DTG Printing Production Settings

This screen contains the production configuration options for the DTG Printing decoration process. Configuring production settings to match your business processes and equipment will increase the overall efficiency of DecoNetwork and your business.

Prerequisites

• You must have administrator access to use this feature

To configure your DTG printing production settings:

1. Log into your DecoNetwork Website.
2. Browse to Admin > Decoration Processes.

   

   

3. Select DTG Printing, then click Production Settings.
   

   The production settings for DTG printing will be shown in the main work area.

   Production Options

   • Machine is currently only applicable if you are using Kornit machines. Kornit Printers support automatic file loading from a predefined hot folder. Files added to the hot folder whose filenames match a recognized structure triggers the Kornit RIP Software, QuickP Designer, to pull the file. The file is then erased from the hot folder and loaded into the printer job queue.

     Selecting Kornit from the Machine list makes further output settings available. Deconetwork will append information from these settings to the production file name, facilitating automatic preparation of files and automatic loading of files to the appropriate machine.

     • Machine Type: Lets you select the machine to configure table sizes and media type settings for.
       • Edit Table Sizes: Lets you define the maximum printable area for the table a garment should be printed on.
     • Default white setup: Lets you select a pre-defined setup configuration for white colored media.
     • Default light setup: Lets you select a pre-defined setup configuration for light colored media.
     • Default dark setup: Lets you select a pre-defined setup configuration for dark colored media.
       • Edit List: Lets you define setup configurations applicable to the media type.

     The production filename will be created using the settings configured. The structure of the filename will enable the Kornit QuickP software to determine the type of media being printed on (light\white\dark), the table size, the number of copies to print and the location from the top left corner of the pallet the design is to be printed at.

     For example:

     LightTNormal545_Normal_Horseimage_5_10_40.png

     Indicates a transparent PNG file name Horseimage using a predefined setup called LightTNormal545. It will print 5 copies on a Normal sized pallet with the image location being shifted from the table top left corner 10 mm on the X-axis and 40 mm on the Y-axis.

     NOTE: The Setup name should exist in the C:\Program Files\Kornit Digital\QuickP\Setup database. The table type should match the Kornit machine table names.

     E.g.:
     • Normal
     • Children
     • Sleeve
     • Hats
   • Minimum DPI sets the lowest DPI that the online designer will accept as a reasonable quality graphic. (DPI is used to describe the resolution by number of dots per inch in a digital print). If graphics are below this DPI, either because they are low resolution to begin with or are enlarged or stretched (thereby reducing resolution), the online designer will warn the user that the graphics they are using may produce poor results.
   • Production DPI should be set to the best or native resolution your printer provides. Images with a DPI higher than this will be down-sampled to this setting.

     WARNING: Due to the way image coordinates are presently stored, changing production DPI will render all previously configured decorated products as unusable. It is highly recommended that these settings are put in place prior to making decorated products. Decorated products will need to be rebuilt after accepting this change.

   Production Ready File Options

   • File format lets you select the type of file that will be sent to your production team for the creation of decorated products. Select the format that best suits your internal business processes. When Kornit is selected as your DTG machine, the file format will be forced as PNG.
   • Crop image is an option that becomes available if PNG is selected as the production file format. When enabled, this option will crop any transparent space from around an image, bringing the edge of the product images back to where non-transparency commences. Select the option that best suits your equipment. When Kornit is selected as your DTG machine, this option will be forced on.
   • Convert Text to Curves, when ticked, converts objects recognized as text to outline objects. Once converted, the text cannot be edited as a normal text field, but only as a series of vector curves. You should tick this checkbox if the system you use to print the production files does not contain the fonts that are used in the order. If your machine does not have the font it will be replaced with the closest matching font, which may cause the text to shift in the design. Converting to curves removes the need to have the font on your machine and prevents your fonts from shifting when you send your file to print.
   • Include Background Color, when ticked, will include the background color in production files if the customer has set the background color in the designer. For this to function customers must be permitted to set background color at the product level (Products > [Product] > Decoration Areas > Configure Areas (cog) > Allow Custom Decoration Areas (Advanced) > Configure Area (cog) > Allow Custom Decoration Area (Advanced) > Select area in view image and tick Can set background color). This setting is not normally used for garment decoration and is more commonly used for types of product such as buttons and badges, and even then only if the printed media background is not available in a requested color.
   • Teamnames (less than 100 / more than 100) sets the output behavior of production files when teamnames are being used in the design. You can set the behavior for the case of fewer than 100 teamnames and for the case of 100 or more teamnames.
     • If 1 File per teamname is set, then a separate production file will be generated for each team name.
     • If 1 File with static background, and 1 Overlay file per teamname is set, then 1 production file is generated with a background layer containing the static part of the design and a separate layer for each teamname.
     • If 1 File with static background, and 1 CSV file containing teamnames is set, then 1 production file with only the static background part of the design is generated along with a CSV file containing the teamnames for you to use as a reference to manually create production files for each teamname.

   Edit Ready File Options

   • File format lets you select the format of production files when you edit them.
   • Include Background Color, when ticked, will include the background color in editing files if the customer has set the background color in the designer. For this to function customers must be permitted to set background color at the product level (Products > [Product] > Decoration Areas > Configure Areas (cog) > Allow Custom Decoration Areas (Advanced) > Configure Area (cog) > Allow Custom Decoration Area (Advanced) > Select area in view image and tick Can set background color). This setting is not normally used for garment decoration and is more commonly used for types of product such as buttons and badges, and even then only if the printed media background is not available in a requested color.
   • Convert Text to Curves, when ticked, converts objects recognized as text to outline objects. Once converted, the text cannot be edited as a normal text field, but only as a series of vector curves. You should tick this checkbox if the system you use to print the production files does not contain the fonts that are used in the order. If your machine does not have the font it will be replaced with the closest matching font, which may cause the text to shift in the design. Converting to curves removes the need to have the font on your machine and prevents your fonts from shifting when you send your file to print.
   • Teamnames (less than 100 / more than 100) sets the output behavior of files for editing when teamnames are being used in the design. You can set the behavior for the case of fewer than 100 teamnames and for the case of 100 or more teamnames.
     • If 1 File per teamname is set, then a separate production file will be generated for each team name.
     • If 1 File with static background, and 1 Overlay file per teamname is set then 1 editing file is generated with a background layer containing the static part of the design and a separate layer for each teamname.
     • If 1 File with static background, and 1 CSV file containing teamnames is set, then 1 editing file with only the static background part of the design is generated along with a CSV file containing the teamnames for you to use as a reference to manually create production files for each teamname.
4. Configure the settings as required.
5. When finished, click Save.