IDImposer PageSequence Imposition Pattern Files 5 July 2018 Stephen Carlsen =============================================== References and Links ==================== see Docs/References.txt. Page Sequence Pattern File - Naming Scheme ===================== '4pg'/'6pg'/'8pg'/... : uniquePageNumbers = Number of unique page slot numbers in the Pattern = (maxPageNumber - minPageNumber) + 1. 'NxMw' : 'N' is nPagesAcross, 'M' is nPagesDown, 'w' is for 'WorkAndTurn' ('HalfSheet'), where the same thing is printed on both sides of a Sheet, yielding 2 or more signatures per sheet. 'oblong' : landscape pages 'centered' : non-standard pattern, with "16,1" (or whatever) toward the center of the pattern. 'insetted' : a paper-saving pattern for producing 4-page folded folios that are inserted into each other, and are stapled or 'saddle stitched' at the fold. Use it when you want a saddle-stitched job, but there is room on your paper for 2 or more 4-page folios. 'fca00N' : A pattern from "Printers' Imposition", by F.C. Avis, 1953. I transcribed less than half of the patterns from the book. I will try to put the book online soon, since it is out of print, and isn't easy to get. 'tbw00N' : A pattern from "Hints on Imposition", by T.B. Williams, 1895. Description of the IDImposer PageSequence imposition pattern format =================================================================== : the XML root for a PageSequence file. PageSequence attributes: psqLabel : name for the PageSequence Pattern, as shown in the dropdownlist control. pageAspect : 'Portrait' (Height > Width) or 'Landscape' (Width > Height) pagesAcross : number of Pages to be placed per row (side-by-side), in the form definition. pagesDown : number of Pages to be placed per column (top-to-bottom), in the form definition. mode : 'SheetWise' - half of the pages are printed on the Front of the Sheet, and the other half on the Back of the Sheet. 'HalfSheet' - all of the pages are printed on the Front of the Sheet, and then the exact same thing is printed on the Back of the Sheet, typically yielding 2 copies per Sheet. pagesPerSignature : a Signature is a complete block of pages that is cut apart from the other blocks (if any) on a Sheet, and folded independently. Each signature consists of Front and Back pages, totaling pagesPerSignature page slots. Most of these PageSequence forms are set up to produce 2, or 4 identical Signatures on a single sheet. Hint: pagesPerSignature is 4, for an insetted pattern. numbering : 'Direct' here means that the page numbers of the Pattern are as you would see them on the printed Paper. This is more natural for us 'moderns'. 'Plate' here means that the page numbers of the Pattern are exactly backward of how you would see them on the printed paper. 'Plate' is usually how the patterns are given in older references, since it is how they would set up their printing Plates. Internally, I translate 16 to 1 and 1 to 16, etc ... 'v' : If a 'v' follows a slot number in a Pattern, the corresponding Page is to be rotated 180 degrees (i.e., upside down). (It would be nice to use upside-down numeric characters instead, but I don't know how to do that, using this text editor.) Derived Values ============== pagesPerPlate = nPagesAcross * nPagesDown pagesPerSheet = pagesPerPlate * 2 nSignatures = nSections = pagesPerSheet / pagesPerSignature Hints ===== A PageSequence file defines the order of imposition used in preparing books or booklets for folding and binding. Books are typically produced in sections of 4 or more pages each. These sections are folded together, and bound with glue or sewing along the folded edges. A section is sometimes called a signature. Most signatures have a page count that is a power of 2, since they are typically created by folding a press sheet in half multiple times. A signature, then, is a sheet of paper printed with four or more pages and folded one or more times to the approximate size of one page and in a manner which puts the pages in proper numbered order. The more common signature impositions are 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 pages, which are formed by folding the sheet in half one or more times. Less common are 12, 20, 24, and 36 page signatures, which require more complicated folding patterns. It is common to use page sequence patterns that produce 2 or 4 signatures per sheet, to save impressions and better utilize the available area on the press sheet. The PageSequences folder contains a number of the most common sheet layout definitions. But it is quite straightforward to copy one of the supplied PageSequence files and edit it to produce others. In the PageSequence form definitions, the Page slots are numbered from 1, to be consistent with tradition and InDesign's default Page naming. These PageSequence files are by no means a complete collection of all of the folded imposition layouts (forms) that are currently in use. But I made the format easy to understand and use, so that you could make your own PageSequence files, too. The files are stored in the same Resources folder that also contain this ReadMe. IDImposer does not know anything about your printing equipment or other production hardware. It is not a 'front end' or 'driver' for machines that can print, collate, fold, and/or staple. Instead, the job of IDImposer is to help you with imposing a normal "reader spread" document into a "printer spreads" document. IDImposer can produce a number of types of printer marks. But you might find it useful for your workflow to add your own slugs or color bars in one of the sheet margins. The output of IDImposer is just another .indd file, so you can Place PDF or images files with these objects in the margins of your imposed document, probably on a Master Page. Be sure to talk to your print services supplier before and during your planning process for producing your book. It is quite possible that she will want to do the final imposition herself, since the choice of imposition format depends on many things that she probably knows better than you do: the choice of paper, the size of the press and sheets, the folding equipment to be used, the binding process to be used, and so on. Or, of course, especially for short-run, hand-folded books, the printer may be YOU. Or you may find it helpful to produce your own "dummy" imposition, to communicate your ideas with the printer. If you do a lot of 'Saddle Stitched' / Stapled jobs, check out the "insetted" patterns. They may save you a lot of paper, and let you work with heavier stock than the traditional multi-fold 'book' patterns can do. My Desktop Printer ================== * My current test printer is an inexpensive HP Envy 5540, with the following characteristics: + It can actually do 2-sided printing; but, for my purposes, I rarely use this feature. + The printer is what I call a "Half-Loop" printer. It prints on the underside of the top page of the input paper tray, but as the paper continues in its half-loop, the printed side faces up as it is placed onto the output tray, with the head of the paper toward your tummy. + The WorkAndTurn pattern files here mostly create Landscape sheets, so that this printer does the 'turn' part of the WorkAndTurn for you. Once the Front sides are printed, you can just grab the sheets in the output tray and bring them straight down to the input tray; then print exactly the same thing on the Backs. Contact ======= stephen@sterlingcomputing.com http://InDesignTools.com Copyright © 2015-2018 SterlingComputing.com