A file that would print without incident on a desktop printer can fail on a flatbed, not because the image is wrong but because the file does not describe the job. White layers, varnish areas, cutouts, the printable face and the revision status all have to travel with the artwork, and when they do not, the operator rebuilds them at the machine.

This guide covers what a print-ready file for UV production should contain: the formats the range accepts, how white and varnish should be supplied, why no-print zones belong in the file, how orientation and bleed are decided, how revisions are controlled, and what variable data needs in order to be traceable.

Why does file preparation decide the print result?

Because the file decides what the machine can do with it.

Format, layer structure, resolution and the defined no-print zones determine whether the RIP can build the ink layers the job needs without manual intervention.

Printed work fails at the file stage in three ways. Missing layers, where a white underbase or a varnish area exists only in the design software and not in the supplied data. Wrong geometry, where the artwork was built for a different panel, case or component outline than the one being printed. And unstated intent, where the file does not say which face is printed, which way it is oriented or which version it is, so the operator makes a decision that the designer would have made differently.

The published planning data across the material and application collections reflects those three failure modes. For campaign work the required inputs include printable side, orientation, bleed and cut path. For industrial panels they include printable areas, cutouts, fasteners and datum points. For container work they include viewing side, seam position and no-print zones. None of those are design decisions; they are production instructions.

Which file formats should the workflow accept?

TIFF, JPEG, EPS and PDF on the flatbed range.

The cylinder platform additionally lists PNG, AI and PSD, which covers the files a personalisation workflow typically receives from a design studio.

Format support matters less than layer structure, because a PDF with separate white and varnish data is more useful than a flattened TIFF at the same resolution. The published software position for this range is a controlling application plus RIP software with ICC-based colour profiles, curves and density adjustment, and the RIP options differ by model, with RIIN Print or PhotoPrint on the AJ2130EX, AJ2130G/R and AJ3220EX, and RIIN Print, PhotoPrint or Onyx on the AJ2513G/R and AJ2130Ultra.

Two practical points follow. The supported formats should be matched to what your designers actually send, rather than the other way round, because a workflow that requires an unusual format adds a conversion step to every job. And placed images, unembedded fonts and mixed RGB and CMYK sources create avoidable work in the RIP, which is billed to somebody: a short file specification issued to designers removes more production cost than most software upgrades.

How should white and varnish be supplied?

As separate channels, not as part of the colour image.

White underbase and varnish should be defined as their own data so that full, selective and spot effects can be controlled independently of the colour layers.

Treating white as a background colour produces the wrong result in most jobs, because white behaves differently depending on the substrate and the viewing direction. On a transparent panel the white layer defines where the image is opaque; on a dark substrate it decides whether the colour reads correctly; on a reverse-printed panel it changes the layer order entirely. Varnish adds another dimension, since the same channel can produce an overall gloss, a spot highlight or a raised effect depending on how the data is built.

The available channel configuration depends on the model, so the layering strategy has to be settled before the file is prepared. Across this range the published configurations run from CMYK plus white and optional light inks and varnish on the AJ2513G/R, through an extended seven-colour set on the AJ3220EX and an extended eight-colour set on the AJ2130G/R, to CMYK plus white and varnish expandable to eight colours on the AJ3220G/R. A design that assumes a white channel has to be matched to a configuration that has one, and that is a purchase decision rather than a file decision.

Why do no-print zones belong in the artwork file?

Because the machine cannot know where a cutout sits.

Cutouts, display openings, fasteners, vents, bends and raised rims should be mapped as controlled no-print zones from the current drawing.

The published guidance for industrial panels is the most explicit version of this requirement: use the current part drawing to create controlled no-print and clearance zones, then confirm orientation, datum, fixture method and head clearance on the real part. The guidance for phone cases makes the same point about camera openings, buttons, edges and raised rims, with the instruction not to scale one generic case file across models with different camera modules, corners or rims.

The reason the file has to carry the zones rather than the operator deriving them is economic. A no-print zone applied at the machine is a judgement made once, under time pressure, with the part in hand. A no-print zone built into the artwork is a decision made once and repeated on every unit, which is what makes a repeat order produce an identical result.

How should orientation and bleed be handled?

Define the printable side and the bleed before nesting.

The published planning data for campaign work includes printable side, orientation and bleed, because a panel printed on the wrong face is a reprint rather than a rotation.

Orientation has three separate meanings in flatbed work, and confusing them causes most placement errors. The orientation of the artwork within the file, the orientation of the sheet on the bed, and the orientation of the finished part when it is installed or viewed. The published workflow for panel campaigns asks for all three to be recorded, along with the bleed and the cut path, so that nesting can be planned without reinterpreting the design.

Bleed matters wherever the printed panel is trimmed afterwards. A cut without bleed leaves a white sliver at the edge, and a cut with generous bleed wastes material, so the allowance belongs in the file specification rather than in the operator's judgement. Where the panel is cut by the customer rather than in the print shop, the tolerance of that cutting is part of the same conversation, because an artwork that depends on a registered position is only as repeatable as the blank it is printed on.

How should revisions be controlled across versions?

With a revision number and a release status.

Component ID, store or market code, revision and release status belong in the file name and the job ticket, so a printed part can be traced to the version that produced it.

The published approach for retail campaigns asks for a stable component identifier, a store or market code, a revision number and a release status in the production file name and job ticket, with each file connected to its material, quantity, finishing and packing group. That is not administrative tidiness; it is what allows a single version to be reprinted for a single market without reprinting a set, which is precisely what a late change requires.

The complementary control is a single source of truth for release. A file is either released or it is not, and no panel is printed from a file whose status is unclear. Where a campaign carries several languages and offers, the number of files multiplies quickly, and the discipline of keeping the physical part connected to the released revision is what prevents a correct print from reaching the wrong store.

What should variable data files contain?

An identifier that links each record to a physical part.

Variable data turns a print job into a records problem, so the file source, the part mapping and the verification step have to agree.

Personalised and serialised work adds one requirement to everything above: each printed identity has to be linked to the blank it was applied to and to the order or asset it belongs to, in a way that can be verified rather than assumed. In practice that means the job ticket and the data source carry the same identifier, the loading position is recorded, and verification happens at the printer rather than at dispatch.

The published guidance for industrial panels frames this carefully: a variable-data workflow may be possible, but the current RIP, file source, part mapping, verification and traceability process must be reviewed before production. Where the marking carries a regulatory or safety function, the applicable labelling requirements belong to the equipment manufacturer's specification rather than to the printing supplier, and they should be settled before the workflow is designed.

What data path does the workflow need?

A connection that carries multi-layer files reliably.

The published data paths differ across the range and include fibre optic interfaces, USB 3.0 and Ethernet, so large files should be tested through the intended route.

Two items belong alongside the checklist. A physical colour reference for the job, because the printed result should be judged against a target rather than against a screen; the profile methodology behind that reference is published by the International Color Consortium (International Color Consortium), with the specification itself available for reference (ICC specification). And the durability requirement, since a file approved on appearance alone says nothing about how the printed part will behave in service: adhesion is assessed with the tape method under ASTM D3359 and wear under ASTM D4060 (ASTM D4060). Process control practice for industrial print environments is covered by certification and research bodies in the field (Fogra), and the wider trade guidance on print workflows is a useful companion when setting a file specification for suppliers (PRINTING United Alliance).

What the decision comes down to

A print-ready file for UV production describes the job, not just the image. It states the format and layer structure, supplies white and varnish as separate channels, defines the printable face and the no-print zones, carries the bleed, and identifies its revision.

Write that specification once and issue it to designers, and most of the correction work at the machine disappears. The formats, RIP options and colour management published for this range are described on the AJ2130EX and AJ360i pages, with the file and zone requirements set out in the industrial nameplate and retail display collections.