Data Object Creation and Installation

You can use a wide variety of software applications to create or manipulate images to include in print jobs. If you want to store them in central resource repositories, you can use AFP Resource Installer to install them.

Data object creation

Most types of data objects are images of some kind. Examples include: photographs taken with a digital camera; charts or diagrams generated by a software tool; and digital drawings created using graphics software. Regardless of how images are created, you generally need to manipulate them to include them in print jobs.

The changes include:

  • Convert the image into a file type that is appropriate for printing. For example, the file types that many graphics applications (such as Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, and Corel Paint Shop Pro) use to store images while you work on them are not appropriate for printing. To use images that you create from any of those programs, you can save or export those files as a different file type, such as EPS, JPEG, or TIFF.
  • Make sure that your image files are associated with an appropriate color space or input profile. Follow the instructions provided with your graphics software to set up color management, including installing and using ICC profiles for digital cameras and monitors, and customizing color management settings. The instructions should also explain how to change the color profile that an image uses and how to save an image with an embedded profile.
  • Follow the tips and best practices provided in the other sections below for creating images and managing them as data object resources.

Data object installation

You can use AFP Resource Installer to install your images in a resource library. AFP Resource Installer includes wizards that can guide you through the process of installing an image as a data object. When you install an EPS, JPEG, or TIFF image with an embedded ICC profile by using AFP Resource Installer, you can choose how you want to handle the profile:

  • Leave the profile in the file without creating a CMR.
  • Leave the profile in the file, but also copy the profile and create a CMR from the copy. Associate the new CMR with the data object.
  • To reduce the file size, remove the profile from the file and make the profile into a CMR. Associate the new CMR with the data object.

Related information:

Tips and Best Practices
RICOH AFP Resource Installer
Parent topic: Data Objects