Image
The Image tag is one of the main elements of any XML job. It is used to import an image into the job and apply a range of parameters and actions to it. The image tag with its attributes and sub tags specify the file path from where an image will be imported into the job, as well as scaling of the image, rotation, positioning, etc.
In its most basic form, the <Image> tag simply contains the file path to the image(s) that should be printed in the job. In this case, the image will be imported into the job once with it’s original proportions and placed automatically (Default image placement goes from top left in the job to the right and go to a new line when the width is full). To add more images to the a job, simply add more <Image> tags.
In it's most common application to import existing image files into a job, the <Image> tag always requires the FileName attribute to specify what images should be imported. There are however also special applications where the <Image> tag generates its own image content such as ColorCombine and Generate. Other attributes and sub tags are optional. You may include as many sub tags to alter the image itself as you like.
Format: <Image FileName="C:\images\Lizard.tif"></Image>
Sample code for Image
<HotFile>
<Job Name="Image Sample">
<Image FileName="C:\images\Lizard.tif"></Image>
</Job>
</HotFile>
Attributes, Sub Tags and Applications
Scale
Scaling changes the size and dimension of an image in the job. To use the scale function in Delta XML, simply add the <Scale> sub tag to the image tag and enter the desired parameters to adjust your image to the desired size. The scale sub tag has two attributes to adjust how the image is scaled. Mode controls how the scaling is done, e.g. by width, by height, etc. while Value is the desired size in mm (Or % when using the mode PERCENT).
Format: <Scale />
| Attribute | Description | Accepted Values |
Mode= | Controls how the image is scaled, possible inputs are: | MAXEXTENT: Defines width or Height, whichever is greater |
Value= | The size the image should be scaled to. | Numbers for the scaling factor. Default unit is mm, but uses % if Mode is set to PERCENT. |
Code Sample for Scale
<HotFile>
<Job Name = “Scale Sample”>
<Image FileName="C:\images\Lizard.tif">
<Scale Mode="WIDTH" Value="600" />
</Image>
</Job>
</HotFile>
Rotate
Rotate will turn the image clockwise in increments of 90 degrees depending on the selected mode. More gradual rotation is unfortunately not possible at this point.
Format: <Rotate />
| Attribute | Description | Accepted Inputs |
Mode= | Specifies how the image should be rotated. | NONE: Image is not rotated |
Code Sample for Rotate
<HotFile>
<Job Name = “Rotate Sample”>
<Image FileName="C:\images\Lizard.tif">
<Rotate Mode="90" />
</Image>
</Job>
</HotFile>
Position
Controls where in the job the image is placed. Use Position to adjust the positioning of each image by distance from a specific point, such as from the top left corner. The reference point is determined by the mode, while the exact distance is defined in the sub tag as mm, separated by a space. The first value is the horizontal distance from the point, the second value is the vertical distance. So if we define TOP LEFT as our reference point in MODE, entering 100 300 as our values will position the image 10cm to the right and 30cm down.
Format: <Position> <Position/>
| Attribute | Description | Accepted Inputs |
Mode= | Sets the reference point from where the image is positioned. Possible reference points are: | LEFTTOP: Distance is defined from the top left. RIGHTTOP: Distance is defined from the top right. LEFTBOTTOM: Distance is defined from the bottom left. RIGHTBOTTOM Distance is defined from the bottom right. |
| CornerMode= | Sets wether the positioning should be calculated from the corner of the image or the corner of the printmarks. | IMAGE_CORNER: Uses the corner of the image and calculates the position from there. This is the default behavior. OUTER_CORNER: Uses the bounding box including the Print Marks as the zero point origin to calculate the position. |
Sample Code for Position
<HotFile>
<Job Name = “Position Sample”>
<Image FileName="C:\images\Lizard.tif">
<Position Mode="LEFTTOP" CornerMode="OUTER_CORNER">100 300</Position>
</Image>
</Job>
</HotFile>
Pages
If a source file has several pages, which pages to print can be specified using the Element. Accepted formats to specify that pages 1 to 4 should be printed are 1-4, 1 2 3 4, or even combinations such as 1-3 4. By default (And if the pages Element is not used) all pages are imported.
Format: <Pages> <Pages/>
Sample code for pages
<HotFile>
<Job Name = “Pages Sample” >
<Image FileName="C:\images\image.pdf">
<Pages>2-5 9 13</Pages>
</Image>
</Job>
</HotFile>
Overlay
The Overlay Element allows two or more image files within a job to be placed on top of each other so they overlap.
By default, placing image files on top of each other via XML would not work and would lead to the position Element to be ignored as it specifies invalid positions. However using the Overlay Element, the images will be placed on top of each other. The syntax for this Element is a bit special as it requires us to first define an image element, then the overlay element, and then another image element with the filename attribute (And Position sub-element) for each image that should be included. We are effectively treating the two overlayed images as one by enclosing them in one larger image tag. Scaling, Rotation and other required Sub-Elements can be added to the individual Image Elements that have the FileName Attribute.
Format: <Overlay></Overlay>
Sample Code for Overlay
<HotFile>
<Job Name = “Overlay Sample” >
<Image>
<Overlay>
<Image FileName="C:\images\Lizard.tif">
<Position>0 0</Position>
</Image>
<Image FileName="C:\images\Chair.tif">
<Position>20 50</Position>
</Image>
<Image FileName="C:\images\Chair.tif">
<Position>80 10</Position>
</Image>
</Overlay>
</Image>
</Job>
</HotFile>
Image Preset Name
Image Presets are sets of instructions and edits that can automatically be applied to an image (Such as Size, rotation, crop, color replacement, etc.). These parameters can be saved and then easily applied to any number of images. The ImagePresetName tag calls an existing Image Preset from the Installation by specifying its name in the Element. ImagePresetName can be applied either:
Gobally for all Images by placing the <ImagePresetName> tag outside the image tag i.e. directly under the <Job> tag. This will apply the image Preset to all images in the job.
Image Specific by placing the <ImagePresetName> tag inside the <Image> tag. This will take priority over any globally defined Image Presets where their settings contradict. This lets you set a general preset that is applied globally and one for specific images that you want to treat differently.
Note that the Image Preset you are attempting to call must be present in your installation in order for this tag to work. If you are attempting to call a Preset that does not exist, processing will fail.
Format: <ImagePresetName></ImagePresetName>
Sample Code for Image Preset Name
<HotFile>
<Job Name = “Image Preset Name Sample”>
<ImagePresetName>GlobalImagePreset</ImagePresetName>
<Image FileName="C:\images\Lizard.tif">
<ImagePresetName>ImageSpecificImagePreset</ImagePresetName>
</Image>
</Job>
</HotFile>
Copy
By adding the Copies attribute to the <Image> tag, you can specify any desired number of copies for this image. This will place the desired number of duplicates of this image into the job. The copies will retain any parameters the image has (Such as ImagePresets applied to it, etc.)
Format: <Image FileName="ImagePath" Copies="3"></Image>
Sample Code for Copies
<HotFile>
<Job Name="Copies Sample">
<Image FileName="C:\images\Lizard.tif" Copies="3"></Image
</Job>
</HotFile>
Center
The Center function allows you to automatically position images in the center of the job width. To cover a wide range of applications, there are two different modes for Center in Delta Automation. The Center tag requires two attributes to function: The value attribute activates centering for the image, while the Mode attribute selects which type of centering is used.
Note that both available modes for Center will automatically place each image on a new line, it will not place images next to each other. If you want images to be placed next to each other and then centered or centered in specific positions, check out the center group function.
Format: <Center />
| Attribute | Description | Accepted Inputs |
| Value= | Activates or deactivates centering for this image, to use centering it should be set to 1. | 0=No centering 1=Center |
| Mode="STANDARD" | The default centering mode calculates the middle of the material from the media size and uses simple positioning coordinates to place the image at the center. This is the same as pressing Shift+C in the JobComposer |
|
Mode="MARGIN" | Centering by margin will calculate the middle of the material and then add a margin to the left side of the image to position it in the center. |
|
Sample Code for Center
<HotFile>
<Job Name="Center Sample">
<Image FileName="C:\images\Lizard.tif">
<Center Value="1" Mode="MARGIN"/>
</Image>
<Image FileName="C:\images\Lizard.tif">
<Center Value="1" Mode="STANDARD"/>
</Image>
</Job>
</HotFile>
Center Group
To center multiple images and keep their relative positions to each other, you can position, autopositioning or use nesting to define the image placement and then group the images together using the Group function in Delta Automation. If you then apply centering to the group by adding the Attribute Center=»1», the entire group will by centered and images will retain their position relative to each other.
Format: <Group></Group>
| Attribute | Description | Accepted Inputs |
Center= | Activates or deactivates centering for this group, to use centering it should be set to 1. | 0=No centering 1=Center |
Sample Code for centered Group
<HotFile>
<Job Name="Center Sample">
<Group Center="1">
<Image FileName="C:\images\Lizard.tif"></Image>
<Image FileName="C:\images\Lizard.tif"></Image>
<Image FileName="C:\images\Lizard.tif"></Image>
</Group>
</Job>
</HotFile>
Mirror
With the Mirror function, you can mirror an image horizontally. Activate the Mirror function by adding the sub tag <Mirror /> and activating the function with Value=»1».
Format: <Mirror />
Sample code for Mirror
<HotFile>
<Job Name="Mirror Sample">
<Image FileName="C:\images\Lizard.tif">
<Mirror Value="1"/>
</Image>
</Job>
</HotFile>
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