Velocity
The only RIP that is optimised for speed and Color accuracy..
Velocity – Compose’s Variable Data Engine
At Compose we understand Variable Data Printing is part of our life, it is around us for so long time that we almost take it for granted, like using our credit cards, getting bills from our utility company, bank statements from our local bank. Labels on our jacket in department stores, cinema tickets that we order online, Airline baggage tags that stick on our bags when checking in, so on and so on. This list can be so long that it is hard to see the end of the line.
Compose – Velocity is a powerful yet user-friendly application that specialized in the variable data printing market. It enables users to merge high volume of personalized data such as text, images, and barcodes at printer speed. One thing unique about Velocity is, its performance is independent of the output printers. It supports all the high-speed printers like Xerox, HP Indigo, Oce, Xeikon, Nexpress, Sharp, Ricoh, OKI, Canon, and Konica Minolta.
Velocity is also a designer’s tool, allowing operators to design a layout with variable formats, reducing the cost of getting another similar application to serve this purpose.
With Velocity, you can use your own layout to design and databases, such as Excel, Access, or Oracle, SQL, DBF with ODBC help, to make personalized documents easily and efficiently. It is most suitable for commercial documents, personalized cards and marketing materials for the industries such as finance, insurance, automobile, telecom, . . . etc.
Velocity Features
Velocity is designed to be easy to use and simple to understand, it follows the industrial methodology to apply draw and design function. Anyone with a bit of Coral Draw or Illustrator experience can pick it up in no time at all. Velocity is a layout tool in its core, providing a solution which user can define a job as a single sided job or double sided, option is also available to make it as a multiple page document. Users can use a background from a previous design or customer’s design for positioning, shorten the designing time. Jobs can be designed based on different irregular shapes.
Die lines can be designed together with the Jobs, allowing a die to be made at the end of the imposition process. By choosing a separate spot color for the die line, Velocity can help to gang multiple artworks together to make a die for multiple labels.
Variable color reflected on the labels.
Text, color, and images
High Performance & Scalable
Text will be fully justified, quad to the left, right and center in any given box. Typefaces and point sizes change is allowed at any time.
Color can be selected as a static color at any position, Velocity will be providing a color swatch book allowing designer to get what is needed on within the same software.
Images can be placed by automatically re-sized to fit into the dedicated area, it can be designed to fit the vertical or horizontal direction depending on the requirement.
Bar codes and QR codes are also supported; sizes can be varied depending on the design requirement.
The most powerful feature on Velocity is the use of Boolean logic to create new variable data field, providing a new dimension on Hang Tag, labels, post cards, envelopes, tickets, . . . it is based on Scripts, which Compose will provide a library of pre-defined Scripts. All the designer has to do is to call the function and re-configure the layout.
Double sided jobs such as post Cards, or greeting cards can be easily managed.
Multiple pages document containing variable data can also be constructed with easy, allowing designers to meet any design requirement in a competitive environment.
Advanced Imposition for Variable Data Records
In addition to specifying the number of rows and columns, margins and gutters, etc., the Advanced Imposition Option can provide full control on the imposition layout, including –
- The position of the first record,
- The flow direction for subsequent records,
- The relative orientation of adjacent records.
In addition the user can add marks for each record or for each layout, including trim and registration marks, eye marks, custom marks, label text. Velocity 2 also supports the Scodix marks required by Scodix Digital Print Enhancement Press.
Cut and Stack
For imposition on sheets, the variable data records can be arranged in a cut & stack order either from top to bottom or bottom to top.
Start at
For all types of impositions, rolls or sheets, the user can specify the first record to start at the top-left corner of the sheet or roll, top-right corner, bottom-left corner, or bottom-right corner.
Direction
The direction of how the record flow on the sheet or roll can also be specified. It can go from left to right (or right to left) row by row, or top to bottom (or bottom to top) column by column, or zigzag i.e. from left to right, then right to left, and so on.
Orientation
The user can also specify the relative orientation of adjacent records. The records can all be in the same orientation by default. Or adjacent rows or columns can be rotated by 180 degrees. Or in a checker arrangement where the one to the right and bottom are rotated by 180 degrees.
Color Swatch Library Management
Velocity provides one swatch library where all color swatches are stored, regardless of whether they are for specific projects or for general usage. There is also no spot color libraries such as the Pantone color books.
Document, Application and Standard Libraries
In Velocity V2, when creating a new swatch, whether normal (static) or variable color swatches, the user can specify that the swatch is to be created as a document swatch. Document swatches are stored with the document and is only active when the document is opened. This can make sure you have the right color swatches when you open a document, and reduce cluttering of your application swatch libraries.
If a swatch is for general usage, the user can specify that it is to be added to the Application library. Application swatches are loaded with the application and can be used with any opened documents.
It is possible to convert a document swatch to an application swatch, and vice versa. Velocity V2 also provides the default color swatches that come with Version 1 as the Standard swatches, so that the commonly-used colors are available by default.
Pantone Swatch Libraries
In addition, Velocity 2 allows the import of Pantone color libraries from Harlequin RIP v11 or above. The imported Pantone colors are saved in the device independent CIE-L*a*b* colorspace. The imported libraries can be displayed in the Swatch panel and users can enter the Pantone number or partial Pantone number to easily find the required Pantone color.
Object Management with Layers
Velocity V2 comes with a new LAYERS panel providing full support for element placement on layers.
Users can create layers as needed and place elements on the layer.
Existing layers can be made visible or hidden to make it easier for editing complex layout and to make it possible to print or not print elements on layers.. Specific layers can be made visible with all other layers made invisible with an ALT-click on the visibility icon.
Layers can also be locked to prevent editing. Specific layers can be unlocked with all other layers locked with an ALT-click on the lock icon.
Order of layers can be re-arranged easily by drag and drop or by selecting a layer then click the appropriate buttons to move to the top, move up one layer, move down one layer, or move to the bottom.
Variable Data from Multiple Databases
Velocity now supports more than 1 database per job. You can have as many databases as you like and you will be able to use the data from multiple database within the same Velocity job in regular variable fields or in scripts!
There are more reasons for using Velocity
For all types of impositions, rolls or sheets, the user can specify the first record to start at the top-left corner of the sheet or roll, top-right corner, bottom-left corner, or bottom-right corner.
Velocity V2 also supports more delimiters
If the delimiter you are using is not in out list, don’t worry because you can also customize the delimiter you need
The text qualifier can also be customized.
If you database contains Unicode characters but the database file doesnt containing any encoding format, you can also manually choose the encoding method so Velocity can understsand your database file correctly.
Automate Velocity with Channels
If you are processing the same variable data job over and over again with just a different set of data, you now have a much easier and faster way to process these jobs by using Channels.
Create a channel with the template of your job, set an input folder for the database files, and an output folder for the output PDF. Start the channel and save the database file in the input folder and Velocity will automatically fetch the template and the database, merge and generate the output PDF files.
