PDF files often need to have additional elements added to them for production purposes. In the callas solutions, a range of elements can be added quite quickly and easily. But HTML-based templates can also be used to fulfill more advanced requirements.
The “Place content” technology in callas solutions can easily add simple elements to a PDF document. A job ID in the lower right corner? Trim marks? Or a small black square or circle on the left-hand side of the file to serve as registration mark for cutting or printing? Almost everything is possible.
A complete barcode engine is provided to add most common 2D and 3D bar codes, including EAN, ISBN, data matrix, QR… Those barcodes can be placed with whatever CMYK color or spot color you need, at any position in the document you need (perhaps just outside of the trimbox), and a white background can automatically be inserted behind them.
If the elements you want to add onto the PDF document are more complex, you can create your own HTML templates. While these are based on HTML (and use CSS, JavaScript and anything else you know from web sites), they can actually produce proper print-ready PDF. Using such a template, you could for example examine the separations you have in a PDF document, and automatically create a color bar for all spot colors. Just to name one example.
A proof sheet typically is a fixed-size page (such as a letter or A4 size sheet), that contains a preview of the production file (often scaled down to fit), and additional job information (like the name of the customer, the material on which it will be printed, color patches for all spot colors, the dimensions of the final print etc…). The Place Content “Place content” technology in callas solutions is frequently used to create exactly those types of documents, starting from the production files.