FAQ Opium OPI:

• How to send print jobs to software RIP (e.g. BestColor)?
   
• JPEG compression of TIFFs’ issue
   
• Spooling print jobs to software RIP (e.g. BestColor), only print queue’s 1st job is spooled, and the printer remains busy processing this job, so that subsequent jobs are not taken up until the previous one is removed by the receiving software.
   
• How to open the PostScript image data in EPS sample (proxy/FPO) image files created by the Sampler with PhotoShop?
   
• How to let Mac user names of the persons who sent jobs from a Mac occur in the job list?
   
• How to print using OPI from a Mac without using sample (low-res proxy) images?
   
• How to create a parallel low-res hierarchy that would “mirror” the hi-res hierarchy?
   
• How to print jobs using the OPI functions?
   
• How to print from a Mac to an Opium print queue through TCP/IP?
   
• Where can I find the user manual?
   
• The Macintosh client hangs while printing or fonts, which are installed in the printer, are unnecessarily included in the jobs:
   
• The page layout program does not create separations when using OPI and it asserts that some images are missing or have been changed:
   
• Folders shared with Windows MacFile by the OPI Server aren't accessible for users anymore:
   
• An image copied to the OPI input folder does not appear in appropriate output folder.
   
• Please always check the Applications Event Log of Windows NT/2000/XP/2003.
  


• Ensure that Windows NT/2000's AppleTalk (SFM / Services for Macintosh) protocol has been installed correctly.
  


• Booting: "... Loader not found": Please remove the diskette from drive A.
  


• Don't use any filenames containing the following characters | " / \ : , < > nor use a dot or space character at the end of a filename.
   
• If the setup.exe program does not start, then please restart your computer and ensure that no other application is running while using setup.
  
   
• How to send print jobs to software RIP (e.g. BestColor)?
  
  1. Double-click the printer icon to display the printer definition (Printer Properties).
  2. Open the Destination tab.
  3. From the Print To drop-down list box, select the “Folder” option.
  4. Specify the full path to the folder that serves as an input folder for the receiving software.
  5. Ensure that option "Use as removable media for data transport or as input folder for a RIP" is selected (default), instead of "Use as input folder for software which removes printed jobs". Otherwise, the print server will wait until a previous job is removed by the receiving software before spooling subsequent jobs.
  6. Click OK to save your settings.
  
  


• JPEG compression of TIFFs’ issue
  Please note that if you use JPEG compression of TIFFs (or EPS with jpeg-compressed tiff preview), the samples could not be read by some layout applications that do not support this type of TIFF compression.
  So if you want to use layout samples for any layout application, it is highly recommended not to apply JPEG compression to these layout samples (disable jpeg compression settings at the Layout Samples tab). Please note that you can still use JPEG compression of printable data at the Printable tab, this feature could save your disk space. (Do not confuse with JPEG compression of TIFFs)
  If you are not using JPEG compression of TIFFs, your samples could be bigger than the corresponding hi-res images if the hi-res images are JPEGs. In this case, you can use the option "Make samples much smaller than hi-res" to provide downsampling by a predetermined factor. This feature allows to reduce the size of layout samples by reducing the output dpi factor. The reduction factor is set in registry settings and by default it is 7 for JPEGs and 5 for TIFFs.
  


• The problem:
  Spooling print jobs to software RIP (e.g. BestColor), only print queue’s 1st job is spooled, and the printer remains busy processing this job, so that subsequent jobs are not taken up until the previous one is removed by the receiving software.
  The solution:
  This issue is a mere configuration problem. Please check the following settings:
  
  1. Display properties of the printer that sends jobs to receiving software (double-click the printer icon).
  2. Select the Destination tab.
  3. Make sure that “Folder” is selected as Print to.
  4. Make sure that "Use as removable media for data transport or as input folder for a RIP" is selected, instead of "Use as input folder for software which removes printed jobs".
  It was option "Use as input folder for software which removes printed jobs" that caused the stated behavior of the print server.
  


• How to open the PostScript image data in EPS sample (proxy/FPO) image files created by the Sampler with PhotoShop?
  Please note that the EPS sample images created by the Sampler include only EPS image data if option Create Printable Samples is enabled, otherwise the samples include only a PICT or TIFF preview image.
  With option Create Printable Samples enabled, the embedded printable image data is created highly compressed for RIPs/printers and not for opening with PhotoShop. In contrast to RIPs, PhotoShop can only read image data in EPS files in certain formats, which are less compact. To make the EPS samples' image data readable by PhotoShop, you have to enable sampler queue options Create Printable Samples,  ASCII85,  JPEG,  Include Printables in DCS Plate Files.
  However, samples are much smaller if their printable EPS image data is not PhotoShop compatible, as PhotoShop’s EPS support is designed for high-resolution images and not for compact sample images. Layout applications, like QuarkXPress, can anyway not display the EPS image data. They can only display the PICT or TIFF preview image of the EPS sample.
  


• How to let Mac user names of the persons who sent jobs from a Mac occur in the job list?
  On the Mac, the user name has to be configured as the "Owner Name" of the Mac. You can do this by opening the Mac "File Sharing" control panel and entering the "Owner Name".
  Please note that for jobs sent from a Mac, the print server can only obtain the Mac user name if the job has been created with an application that includes the user name in the job. The common layout programs, like QuarkXPress, do this.
  


• How to print using OPI from a Mac without using sample (low-res proxy) images?
  
  1. Place a hi-res image, which is stored in a Macintosh file share on the OPI server, into your layout document (Quark, PageMaker, etc.). You can create file shares for Macintosh with MacServerIP or SFM.
  2. Print the document with the OPI option Omit TIFF & EPS to a print queue of the OPI server. The OPI server then automatically translates the Mac file path specifications of the document's OPI images, locates the hi-res images in the Mac shares and then inserts the correct hi-res images when printing the final output.
  Please note:
  
  • The hi-res images must reside in Macintosh file shares of the same server on which the OPI print server is installed.
  • At the Memory/Localization/Mac File Server tab of the OPI server's System Configuration dialog, the options Search Mac file shares of Windows' MacFile service and Search Mac file shares of cyan's MacServerIP file server must be enabled, so that the OPI server can translate Mac file path specifications of OPI images.
  
  


• How to create a parallel low-res hierarchy that would “mirror” the hi-res hierarchy?
  Assuming your image source folders are:
          C:\Pictures\HighRes\Folder1\File1.jpg
          C:\Pictures\HighRes\Folder2\Folder22\File22.jpg,
  you can create a low-res parallel hierarchy, for example, on a different drive:         D:\Pictures\LowRes\Folder1\File1.low
          D:\Pictures\LowRes\Folder2\Folder22\File22.low
  For this:
  
  1. In the Sampler Queue Settings dialog, click More Options… and check the Advanced Functions check box.
  2. At the Folders tab, enable the Hot Folder option.
  3. Specify C:\Pictures\HighRes as the image source.
  4. Ensure that the Search Subfolders option is enabled. Then all subfolders the image source folder contains will be scanned.
  5. Define D:\Pictures\LowRes as the default sample destination. Folder Pictures on drive D: may not even be existent at the moment. The sampler of Opium will create the specified destination folders before writing image sample files.
  6. Click OK to save your settings.
  
  


• How to print jobs using the OPI functions?
  
  1. In your layout application, choose File > Print.
  2. From the list of available printers, select one of the print server's print queues.
  3. In the print options, select the commands that enable the OPI functions and allow omitting low-res images when printing. The correct steps to perform in some of the DTP programs are described below.
     - In QuarkXPress, at the Options tab, choose Omit TIFF or Omit TIFF & EPS from the OPI drop-down box.
     - In Adobe PageMaker, click the Options button and select Omit Images from the Send Image Data drop-down box.
     - In Adobe InDesign, at the Options tab, enable option OPI/DCS Image Replacement and select check box(es) Omit EPS and/or Omit Bitmap Images.
  4. Select appropriate printing options for your job.
  5. Click OK.


• How to print from a Mac to an Opium print queue through TCP/IP?
  To print from a Mac to a print queue of Opium through TCP/IP, you must have a desktop printer installed on your Mac and specifically set up, and a print queue defined in the Administrator application and shared with TCP/IP.
  
  To share a print queue with TCP/IP:
  
  1. Double-click the print queue icon.
  2. In the Print Queue Properties dialog, the General tab, enable the TCP/IP input method.
  3. Click Apply.
  
  To create a Mac desktop printer:
  Before starting, please ensure that the Administrator application on the server is running and that at least one print queue is defined in it. Besides, if the print server runs under Windows 2000, stop the Windows TCP/IP Print Server. To do this, use Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.
  
  1. Start Desktop Printer Utility. It is usually located at
     HardDrive > Applications > Utilities or
     HardDrive > Apple Extras > Apple LaserWriter Software.
  2. Select Printer (LPR) as a new desktop printer.
  3. Change LPR Printer Selection and specify "IP address" of your print server printer (use the IP address of the server where Opium Print Server is running).
     Note: If your print server has more than one network adapter, then, depending on your network setup settings, you may connect to one or more of its IP addresses. You can select any of the server's addresses to which your Mac has TCP/IP connectivity. This can be verified using the standard "ping" utility for the IP address in question.
  4. Enter the name of the print queue and verify your settings. The print queue name must be the same as specified in the print server configuration settings.
  5. Click OK.
     Note: If you use Mac OS 9.2 (9.2.1), it is recommended that you change the PostScript Printer Description file from generic to any other PostScript printer type, such as e.g. LaserWriter II.
  6. Click Create and enter the name of the desktop printer.
  7. Set this printer as the default printer on your Mac.
  
  Now you can print from your Mac to the print queue. For this:
  
  1. In your layout application, choose File > Print.
  2. From the list of available printers, select the print queue shared with the TCP/IP connection.
  3. Select appropriate printing options for your job.
  4. Click OK.


• Where can I find the user manual?
  The user manual (Opium4.chm) can be found:
  - in your x:\OPIUM4\ directory,
  - through button Start > Programs > Opium Administrator,
  - choosing "Index" from menu "?" in the Opium program.
  If you still do not see the Opium4.chm help file, you probably downloaded version x.819 or lower. Please upgrade to the latest version to obtain the help.
  If you do not find the topics in question in the manual, please feel free to send an email to support@cyansoftware.com and inform us what you are interested in and what you would like to find in this manual.
  


• The Macintosh client hangs while printing or fonts, which are installed in the printer, are unnecessarily included in the jobs:
  Make sure you select OPI print queue with the LaserWriter 8 PrintMonitor in the chooser.
  


• The page layout program does not create separations when using OPI and it asserts that some images are missing or have been changed:
  Make sure that the images used in the document are referenced correctly, otherwise some page layout programs (e.g. QuarkXPress) cannot create separation prints.
  


• Folders shared with Windows MacFile by the OPI Server aren't accessible for users anymore:
  The utility "MACFILE.EXE" of Windows automatically restricts access to folders for which shares have been added by using this utility. Please use the Explorer or FileManager in order to adjust the access rights to these folders.
  


• An image copied to the OPI input folder does not appear in appropriate output folder.
  Probably, this image is corrupt or does not comply with official TIFF or EPS standards. Such a corrupt file is moved to the input sub folder named "corrupt". Try to load this image e.g. with Photoshop and save it again to the initial input folder.