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Design in the studio, send print-ready files, or run a USPS mail drop from a CASS list.

Selection (V)
Tools
Properties
C M Y K
Swatches

Process CMYK. Right-click a custom chip to delete. Rich black is 60/40/40/100.

Layers
Pages
Live Proof 1 / 1
Ready in · 100%

New document

Finish size. Bleed is 0.125 in each side unless you change it.

Custom templates

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Save As

Saves a folder in your FTP design-studio directory: the working file plus every linked image.

Step and Repeat

Copies of the selected object. Count is additional copies (original stays). Offsets are in inches, same as InDesign.

Grid uses rows × columns, including the original. Offset is the gap plus the object size.

Install fonts

Drop OpenType / TrueType / WOFF files. They become available in Character and the type bar. Stored in this browser.

Open Design Studio project

Packages in your Design Studio folder.

Script

Submit to production

Required for the floor ticket. You must pick a CSR. Submit emails that CSR the job details and a link to the file.

Saved projects / repeat jobs

Save current job for repeat

Stores settings + source PDF(s) in your user folder. Only you can open them. Operators and admins can browse all folders.

Cloud sync

Not configured — set server URL in Admin (or below if elevated).

My folder

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EPMS gang scan God / Admin / Operator node

Search jobs

Scan the EPMS board for jobs that can share a press sheet. Match job number, finish size, and paper.

Add / import EPMS job

Manual add, or pull from the API card below.

Point at production tickets

Tell the shop where EPMS / Lithtex jackets live in production. Save the pointer once, then scan. Jobs that share paper, inks, and a due window can run together on one press sheet.

Shop FTP: jackets in job-tickets (nested folders ok). Production PC: Point at folder… and pick the EPMS dump (mapped drive). HTTP: directory listing of PDF jackets.

No pointer scanned yet. Point at a folder, drop jackets, or scan shop FTP.

Drop EPMS job-ticket PDFs here, or click to browse

EPMS API connection

Setup: pick a profile → enter the shop EPMS URL and login → Save → Test → Pull. Live refresh is optional. If the browser blocks the MIS, set a CORS proxy or run the local sync server.

  1. Profile (EPMS Connect, OnPrintShop, generic JSON, or local live MIS)
  2. Base URL of the MIS (example https://epms.yourshop.local)
  3. Auth token or basic user from EPMS Connect / FRB
  4. Save connection, Test, then Pull open jobs

Not connected.

CORS / connection troubleshooting

What CORS is: the browser blocks JavaScript on one origin (this app) from reading another origin (EPMS) unless that server sends Access-Control-Allow-Origin.

Typical console text: "blocked by CORS policy", "No Access-Control-Allow-Origin", or "Failed to fetch".

Fixes, in order:

  1. Same host: serve this app from the EPMS machine / reverse proxy so both are one origin.
  2. Ask IT to add on EPMS: Access-Control-Allow-Origin for this site, and allow GET plus Authorization / X-API-Key.
  3. Click Use sync-server as CORS proxy, start node sync-server/prepress-sync-server.js, then Test again.
  4. Mixed content: page is HTTPS but EPMS is HTTP — use HTTPS on EPMS or open the app over HTTP on the LAN.
  5. Wrong URL / MIS down — open the jobs URL in a new tab. If the tab fails, it is not CORS.
  6. Work offline: paste jobs JSON or Load sample board, then scan gangs.

Job board

No jobs loaded.

Gang suggestions

Run a scan.
My Stored Artwork Files —

My Stored Artwork Files

Shop FTP folders: artwork, Imposed, and design-studio (Design Studio packages). First page of each PDF is shown. Use Put Into Production to send a project to press.

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Shop pricing God only

Pricing option

Turn this off to hide estimates on every job. Paper and machine costs stay saved.

Paper and cost

Cost per press sheet (or per sq ft for large-format / rigid). Blank uses the default paper $ / sheet.

StockGSM$ / sheet or sq ft
Machines and cost

Every machine added in Admin → Press machines appears here. Enter click, hourly, and sq-ft rates.

Materials / finishing and cost

Bindery, coats, hardware, extra stocks. They fill the Finishing dropdown on a job. Add them here, then set the dollar amount.

Price is per the unit shown (piece, book, sheet, or sq ft).

MaterialUsed forUnit$
Bindery, shipping, and defaults

God only. Save writes paper, machines, and rates.

Inventory tracking Admin / Operator

Stock on hand

Counts are per SKU. Paper and finishing materials can be pulled from the shop catalog. Receive adds stock; Use subtracts it (jobs, waste, spoilage).

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SKU / name Kind On hand Unit Reorder at Location Status Adjust

Add SKU

Activity

Last receives and uses. Newest first.

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CRM customers Admin / Operator

Directory

Accounts used on job tickets and Submit to production. Selecting a customer fills contact, phone, email, account #, and ship-to.

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Customer Account # Contact Phone Email Terms Status

Add customer

Job history

Tickets that match the selected customer name or account number.

Select a customer to see jobs.
Direct Mail / USPS Mail Drop Operator
CASS / NCOA / PAVE are licensed USPS programs. This shop cannot certify a list. Run the list in AccuZIP (or BCC, Satori, Window Book, Pitney Bowes), then import the certified file here. IMb on the piece is generated from that ZIP+4 / delivery point. Tray tags and postage statements for a live drop still come from PAVE-certified software and PostalOne!.

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Permit, MID, piece

MID and permit come from the USPS Business Customer Gateway. STID picks the service on the IMb. Barcode ID is 00 except automation flats with an OEL (use 04).

Mailing list

Import a raw list or an AccuZIP / CASS export. Required AccuZIP columns: First, Address, City, St, Zip. After CASS you should also have ZIP+4 and DPC. Shop-side dedupe is a hygiene pass — AccuZIP DUPS is what USPS expects on a paid drop.

# Name Address City St ZIP+4 DP CASS NCOA IMb

Intelligent Mail barcode

IMb is 65 bars (F/A/D/T) from a 20-digit tracking code plus ZIP, ZIP+4, or ZIP+4+DP. Letters: barcode ⅝″ from the bottom, at least 4¾″ from the right, in the barcode clear zone. Generate only after the list has ZIP+4 from CASS.

Generate IMb to preview the 65-bar code.

VDP CSV columns: First, Last, Company, Address1, Address2, City, State, ZIP, ZIP4, DPC, AddressBlock, IMb_Tracking, IMb_Bars, Serial. In Design Studio, File → Select data source, then map IMb_Bars to a text frame set in the USPS IMb font — or place the SVG from the preview on a template.

Trays and flats

Worksheet only. Certified Intelligent Mail tray barcodes (IMtb, 24-digit GS1-128) and container tags print from PAVE software (AccuZIP Print Presort). Grouping here is by ZIP so the shop can stage trays or flat tubs.

Tray Scheme Pieces Est. wt (lb) IMtb worksheet #

Drop paperwork

A live USPS drop (letters in trays or flats in tubs) needs a current CASS cert, Move Update, a postage statement, qualification report, container tags, and Mail.dat eDoc on PostalOne!. Check these off as AccuZIP (or your PAVE vendor) produces them.

AccuZIP path

  1. Export AccuZIP-ready CSV from the List tab (First, Address, City, St, Zip, Company).
  2. In AccuZIP Direct Mail API or AccuZIP6: CASS-NCOA-DUPS-PRESORT. Need ~200+ pieces for Marketing Mail presort, ~500 for First-Class, 100+ for NCOALink.
  3. Import the certified CSV back. ZIP+4, DPC, CRRT, and NCOA move flags come with it.
  4. Generate IMb, send the VDP CSV to Design Studio, print the piece.
  5. Print container tags + PS 3600 (First-Class) or 3602-R (Marketing Mail) from AccuZIP. Upload Mail.dat to PostalOne!.

Other PAVE / CASS vendors the shop can swap in: BCC Mail Manager, Satori (Cardinal/Satori), Window Book DAT-MAIL, Pitney Bowes, Melissa, Smarty (CASS only — still need PAVE for presort).

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Prepress Shop

CSRs Add people and assign them to shops

Create a CSR once, then check the shops they serve — same idea as assigning users to functions. Submit / job ticket dropdowns only show CSRs assigned to the current shop. Gideon’s Press is seeded with Gideon ([email protected]).

Add CSR

CSR mail log

Last messages accepted by the shop mail server. “Mailed” means accepted — not that the inbox opened it.

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Admin / Owner backend

Session

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Web portal

Off = this machine only. On = share portal on network (local server required).

Software updates

Current shop: v3.80.43

Not checked yet.

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Drop update-vX.XX.x.html (or .zip) here File name format is update-vX.XX.x — example update-v3.80.7.html. Drop it here or upload it into this site’s updates/ folder. Look for software update reads every update-v file in that folder, not just the next number.

The shop scans the updates/ folder once a day. When a newer package is there, Install update turns green and flashes.

Install / data paths

Branding

Shop name, logo, colors, login theme. Opens in its own window with a live preview.

Project Tracking colors

Bar colors on the shop timeline. Same palette as the Colors button in Project Tracking.

Businesses / shops

Each shop has its own name, accent color, and logo. Drop a logo on a shop card (or on Add a shop). It can sit on the login background, the corner, or both.

Add a shop
Drop logo here or click to upload PNG, JPG, SVG, or WebP — under 2.5 MB

CSRs

Customer service reps. Add people and assign them to shops in the CSR window.

CRM customers

Shop account book: company, contact, phone, email, billing, ship-to, terms. Job tickets and Submit to production pick from this list and fill the customer block. Pull from EPMS jobs or harvest names already on tickets.

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Direct Mail / USPS drop

CASS/NCOA lists from AccuZIP (or any PAVE vendor), IMb on the piece, tray and flat worksheets, postage-statement checklist. This shop does not CASS-certify — it places certified lists onto artwork.

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Design Studio templates

Shop-wide layouts for New document. Scan a PDF to build a working template (art plus live text frames), add a saved JSON, or delete one.

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EPMS / MIS integration

God, Admin, and Operator. Configure the shop MIS in the EPMS Gang node: profile, URL, auth, field maps, live pull.

Press machines

Add the presses and printers in this shop. They fill the Machine dropdown on a job. Set dollars under Pricing. Routing (which jobs and papers a press can run) is in the card below.

Paper / press / project routing

Group options so a job only sees paper and finishing that press can run. Saddle-stitch capacity is sheets in the book (4 pages = 1 sheet).

Typical floor stitcher: 20–24 sheets of 80 gsm (~80–96 pages self-cover). A press can override this below.

Paper groups → project types and press kinds

Per-press overrides

Per-paper override (optional)

Pick a stock to limit it to certain jobs / presses. Empty = use the group default.

Inventory tracking

On-hand counts for paper, finishing materials, and press supplies. Linked to the catalogs above. Reorder alerts when stock hits the minimum.

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Shop pricing

God only. Paper, machines, materials / finishing, bindery, shipping, and the on/off switch live in the Pricing panel.

Cloud storage sync

Point at your shop sync server. User PDFs stay under users/{id}/projects on the server. Operators/admins can sync all folders.

On your hosting plan: set base URL to api and paste the token from api/config.php. Files then land in public/users/{id}/artwork/ on the FTP site. See HOSTING-SETUP.txt.

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AI helper (troubleshooting)

Local Prepress assistant for admin/god. Optional xAI/Grok API for deeper answers.

Mode: local knowledge (no API key)

Owner / admin / god. Opens in its own window — users grouped by shop, with custom pricing nodes.

Shop branding Logo, colors, login look — per shop

Customization tools

Drop logo here or click to upload PNG, JPG, SVG, or WebP — under 2.5 MB
Advanced CSS

Design tokens drive the whole UI (CSS variables). Optional raw CSS is sanitized — no @import, scripts, or javascript URLs.

Pick a shop, then change logo, color, or theme. Preview updates live. Save writes it for that shop’s users.

Live preview

This is the login screen users see for the selected shop. It does not print on jobs.

Prepress Shop

Sign in or create an account.

Sign in
User accounts Owner / admin / god

Grouped by shop. New accounts only get Prepress Studio and My Stored Artwork Files. Turn on every other top-bar button with the checkboxes, then Save.

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Add user

New sign-ups are always user with Prepress Studio + Artwork Files only. Check the top-bar options you want them to see, then Save.

Project Catalog

Jobs and FTP artwork with first-page previews. Put Into Production sends a project to press.

Shop Scan

Scan the job ticket when it enters an area, then again when it leaves. Progress updates on the ticket and catalog.

USB wedge scanners work here — click the box, then scan. Ticket codes: job, or E/X + area + code (EP = enter press).

HID: USB RFID readers that type like a keyboard already work in the box above. NFC: Chrome on Android + HTTPS. Portal: same reader, ignores repeat reads for 8s so a skid passing a gate is one ENTER or LEAVE.

No scan yet. Set the area, pick Enter or Leave, then scan the ticket.

Prepress Imposition Tool

Not signed in v3.80.1

Job files (batch)

Add PDF to this job

Drop another file to batch it on the same PO.

No files yet.

Preflight

Upload a PDF to run checks.
Generate an imposition to preview press sheets.

Units

Project

Set via New project wizard

Binding & layout

Imposition software tools

This app covers the same core layouts as commercial tools. Pick a layout above; names below are the industry equivalents.

Kodak Preps — signatures, sheetwise, work-and-turn/tumble, JDF
Ultimate Impostrip — cut & stack, step & repeat, booklets, gang
Quite Imposing / HOT — Acrobat n-up, booklets, creep
Fiery Impose — digital cut-stack, duplex, booklet maker
Esko (ArtPro+ / Plato) — packaging step-repeat, CAD, marks
Enfocus Phoenix — planning, nesting, ganging
Insoft FastImpose / Dynagram — commercial signatures
Our Cut & stack = sequential piles. Step & repeat = same art. Booklet = nested saddle. Perfect bind = 8/16/32-page signatures stacked. Dutch cut = rotated leftover. Duplex turn/tumble = Preps work styles.

Layouts

N-up / step & repeat — same art, grid, 100%. Guillotine rows/cols.
Cut & stack — sequential pages in a grid; piles collate after the cut.
Booklet / saddle — printer spreads, spine ticks, no horizontal marks on the fold.
Dutch cut — main grid plus leftover pieces rotated 90° (mixed grain — mark lifts).
Gang pack — mixed sizes on one sheet (strip packer). Check Impose gang pack.
Work-and-turn / sheetwise — duplex cut-stack options.

Cuts

Single knife — one cut in the gutter; set gutter to 2× bleed.
Double cut — two knives + slug; gutter larger than 2× bleed.
Butt cut — no gap; finishes touch. Turn coming-and-going (180°) so bleed faces the sheet edge and one knife splits two pieces.
Kiss-cut — face + adhesive only; liner stays (stickers/labels).
Through / die-cut — all layers; separate pieces or custom shape.
Perf / score — tear or fold path on the piece, not a press gutter.
Swing cut — how a guillotine knife shears (arc + draw), not a layout.

Sheet & finish

Bleed: how far art goes past the finish. Independent of gutter.

Gutter: space between finish edges (n-up, cut & stack, and between ganged booklets). Independent of bleed.

Yield calculator

How many finish pieces fit per sheet (finish + gutter). Compares orientations and common press sizes.

Mixed-size gang pack

Different finish sizes on one sheet (same stock). Strip packing — guillotine-friendly rows. Gutter between items.

Production tickets

Point this gang run at EPMS / Lithtex jackets in production. Scan the shop job-tickets folder, a folder on this computer, or drop PDFs. Jobs that share paper, inks, and a due window load onto this sheet.

Drop EPMS job-ticket PDFs here, or click to browse

No production tickets scanned yet.

Cutter program

Guillotine-only plan: yield vs knife hits vs turns. Same pattern on every sheet so the lift can be cut as a pile. Not a mid-sheet (MaxRects) nest.

Gap from finish edge to the start of each mark (outward). Length then extends further away from the art.

Arm length outward from the offset — longer values move the tip further away from the artwork (never into the art).

Never overlap trim interior. Tight gutters → fold ticks. Full marks need gutter ≥ 2×(offset+length).

Registration marks

Drawn in registration color (C+M+Y+K) so the mark appears on every plate. Sits in the slug, never on live art.

Color bars (control strip)

Repeats across the slug like ink zones. Solids = SID; tints = TVI/dot gain; overprints = trapping; gray = G7/FOGRA balance. Not on the finished piece.

Knife marks vs gutter marks

Knife marks — for the cutter. They sit in the gap between two pieces on the press sheet and show where the slitter or guillotine separates one up from the next. They have nothing to do with folding or binding.
Gutter / fold marks — for the bind / fold. They sit on the spine or fold (head and foot only, in the bleed). They show the inner margin so type is not swallowed by the stitch or fold. They are not a cut, and they are not a line through the page.
Crop marks = outer finish. Knife marks = cut between ups. Gutter marks = fold / bind.
knife gutter/fold UP UP SPREAD TRIM / LIVE bleed (outward) mark

Press & finishing

Digital: no plates. Impose here OR in the DFE — not both.

Press used for this job. Rates come from Pricing.

Bindery, coat, or hardware from the shop catalog. Price is set in Pricing.

Paper

Quantity

Enter quantity to see sheet counts.
Paper / stock—
Machine / clicks—
Finishing / materials—
Bindery—
Shipping (est.)—
Estimated total—

Pricing uses global rates; your account may have custom rates.

Cut 1 at the gripper (face), cut 2 at the side guide. Diagram is inserted after the press ticket.

Each job keeps its own setups (sheet, gutter, n-up, marks). They print on the press ticket. Invoiced jobs archive here for rerun.