Printing creates a surface appearance, which does not result from processing the surface, but from the application of or filling in with (hardening) paint. For this reason printing is largely exempt from the constraints accompanying metal processing, and can make use of the flexibility of digital printing.

"What You See Is What You Get" generally refers to the ability of an editor to be able to display a text during the design phase on the screen as it should later be printed e.g. by a printer.

In the same way, an image that is printed on a front panel should appear to be exactly the same color as its representation on the screen during the design phase. In order to come as close as possible to this goal, the following guidelines should be observed:

You can place any number of graphic files on a front panel, which are subsequently embedded in the FPD file. The FPD file contains all the information required for the production process including printing information. You can, for example, place logos, texts and graphics directly in FPD independently of each other.

Alternatively, there is also a procedure in which you create a template, which corresponds in size exactly to the front panel and can be edited in an editing program, such as e.g. Corel Draw or Inkscape. Tips and tricks for this can be found below.

The printing of a front panel requires knowledge of the geometric relationship between the front panel on the one hand and the image to be transferred onto the front panel (vector or raster graphic in corresponding formats) on the other.

A corresponding file is automatically generated if you export the panel to be printed as a vector graphic (see next section). Both the outline of the front panel as well as the outlines of the inserted objects are transferred. You can then use the outline of the front panel to automatically adjust the page size. (Note: Set the line width of the outline of the front panel to the smallest possible value!) Individual objects can be used, for example, for positioning labels.

Of course, you can create the file independently of the front panel file by creating a document with the same geometric dimensions as the front panel to be printed.

Alternatively, you can send us the original image (in the graphic formats described) including the relevant geometric information. For the conversion of the original image into an accurately scaled printable print file, we charge an appropriate fee.

The following procedure for creating your print file has proved its worth:

In order to transfer a text, logo or image through digital printing to the front panel material, we require a file with the following properties: