Bleed, n-up and sheets needed

How an auto-configured line turns a finished size and a quantity into a number of sheets, and where to override it.

What it asks for

• Quantity: the same figure as the line’s Qty.
• Finished size (mm): a standard size, one of yours, or custom width and height. + Save this size keeps a custom one for next time.
• Bleed (mm): 3 to start with, which is the usual ask. It is added on every edge before anything is imposed.
• Folding (None, Bi-fold, Tri-fold, Z-fold), which way the Folds across, and Pages. The flat size comes from these.
• Printed sides: single or double. On a litho press this becomes Colours (front / back), 4/0 to start with.

The sheet maths

The piece that gets imposed is the flat size plus bleed on every edge. Per sheet is how many of those fit the chosen sheet: the number across times the number down, trying both ways round and keeping the better. Sheets needed is the quantity, times sheets per copy, divided by that, rounded up. A diagram under the readouts shows the arrangement.

Nothing is taken off for gripper, gutters or margins. If your press needs an edge, use a smaller sheet or override the n-up.

Double-sided on a digital press doubles the clicks, not the paper. On litho, plates are the front colours plus the back colours, and spoilage is added from the press’s settings: the press-up sheets, so many per plate, and so many per 1,000 run. Sheets needed shows good sheets; the cost rows show the spoiled ones on top, and charge them as paper.

If the piece can’t fit the sheet at all, the line says so rather than pricing it.

Overriding it

Three boxes under the readouts, each reading “auto” until you type: Override n-up, Override sheets and, on litho, Override plates. Use them when you know better: an awkward shape that hand-imposes tighter, a press that needs a gripper edge, waste on a digital press, which has no spoilage setting of its own.

Large format

Roll work is priced by area instead. Across the roll is how many pieces fit the roll width, turned whichever way round uses the least roll for the quantity, Metres needed is the length that takes, and the cost is those metres at the full roll width, so unused width is charged, the way the roll is. Double-sided doubles the running cost. The overrides here are Override across and Override metres. There is no folding or pages on a roll. On a press whose ink is split out (see Add a press), Ink coverage says how much of the print is inked: it starts at the press's typical figure, with Lines & text, Light, Medium, Heavy and Full to pick from, or Other… for a figure of your own, above 100 for dense backlit work. The running cost row's detail shows the ink at that coverage.