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Introduction

This document provides instructions for enabling and printing a customized Watermark text on the LayCom work ticket form in Optifacts GR8 or higher. The font style, size, location, rotation, justification, and watermark density are customizable for each setup.

Procedure

Determine what text you wish to print in the watermark. The text for this watermark comes from data that gets stored within the job_data table. Printing the watermark gets triggered by any method available in the job triggers or other menus to set a job data item.  This document provides an example of a “NEW ACCOUNT” watermark triggered by the account number.

Begin by creating the placeholder for the watermark.

Job Data Definitions

From the Optifacts main menu:

Select Option 3 - Editor Utilities and press Enter.

Select Option 6 - Configuration Editor and press Enter.

Select Option 7 – Edit Job Data Definitions and press Enter.

The Prompt Configuration for Miscellaneous Job-Related data screen is displayed.

• Press “Q” to Query to perform a search for the table shown below.
• You can then use “N” and “P” to scroll forwards and backward in the results list and press “U” to update an existing record. (If you need more assistance navigating this screen, please refer to the appropriate SOP for navigating Perform Screens.)

If the table does not exist:

• Press “A” to add a new record for the work ticket watermark.
• Enter all the information, as shown in the diagram below.
• Press Escape to save the data.
• Repeat this procedure for each watermark configuration you are making.
• Press “E” to exit.

Field Definitions

Field Name - Must begin as WT WATERMARK, followed by a space, and then a number 1 through 20. (For example, WT WATERMARK 1, WT WATERMARK 2, WT WATERMARK 3, WT WATERMARK 4). This entry matches the Field Name from the Custom Configuration screen. Each entry must be uniquely named, from WT WATERMARK 1 through WT WATERMARK 20.

Prompt Order - A numerical value. Since this configuration is not prompting an operator for input, this value won’t get used but is still required. In our example, we use 30.

Order Within Prompt Grp - May be left blank

Prompt Title - May be left blank, but we advise placing something in this field.

Validation Mask - May be left blank.

Include or Limit - May be left blank.

Minimum Characters - Numerical value. It may be left as 0.

Comment - Comment this entry as you see fit.

Print in Invoice Box - Leave this as “N” to prevent the watermark text from printing in one of the invoice boxes.

Invoice Prefix - Leave blank. If printing to an invoice box, text here would prefix the data printed.

XML Tag - Leave blank.

Mandatory - Set to “F” to signify this as a flag that does not require operator input.

Prompt Station - Set to NONE since no operator input is required.

Local Use Only - Set to “Y” to not include this data on routed jobs.

Right, Left, or Job - Set to “J,” as the watermark applies to the job.

Tibco Use - Leave blank.

Relaunch Use - Leave blank or set to “Y” if you know you would desire this barcode to be pre-configured for any relaunched jobs. It is better to leave the unset and allow the system to enable a barcode on a relaunched job automatically.

• Press the Escape key to complete adding your entry.
• Repeat this procedure from “Press A to begin adding” for each barcode configuration you need to make.

Watermark Message

Next, we are creating a new job_data for MESSAGE. We can place text into this job_data field, and whatever text we place into this field becomes the watermark later. You can also attach existing job_data fields to the watermark.

• Press “A” or “U” to add or Update (if needed) an entry for “MESSAGE” since we are printing a message tied to an account in this watermark example: Refer to the instructions shown above.

• Press the Escape key to complete adding your entry.
• Press the "E" key to exit this screen and return to the Configuration Menu.

Job Data Triggers

Next, define the trigger for each watermark. In this example, we use the actual account number as the trigger.

From the Optifacts main menu:

Select Option 3 – Editor Utilities and press Enter.

Select Option 6 – Configuration Editor and press Enter.

Select Option 7 – Edit Job Data Triggers and press Enter.

The Triggers to Cause Prompts for Miscellaneous Job-Related Data window displays.

• Press “Q” to Query to search if the table you are looking for exists.
• Press Escape to search. You can then use “N” and “P” to scroll forwards and backward in the results list and press “U” to update an existing record.  (If you need more assistance navigating this screen, please refer to the appropriate SOP for navigating Perform Screens.)
  This screen defines what data triggers the appearance of the barcode and points to the job data element that contains the barcode text.

If the table does not exist:

• Press “A” to add a new record.
• Enter all the information, as shown in the diagram below.
• Press Escape to save the data.
• Repeat this procedure for each watermark configuration you are making.
• Press “E” to exit.

This screen defines what data triggers the appearance of the barcode and points to the job data element that contains the barcode text.

Field Definitions

Account Number - This example uses account #12345.

Ship To Code - Leave blank or enter as applicable

Lite-Up (num) - Leave blank

Lite-Up (bit) - Leave blank

Lite-Up On/Off - Set to “N” since this entry is not using a lite- up configuration

Account Segment - Leave blank

Account Sub-Segment - Leave blank

Sales Group - Leave blank

Buying Group - Leave blank

Chain Group - Leave blank

Business Type - Leave blank

Field Name - Set to WT WATERMARK 1, or what name you are using for the WT WATERMARK. (For example, WT WATERMARK 2, WT WATERMARK 3, WT WATERMARK 4)

Default Value - Set to MESSAGE Ffor this example, you can also enter the name of any other valid job data field here)

Message Data

• Repeat the process above to add a record for the MESSAGE data. Here is where we input the text associated with the MESSAGE job_data.  Remember, the Default Value associated with this field becomes the watermark text.

Define the text of the MESSAGE job data value:

So far, we have defined everything needed to save job data for the watermark whenever account 12345 gets used on a job entered through layout/order entry.

Custom Configuration

The last step is to define information about where and how the information prints on the ticket. Some of this may require trial and error to obtain the optimal placement and size of the text to meet your desired outcome.

From the Optifacts main menu:

Select Option 3 - Editor Utilities and press Enter.

Select Option 6 - Configuration Editor and press Enter.

Select Option 6 – Edit Custom Configuration and press Enter.

The Custom Configuration Editor displays.

• Press “Q” to Query to search if the table you are looking for exists.
• Press Escape to search. You can then use “N” and “P” to scroll forwards and backward in the results list and press “U” to update an existing record.  (If you need more assistance navigating this screen, please refer to the appropriate SOP for navigating Perform Screens.)

If the table does not exist:

• Press “A” to add a new record.
• Enter all the information, as shown in the diagram below.
• Character Setting, Float, and Integer values may vary by lab. The following is only an example.
• Press Escape to save the data.
• Repeat this procedure for each barcode configuration you are making.
• Press “E” to exit.

Field Definitions

Calling Program - Must be LAYOUT. No other options exist.

Field Name - Must begin as WT WATERMARK, followed by a space, and then a number 1 through 20. (For example, WT WATERMARK 1, WT WATERMARK 2, WT WATERMARK 3, WT WATERMARK 4). Each entry must be uniquely named, from WT WATERMARK 1 through WT WATERMARK 20.

Enabled - Set to “Y” to enable or “N” to disable this barcode.

Character Setting - This field contains five parameters separated by a comma delimiter. ( separated with a semi-colon delimiter in non-US locations where a comma gets used for decimal notation)

• Font parameter – choices are (Upper/Lowercase lettering is vital to match exactly!) 
  • Times, Times-Bold, Times-Italic, Times-Bold Italic
  • Courier, Courier-Bold, Courier-Italic, Courier-BoldItalic
  • Helvetica, Helvetica-Bold, Helvetica-Italic, Helvetica-BoldItalic
• Size parameter - The size parameter is a numerical value representing the approximate height of lettering in millimeters. The font size includes space for super and subscripted characters, so font size here of 40mm might only print characters 36mm tall.
• Rotation parameter - The rotation parameter is a numerical value representing the axis to print along. 0 = normal left to right, 180 upside-down, etc.  The orientation of 0 is when holding the paper in portrait mode.  (taller than it is in width) See Appendix A for more information.
• Density parameter - A numerical value ranges from 0.0 to 1.0, where 0.0 is solid black and 1.0 is solid white. Good watermark values differ between printer brands; 0.6 or 0.7 are good starting values to create a watermark effect where other items are visible through the text.
• Alignment parameter – one of the following: (See Appendix A for more information)
  • Right: Prints text aligned with the ending character of the watermark text at the coordinates specified.
  • Center: Prints text aligned with the central character of the watermark text at the coordinates specified.
  • Left: Prints text aligned with the beginning character of the watermark text at the coordinates specified. (‘normal’ printing and is the default)

Float Setting - The float setting is a numerical value: the “X” coordinates or measurement from the left margin to where you wish to print. Value gets entered in mm format. See Appendix A for more information.  The left-most printable margin is 5.0. The right-most printable margin is 210.0.

Integer Setting - The integer setting is a numerical value: the “Y” coordinates or measurement from the bottom margin to where you wish to print. Value gets entered in mm format. See Appendix A for more information. The bottom-most printable margin is 5.0. The top-most printable margin is 275.0

Comment - Enter comments about this entry. An Optifacts default is to input comments about the field requirements, as shown in the example above.

Test Job

• Enter an appropriate test job to validate the new text/barcode that appears on the work ticket.

Appendix A

Work Ticket Layout, Dimensions, and Font Orientation

Below is the default layout of the ticket. Imagine the ticket separated into two sides. The left side is inspection and finishing, while the right side is for surfacing and frame/lens preparation/supply.

The conventional way of viewing the printed ticket is in landscape orientation. However, it is mapped out and drawn in portrait orientation when the ticket gets created.

You notice that one side of the ticket appears rotated compared to the other side. The difference between these “sides” doesn’t matter when placing watermarks. All watermarks are overlaid onto the entire page and orientated according to the portrait layout of the page.

By changing the orientation of the watermark text, you can make the text appear to be upside down or print along a diagonal line. For example, if you want to print a watermark on the right side of the ticket and have it align with the ticket text for the surfacing area, you specify the watermark to print with orientation 90.

Now that you know about the orientation of the text, you need to know how to position the watermark. 

All measurements are transcribed in millimeters, starting horizontally at 0 on the left and continuing to the right for 215 mm. Vertical measurement starts at 0 at the bottom and 279mm at the top edge of the page layout. The lower-left corner is at location 0,0. The upper right corner is at locations 215, 279.

When choosing a location, you would like to print the text; you can choose how you want that text to align to your starting location.

In the image below, we have drawn a ‘cross’ at the coordinates so you may see how the text aligns to the X, Y coordinates when printing. The regular or left-justified text begins printing at this location and continues in the orientation direction. However, you can use the same coordinates and specify the text to be right-justified, and the text gets printed to the left of the coordinates, with the text ending at the coordinates given. The centered text centers the text around the coordinates.

Below is a listing of the various font choices you can use to create text or watermarks. All the fonts are the same ‘size’ but note how the various fonts and options alter how many characters print within a specified dimension.

There is also an example of a ‘10’ size font printing inside a “10” height box. While you cannot draw boxes, the box shows how a font is leaving space at the top for superscript, and the font also has descenders and subscripts that could be placed below the vertical measurement when printing the font.

To view and download these instructions as a PDF file, click on the following document image.

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