MappSmith — Print + cut & UV

• Can I UV print a map instead of, or as well as, lasering it?

  Yes, per layer. Open a layer's Output tab and choose Print + cut (ink and a cut file) or Print only (ink, nothing to the laser). Laser is cut and engrave only. One map can mix all three.

• How does a raised print (Mimaki) work?

  Set a layer's route to Raised print in Production files. You get three files per sheet: colour, a grayscale build file and the cut. Place all three in one RasterLink job at the same origin. In the build file black builds highest and white builds nothing. It never contains registration marks.

• How do I change the colour of one feature?

  Open the print layer's Pieces tab. For each piece choose Fill, Outline or Both, then pick the colours. "Reset to theme" goes back to the theme colours. On a print-only layer, Included and Excluded switch a piece on or off.

• How do I control how high each part builds?

  With "From the map", set a height for each kind of feature: Names, text and art (100% by default), Roads (60%), Buildings (80%), Parks and green (25%), Contour lines (40%), Land and Water (0%). With "From the artwork", the relief follows the printed colours, with Contrast, Brightness, Gamma and I...

• How do I see the whole print before downloading?

  When any layer prints, a "Print proof" button appears on the 2D plate. It shows the whole design as one flat print. The checkerboard means no ink. From there you can download a 300 DPI PNG or an SVG.

• How do I set up the TIFF colour separation?

  Tick TIFF + white in Production files and the settings open. Choose a profile under "Separate for" (SWOP, GRACoL, FOGRA, Japan Color and others) or load your shop's own .icc file, which is remembered. Choose a rendering intent and black point compensation. Add up to four spot channels: White, Glo...

• What are registration marks and when do I need them?

  Marks printed with the art and placed at the same spot in the cut file, so the cutter can find the print. Any print-and-cut job needs them. Turn them on in Size & shape or in Production files.

• What DPI can I print at?

  300, 600, 720 or 1200 DPI. Very large pieces at high DPI can be reduced to fit the browser; the file and README state the real DPI.

• What is the PDF with CutContour?

  The colour as a PDF with the cut line as a spot colour named CutContour. Roland, Mimaki and other print-and-cut RIPs read it as "cut here" without you assigning a layer.

• What is TIFF + white?

  A CMYK TIFF separated through a real colour profile, with a white underbase as a spot channel. Without white, colours on dark material come out as a stain rather than a print.

• What print themes are there?

  Classic map, MappSmith, Vintage, Blueprint, Blueprint dark, Noir and Midnight red. Pick one on a print layer's Output tab. You can then change any piece's colours. Colour changes apply instantly.

• What registration mark options are there?

  Trotec circles: solid black dots at the corners. Choose three or four. Three is usual, because the empty corner tells the camera which way round the piece is. Red + blue crosshairs: red at the top right, blue at the bottom left. Mark size runs 2 to 20 mm, and "Clear of the cut" sets the gap from ...

• Why is my print PNG transparent outside the shape?

  That is on purpose. Areas outside the frame carry no ink, so the printer lays nothing there.

• Will the printer spray ink in the gaps between cut pieces?

  Not on a Print + cut layer set to "Pieces only": the ink is clipped to the pieces. Print only has no cut, so ink is only clipped to the frame. A Print + cut layer set to "Solid plate" prints the whole plate with nothing cut out of its face. The panel offers "Switch to pieces" if that is not what ...