I'm building it in such a way you need to create a single template in Illustrator in PostScript.
From this base template you will need to save different outputs:
- online template: SVG files containing all the layers you would like to present in the designer including your clipmask, cuttinglines, logo's, buttons, camera's, shadows etc.
- compiler template: PostScript file which needs some manual editing at this point. This file should only contain the layers you need to be printed for example the clipmasks, cuttinglines (but not the shadows!) and some print/cut marks if needed for your cutter. This file can contain spotcolors and will honour them in the output (tested with Roland spotcolors for cutting vectors)
The compiler template is built in such a way it can incorporate customer data from you eCommerce product (order and address data). So for phoneskins etc. it can contain an addresslabel next to the product. Yes for vinyl product these are relatively expensive addresslabels, but this way I'm always sure I'll put the correct skin in the correct envelope and it prevents me from printing a separate label on the Dymo. You could also only print the orderID or total item amount in any spot within the template to keep track of you order during manual actions.
Because of this template setup you can customize everything on the print side as you like.
As the names say, the online template is used for in the designer, the compiler template is used to compile the actual PDF after the order is paid.
My workflow will be:
- customer designs personal item online (NodeJS application)
- all design files are continuously saved in an S3 bucket
- when eCommerce confirms payment it will flag the design in S3 for further processing and adds customer/order data if needed
- My Synology NAS syncs with the S3 bucket
- The compiler application runs on NodeJS (on the NAS) and checks for flagged designs
- If flagged it will proceed with compiling (unpaid orders will never be compiled)
- NAS saves the PDF to my Print/RIP folder
- the plotter automatically RIPs and prints
On the resolution part, the application will not downsize any uploads. In the configuration I can set the dpi output for the PDF. So I'll have to check to see what the impact is on my RIP with highres images, but I think a setting between 300 and 600dpi would be more then sufficient. Also because we use S3 the upload is blazing fast, in combination with that the customer can start designing as soon as he starts the upload with a smaller version of the image. This also means the interface is super fast and will not slow down when using large images.
When a customer uploads a lowres image we will do a calculation and alerting, for example images which are able to be printed >200dpi are OK, 100-200 is "Poor" and <100 "Terrible". The solution is similar to the CaseApp.com solution.
The interface in general is built in AngularJS and split in several parts (widgets) which makes adjusting the interface for your website as flexible as possible. Also responsive layout would be no problem. However we have not yet fine tuned the interface yet for touch devices.
Features which will come in a later stage (if needed):
- touch device support
- insert text and clipart layers
- adjust color for background, text and clipart
- use spotcolors for text and clipart (also custom spotcolors such as metallic on Roland plotters)
- upload from Instagram etc.
- helperscript or application to build the template files (to replace the manual edits needed in the PostScript files)
- 3D preview of the product (see
www.printio.ru)
As for pricing, I'm not sure yet how I will model it. Maybe in a SaaS like setup (fully hosted), maybe mixed (frontend selfhosted one time fee, PDF compiling as a paid service). But certainly not for a few bucks on CodeCanyon or something like that. But for that matter, this application is built to save on manual labor after you receive an order and is the only application I know so far which works front to back with spotcolor and print/cut support. So for those seriously interested it will save you on the long run. For those who are building a small site selling a handfull of items a week/month, this might be too expensive. Although the SaaS version with a startup fee might be an option for that situation.
I know this might sound very technical for many, but it's all in the detail.
