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Description

In ArtPro+, you can place Normalized PDF files to , e.g. for step & repeat , for examplepurposes.

ArtPro+ allows in its step & repeat grids a mix of placed PDF+ (the native PDF format of ArtPro+) and placed Normalized PDF files and to accomplish this, a conversion of certain elements in the Normalized PDF file needs to be done during placement.

This page describes:

• What is converted?
• How this can be managed? and
• What exactly can happen to the objects in your Normalized PDF?

What is converted in a placed Normalized PDF file in ArtPro+?

For the moment, only technical inks.

Since the concept of technical inks does not exist in PDF+, these inks will by default get an opaque ink type when the Normalized PDF is placed in a PDF+.

If a rule is set up (see below) that applies to a certain technical ink, objects using only that ink will be moved to a separate layer with a specific layer type specified in the rule.

The rules are only executed when placing a Normalized PDF in a PDF+ document, placing in a Normalized PDF is not yet supported in ArtPro+.

How can you manage the conversion?

In ArtPro+ Preferences, you can set up rules that are used during placement of Normalized PDF files. These rules are case insensitive.

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What happens to your converted file?

Actually nothing. The original Normalized PDF is untouched, it is the embedded representation of the Normalized PDF file in the PDF+ document that is converted.

When objects are moved to a special type layer after a rule is applied to them, they will end up in a layer that is on top of the existing layers. As a result of this, the z-order of these objects can change in the hierarchy of the page.

• The PDF in which you are placing the files can only be a PDF+ file. You can not place a PDF if the current document is a Normalized PDF file.
• The PDFs that you are placing can be a mix of PDF(+) and Normalized PDF files.

As of ArtPro+ 18.1, you can also convert Normalized PDF files to PDF+. (See User Guide, "Convert to PDF+" chapter).

It is important to understand that both file formats (PDF+ and Normalized PDFs) have properties that the other format does not support.

  For more information on the differences between PDF+ and Normalized PDF, please read the "PDF, PDF+ and Normalized PDF" chapter in the ArtPro+ User Guide.

Conversion Rules

When placing or converting Normalized PDF, you may want to apply some rules to facilitate the conversion, so less manual corrective action is still required afterwards.
See Preferences > Normalized PDF tab.

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At this point in time, the only real difference between activating the Normalized PDF conversion rules in the Preferences or not, lies in the way technical inks are processed.

• Technical inks are supported in Normalized PDF but not in PDF+.
• PDF+ does have the concept of Processing Step Layers, which serve the same purpose as technical inks: allowing to visualize objects that are added to the file for technical reasons but that do not belong to the final artwork.

If you apply the conversion rules, you can map specific technical inks to specific Processing Step Layers.  You can customize the rules: you can add, remove and reorder rules. They are case insensitive and are executed from top to bottom.

If you choose not to apply the conversion rules, technical inks will just become opaque inks in the resulting PDF+ file. You can still manually move such an opaque ink to a Processing Step Layer after placing or converting the Normalized PDF file, but the advantage of applying the rules upfront is that all conditions for colorants in the Processing Step Layer* are met automatically. (*Conditions as determined by ISO 19593-1).