HP SmartStream Designer 19for Adobe Illustrator CC 2015User ReferenceCA494-18850/ September 21, 2015

Content

9. Dynamic Personalization

10. Working with Rules

11. Output Files

12. Create PDF output file

13. Create HPD Template output file

14. Sending the job to the DFE

1. Introduction

2. Prerequisites and Installation

3. SmartStream Designer Workspace and Panels

4. Database Files

5. Text channels

6. Dynamic Text

7. Image channels

8. Dynamic Images

2

Introduction

3

What is HP SmartStream Designer 19 for Adobe Illustrator CC2015?• HP SmartStream Designer 19 is a plug-in to Adobe Illustrator CC 2015

• It is a Variable Data Printing (VDP) tool used to define and create personalized jobs.

• The VDP is database driven; textual variable data and variable image names are listed in a database file

• Areas defined for variable data are called Personalization channels: Text channels and Image channels

• Personalized jobs contain both fixed and variable data, text and / or images.

• The resulted output file is either a PDF output file, or an HPD template.

4

Prerequisites and InstallationAdobe Illustrator CC (2015) OS requirements

Note: HP SmartStream Designer 19 for Illustrator CC2015 must be installed on Adobe Illustrator CC (2015) 64-bit

• Windows– Microsoft Windows 7 with Service Pack 1, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1– Java 8 JRE

• Mac OS– Mac OS X v10.9 or v10.10– Java 8 JDK

Requirement to operate this product

• Previous knowledge of Adobe Illustrator

5

HP SmartStream Designer 19 for Adobe Illustrator CC2015

Deep Dive

6

SmartStream Designer Workspace and Panels• The SmartStream Designer Workspace is available

in Adobe Illustrator after it is installed.

• After selecting SmartStream Designer, workspace panels open:– Data Fields– Channels– Preview– Rules– Designer tools, with the options to:• Database – Opens the Add Database window• Pack Job – Creates an *.hpd template file• Create Job – Creates PDF jobs• About – Software version info

7

SmartStream Designer Workspace and Panels• It is recommended to work with the new SmartStream Designer Workspace

under Window > Workspace > SmartStream Designer), which opensthe Designer Tools panel.

• All the tools are easy to access and available at all times while working in the SmartStream Designer Workspace.

• It’s easy to switch between different workspaces without opening each panel separately.

8

SmartStream Designer Workspace and Panels• Another method to open the panels:

1. Click Window, and then click SmartStream Designer.2. Click Panels, and then click Designer Tools.

The panels display on the floating menu

on the right and are ready to use:– Data Fields– Channels – Preview– Rules– Designer Tools

9

Database• The link between a Personalization Channel and Variable Data is through the assignment of a Database

field to the channel.

• The Database field is part of a database report file that is a text file arranged in tabular form.

• The table Rows are Records and the Columns are Fields.

• The table Header, usually the first record in the file which contains the Field (Column) names, is the DatabaseHeader.

• The Personalization workflow is for jobs that have Variable Data such as Text Channels or Image Channels.

• The Text and Image Channels are derived from Database files.

10

Select a database file1. Open the Data Fields panel.

2. Click on the Database icon .

3. The Add Database window opens

4. In the pane, click Select.

5. Browse to, and then select, a Database file for the DB Header.

6. In the DB Report pane, you can select a different Database Reportfor the same DB Header, if desired.

In the DB Report pane, click Select, and then browse to andselect a Database file.

7. After the Database file(s) are selected, the database informationpopulates the Database Preview table as illustrated in the screenshot.

11

Select a database file• The Database Report file must be a simple text file and field delimited:

– Text file (.txt) – CSV, comma separated– TAB delimited DB– Semicolon (;) delimited DB– Unicode UTF-16 encoding is recommended. In Excel, save as Unicode Text (*.txt).

12

Select a database fileRepeat rows by value

• The number of times a specific row is printed is determined by a number in a specific field that was selected.

• Add a Column in the DB to determine the number of timesa record repeats itself in the job creation.

13

Text channelsIn Adobe Illustrator, use the Type Tool to definean area for variable text.

1. Place the cursor where you want the variable data to display.

2. From the Data Fields tab in Designer Tools, selectthe Variable Data to display in this Text Channel.

3. The text switches to a Text Channel, displayedwith chevrons : <<text>>.

Note: You can browse through the Database field recordson the Preview tab.

14

Text channelsDynamic text

1. Define a Text Channel.

2. In the Data Fields palette, click the New Field Settings icon .

3. From the Type drop-down list, select Dynamic Text.

The second field name changes to Application.

4. In the Application field, select one of the Dynamic Text options.

5. Click Settings to open the Dynamic Personalization Settings window.

15

Dynamic TextDynamic text with IDAutomation 2D Barcode

• IDAutomation 2D Barcode font is automatically installed with HP SmartStream Designer.

• Any database field contents can be converted to a 2D Barcode with this option.

• Three 2D fonts are available:– DataMatrix– PDF417– QR-code

• The QR-Code.xml template file is selected by default.

• An optional step is to click Load, and then select oneof the other two 2D barcodes: DataMatrix or PDF417.

16

Dynamic TextDynamic text with Lookup Table

• The workflow is based on 2 database (DB) files: – The main DB, selected in the HP SmartStream Designer Database

window– A secondary DB, which is the Lookup Table file

• The Lookup Table file includes at least 2 columns: – One column with Codes– Other column(s) with optional full data information.

17

Dynamic TextDynamic text with Lookup Table (continued)

• In the Mapping Variables pane of the Settings window for Channel definition, the first field refers to the codecolumn, e.g. airport codes.

• The second column must point to a different columnwith numeric data, which refers to the column in the LUT file from which the full data should be taken.

• This means that a new column must be added to the main DBand the column content should be a number.

• If the LUT DB contains only 2 columns, then in the Main DBthis number is 2 for all the records. This is because the full data appears in column 2 for all the records since the DBhas only 2 columns.

• After the main DB is selected in the Designer Database window, define a text channel and where you need to insert data from the Lookup Table.

18

Dynamic TextDynamic text with MindFire

• The MindFire application creates a personalized URL (PURL)based on the HP SmartStream Designer database content.

• The PURL is created in a Text Channel.

• The URL is text-based.

• Use Adobe Illustrator’s text definition tools to define font characteristics (type, size, color, etc.).

19

Dynamic TextAdvanced option: Script Runner

• Script Runner allows HP SmartStream Designer to accept scripts in the following formats: – JavaScript– VBScript– AppleScript

• Scripts are assigned to Text Channels via the Dynamic Text optionand affect the channel’s content.

• A few scripts are included in HP SmartStream Designer:– Currency converter: converts currencies, e.g. USD to Euro– Thousands separator: adds a comma to separate thousands– Concat: concatenates 2 columns from the database.

To read more about Dynamic Text advanced options, refer to CA494-08280 - HP SmartStream Designer for InDesign -User Reference.

20

Image channels Introduction

• An Image Channel is the area defined on your design which is designated to contain variable images.

• Defining an Image Channel can be done with either Image files or Dynamic Images

Image files

• The file names are listed in a DB column

• This specific column (DB Field) is selected

• The Image path is defined

Dynamic Images

• The variable images are created by an external application according to HP SmartStream Designer DB content

• A list of Dynamic Personalization applications is available in the Image Modify window.

21

Image channelsCreate an Image channel

1. In Adobe Illustrator, define an area for the variable image with the Rectangle tool.

2. In the Channels Panel, click the Image channel icon.– A new row appears in the channel Panel for variable image.– An HP-vdp Image indication displays in the designed rectangle.– The rectangle is now defined as an Image channel.

3. Double-click the channel row in the channel Panel.

The Modify Image Channel window opens

22

Image channelsCreate an Image channel (continued)

4. In the Modify Image Channel window, select Image filesfrom the Type drop-down list to work with variable images in JPEG format.

5. Select Append Ext (Append Extension) in case the DB field is not saved with the extension *.jpg.

6. From the Image Mode drop-down list, select Colored orGrayscale.

7. Select an option from the Fitting drop-down list to fitthe content according to your design needs.

23

Image ChannelsFitting options

24

Dynamic Images Create a Dynamic Image

1. In Adobe Illustrator, define an area for the variable image with the Rectangle tool.

2. In the Channels Panel, click the Image channel icon.– A new row appears in the channel Panel for variable image.– An HP-vdp Image indication displays in the designed rectangle.– The rectangle is now defined as an Image channel.

3. Double-click the channel row in the channel Panel.

The Modify Image Channel window opens

25

Dynamic Images Create a Dynamic Image (continued)

4. In the Modify Image channel window, select Dynamic Image from the Type drop-down list.

26

Dynamic Images Create a Dynamic Image (continued)

5. From Application drop-down list choose the source application.

– The Dynamic Personalization option enables connectivity to external applications.

– The images designed by the external applicationbecome the content of the image channels, drivenby the HP SmartStream Designer database.

– To use an external application for Dynamic Personalizationimage channel definition, the application must be installedon your computer.

Note: For non-HP applications, e.g. HP GPAS or Barcode Studio from Tec-It, the customer must purchase the application.

Applications created by HP are part of HP SmartStream Designer 19for Illustrator and installed with it, e.g. HP Smart Fit, HP Mosaic.

27

Dynamic Images Variable Images

HP Mosaic (Mac and Windows)

• The application is a random PDF image generator.

• It creates unique PDF files based on a template file and one or more original vector PDF files.

• The application takes a vector PDF file as input, and then generates a large number of variations on the file by transforming it randomly.

• The output can be used as variable image assets in the graphic design of VDP jobs.

• For more on HP Mosaic, refer to CA494-14161 - HP Mosaic –Dynamic Personalization - How to Guide.pdf

Note: To keep Mosaic images unique, the Database should have unique numbers.

28

Dynamic Images Barcode Images

Barcode Studio

• From TEC-IT (Mac and Windows)

• High-quality, barcode images of various types: – Linear– 2D– GS1– And more

• For more information about this software, see: http://www.tec-it.com

29

Dynamic Images Barcode Images

HP GPAS

• HP’s Global Product Authentication Service (GPAS) is a cloud based Brand Protection, Track and Trace,and Supply Chain Mgt. Solution.

• The 2D barcode is scanned at the product/cartonor pallet level. At each node, it is scanned into oneof the following: – GPAS’ track/trace aaS via the internet browser– Captured in GPAS via a dedicated Web service

feed between the node & GPAS.

• The barcode connects the user to http://www.hp.com/GO.A Web service extracts the serialization information from the barcode, and then recreates the Guilloche.

30

Dynamic Images Variable Charts

Chartz (for Windows)

• Enables you to create 13 chart types.

• Each chart can include 3D design, gradients, transparency, unlimited annotations, and smoothing.

• For more information about this software, see http://www.charten.com.

31

Dynamic Images Variable Images

DirectSmile (for Windows)

• You can include DirectSmile variable designs in HP SmartStream Designer image channels, driven by the HP SmartStream Designer database.

• For more information about this software, see: http://www.directsmile.de/.

32

Dynamic Images Variable Images

HP Edge Printing

• Print an image on the front or side edge of a book– The selected image is divided into slices according to the

number of pages in the book– Each slice is printed on the edge of each page– The effect is noticeable on the imposed, printed, and finished job

• For the packaging segment, it can be used for finishingprocess control: – Print a package ID or barcode on the side of the package– The output can be an image which is divided across different

packages to create a single marketing image when all thepackages are piled on a supermarket shelf

Note: For more details, refer to CA493-02760 - HP SMS Designer 11 for InDesign CC 2015 New Features.pdf.

33

Dynamic Images Image Enhancements

HP Photo Enhancement (for Windows)

• Automatically detects and enhances images that need sharpening, smoothing, etc. to create high quality photographic output.

• This software is installed with HP SmartStream Designer.

34

Dynamic Images Image Enhancements

Organic Imaging (Macintosh and Windows)

• Image enhancement application that affects image sharpness, brightness, contrast, saturation, and more.

35

Dynamic Images Image Enhancements

HP Photo Smart Fit (Mac and Windows)• It enables a simple way to manipulate the background

of an image to fit completely into different channel dimensions.

• It identifies the main figure in the picture, scales the pictureproportionately, and then stretches the background to fit the frame.

• This is useful if the proportions of the imagesare slightly different than the frame proportions.

This happens often when using images from cameras that use proportions of 3:2, 4:3, or 16:9.

• This software is installed with HP SmartStream Designer.

36

Dynamic Images Image Enhancements

HP Photo Smart Crop (Mac and Windows)

• It enables Smart Cropping of images to fit into the image channel frame.

• It identifies the main figure in the picture, and then crops the picture without cropping the main figure.

• A scaling option is also available before cropping.

• This software is installed with HP SmartStream Designer.

37

Dynamic Images Personalized URL

MindFire

• It enables the management and analysis of marketing campaigns using MindFire’s LookWho’sClicking® personalized URLs and landing pages.

• It also supports creating 2D QR barcodes.

• Customers with MindFire Studio can select a different workflow by packing a Fast Template HPD file.

• For more information about this software see: http://www.mindfireinc.com/info/products.html.

38

Dynamic Images Personalized Maps

locr maps

• It is a Dynamic Image application which allows the user to add Personalized Maps using software developed by locr GmbH.

• A Personalized Map is interactively created according to coordinates, addresses, or two addresses to create a map with a route between the two addresses.

• For more information, about this software see: http://maps.locr.com.

39

Dynamic Images Advanced options

ATT - Advanced Track and Trace

• It is an advanced security option which generates Seal Vectors.

• Seal Vectors are a digital, anti-counterfeiting, and tracking technology that can be printed on any substrate.

40

Dynamic Images Advanced options

Image Script Runner

• This option is available in the Dynamic Personalization applications list.

• It accepts the following:– Javascripts– Vbscripts– Applescripts

• The script is then assigned to an image channel and affects its content images.

41

Dynamic Images Settings

1. After the Dynamic Image application is selected, click on Settings.

2. In the Settings window, click Load, and then select the template you created using the selected Dynamic Image application.

3. Update the Mapping Variables table to map each HP SmartStream Designer variable data field name.

Mapping is done using the dropdown list icon.

4. If the names of two data fields are identical, HP SmartStream Designer will automatically map them.

5. Click OK to save the changes and close the window.

Note: To read more about Dynamic Images, refer to CA494-08280 - HP SmartStream Designer for InDesign - User Reference.

42

Working with Rules• Use Rules to enhance control over variable data.

• Add conditions to fixed and variable text in a text channel or variable image channels.

• Using rules, you can selectively change the appearance and content of images and text in personalization channels.

• New rules can be defined and saved to the rules list.

43

Working with Rules• HP SmartStream Designer contains the following

types of rules:– Text rules: Determine the text content in a text channel.

To assign a text rule, place the cursor where you want the text rule content to begin.

– Image rules: Determine what images are printed in an image channel, either specific images or images that are listed in a database.

• A channel to which a rule is assigned is processed asa Fast or Rich channel, depending on the channel’s attributes.

Note: To read more about Rules, refer to CA494-08280 - HP SmartStream Designer for InDesign - User Reference.

44

HP SmartStream Designer 19 for Adobe Illustrator CC2015

Creating an Output file

45

Output Files Formats• PDF: PDF is the industry standard format for viewing output. The PDF format is recommended for printing and

also for sending a few records to a customer to proof/approve the output.

• HPD Template (Packed Job): For large VDP jobs (e.g. more than 1000 DB records), the full output file can be created in HP SmartStream Composer for faster performance.– Create an HPD Template file (packed job) to send to HP SmartStream Composer along with the Database file.– HP SmartStream Composer generates an output PDF file based on the template (HPD) with variable data based on the

database file.

• See detailed information and steps for PDF and HPD output files on the next pages.

Note: See Appendix A for a detailed comparison of PDF Fast and PDF Rich.

46

Create PDF output file

47

Steps to create

1. In Adobe Illustrator, open the SmartStream Designer menu, and then select the Create Job window.

2. In the Output pane, define a job Name.

3. For the Path, click Select, and then browse to a location for the output file to be saved.

4. In the Range pane, select either All Records or Range From(for a short range of records).

5. Click on Preflight to perform Preflight checks.

6. Click Create.

HP SmartStream Designer 19 for Adobe Illustrator CC2015 (PDF) L&P Server

Create HPD template output filePacking a job

• Using Pack Job you can:– Pack and transfer your job with all its contents to another HP SmartStream Designer user.– Pack your job to use with HP SmartStream Composer Lite.– Pack your job to use with HP SmartStream Director.

• Select Pack Job to pack your current HP SmartStream Designer job into a zipped file or an HPD file (another type of compressed file). The pack includes the following:– Illustrator main document– Fonts– Fixed linked-images– Dynamic Personalization templates (if defined in the job)

HP SmartStream Designer 19 for Adobe Illustrator

CC2015 (HPD)Composer Lite 2.0 L&P Server

48

Create an HPD template output file

49

Steps to Create

1. In Adobe Illustrator, open the SmartStream Designer menu, and then select Pack Job.

2. (Optional) In the Pack Job window, select Include Variable Assets, and then select one of the following:

– From Assets Folder

Note: If selected, all files in the Images folder will be packed even if no imagesare listed in the database. Make sure the Images folder only contains files forthe current job

– From database, to include variable images in addition to the default contents.

3. Click Pack.

4. In the Select Package Location window, browse to the destination ofthe packed file.

In the Save as type field, it will default to .hpd for a package to send to HP SmartStream Composer Lite 2.0.

5. Click Save.

Submit a Job to the DFE

50

Submit a Job to the DFEHPD Workflow

1. Create an HP SmartStream Designer for Illustrator template (HPD) file.

2. Create a Ticket Template in the L&P server, and then attach it to a Hot Folder.

3. Create a VDP Preset with the L&P Hot Folder designated as an Output folder for HP SmartStream Composer Lite.

4. Submit a VDP job with the HPD file using the Composer Lite workflow.

5. Add the database file(s) (CSV or TXT) to the HP SmartStream Composer Lite 2.0 Template folder.Add files either via the Submit VDP Job option or put the files in the Input folder using the Hot folder workflow naming convention.

6. The job processes in HP SmartStream Composer Lite.

7. The Output folder directs the job to the L&P DFE using all the defined properties.

8. Open the Job Properties in the L&P Client, and then Edit properties if necessary.

9. RIP the job.

10. View the job in Viewer, and then either Approve or Edit.

11. Once approved, send the job to the press.

51

Submit a Job to the DFEPDF Workflow

1. Create a PDF using the Create Job button in HP SmartStream Designer for Illustrator.

2. Drop the PDF in the L&P Hot Folder. The job is added to the job queue on the L&P Client.

3. Open the Job Properties in the L&P Client, and then Edit properties if necessary.

4. RIP the job.

5. View the job in Viewer, and then either Approve or Edit.

6. Once approved, send the job to the press.

52

Thank you

53

Appendix A

Comparison: PDF Rich / PDF Fast

54

Comparison PDF Rich and PDF Fast• HP SmartStream Designer produces a PDF Fast template when creating a job using an HPD file.

• Therefore, some of the Rich features that Adobe Illustrator supports will not apply to the job when working with PDF Fast.

Note: A warning displays in the HP SmartStream Designer for Illustrator when creating an HPD file which contains one of the rich features listed in the following tables.

55

Comparison table: VDP graphic design supportText Channels

56

Comparison table: VDP graphic design supportText Channels

57

Comparison table: VDP graphic design supportImage Channels

Output file

58