Creating a New Media - define the Media Group and Media Name

Once you have gathered the necessary information, create a new media by following these steps:

1. Within RIP-Queue, highlight the appropriate printer and click Media Manager.  This opens Media Manager for the selected printer
2. Within Media Manager select > Create Media Profiles.
3. Select > Create New Media.
4. Select an existing Media Group from the drop down list or click > New... and enter a name for the desired Media Group. It is often useful to group medias by specific characteristics such as "Ink Type", "Print Path", or "Self Adhesive Vinyl". By creating groups you can keep things organized and display them later when creating QuickSets and other workflow choices. This is the Media Configuration Name you would select within RIP-Queue.
5. Enter a descriptive name for this media in the following field.  Some customers list the media name as the descriptive name used by the media manufacturer.  When finished with naming click > Next.

Creating a New Media - define basic settings for this media.

1. Define the ink configuration for this new profile as the same that is configured for the printer which will print to this new media.
2. Unless you are using a special printer, leave the color processing set to CMYK.
3. Spot Color Setup is used for printing on devices that support Spot Channel inks.  Unless you need to configure this, don't click this option.  To learn more click here.
4. Set any printer specific options by clicking the Printer Options button.  This will display a dialog that allows the user to set any options that are supported by the printer.  If an option is not listed it is not supported.  These are determined by the printer manufacturer and are enabled by Onyx based on the manufacturer's recommendations. How to configure Media Options in the printer and on the RIP
5. Set the page sizes that can be displayed for the new media.  In some cases it is a good idea to select only those page sizes that are supported for a particular media.  That way when a mode is selected it ensures that no mistakes will be made when settup up job sizes and/or tiling options.  It is also a good idea to consider that a profile for a 24" roll media might have different characteristics than a profile for a 3 meter roll.  Heater settings and print head characteristics will be different for different media widths.  If this is a concern for future use of the media mode profile make sure to set only the page sizes that can be used for this new media.  When this is complete click > Next.
6. The next step is adding a new mode to your new media.

Creating a New Media - define basic settings for this mode.

1. Now we set the name for the "MODE" for this media profile.  The Mode contains all of the information regarding the resolution, dot pattern, ink restrictions, etc for this particular media profile.  It is useful to include as much information as needed to allow those who use the mode for creating jobs to duplicate the settings and conditions for which the mode was created.  The more variables involved in the printing process, the more information that should be provided as part of the Mode name.  For example... If I am profiling a mode for a media on a solvent printer with 2 heater zones, and specific printer console settings I might name the Mode something like... "CMYKcm_6Pass_35C_45C_BiDir_300x600_Stoch" .  This would help anyone using this media to know that this mode was used when printing on a printer that was configured for CMYKcm (Cyan Magenta Yellow Black with light Cyan, & light Magenta,) printing 6 pass with heater temperatures of 35 Celsius for the platten heater and 45 Celsius for the drying heater and printing Bi-Directional with a resolution of 300x600 and a Stochastic dot pattern.
2. Select the appropriate resolution and dot pattern from the drop-down list and click > Next.

Tech Note: Scale Adjust is not necessary for profiling but can be used when you have flexible materials or if the printed job is not the same as the desired measurements.

You are now ready for the next step - Ink Restrictions.

Back to Profiling Step By Step.