Creating unpopulated Step-and-Repeat layouts with placeholder artworks

If you want to prepare a layout before the artwork is ready, use this procedure to create an unpopulated layout. You will need a layout ticket that contains the PLA Layout Step & Repeat Configuration Resource. The following procedure uses an example of such a layout that is named Demo_ASPS_SRList.

1. Launch PLA client.
2. On the Status tab, click New.
3. In the Select a Layout Ticket dialog box, select Demo_ASPS_SRList, and click OK.
4. In the New Layout dialog box, in the Job Name box, type a name for the new Prinergy Workflow job.
5. In the Smart Marks area, add any SmartMarks that will be used on the layout.
6. In the StepRepeat area, click Add.

7. In the Step & Repeat window, perform the following actions and then click OK:

   In this area	Perform these actions
   Layout	If you do not want to use the default name, in the Name box, type a new name for the Step and Repeat. In the SR Rotation box, specify the degree of rotation (or leave it at the default value of 0). If required, select a Mirror direction. If required, select Wrap Top to Bottom.
   Steps	For Repeat, type or select a number for Cols (columns) and Rows. Select Distance or Gap and type values for X and Y. If crop marks are required, select the Apply crop marks to all check box.
   Original	Note: If the work style is single sided, surface is automatically set to Front Side. If you chose a work style other than single sided, you can define the artwork surface for both Front Side and Back Side. Select Unpopulated and type a value for Width and Height for the artwork in the Size boxes. If the artwork is to be rotated, type the number of degrees required in the Artwork Rotation box. Note: The measurement increment is defined by your default PLA preference or by using the layout preference that you define for this particular layout ticket.
   Stagger	Select the Type. (If it is not required, leave it at None.) Select the Amount that is needed.
   Bleed Margin	In the Bleed Margin boxes, review the default values and change them if necessary.

8. Complete the remaining boxes in the layout ticket dialog box, adjusting the settings as necessary.
   Required data is indicated by a triangle with an exclamation point in it.
9. Click Send to Prinergy. 
   • A job will be created in Prinergy.
   • PLA will create a layout. Depending on the PLA System Level RBA rule that is enabled, the layout will reside in one of these two locations:
     • In the newly-created job (in its UserDefinedFolders)
     • In the PLATemplateJob\UserDefinedFolders in a folder that has the same name as the job name that you defined
   • Important: As expected, the RBA rule will stop running because there is no artwork to add or assign. 
10. If Prinergy Workshop is not running, launch it and enter your user credentials.
11. In Job Finder, locate the newly-created job that was sent from PLA.
12. Select File > Import Layout and perform one of the following actions:
    • If you use the original PLA System Level rule in the Import Layout dialog box, click Volumes and find the volume that homes the PLATemplateJob. Navigate to Jobs\PLATemplateJob\UserDefinedFolders and find the Job Name. Double-click it and continue to open the folders within it to select the .pjtf file. 
    • If you use the PLA Versatile Job Home rule in the Import Layout dialog box, click on Job Folder and continue to open the folders within it to select the .pjtf file. 
13. In the Options area, keep Create New Artwork Set and click Import.
14. When the artwork is available, add it as an Input File, refine it, and assign the artwork to the existing artwork set.
    If it is necessary to make any further changes to the layout, open the Step and Repeat and use Pandora to make the edits.