This tutorial covers the Multi-Up Imposition feature of the DesignMerge Pro software. This standard built-in feature allows you to instantly create multi-up layouts that can be processed using DesignMerge Pro. Applying this feature is especially helpful for those using a digital printing device that does not provide imposition capabilities. Also, when using the DesignMerge multi-up imposition feature, you will be able to preview your imposed content, allowing you to confirm the imposed content is exactly where you want it. You can even modify the imposed layout if you wish before you use it. This tutorial will also show you how to use DesignMerge to merge a multi-up document in a consecutive record order or in a cut & stack record order. Additionally, you can use the imposition feature to create imposition templates to produce customized multi-up variable data jobs quickly and easily.

TOPICS COVERED IN THIS TUTORIAL

• Introducing this tutorial
• Creating a multi-up document
• Merging a multi-up document in a consecutive order
• Merging a multi-up document in a cut & stack order
• Creating an imposition template
• Populating an imposition template
• Selecting Multi-Up Imposition preferences

INTRODUCING THIS TUTORIAL

This tutorial will impose a 1-up two-page ID Badge document to produce a 6-up two-page ID Badge document where you will merge variable data records from a tab-delimited data file.

Sample Document

The name of the sample document for this tutorial is ID-Badge.indd and it exists in the 3) ID Badge Tutorial folder. The document is a two-page layout for a duplex ID badge.  Note you can change the InDesign document's View to Normal Screen Mode to see which content has been assigned variable links and rules. This document has been set up with the following Width, Height, and Bleed settings, shown below in inches and also in points:
   

Additionally, this document has already been set up to use a data file. The document has several variable text and picture elements, and also uses DesignMerge Rules to select content for a variable picture link and to change both the styling of variable text and the color of frames while merging. When this document is merged, DesignMerge will merge one record at a time into this document; in other words, this is a variable 1-up document.

Note this example does not include a bleed. However, if you wish to include a bleed in any of your imposed variable data jobs, then simply include a bleed in the 1-up document that will be imposed.

Sample Data File

The sample data file for this tutorial is a tab-delimited text file named ID-Badge-Data.txt in the 3) ID Badge Tutorial folder. This data file contains 24 records that each contain 6 fields of data.

Data Preview

Before using the ID Badge document to produce a multi-up document, you can run a Data Preview merge session on this 1-up document to confirm it can be merged satisfactorily. To run Data Preview, follow the steps below:

1. Open the ID Badge document.
   The ID-Badge.indd file is located inside the 3) ID Badge Tutorial folder. This document is already set up and ready to be merged.
2. Select Merge from the DesignMerge menu (or click Merge on the DesignMerge panel).
   This opens the DesignMerge dialog, as shown below:
3. For the Records settings: Select All, Skip Header Row, and Step by: 1.
4. For the Action, select Data Preview.
5. For the Options, select CopyFit: Off and Rules: Standard Mode.
   This document does not require CopyFit. This document is using DesignMerge rules.
   
6. Click Start and, if prompted for the data file, select ID-Badges-Data.txt.
7. Review the Data Preview results.
   DesignMerge merges the first record into the document, as shown below:
      
8. Click the Step Forward button on the Data Preview panel.
   DesignMerge merges the second record into the document, as shown below:
      
9. Continue previewing records.
   You can continue to scroll through the other records in the data file.
10. When ready, close the Data Preview panel.
    This will return the document to its original state. Now that you have reviewed this document, close the document so that it will be available for imposition.

CREATING A MULTI-UP DOCUMENT

You can create a multi-up version of a 1-up one-page or two-page document quickly and easily by applying the multi-up imposition capabilities of DesignMerge.

Apply the Multi-Up Imposition Feature

To impose the sample ID Badge document, follow the steps below:

1. First, create a new document to receive the imposed content.
   The first step in the process is to create a new, blank document that represents the paper size that you wish to print. This new document will receive imposed content from a 1-up one-page or two-page (duplex) document. To impose the 1-up duplex ID Badge, create a new two-page, letter size, non-facing pages document with a portrait orientation, and a margin of 0 inches (0 points) with no bleed or slug, as shown below in inches on the left and points on the right:
      
2. Open the DesignMerge menu and select Options > Layout and Imposition > Multi-Up Imposition.
   This opens the Multi-Up Imposition dialog, shown below:
3. Choose an Action.
   For Job Settings, in the Document group of settings, the Action menu provides several options, including Create Imposition Template and Populate Imposition Template, which are each described later in this tutorial. The Create Variable Picture action imposes a variable picture link (select a sample graphic to specify a Trim Size for each "up" and also select a variable picture link to assign to each "up"). For this example, select Impose Selected File.
4. Choose which pages will receive the imposed content.
   If the receiving document contains only one page, the default setting is Apply to Page 1. For a two-page receiving document, as in this example, the default setting is Apply to All. However, you may choose to place imposed content on just one of the two pages, Page 1 or Page 2. If the receiving document contains more than two pages, other helpful options are presented. For this example, to create a duplex multi-up document, keep the default setting Apply to All.
5. Select a document for the imposition.
   You may select any one-page or two-page InDesign document that contains the 1-up content you wish to impose. The file name of the document that you last selected will be displayed on the dialog. To select a different document, click the button. For this example, select the document ID-Badge.indd that is inside the 3) ID Badge Tutorial folder. Your Document settings should now look those shown in the picture below:
   
6. Select Trim Size settings.
   The Trim Size settings, including the Bleed amount, will be set automatically to match those of the document you selected in the previous step (to select your preferred unit of measurement, click the Prefs button). If you choose to modify the default Trim Size settings, be careful as this may either omit content or add unnecessary white space. For this example, keep the default settings for the ID-Badge.indd document, shown in the picture below:
   
7. Select Crop Marks settings.
   Choose which type of marks, if any, you wish to Place in the document, Where to place the marks, and enter amounts for their Length, Offset, and Weight. For this example, select the settings shown in the picture below:
   
8. Select a number of columns and rows, and set gap amounts.
   For Imposition Settings, in the Layout group of settings, you indicate how many “ups” to create by specifying the maximum number of columns (Max Columns) and rows (Max Rows). Note the Fill Sheet option will automatically apply the maximum number that can fit in the current document. The Horizontal Gap and Vertical Gap amounts are each originally set to 0. To apply a different gap setting, enter your preferred amount. For this example, let's create a 6-up document by selecting 2 Columns for Max Columns, select 3 Rows for Max Rows. Additionally, enter .025 in (or 18 pts) for both the Horizontal Gap and the Vertical Gap, as shown below:
   
9. Specify a Rotation amount.
   If you wish, you may also apply a Rotation to the imposition. The rotation value specified here will apply to all of the imposed ups that are placed onto the page. For this example, select None.
10. Select a Duplex Mode.
    If you are setting up both pages of a two-page document that is designed to be printed duplex, as in this ID Badge example, select a Duplex Mode. Note this setting determines both the sequencing (described in the next step) and the rotation (if required) of the content for the second page. This is designed to ensure that the sequencing and positioning of the content on the back page is adjusted to correctly “back up” to the corresponding content on the front page when the document is printed duplex. For those of you that have had to do this type of thing manually, we think you will appreciate the power of this feature! For this example, choose Tumble (Short-Edge Binding).
11. Select a Sequencing order.
    Each and every variable link has a sequence number assignment. For example, sequence number 1 is assigned to all variable links in a 1-up document (which merges one record at a time). In a 2-up document (which merges two records at a time) sequence number 1 is assigned to one set of variable links and sequence number 2 to the other set of variable links. In other words, sequencing determines how many records will be merged into each variation of the document and also where to place those records in the document. When you are selecting settings for a multi-up imposition, you can use the Sequencing option in the Variable Data group of settings on the dialog to set an order for the sequencing of the imposed content. In other words, this specifies a sequence order for the "ups" that will be placed in the imposed document.  Note that once the content has been imposed, you will still be able to use the DesignMerge Sequence Page Items and Change Sequence Number features whenever you prefer to apply a different sequence order. For this example, select Left to Right, Top to Bottom.
12. Review which settings are selected on the Multi-Up Imposition dialog.
    The Multi-Up Imposition settings should now look like those shown in the picture below:
    
13. When ready, click the Impose File button.
    The imposition process will proceed. First, a set of Imposition Frames™ will be added according to the settings that you specified. Then, each of these Imposition Frames will be populated with content from the document you chose to impose. The process is repeated for each page specified, adjusting the position, sequence, and rotation as necessary.
    
    For example, when you are imposing content from the 1-up, two-page ID Badge document to create a 6-up, two-page document, applying the settings presented in this set of steps, then the content from the first page of the ID Badge document will be automatically imposed on the first page, as shown in the picture below:
    
    
    Also, content from the second page of the ID Badge document will be imposed on the second page in the specified Tumbled duplex mode, as shown in the picture below:
    
    
    
14. Save the 6-up document.
    For this example, save this 6-up document as a new InDesign document (.indd) in the 3) ID Badge Tutorial folder. This will ensure that DesignMerge will be able to find all required fixed and variable image files when merging the document. Note the sample data file 3) ID-Badge-Data.txt is also in the 3) ID Badge Tutorial folder.

If you would prefer different multi-up imposition results, simply reapply Multi-Up Imposition and, when prompted, choose to remove existing Imposition Layers.

When you are imposing duplex variable data documents, you can choose the Duplex Mode that is appropriate for the duplex feature on your digital press. For examples, below are pictures of a 2-up, two-page document demonstrating the orientation and sequence orders that each Duplex Mode will apply when Frame Order has been set to Left to Right, Top to Bottom:

Duplex Mode: None


Duplex Mode: Normal (Long-Edge Binding)


Duplex Mode: Tumble (Short-Edge Binding)

MERGING A MULTI-UP DOCUMENT IN A CONSECUTIVE ORDER

DesignMerge allows you to merge records in a consecutive order or in a cut & stack order. In this section, you will see how to merge records in a consecutive order, which will merge records in the same order in which they are ordered in the data file. For example, when merging a 6-up document, DesignMerge will merge the first six consecutive records (Records 1-6), then the next six consecutive records (Records 7-12), and so forth.

Run Data Preview in Consecutive Record Order

To see the results of merging in a consecutive record order, let's run a Data Preview merge session on the 6-up two-page document that you just created in the previous set of steps. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Open the 6-up two-page document.
2. Select Merge from the DesignMerge menu (or click Merge on the DesignMerge panel).
   This opens the DesignMerge dialog, as shown below:
   
3. For the Records settings: Select All, Skip Header Row, and Step by: 6.
   The Step by setting is automatically set to the highest sequence number assigned to variable links in the document, indicating the number of records that will be merged into each variation of the document. In this example, DesignMerge will merge the first six records into the document, then will step by 6 to merge the next six records, and so on. 
   
4. For the Action, select Data Preview.
5. For the Options, use the same settings as in the previous Data Preview session.
   Select Off for CopyFit, and select Standard Mode for Rules.
6. Click Start and, if prompted for the data file, select ID-Badge-Data.txt.
   Note the records in the sample data file contain an ID number that increments consecutively from record to record (0000-0001, 0000-0002, 0000-0003, ...) so that you can easily detect which records have been merged.
7. Review the Data Preview results.
   DesignMerge merges the first six records into the document in the Left to Right, Top to Bottom sequencing order that was selected for this imposition, as shown below:
   First Page
   
   Second Page
   
8. Click the Step Forward button on the Data Preview panel.
   DesignMerge merges the next six records into the document, as shown below:
   First page
   
   Second page
   
9. Continue previewing records.
   You can continue to scroll through the other records in the data file.
10. When ready, close the Data Preview panel.
    This will return the document to its original state. Now that you have reviewed merging in a consecutive sequence order, leave the document open for the next set of steps where you will see how to merge this document in a cut & stack sequence order.

MERGING A MULTI-UP DOCUMENT IN A CUT & STACK ORDER

In the “real world” of commercial printing, consecutively merged ID Badges (or numbered Raffle Tickets, or serialized Coupons, etc.) would not be arranged efficiently. For example, if you apply a consecutive record merge to this tutorial's 6-up ID Badge, when the sheets are printed, cut, and stacked to create individual ID Badges, each stack will contain ID Badges that are not in a consecutive order (the first stack will contain the ID Badge for record 1, then the ID Badge for record 7, and so forth). Imagine if the print run actually contained hundreds or thousands of ID Badges and it was critical that they be delivered as individual badges in a consecutive order. It would not be pretty. You can avoid this situation by creating merged output that will be in a consecutive order after being cut and stacked. To accomplish this, choose to merge in a cut & stack record order.

Run Data Preview in Cut & Stack Record Order

To see the results of merging records in a cut & stack record order, let's run another Data Preview merge session on the 6-up two-page document. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Select Merge from the DesignMerge menu (or click Merge on the DesignMerge panel).
   This opens the DesignMerge dialog, as shown below:
   
2. For the Records settings: Select All, Skip Header Row, and select Cut & Stack.
   To select Cut & Stack, open the record sequence mode menu that is currently displaying Step by and select Cut & Stack, as shown below:
   
   
3. For the Action, select Data Preview.
4. For the Options, use the same settings as in the previous Data Preview session.
   Select Off for CopyFit, and select Standard Mode for Rules.
5. Click Start and, if prompted for the data file, select ID-Badge-Data.txt.
   Note the records in the sample data file contain an ID number that increments consecutively from record to record (0000-0001, 0000-0002, 0000-0003, ...) so that you can easily detect which records have been merged.
6. Review the Data Preview results.
   DesignMerge merges the first record and its appropriate companion records into the document, as shown below:
   First page
   
   Second page
   
7. Click the Step Forward button on the Data Preview panel.
   DesignMerge merges the second record and its appropriate companion records into the document, as shown below:
   First page
   
   Second page
   
8. Continue previewing records.
   You can continue to scroll through the other records in the data file.
9. When ready, close the Data Preview panel.
   This will return the document to its original state.

DesignMerge provides several Cut & Stack modes and a Label Sort mode, which are each described below:
Cut & Stack: Choose this mode when merging all records in the database file. This is the mode that will normally be used when first running a Cut & Stack job.
Stack Range: Choose this mode when merging a range of records to replace pages that have been previously printed using the Cut & Stack mode, but not yet cut. For example, let’s assume the first two pages of the previous Cut & Stack merge session, which has been printed but not yet cut, need to be reprinted. It will be important that the same records are merged into each page as before. To accomplish this, use the Stack Range mode to merge Records 1-2. This mode will reprint the first two pages with the same records as before so that they can replace the previous two pages that needed to be reprinted.
Stack Subset: Choose this mode when merging a subset of the records in the data file to replace pages that have already been printed, cut, and stacked. For example, let’s assume Cut & Stack output for all records in the data file has been printed, cut, and stacked. Then misfortune strikes and the first three badges are spoiled. New badges for records 1 through 3 need to be reprinted and it will be important that the first three records are reprinted in an order that can be cut and stacked to replace the three spoiled badges. To accomplish this, use the Stack Subset mode to merge records 1-3. This mode can be used to merge the first three records in a Cut & Stack mode into pages that can be cut and stacked in sequential order to replace the three spoiled badges in the finished stack.
Label Sort: Select this mode for printing on label printers and cutters that require the variable data output to be printed in a continuous fashion, with the data split across two or more rows or columns on the sheet, and with each sheet picking up where the other left off. This feature is fantastic for label printers or Duplo cutters that require the VDP output be produced in a very specific order. Check out the video for more details!

CREATING AN IMPOSITION TEMPLATE

You can also use the DesignMerge Multi-Up Imposition feature to create a document for use as an Imposition Template. You can then use this imposition template to impose similarly sized 1-up content whenever you wish. This can be helpful if you would like to impose recurring variable data jobs of a similar size and can be especially helpful if the imposition has been customized.

Create an Imposition Template

For this example, you will set up an imposition template for content that is similar in size to the 1-up two-page ID Badge that you imposed in a previous section of this tutorial. To create this imposition template, follow the steps below:

1. First, create a new document to receive the imposed content.
   The first step in the process, as before, is to create a new, blank document. Since the purpose of the imposition template in this example will be to impose 1-up documents that are similar to the 1-up two-page ID Badge, create a new two-page, letter size, non-facing pages document with a portrait orientation, and a margin of 0 inches (0 points) with no bleed or slug (similar to the new document you created previously), as shown below in inches on the left and points on the right:
      
2. Open the DesignMerge menu and select Options > Layout and Imposition > Multi-Up Imposition.
   This opens the Multi-Up Imposition dialog, which will display the settings you last selected, as shown below:
   
3. From the Action menu, choose Create Imposition Template.
4. Choose which pages will be set up to impose content.
   For this example, keep the default setting Apply to All.
5. Select a document for the imposition.
   You may select any 1-up one-page or two-page InDesign document that will represent the size of the "ups" that you wish to place in this imposition template. For this example, select the document ID-Badge.indd that is inside the 3) ID Badge Tutorial folder.
6. Select Trim Size settings.
   For this example, keep the default settings for the ID-Badge.indd document.
7. Select Crop Marks settings.
   For this example, use the same settings that you used previously.
8. Select a number of columns and rows, and set gap amounts.
   For Imposition Settings, in the Layout group of settings, select 2 Columns for Max Columns and 3 Rows for Max Rows. Additionally, enter .025 in (or 18 pts) for both the Horizontal Gap and the Vertical Gap.
9. Specify a Rotation amount.
   For this example, select None.
10. Select a Duplex Mode.
    For this example, choose Tumble (Short-Edge Binding).
    
11. Select a Sequencing order.
    For this example, select Left to Right, Top to Bottom.
12. Review which settings are selected on the Multi-Up Imposition dialog.
    The Multi-Up Imposition settings should now look like those shown in the picture below:
    
13. When ready, click the Create Template button.
    The imposition process will proceed. A set of Imposition Frames™ will be added according to the settings that you specified. When the document's View is set to Normal Screen Mode and to Show Frames, each of these imposition frames displays a non-printing frame label indicating a sequence number. As described earlier, sequencing determines how many records will be merged into each variation of the document and also where to place those records in the document. Note the imposition frames will not be populated with content since the purpose of this document is to serve as an imposition template.
    
    For example, when you are creating a 6-up, two-page imposition template based on the 1-up, two-page ID Badge document, applying the settings presented in this set of steps, then the first page of the imposition template will appear as shown in the picture below:
    
    
    Also, the second page of the imposition template, where Tumble Duplex Mode has been applied, will appear as shown in the picture below:
    
    
    
14. Save the 6-up document.
    For this example, save this 6-up document as a new InDesign Template file (.indt) in the 3) ID Badge Tutorial folder, and then leave this template file open in InDesign for the next section where you will see how to customize an imposition template.

Customize an Imposition Template

Whenever you wish, you can customize an imposition template. For example, you can add color control bars or other printing information, descriptions or instructions. Or, perhaps your imposition jobs have custom requirements for printer marks. Also, you can reposition and rotate one or more of the imposition frames to suit specific job or printer requirements. For example, perhaps your printer requires content be positioned with a more narrow top margin than bottom margin. Additionally, you may be able to print additional ups on a page by rotating a few to set up a "Dutch Cut" or "Irregular Cut" type of imposition. Of course, when customizing a duplex imposition template, confirm the content on the second page will still be aligned properly to the content on the first page.

Customizing a multi-up imposition template will save you the time and effort of having to repeat making the same changes over and over each time you wish to produce a new imposition document. For a quick example of customizing an imposition template, follow the steps below where you will adjust the top margin on both pages:

1. Select all items on the first page.
2. Show the InDesign Control panel.
   If the Control panel is not already showing, open the InDesign Window menu and select Control.
   
3. Confirm the InDesign reference point is the top left corner.
   To set this, select the top left square in the reference point locator on the Control panel, as shown below:
4. Change the Y value to set a more narrow Top margin.
   For example, change the Y value from 1.583 in (113.976 pt) to .75 in (54 pt), as shown in inches in the picture below:
   
5. Repeat for the second page.
   It is important to apply the same change to the second page of a duplex document, as shown below, so that the content will still be aligned when printing:
   
6. Save these changes to this InDesign template.
   Remember of course to save the template file with any changes that you wish to retain before continuing. Then, close the imposition template so that it will be available for populating with content in the next set of steps.

POPULATING AN IMPOSITION TEMPLATE

Once you have set up an imposition template, then you can use that template to create a new imposition document whenever you wish. This allows you to set up recurring multi-up variable data jobs quickly and easily, and is especially helpful whenever you wish to reapply a customized imposition.

Populate an Imposition Template

For an example, let's populate the customized imposition template that you created in the previous set of steps. This imposition template has been designed to be populated with content from any 1-up two-page variable data document whose width is 3.5 in (252 pt), height is 2.25 in (162 pt), and bleed is 0 in (0 pt). To populate this template, follow the steps below:

1. Open the imposition template that you customized in the previous set of steps.
   To do this, open the InDesign File menu and select Open. Locate and select the InDesign template file. Also, select Open Normal (Mac OS) or Normal (Windows), and then click Open, as shown below:
   
2. Open the DesignMerge menu and select Options > Layout and Imposition > Multi-Up Imposition.
   This opens the Multi-Up Imposition dialog for the new document that is a copy of the imposition template document.
3. From the Action menu, choose Populate Imposition Template.
   You will notice that when this action is selected, Document Settings become the only settings that are available on the Multi-Up Imposition dialog since the other settings are not relevant to this action.
   
4. Choose which pages to populate.
   For this example, keep the default setting Apply to All.
5. Select a document.
   You may select any 1-up one-page or two-page InDesign document whose content matches the size of the imposition frames that you wish to populate. For this example, select the document ID-Badge.indd that is inside the 3) ID Badge Tutorial folder.
6. Review which settings are selected on the Multi-Up Imposition dialog.
   The Multi-Up Imposition settings should now look like those shown in the picture below:
7. When ready, click the Populate Template button.
   The imposition process will proceed. Each of the imposition frames will be populated with content from the document you chose to impose. The process is repeated for each page specified, adjusting the position, sequence, and rotation as necessary.
   
   For example, when you are applying the settings presented in this set of steps, then the content from the first page of the ID Badges document will populate the imposition frames on the first page, as shown in the picture below:
   
   
   Also, content from the second page of the ID Badge document will populate the imposition frames on the second page, as shown in the picture below:
   
   
   
8. Save the 6-up document.
   For this example, save this 6-up document as a new InDesign document (.indd) in an appropriate variable data job's folder. In this example, save the document in the 3) ID Badge Tutorial folder. This will ensure that DesignMerge will be able to find all required fixed and variable image files when merging the document. To test merging this document with data from the ID-Badge-Data.txt file, follow the steps provided earlier in this tutorial to run Data Preview on the new document in either a consecutive record order or in a cut & stack record order, whichever you prefer.

SELECTING MULTI-UP IMPOSITION PREFERENCES

There are several preferences available for the Multi-Up Imposition feature. To access these preferences, open the DesignMerge menu and select Options > Layout and Imposition > Multi-Up Imposition. This opens the Multi-Up Imposition dialog where you can click the Prefs button to display Multi-Up Imposition preferences, shown in the picture below: 

Measurements

Units: Choose whichever unit of measurement you prefer to use on the Multi-Up Imposition dialog.

Crop Marks

Color: Choose from the color swatches that are available in the current document. If you do not see a color that you wish to select, close the Multi-up Imposition dialog and add a color swatch to this document, then return to Multi-Up Imposition preferences to select the new color. 

Allow marks to be placed in page margin: Select this option to allow marks to be placed within the margin area of a page when content is imposed in a document (note that the content itself is never placed into the margin). Doing so may allow more rows/columns of content to be placed in an imposed document. Deselect this option if you prefer marks be restricted only to the page area.

Graphic Files

This group of preferences are applicable only when multi-up imposition is applying the Create Variable Picture Template action to impose variable picture frames.

Fitting: Choose your preference when a graphic file is selected for the imposition.

INDD Crop: Choose your cropping preference when an InDesign document is selected for the imposition

PDF Crop: Choose your cropping preference when a PDF file is selected for the imposition.

Transparent Background for PDF Files: Select this option to apply a transparent background when imposing a PDF file.

Imposition Frames™

Remove frames after imposing a job: Select this option to have imposition frames automatically removed when a document is imposed. Deselect this option if you prefer the imposition frames remain in the imposed document.

Display sequence number above each frame: By default, an imposition frame displays a non-printing frame label indicating the frame’s assigned sequencing order. The sequencing order determines which sequence numbers will be applied to variable links when the frames are populated. Deselect this preference if you prefer not to see this information displayed on an imposition frame.

InDesign Files

Copy all Visible Layers: Select this preference to load into the imposed document all of the layer information from the document whose content is being placed. If you prefer the layer information not be changed in the imposed document, deselect this option.

Copy all Color Swatches: Select this preference to load into the imposed document all of the color swatches from the document whose content is being placed. If you prefer the color swatches not be changed in the imposed document, deselect this option.

Copy all Character and Paragraph style sheets: Select this preference to load into the imposed document all of the character and paragraph styles from the document whose content is being placed. If you prefer the styles not be changed in the imposed document, deselect this option.

Copy all Data Source Definition settings: Select this option to import into the imposed document the DesignMerge Data Source Definition (DDF) settings from the document whose content is being placed. This ensures that any data file, variable link, and rule settings established in the selected document are imported into the imposed document. If you have already assigned a DDF to the imposed document, then you may wish to deselect this option.

Keep document items grouped after import: The Imposition feature groups content as it is placed into each "up" in the imposed document. Select this preference if you prefer the content remain grouped after it has been placed in the imposed document. Leaving content grouped can be helpful if you should ever wish to reposition or resequence the variable links. Deselect this preference if you prefer the content to be ungrouped after it is placed in the imposed document.

Import As: Choose whether to import InDesign document content as native InDesign objects (required for a variable data imposition) or to import the document as a graphic image.

CONCLUSION

You have concluded the third tutorial. This tutorial has introduced you to the following topics:

• Creating a multi-up document
• Merging a multi-up document in a consecutive order
• Merging a multi-up document in a cut & stack order
• Creating an imposition template
• Populating an imposition template
• Selecting Multi-Up Imposition preferences