Print Marks: Supported Types and Boundaries
Print marks describe cutting, folding, registration or process-control intent. Their presence in a preview does not prove that they were written to the output PDF or accepted by a finishing device.
Print marks describe cutting, folding, registration or process-control intent. Their presence in a preview does not prove that they were written to the output PDF or accepted by a finishing device.
Canonical planner support
The canonical imposition path supports seven mark types. The older claim that only crop marks are implemented is obsolete.
| Type | Purpose and boundary |
|---|---|
| Crop | Trim corners; process-black strokes |
| Cut | Eligible facing cut edges in a gutter; not a generic line through a folded gutter |
| Registration | Alignment marks using /Separation/All |
| Fold | Fold-position marks |
| Collation | Signature-order marks |
| Colour bar | DeviceCMYK process-colour patches |
| Slug | Job/production text under the configured policy |
Barcode and device-target generation are not implemented by this canonical mark path. A generic mark is not scanner-certified. Support in the planner does not mean that every public UI exposes every parameter.
Safe workflow
- Obtain the provider's required mark types, colour policy, units, margins and finishing constraints.
- Choose explicit mark settings and sheet margins. Keep source marks and new marks from being duplicated or silently removed.
- Inspect the plan's warnings. Geometry and mark budgets apply; unsafe geometry can be refused, and marks without safe bleed clearance can be skipped with warnings. Do not assume every requested mark was emitted.
- Verify the exact output PDF, its receipt and post-imposition findings. Check media bounds, live artwork, separations and the finishing device's requirements.
- Obtain the required production release evidence. Preview geometry and supported mark syntax alone do not supply it.
There is no universal mark length or offset for every press. Registration colour belongs outside live artwork; crop/cut strokes and colour bars do not all use Registration colour. See imposition and bleed.
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Rectangular Ganging Recommendation Engine
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Font Findings in a PDF
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