printer driver does not print in color, you’ll see only grayscale color on your pages. To override this, choose either Color or Grayscale, which forces a specific view. ● Preview Separations Choose Preview Separations to access three basic states. Auto (Simulate Output) displays separations according to your printer driver and selected print options. If Separations are not selected to print, only a composite is shown, and vice versa. You can override this by choosing either Composite or Separations to force a specific separation display state. Overprints do not display accurately in Print Preview, and trapping cannot be seen. ● Printable Area This varies from printer to printer; the printable area is the physical area that the printer can render onto a page. Choose this option (selected by default) to show a dotted line representing the maximum extent to which the printer can render. ● Render PostScript Fills Use this option to have PostScript fills display as they will print. Deactivating this option can free up system resources when viewing documents where you used a lot of PostScript-filled objects. ● Show Current Tile This option highlights individual tiles as you hover your cursor over them when previewing, and it’s useful when printing large documents in sections onto small output material (called tile printing, covered earlier in this chapter). To use tile printing from within Print Preview, choose Settings | Layout to open the Print Options dialog to the Layout tab, and then click to activate the Print Tiled Pages option. CHAPTER 27: Printing: Professional Output 875 27 First page Backward one Click to open Go To dialog. Forward one Last page Page tabs To get to Print Options without leaving Print Preview, press CTRL+E to bring up the General tab, and then click your way to the tab you seek. Print Preview Tools and the Property Bar The key to using Print Preview to its fullest is learning where all the options are, what each tool does, and what print properties are available while using each. Four tools are on the toolbox—the Pick tool, Imposition Layout tool, Marks Placement tool, and the Zoom tool— each of which is discussed in the sections to follow. The standard toolbar, shown next, contains printing options, viewing options, and shortcuts you can use to open print-related dialogs. Ill 27-8 First is the Print Style selector, which is used to choose all printing options according to a saved set of print parameters. As with other CorelDRAW Preset features, you can select, save, delete, or modify print styles in the selector. Choose an existing Print Style, use the current unsaved settings on the current print job, or choose Browse to show the Open dialog so you can work with a saved Print Style. To delete a selected Print Style, click the Delete Print Style (–) button. To save a Print Style, click the Save Print Style As (+) button (or use the F12 shortcut) to open the Save Settings As dialog. Use the Settings To Include options to specify which print options to save with your new style, and click Save to add the Print Style to the selector. The remaining options in the standard toolbar have the following functions, many of which are covered earlier in this chapter: ● Print Options This button opens the Print Options dialog. ● Print This button immediately sends the document to the printer using the current options. Use CTRL+T as a shortcut; CTRL+P works, too, as a common Windows command for applications that can print. ● Zoom Select a predefined zoom level from the list to change the view magnification level. ● Full Screen Preview This button is self-explanatory. Press ESC to return to Print Preview. You can also use CTRL+U as a shortcut. 876 CorelDRAW X5 The Official Guide Print Style Save Print Style As Delete Print Style Print Options Zoom Print (immediately) Full Screen Preview Invert Mirror Close Print Preview Enable Color Separations ● Enable Color Separations This button sends the printing of color separations to the output device using color selected in the Separations tab of the Print Options dialog. ● Invert This button inverts the printed image to print in reverse. This is for film using an image-setting device, but can also provide an amusing special effect (and use a lot of ink!). ● Mirror This button flips the printed document to print backward to set emulsion orientation on image-setting devices. You can also use this to print to T-shirt transfers. ● Close Print Preview Pressing this button (or using the ALT+C shortcut) returns you to the current CorelDRAW document. Pick Tool Property Bar Options The Pick tool in Print Preview is used in much the same way it’s used in the drawing window; with it you select and move (by click-dragging) the contents of the current page. While the Pick tool and objects on a page are selected, the property bar features a variety of printing options, shortcuts, position settings, and tool settings, as shown here: Ill 27-9 Many of these options are for positioning and scaling the contents or whole pages in relation to the printed output page size that your printer is currently set to use. Click- dragging the object control handles lets you scale the objects interactively. Imposition Layout Tool Property Bar Options The Imposition Layout tool provides control over the print layout. Only certain image setters are capable of printing multiple pages in signature formats, so it’s best to check with the person doing your print job before making changes using the imposition options. When the Imposition Layout tool is selected, the preview is changed to display imposition- specific properties. This tool has four separate editing states, each of which is chosen on the Edit Settings selector. Options accessible on the property bar while Edit Basic Settings is selected, shown next, give you control over imposition layout options. Choosing Edit Page Placements, Edit Gutters & Finishing, or Edit Margins from this selector displays a set of imposition options for each state. CHAPTER 27: Printing: Professional Output 877 27 Image Position Within Page Numeric Image Positioning Scale Factor Print Tiled Pages Units Maintain Aspect Ratio Ill 27-10 Marks Placement Tool Property Bar Options The Marks Placement tool lets you alter the position of crop and fold marks, registration marks, color calibration bars, printing information, and Densitometer (density scale) positions. When the Marks Placement tool is selected, the property bar features options for positioning and printing certain mark types, as shown in Figure 27-9. To position crop and fold marks, click-drag the top, bottom, or sides of the rectangle defining their position, or enter values in the property bar boxes. To change the position of other marks you have selected to print with your document page, choose the Marks Placement tool, and drag directly on the marks. Zoom Tool Property Bar Options The Zoom tool in the Print Preview window is used much the same way as the Zoom tool in CorelDRAW, so you can increase or decrease the view of your Print Preview. Many of the 878 CorelDRAW X5 The Official Guide Current Imposition Layout What To Edit Template/ Document Preview Signature Format Options Save Imposition Layout Delete Imposition Layout Single/ Double Sided Maintain Document Page Size Binding Mode functions of the Zoom tool are performed interactively or by using hot keys. While the Zoom tool is selected, the property bar features all Zoom options and magnification commands, as shown here: Ill 27-11 You can also change Zoom settings by choosing View | Zoom (CTRL+Z) to open the Zoom dialog to choose among all Zoom tool functions. Use shortcuts to change your view magnification while using Print Preview’s Zoom tool: Zoom Out using F3, Zoom To Page using SHIFT+F4, Zoom To Selection using SHIFT+F2, and Zoom To Fit using F4. Print Preview doesn’t have an Undo command; to reset options quickly, click the Print Styles selector and then choose CorelDRAW Defaults. All crop marks vanish, imposition settings revert, and any repositioned object reverts. Setting Printing Preferences Once you’re familiar with the ocean of printing options, what your output device is capable of, and what you want from a specific print job, Printing Preferences can be your one-stop shop for most of the items covered in this chapter. Choose Settings | Printing Preferences ( CTRL+F is the shortcut) while in the Print Preview window to open the Printing Preferences CHAPTER 27: Printing: Professional Output 879 27 FIGURE 27-9 While the Marks Placement tool is selected, the property bar features these options. Auto-Position Marks Rectangle Marks Alignment Rectangle (numerically) Print File Information Print Page Numbers Print Crop/ Fold Marks Print Registration Marks Color Calibration Bar Densitometer Scales Open Print dialog to Prepress tab. Zoom In (by 2) Zoom 1:1 To Fit To Width Open Zoom Dialog Zoom Out (by half) To Selection To Page To Height dialog, shown in Figure 27-10. Preferences are subdivided into General, Driver Compatibility, and Preflight options. To change any of the options, click a Setting title; a drop-down selector appears, and then you make your change. General Printing Preferences Options in the General tab provide control over fonts, crop mark color, driver banding, and so on, and they set the parameters for potential preflight issues or warning dialogs that appear before and during printing. These options are set by default to the highest fault tolerance for most printing jobs; 99 percent of the time your prints will come out fine if you don’t change the settings. Here’s a list explaining the most common states: ● Spot Color Separations Warning This option lets you control the warning state while printing color separations. The warning can be set to appear if more than one, two, three, or any spot colors are used in the document being printed. ● Preview Color Default This option sets the initial color display of your printed document when the Print Preview window is first opened. Choose Auto (Simulate Output), Color, or Grayscale. 880 CorelDRAW X5 The Official Guide FIGURE 27-10 The Printing Preferences dialog offers comprehensive control over output settings. ● Preview Separations Default This option sets the initial color display of your separations when the Print Preview window is first opened. Choose Auto (Simulate Output) or Composite. ● Preview Image Default This controls whether your document image is automatically set to show when the Print Preview window first opens. Choose On At Startup (the default) or Off At Startup. ● Overprint Black Threshold (PS) During overprinting, CorelDRAW X5 sets a default value for overprinting black objects only if they contain a uniform fill of 95 percent or more black. The Overprint Black Threshold setting can be changed using this option, so you can further customize the global overprinting function. The threshold limit can be set between 0 and 100 percent black. ● Send Large Bitmaps in Chunks This option works in combination with the Bitmap Output Threshold setting and can be set to Yes, If Larger Than Threshold (referring to the Bitmap Output Threshold value), or No. ● Bitmap Output Threshold (K) When printing to non-PostScript printers, this option lets you set a limit on the size of bitmaps, as measured in kilobytes, sent to the printing device. By default, this value is set to the maximum, but you can set it to specific values within a range of 0 to 4,096 (the default). This is a good option to change if your non-PostScript printer doesn’t have a lot of memory and you’re pulling prints that are unfinished due to lack of RAM for processing the image. ● Bitmap Chunk Overlap Pixels If a printing device has insufficient memory or another technical problem processing very large bitmap images, you can have CorelDRAW tile sections of such a bitmap. The overlap value is used to prevent seams from showing between “chunks” of the large image. When you’re printing to non-PostScript printers, this option lets you define the number of overlap pixels within a range of 0 to 48 pixels. The default is 32 pixels. ● Bitmap Font Limit (PS) Usually, font sizes set below the Bitmap Font Size Threshold preference are converted to bitmap and stored in a PostScript printer’s internal memory. This can be a time-consuming operation that usually increases the time your document takes to print. You can limit the number of fonts to which this occurs, forcing the printer to store only a given number of fonts per document. The default setting here is 8, but it can be set anywhere within a range of 0 to 100. Unless your document is a specimen sheet of all the fonts you have installed, 8 is a good number to set this option to. ● Bitmap Font Size Threshold (PS) Most of the time CorelDRAW converts very small sizes of text to bitmap format when printing to PostScript printers, such as 4-point legal type on a bottle label. This option lets you control how this is done, based on the size of the font’s characters. The default Bitmap Font Size Threshold is 75 pixels, but it can be set within a range of 0 to 1,000 pixels. The actual point size converted to bitmap varies CHAPTER 27: Printing: Professional Output 881 27 according to the resolution used when printing a document. The threshold limit will determine exactly which font sizes are affected. For example, the equivalent font size of 75 pixels when printing to a printer resolution of 300 dpi is roughly 18 points, while at 600 dpi it’s about 9 points. The higher the resolution, the lower the point size affected. A number of provisions determine whether these controls apply, including whether the font has been scaled or skewed, and whether envelope effects, fountain or texture fills, or print scaling options such as Fit To Page have been chosen. ● Small Fonts This controls a warning that appears if the document you’re printing includes fonts below a 7-point size threshold by default. The Small Fonts warning option can be set between 3 and 18 points. Resolution plays an important part in rendering small point size typefaces, as does the design of the characters within the font. For example, a 1,200 dpi laser printer can render 4-point Helvetica quite legibly, less so with a serif typeface such as Times Roman because the serifs at this size are about equal to insect parts. Choose a simple sans serif font for extremely small font sizes. Do not expect a perfect rendering of a very small typeface, because the dots of ink or toner cartridge can render only a finite number of dots to represent very small text. ● Image Resolution Too Low By default, this value is set to 96 ppi, alerting you if bitmaps have a resolution below this value. This is probably too low for even today’s personal inkjets; it’s recommended that you increase this value to at least 225 ppi. ● Composite Crop Marks (PS) This is a useful feature for setting the pen color of crop marks either to Output In Black Only or to Output On All Plates—in process (CMYK) color, making the crop marks print to every color plate during process color separation printing. ● PostScript 2 Stroke Adjust (PS) The PostScript Level 2 language has a provision particularly useful for graphics programs such as CorelDRAW. Stroke Adjust produces strokes of uniform thickness to compensate for uneven line widths due to the conversion of vector artwork to raster printed graphics, which is what all printers do. The PostScript 2 Stroke Adjust option should not be used for older printers that are not compatible with PostScript Level 2 or Level 3 technology. Most recently manufactured printing devices are at least PostScript Level 2 compatible. If you are not sure what level your printing device is, leave this setting off or consult the docs that came with the device. ● Many Fonts This controls a warning that appears if the document you’re printing includes more than ten different fonts. If you’re new to CorelDRAW and are experimenting with all the cool fonts that came on the CD, your file can easily exceed this limit. If your printer’s memory and/or your system resources are capable of handling large numbers of different fonts, consider increasing this value. The Many Fonts warning option can be set within a range of 1 to 50 fonts. Tangentially related to this option is a creative design issue: very few professionals use more than ten different typefaces in a design; five can express an idea using text quite well in most situations. 882 CorelDRAW X5 The Official Guide ● Render to Bitmap Resolution This option by default is set to Automatic, which causes bitmaps to be output at the same resolution as vector objects and text in your document. To specify the resolution of bitmaps to be printed at lower or higher resolutions than the rest of the document, choose specific settings within a range of 150 to 600 dpi. Driver Compatibility The Driver Compatibility area, shown in Figure 27-11, provides control over specific driver features for non-PostScript printers. Choose a Printer from the drop-down menu, and then choose specific options in the dialog to make changes. Clicking Apply saves and associates your changes with the selected driver. Printing Issues Warning Options You can customize issues found by CorelDRAW’s built-in preflight feature using options in the Preflight page of the Printing Preferences dialog ( CTRL+F), which can be accessed only from within Print Preview by choosing Settings | Printing Preferences and clicking Preflight in the tree directory, as shown in Figure 27-12. CHAPTER 27: Printing: Professional Output 883 27 FIGURE 27-11 Use the Driver Compatibility options to specify how non-PostScript printers handle specific object types. . a page tab to display a specific page. As you do this, you’ll discover 874 CorelDRAW X5 The Official Guide FIGURE 2 7-8 Print Preview is a program within a program, with its own interface, tools, shortcuts,. to open print-related dialogs. Ill 2 7-8 First is the Print Style selector, which is used to choose all printing options according to a saved set of print parameters. As with other CorelDRAW Preset. level. ● Full Screen Preview This button is self-explanatory. Press ESC to return to Print Preview. You can also use CTRL+U as a shortcut. 876 CorelDRAW X5 The Official Guide Print Style Save Print