Remote Proofing with GMG ColorProof GO
There are two ways to send files to GMG ColorProof systems via the cloud:
- Simply upload a file within GMG ColorProof GO and send it to a GMG ColorProof program instance you have access to (see "Job Creation").
- Drop a file into a FLOW hotfolder, using an automated source and target proofing (currently available as beta version).
In this tutorial, we will show you how B, the automated remote proofing with FLOW, works. We assume that you are already a GMG ColorProof GO user. If this is not the case, please refer to the following information first: Getting Started with GMG ColorProof GO.
With FLOW, you can fully automate remote proofing, with full control on the color management, for example, proof profiles and spot color libraries. Two GMG ColorProof instances running on separate computers can be connected via flows in GMG ColorProof GO: One instance is defined as the (color) hub and the other one as the remote client. The hub defines the color management (in a workflow) and the remote client prints the job from the hub (via one of its local workflows) without needing to have the profiles or spot color libraries on the local system. These are embedded in the job sent from the hub. The nesting, however, is defined on the remote site according to the target workflow so that jobs from potentially multiple locations are nested in a meaningful way. In short: proof jobs are sent from a “source” workflow to a “target” workflow.
Both the hub and the remote site need to be connected to the cloud to be able to access (and see) both systems. If this is not the case, please refer to the following information first: Getting Started with GMG ColorProof GO
How is it set up? In short: Firstly, the remote client needs to configure the "output" workflow defining the printer settings. Next, an admin defines a FLOW (the “proofing pipeline” between two systems) in GMG ColorProof GO. Finally, the FLOW address needs to be defined as a Remote Site at the hub.
Click the gearwheel and then click Flows. Click New Flow and enter a Name for the FLOW. It is recommended to define a meaningful name for later identification, e.g. “NewYork GRACoL”. Select the hub, the remote client, and the workflow at the remote client site.
As you can see in the next screenshot, "Proofing Station 2" is now defined as a hub.
A user needs to be an Admin for the hub system to be able to define a flow for the hub. The user also needs to have at least Viewer permission for the remote site. The user who defined a flow is considered the owner of this flow.
At the hub, FLOW addresses are saved as Remote Site in some kind of address book. Currently, these addresses still need an ID copied from GMG ColorProof GO. This process will be made more convenient in future versions.
- On the System menu, point to Remote Proofing and then click Manage Remote Sites .
The Manage Remote Sites dialog box will be displayed. - Click the Add button.
The Define Remote Site dialog box will be displayed. - Enter a name for the remote site that you will recognize easily, for example, the name of the FLOW.
- Under Target Location, select Flow from the Automatic Transfer list.
- Leave the dialog box open. Open GMG ColorProof GO in a browser and navigate to the FLOWS page.
- Right-click the name of a FLOW in the list and then click Copy Flow ID to Clipboard.
- Go back to the Define Remote Site dialog box in GMG ColorProof and paste the ID into the Flow box.
- Leave the field Target Printer empty. This property is currently not applicable. It is reserved for future features.
If you want to send jobs to further remote sites on this hub, just add further Remote Site addresses.
Four flows saved as Remote Site at the hub. These addresses can now be used to send jobs from the Manual Job Manager and from a Workflow .
You can now create a workflow with the required color management settings at the hub. (Printer settings are irrelevant as they are defined in the workflow at the remote site.) You will need to connect the workflow to the Remote Site on the Printer tabbed page so that jobs copied to the hub workflow are automatically transferred to the remote site workflow.
- In the workflow dialog box, go to the Printer tabbed page.
- Select the option Export Job for Remote Proofing.
- Under Target Remote Site, select the Remote Site you created in the step before from the list. (If you have not set up a Remote Site yet, you can do so now by clicking the Edit button next to the list.)
- Generally, you will want to leave the check box Print On Local Printer before Exporting without check mark. This means that the jobs created by the workflow will be printed only at the remote site, and not at the hub.
If you want to set up multiple workflows connected to multiple remote sites, you can duplicate a workflow and just change the Target Remote Site. This way you do not need to repeat all settings.
Hub connected to two separate remote sites. For each site, two workflows are processing incoming documents with different proof standards.
Simply send a document to one of the hub workflows connected to a remote site. The document will be processed by the hub workflow, uploaded to the cloud, and then be nested and printed at the remote site. All fully automatically.
You can add the input documents locally at the hub, just in the usual way via a workflow or by drag-and-drop.
Theoretically, you can also upload documents via the browser within GMG ColorProof GO using drag-and-drop to one of the drop zones, but the displayed drop zone must lead to a hub workflow to have the color management of the hub. Otherwise just the document is transferred to the remote location and then processed by the color management settings on the remote site. Please note: The drop zones show no visual indicator of being a hub—you need to know this. If you have a scenario in which you would like to use the document upload via the browser with FLOW, please get in touch with us and let us know. For the beta version, we primarily support workflow-to-workflow remote proofing.
Document sent to the workflow "ISO Coated v2 (39L) on Remote Client 1". This workflow is located a the hub and the job will be printed at the remote client.
On the Flow Orders page, you can see all ordered jobs from the defined flows. You see which system sent the order (Source) and which system received the job (Target). In four different views, you easily get an overview which flow orders are still in progress, which have been successfully printed, and which are on hold or in error status.
Flow Orders page, listing all jobs processed by flows defined in GMG ColorProof GO. You can filter the list by the order date.
Flow orders can be seen by the owner of the flow and by users having at least the Viewer role for the hub, and/or having Admin rights for the remote client.
With the built-in accounting, you can easily track the usage of flows. Click the gearwheel button on the upper right and then click Flows. Select any flow to see the accounting information on the right side.
GMG ColorProof GO shows the accounting information of the selected flow on the right side.
The following information on sent flow orders is tracked. GMG ColorProof GO does not take into account any changes that might be applied on the target site or whether the flow orders are actually printed or not.
- Sent images/pages (each page in a multi-page file is counted)
- Sent data size in bytes
- Paper usage in square meters
Accounting is visible only to all users with at least Viewer rights for the hub and/or the remote site of the flow.