Best Methods/Practices for Maximizing Griffin Layout?

[wwstudios]

Hi all,

been working with Griffin for a few months, and I've got some issues I need to solve.

A big problem is that Griffin does not fit the layout to the art size when it creates the layout. This can result in a lot of wasted space if there aren't that many products on the sheet.

To get around this, I decided to turn off my camera and corner marks in Griffin, then have Pitstop Server resize the TrimBox (it uses selected objects as it's new size), then resize the CropBox to add some margin, and then add in my camera and corner marks.

The problem here is that I notice the slight width of my cut lines is missing from the art layout, and so Pitstop crops the art layout and cut layout just a bit differently.

To avoid this I went back to Griffin and added white crosshair camera marks to the layout, and set them to place on both art and cut layouts. Since they're white they don't actually print, but they take up space.

This standardized the size of the layout, which *almost* works.

When my artwork is symmetrical, it works like a charm, but when asymmetrical art is there, even though the page size ends up exactly the same, the art shifts over noticeably on the back side.

It seems to be because the white crosshair camera marks go around each art piece (I have the Auto Distribute setting set to 'Spacing' at 2 inch minimum distance). So the total dimensions are exactly the same, but when cropped they are no longer lined up.

Is there any better way of cropping the layouts to fit the art?

My guess is I'm going about this thing all wrong. Thanks for any assistance.

[Terkelsen]

Can you not just open the layout in Griffin, change the width and height in Layout and add marks?

[magnussandstrom]

Can you not just open the layout in Griffin, change the width and height in Layout and add marks?

I guess OP is looking for an automated solution with Griffin Auto.

I have done a similar workaround as OP. We are adding camera marks but not in the corners, then using Pitstop to crop to visible, then add some margins, then add sluglines and barcodes using Pitstop. It's not a hassle free solution. Since "crop excess material" is an option in Griffin desktop I think it should be added to the Griffin app in Switch as well.

[wwstudios]

Can you not just open the layout in Griffin, change the width and height in Layout and add marks?

Sorry, I should have mentioned it was Griffin Auto, used in conjunction with Switch.

We are adding camera marks but not in the corners, then using Pitstop to crop to visible, then add some margins, then add sluglines and barcodes using Pitstop.

Does 'crop to visible' work better than 'crop to trimbox'? For example it crops the art layout and cut layout to exactly the same size?

[magnussandstrom]

Does 'crop to visible' work better than 'crop to trimbox'? For example it crops the art layout and cut layout to exactly the same size?

Yes, for our use case it works better with "crop to visible". We keep the die cut line in the imposed file, then remove it after the crop.

[wwstudios]

Yes, for our use case it works better with "crop to visible". We keep the die cut line in the imposed file, then remove it after the crop.

I don't see a "crop to visible" action in my list?

Are you selecting all and then resizing the crop box to fit the selection?

[magnussandstrom]

It's a standard Action List thats called "Crop to Visible", maybe you have an older version of Pitstop?

[wwstudios]

Ok, I found it! Under the Repurposing section under Standard.

I swear I typed 'crop' into the search and it didn't come up, but now it does.

Oh well, PitStop gremlins I guess. thanks for the tip this could be really helpful.