Using swissQprint (Lory) printers with PrintFactory

Installation

Relief Printing

Drop Gloss

Sandwich (3/5 layer with blocker)

Multipage to Multilayer

Installation

Installing the swissQprint driver in your PrintFactory RIP

When setting up the swissQprint driver in the PrintFactory RIP, the necessary printer-specific settings—such as ink channels and print modes—must be imported from a .SQPE configuration file. This file is generated by the Lory Digital Front End (DFE) used by your printer.

How to Export the .SQPE File

1. On the printer’s Lory interface, navigate to Extras > Export RIP Configuration.
   
   

2. This action will generate a .SQPE file containing your printer’s unique configuration.

3. Copy the exported file to a USB drive or place it in a shared network location accessible from the RIP computer.

Adding the Device in PrintFactory RIP

When adding a swissQprint device (e.g., Kudu, Karibu, Nyala 5, Impala 5, or any model using the Lory DFE), follow these steps:

1. In the RIP, go to New -> Output device -> choose Select SQPE.
   
   
   

2. Browse to the .SQPE file you exported from Lory and select it.

3. Set an output folder for ripped jobs.

4. Click OK to complete the setup.

Important: If you do not select a valid .SQPE file, a default configuration will be used. This may result in incorrect ink channel assignments and unavailable print modes.

Merge White channel


The Generation 5 Nyala and Impala have the option of an extra white channel. If you have purchased this option then you need to turn on the merge White channel option when configuring the driver. The White output from the RIP will be merged and Lory DFE will take care of splitting the white data to the two white channels.

Relief Printing

swissQprint UV inkjet printers are capable of impressive relief and textured printing, offering a range of capabilities that cater to the demands of various industries. These printers are recognized for their proficiency in creating layered relief prints, which open up a realm of possibilities for signage, decor, wood printing, and more.

How is it done?

Capturing the Original Artwork: The first step in creating layered relief artwork for printing is to obtain a highly detailed 3D scan of the original artwork. The Metis 3D scanner and similar devices use various technologies to capture the physical details of the artwork. These scanners record the surface geometry of the object, including its texture, shape, and depth.

The data collected by the 3D scanner is processed to generate a digital 3D model of the artwork. This model contains all the surface information, including variations in depth and texture. The resulting 3D model serves as the foundation for the relief printing process. To prepare the artwork for relief printing, the 3D model is further processed to create a relief map. This map represents the depth and texture information as grayscale or heightmap data. In this map, lighter areas correspond to shallower sections, while darker areas represent deeper or textured regions.

You can download an example PDF here

Once you have your artwork you can begin the process of processing it through your PrintFactory RIP and sending it to the printer. You can open the file in Editor to gain a better understanding of how each page in your artwork is applying a varying % of ink in each pass/page.

The example artwork available at the link and pictured above contains 7 pages, the first 6 creating the build up of layers and the final 7th page containing a flood White undercoat followed by the full color final layer. This is a typical relief print artwork, usually with multiple pages where the final page will contain the White undercoat and the final color layer. 

Setting up the job in PrintFactory

1. Open the multipage PDF in Layout, and it will appear with pages randomly arranged on the canvas, similar to this:

2. Go to Alignment and nesting, choose "Job Order - Upright" and click Nest. This will then arrange the pages in the order they are in the PDF:

3. Turn on Split into Individual Pages, this will arrange each page of the PDF into it's own page in the job:



You can now see the print order of the layers. In the screenshot above, the bottom page will print first, and the top page will print last. For this particular artwork, the print order needs to be reversed. To ensure the pages arrive in the correct sequence at Lory, you may need to manually reorder them in the job list. To do this, disable "split into individual pages" and then go to your job list and manually drag and drop the pages to reorder them:



After reordering the pages in the job list, you can click 'Job Order – Upright' and then "Split into individual pages" again to update the nest so that the page order matches the new sequence:

4. Turn on "Multipage to Multilayer" - This ensures that your multipage job is sent to the Lory DFE as a single multilayered file, with each page stacked vertically as separate layers. If this option is not activated, the pages will be arranged side by side rather than on top of each other, an output format that is unsuitable for relief printing:

5. Activate your Layers - Depending on the number of pages in your job, you need to activate the corresponding number of Layers. So if your job has 7 pages, you need to turn on 7 Layers:

6. Submit the job

Drop Gloss

Drop Gloss is a print mode on swissQprint devices that uses clear ink to create targeted gloss effects during printing. Instead of applying a uniform varnish, it allows for controlled application in specific areas, adding visual and tactile detail such as highlights, textures, or raised elements. This is useful for applications like labels, packaging, or display graphics where selective gloss is required.

The process to set up a drop gloss job in PrintFactory is simple and slightly different depending on if your artwork already contains a Varnish spot color/layer or not. It is helpful to use PrintFactory Editor to determine if there is varnish, or to create varnish, although you can skip Editor and use Layout as a standalone application. In this article I will use Editor as it shows a better visualisation of where the varnish will print.

Here is the PDF opened into Editor showing all channels. In the output channels palette you can see there is a spot color named "varnish drop gloss", this means the artworker has helpfully indicated where drop gloss should be printed.

Disabling (by clicking the eye icon) all other channels and leaving only Varnish Drop Gloss remaining, we can see exactly where it will be printed:

If the artwork does not contain a varnish spot color, you can generate varnish using the special ink generation tool.

If the spot color in your artwork is named "Varnish" it will automatically map to the Varnish channel, however in this example I need to map the "Varnish Drop Gloss" spot color to the Varnish channel:



If you do not see Varnish in your channels but your PMM does contain varnish, then you need to activate a varnish channel in your profile configuration:

You can then submit to Layout and make sure you have two layers activated, your top varnish drop gloss layer, and your bottom color layer:

The job will the arrive at the Lory DFE with the correct layering:

The bottom color layer will be printed first and the 2nd drop gloss layer will be printed 2nd to create the special drop gloss effect:

Using Layout

You can bypass many of the steps above in Editor and use only the Layout application to create the job, it can be simpler this way if you already know how the artwork is created. Simply open the file, set the correct layers and under the "White and special ink" section select your Varnish spot color from the drop down list (or use another one of the varnish generation options):

Note: Layout does not have an enhanced layer and spot preview, so dependant on the artwork it may preview with some detail missing, but this is only a preview, not the final result.

Sandwich (3/5 layer with blocker)

The method for creating a 3 or 5 layer sandwich printing job in Layout depends on the artwork you’re starting with. You might have a multipage PDF where the artworker has already created all the necessary layers, including White and Blocker, saved within the file; let’s call that Option 1. Or, you might be working with just one or two flat artwork files that you want to turn into a layered job yourself, let’s call that Option 2.

Option 1

In this case, we have a multipage PDF where all five layers have already been created by the artworker. The process in Layout is simple: enable the Multipage to Multilayer option and ensure each page is correctly assigned to its corresponding layer. In this case, the artworkr has created the blocker layer themselves, meaning we should select a "color" layer instead of a "Blocker" layer. This process is very similar to how a relief printing job is created, explained in the relief printing page.

1. Open your multipage PDF and nest them in Job-Order
2. Turn on Split into Individual Pages
3. Assign each page a layer, make sure you have as many active layers as you do pages in the job

The job will arrive at the Lory DFE with all 5 layers correctly assigned:

Here is a photo of the job part printed, showing all 5 layers:

Option 2

Option 2 is for when the artworker has not created a multipage PDF, you just have a single piece of artwork that you would like to print as a 3 or 5 layer job. For this option, there are a number of actions to take in Layout.

1. Activate the Double Sided option and generate the B side (use option "Transparent")
2. Generate a White layer
3. Activate 5 layers, including a blocker layer as the 3rd layer (or just 3 layers C/W/C if only printing a 3 layer job)
4. Disable "multipage to multilayer" option if printing with 5 layers (because the existence of a Blocker layer automatically invokes the multilayer printing)

If you want to print a different image as the 5th layer, then simply drag and drop a different image from your job list onto the B side

After all steps above are performed you can send the job to Lory. The job will arrive as a multilayer job with 5 layers, including blocker:

Here is a photograph of the above job being printed:

Multipage to Multilayer

This article is to explain the function of the Multipage to Multilayer button:

This function converts a multi-page job into a single-page job with multiple layers. To understand what this means, it helps to first clarify the difference between pages and layers.

If you submit a job with multiple pages in your nest and leave this option turned off, each page will appear side by side in Lory—treated as separate pages arranged next to each other.



However, when you turn this option on, the individual pages are merged into a single job with multiple layers, stacked vertically on top of each other. This setup is essential for certain workflows, such as sandwich printing, as well as for relief and textured printing, see the Relief Printing page for more details

 

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