August 2007

SUPPORT UPDATE: Rendering issues seen on Windows 2003 Server/other Windows OS's

For some time we have seen images render through the ROES Server as if they are negatives, mostly on Windows 2003 Server.  Finally, we were able to find the cause and duplicate it on Windows Vista and 2003 Server.  The issue appears to be caused by the Windows display settings being in High Color/Medium (16 bit) - changing these to True Color/Highest (32 bit) mode allows these images to render properly.  In Display Properties - Settings tab, just changing from Medium (16 bit) to Highest (32 bit) and re-starting the server will resolve this.

New Server Available

The new ROES Server is in use at several labs and offers several new features and functions:

New Attribute - autoenqueue - The autoenqueue attribute can be added on products within a catalog to allow them to automatically be sent to the rendering printer in the ROES Server (leave the checkbox empty in the Options tab for Auto-enqueue order items).  This is ideal for single image prints and non-corrected workflow queues in the server.  To add the new attribute quickly, be sure to highlight a number of products in the catalog (or all of them), right-click and select Distribute Attribute, then enter autoenqueue for the attribute and true for the value, then click OK.

New Fuji PIC Pro Render Direct printer type - Ideal for non-corrected/ready-to-print workflows, it will render the products first and then feed as simple units into PIC Pro.

New Output File Naming for rendered items - The default naming for the rendered files and the checkbox for 'Use image names..." has changed/been removed.  Report or self-defined macros can now be used to generate the file names of any rendered order item in the Output File Name: field.  Examples:

Basic macro use:

[UNIT_INDEX(04)]_[UNIT_PRODUCT_DESCRIPTION]_QTY[UNIT_QUANTITY]

Sets padded 4 character index, followed by the description and quantity needed of the item being rendered.

Self defined macro (very long, but end result is 0001_firstimagename.jpg):

[UNIT_INDEX(04)]_[SET_MACRO( UNIT_FIRST_IMAGE, "undefined")][BEGIN_UNIT_NODE_LIST][BEGIN_IF( ("<UNIT_NODE_INPUT_TYPE>" == "image") && ("<UNIT_FIRST_IMAGE>" == "undefined") )][SET_MACRO( UNIT_FIRST_IMAGE, "<UNIT_NODE_IMAGE_PATH>")][END_IF][END_UNIT_NODE_LIST][GET_FILENAME_SANS_EXTENSION(<UNIT_FIRST_IMAGE>)]

This macro works well in all rendering printers, as the padded index keeps the items in order, especially in PIC Pro.  For proofing orders where the index will not be needed (not likely 2 of the same image rendered), the [UNIT_INDEX]_ can be removed to just get the image submitted via ROES.

Backprinting Values Using Report Macros - Report macros can be combined for backprinting values:

Backprint Line 1, for instance, could use [LAB_ORDER_ID]_[CUSTOMER_NUMBER]

This will give the server generated order number and then the customer account number or studio name.

Backprint Line 2 could use [SET_MACRO( UNIT_FIRST_IMAGE, "undefined")][BEGIN_UNIT_NODE_LIST][BEGIN_IF( ("<UNIT_NODE_INPUT_TYPE>" == "image") && ("<UNIT_FIRST_IMAGE>" == "undefined") )][SET_MACRO( UNIT_FIRST_IMAGE, "<UNIT_NODE_IMAGE_PATH>")][END_IF][END_UNIT_NODE_LIST][GET_FILENAME_SANS_EXTENSION(<UNIT_FIRST_IMAGE>)]

This will give just the image name submitted through ROES (or first image if a composite).

Report Abilities - It is now possible to embed square brackets in a text or HTML report using the escaped character set - for a left bracket use &lb; and for right bracket use &rb; in the report, for example &lb;BEGIN_ORDER&rb; for an order header.

New Errors Area     in Messages tab - Available via the View Log dropdown list, any order that fails to process initially through the server will be listed to provide data on the order.  The order can be cut/pasted from the Done/Finished Orders folder into Incoming Orders to try to re-process or the ROESServer log file in Working Files can be searched for the order number to find the error that occurred.

RE-ORDERS THROUGH ROES/ROES Commentator

The ROES Commentator is a Java application that adds original order data (comments) into an image file's header so that the image can be used for re-ordering.  DP2 labs have a built-in utility from Kodak that allows creation of lower resolution proxy images, where we added a script to add the order and image file name to the proxy for use in re-ordering through ROES.  When these images are used, the ROES Client reads the original order values in the header and does not pull the proxy image into the order, keeping the re-order files small.  Once the ROES Server receives the order, it will use the original image back at the lab based on the data in the order file, ensuring that the same retouched/corrected image is used in creating the job/order item. 

For non-DP2 labs the workflow is the same on the client side, where 'commented' images will allow the studios to reorder images from a single or multiple original orders, and mix in new images if desired.  To create the images needed for re-ordering use, you will need to decide on whether to use the original images or generate lower-res proxies first, and maintain the same order number folder and image file names.  Then open the ROES Commentator (http://www.softworksroes.com/ROES/Commentator/launch.jnlp) and drag/drop the entire order images folder onto the Commentator window.  This will add the order number and image name as Comments into the image header.  This folder of images or proxies can then be sent back to the studio on CD or downloaded as a zip file.  The folder would then be available to be selected in the thumbnail area of the ROES Client to be used in cropping into products, and upon completion only the header comments will be added to the order information, not the image/proxy, speeding order transmission time and reducing storage needs.