Legends Product Creation guide
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Kornitˣ Platform Guide Product Documentation
Prepared by Cobi Martin
The purpose of this document is to show Legends Team Members how to use the Kornitˣ platform to create the Legends virtual products - from selecting the artwork and adding the virtual EAN for each product.
A breakdown of everything detailed on this document is below.
- Blank Products Overview
- Creating categories
- Virtual Product Creation - Manual
- Virtual Product Creation - Artwork Only
- Enhanced Print On Demand Import (Artwork Only)
- Adding Neck Labels to Tag Print areas
- Variants - Virtual EAN
- Adding UPC Numbers
- Virtual SKU Mapping
Blank Products Overview
A 'Blank' is a Fulfiller approved base product; it features live preview product imagery, and is configured to match to a print specification for the purposes of generating 'print ready' artwork.
The term 'Blank' stems from how the Products can be used as a template that Legends can add artwork to whilst still conforming to the Fulfillers print specification. This process creates Virtual Products that can then be ordered online and send to the fulfiller.
All blanks for Legends are available within the following categories, the idea is to select the blank based on the required decoration method. This is due to each blank needing certain setup requirements that are unique to the decoration type.
- Master Blanks Standard - 758901
- Master Blanks XDI - to be updated
- Master Blanks Neon - to be updated
Creating Categories
Product Categories are an essential element for managing products, every single product within Product Manager is going to be found within a category.
Where Can I Access Categories?
To access categories, simply head to the "Settings" cog wheel in the bottom section of the system. You can then see the "Categories" option which is shown in the below screenshot.
How Do I Set Up A Product Category?
When you first access "Categories" you will be greeted with the list view containing a view to all of your existing categories. From this list view you can identify the following, which is highlighted in the screenshot.
- The 5-6 digit numerical reference code for the category ID
- The name of the category
- The ability to enter advanced detail
- Identify the path of the category
To be able to make a category, you must enable the "Tree View" which will allow you to head to the category location where you can expand the categories and with a left click you can create a new subcategory or edit the name. This has been shown in the below image.
In order to change between the list and tree view simply amend the appearance of the page with this slider shown below.
What Can I Amend On Product Categories?
Within any category you can amend the name or delete a category.
The trash can option can be found against every category you can see within the list view. You simply press the delete button a delete your category.
Please note, to delete a category the category in question must be clear of all products and any sub categories should be cleared and deleted first
Only delete categories if you absolutely have to get them removed.
Virtual Product Creation - Manual
MANUAL is an advanced Virtual Product Creation option that is typically used to configure personalisation options with complex formatting requirements. It allows you to select one or multiple Blank Products, and to manually upload artwork in a 1-by-1 sequence.
What do I need?
- Access to a Blank Product in Catalog
- Artwork image file/s
Important Note: The Artwork files that you upload will be applied to the selected Blank Products Print Area and automatically scaled to best fit. For specific positioning / scaling, it is advised that uploaded images are sized to match the Print Size defined against the Fulfillers Blank Product - this approach ensures the Artwork fits the Product perfectly and that there is no loss in image quality from up-scaling images to fit larger products. You can get exact mm Print Area sizes from the Blank products via the Product Manager. Step 3: Manual Configuration
A multi-edit sequence will be opened. By default this shows the configuration settings for the first Virtual Product created - the other Virtual Products can be accessed using the 'Previous' and 'Next' buttons to cycle through them in sequence.
To upload an Artwork file against the open product manually:
- Access the Print menu and click to edit a configured Print Area.
- Expand the 'Artwork' roll-out menu
- Click +Artwork to add a new artwork slot (JPG/PNG)
- Click 'Add an Image' to upload your file
Note: It is recommended that any uploaded artwork files are correctly sized according to the Print Area dimensions (in mm). Any uploaded artwork images that are not correctly sized will be automatically re-scaled to 'cover' the available Print Area by default. This behaviour can be changed to best fit by switching the 'Fit Mode' setting to 'Contain'.
This process can be repeated to manually add Artwork to other Print Areas, eg the Back of a garment if available on the selected Blank.
Virtual Product Creation - Artwork Only
ARTWORK is a simple Virtual Product Creation routine focussed on automation and efficiency. It allows you to select one or multiple Blank Products, and upload raster Artwork images to all of them in a single operation, meaning you can very quickly create entire Virtual Product ranges to then publish and sell online.
This creation process is best suited for creating Print on Demand Virtual Products in bulk, by applying print resolution artwork imagery to a single location eg Front of a garment.
Please Note, the Artwork process is not suitable for;
- Controlling Artwork placement on multiple areas - in the scenario Product Designer is better suited.
- Offering customisation - in this scenario the Design creation process is better suited
- Precision formatting - in this scenario the Manual creation process is better suited.
- Targeting multiple Print Areas - in this scenario the Print on Demand Import is better suited.
What do I need?
- Access to a Blank Product in Catalog
- Artwork image file/s
Important Note: The Artwork files that you upload will be applied to the selected Blank Products Print Area and automatically scaled to best fit. For specific positioning / scaling, it is advised that uploaded images are sized to match the Print Size defined against the Fulfillers Blank Product - this approach ensures the Artwork fits the Product perfectly and that there is no loss in image quality from up-scaling images to fit larger products. You can get exact mm Print Area sizes from the Blank products via the Product Manager.
How does it work?
Access Product Manager and click the '+New Product' button:
From the 'Create Product' menu select Virtual > Artwork creation process:
Now, lets take a look at the 3 steps in using the Artwork creation process:
Step 1: Select Blanks
The 'Select Blanks' step shows a pre-filtered list of any Blank Products that your user account has access to. One or more Blank Products must be selected before you can continue to the next step.
Search and filter options allow specific Blank Products to be located.
- Select Blank Products using the tick box next to each product listing.
Please note that you can select all available blanks by clicking the "Select All" tick which will select all of the available blanks which can be found within entire categories and fulfiller blanks.
- Click 'Continue' to proceed to the next step.
Step 2: Select Artwork
The 'Select Artwork' step shows thumbnails of the selected Blank Products, along with 2 Artwork upload options;
- ADD ARTWORK - Upload print resolution image files (JPG/PNG). All images will be automatically re-scaled to fit the available Print Area and then processed for automated production.
- ADD PRINT READY ARTWORK (VERBATIM) - Suitable for 'pre-formatted' and 'sized to fit' artwork image files only (JPG/PNG/TIFF). This option bypasses any automated scaling or processing in favour of preserving the original uploaded file and any associated data. This is typically used to retain extra layer or alpha channel information for improved print efficacy when handling complex artworks with gradient transparency.
- Click to add Artwork and upload image files.
Each file can be renamed during the upload process - this is automatically appended to the name of the Virtual Product that is created. This allows easier searches and avoids duplicate product names in Catalog.
Once uploaded, the routine will progress automatically to the next step.
Step 3: Product Review
The Product Review step shows preview thumbnails for every Virtual Product that will be created based on the selected Blanks and each added Artwork file.
This step has been enhanced to include new grouping options - this changes how the preview thumbnails of the Virtuals are displayed based on 2 presets;
- Group By: Artwork - Sorts all Virtuals by uploaded artwork file name
- Group By: Blank - Sorts all Virtuals based on Blank
More Artwork can be added at this step, which will add more Virtuals Products to the review window. Any added Artwork can also be deleted to remove all associated Virtual Product thumbnails from the review window
Note: The Fit Mode option changes the automated artwork scaling behaviour between 2 pre-sets;
- Contain (default) - Scales the image to be as large as possible within the available Print Area WITHOUT cropping the image. Typically used for DTG graphics / logos where cropping is undesirable.
- Cover - Scale the image to fill the available Print Area.
Each Virtual Product thumbnail offers the following options;
- Delete/Cancel: Removes the Virtual Product, stopping it from being created
- Choose Colours: Displays the list of available colours, all of which are enabled by default. Colours can be disabled/enabled interactively to target specific ones based on the uploaded Artwork file. Only selected colours will be enabled on the created Virtual Product.
- View: Loads the product within our default app - this is not being used by Legends.
- Specify an appropriate Category location for the Virtual Products to be placed within, and then click to 'Create Virtual Products'.
The Virtual Products are then created and added to the specified Category within Product Manager. The following options are presented;
- Feeds: Generate a feed to publish the newly created Virtual Products
- Multi-Edit: Open all created Virtual Products to be edited / inspected in a sequence based operation
- List: Shows all newly created Virtual Products in an isolated list, allowing easy bulk actions, data exports to be conducted
- Exit: Close the wizard and return to Product Manager
FAQs
Can I replace the artwork file at a later date?
Yes, simply find to the Virtual Product in Product Manager and go to Print > Print Area. Any uploaded artwork files are stored under the Artwork menu; this can be deleted or replaced.
Can I change how the artwork gets applied to avoid cropping?
The best way to cater for this is make sure your designs 'fit' the products that they are to be applied to, as a means to avoid cropping. The other option is, you can change the 'FIT MODE' to determine how the artwork is being applied. This is accessible via Print Specification > Edit the Print Area > Open the Artwork sub menu > Fit Mode.
Cover is the default - this scales the image up to populate the full print
Contain - this makes the image as large as possible, but stops before any cropping can take place
Enhanced Print On Demand Import (Artwork Only)
The KX Platform offers a Print On Demand CSV Import for creating Virtual Products in bulk via a semi-automated process. This provides an effective solution for Brands, Retailers and Designers to add their artwork content to GFN Blank products, and to quickly create product ranges for selling online.
The POD Import is available via:
CATALOG > Product Manager > Imports > Print On Demand
Pre-Requisites
To utilize the POD Import solution effectively, the following information / assets are required:
‘Print Ready’ Artwork Files
Recommended Format: PNG or JPEG
Image Quality: Artwork files must be of suitable size and quality for intended application / printing. Generally, a resolution of 300dpi is recommended (at print size), with a minimum accepted resolution of 150dpi.
Fit: Supplied artwork files should conform to the GFN products print templates / printable area for best fit / precise control over size and placement of the printed artwork on the final product.
Note: If the artwork does not match the printable area it is being applied to, then the system will automatically scale it to fit the available space (up if the image is smaller than the printable area - or - down if the image is larger than the printable area). Therefore, if specific artwork placement and design scaling is a requirement, then this must be factored into the artwork file during creation.
Accessible: Artwork files must be added to the import spreadsheet via URL. The images should be hosted on a server and the location provided via direct link that is publicly accessible with the file extension visible.
Note: If the artwork file is not accessible, then the import will fail.
Failure to supply 'print ready’ artwork based on the information outlined above could result in items being printed in an undesirable way; design elements might be offset, misaligned, incorrectly scaled, blurry or cropped in the final print which could lead to production and / or order related issues. Product Information
Blank Product IDs: These are KX unique identification numbers for each Blank product within the Legends Master blanks. The ID’s are used to target the Blank within the POD Import sheet and are required to initiate Virtual Creation.
Print Area Names: These are the names of the printable areas available on the Legends master Blank Products, eg this is ‘Front’ or ‘Back’.
Note: The exact names are needed when populating the spreadsheet. Failing to use the correct information will lead to import issues.
Category ID’s: These are KX unique identification numbers that are attributed to every Category folder in the Platform. The ID’s are needed in the POD Import sheet to target a specific folder location for new Virtual Products to be added to upon creation.
Once you have all of the pre-requisite data / assets you can proceed to populating the spreadsheet accordingly.
Master POD Import Template
A Master POD Import Guide / Template has been created for reference purposes when populating with the required data
DTG Preset (2 areas) - Includes columns for up to 2 targetable areas. The number of areas can be increased as desired.
Once you have populated all of the data you can proceed to save and import the spreadsheet.
CSV Format Requirements
If using Excel to prepare the data, the file must be exported as a .CSV.
If using OpenOffice or equivalent, save as .CSV and be sure to:
Enable 'Edit the Filter Settings'
Keep Current Format
Change the character set to UNICODE (UTF-8)
Enable 'Quote all text cells'
The file is then ready to be imported into the KX Platform to create the Virtual Products.
Adding Neck Labels to Tag Print Areas
We need to set fulfiller supplied neck labels onto the tag print areas, this ensures the fulfiller prints the correct tag for each POD product.
To set this go to "Print Areas" and select the "Tag" area which is set on every virtual product as shown below.
Then you select the "Tag" print area and expand the artwork area shown
Head to the "+ Artwork" button and click it the amount of times there are sizes, for the 64000 this is always 6 times.
The artwork will appear like this, you can leave the fit mode as "Raster" but you have to change the Fit Mode to "Contain" which will contain the label within the 76 by 76 mm.
Upload the fulfillers supplied neck labels by selecting the "Add an image" button shown below for each size option.
After uploading the images you must select the 3 dots dropdown and this will list all of the available colours. For each size, you would need to only enable the Smalls per each colour.
For example, if we have a virtual that uses a Black and Navy hoodie, you would only need to select the Navy S and Black S for the Small tag and Navy M and Black M for the Medium tag This process must be repeated for each neck tag to ensure the correct file is sent to the fulfiller when an order is placed. This is crucial to ensure the correct tag is printed. This has been shown in the below screenshot.
Once the correct sizes have been selected you just need to "Save" the tags.
Once you have set on one virtual product, you can move onto the next virtual that requires the neck labels.
Variants - Virtual EAN
Variants are set on products that have variable options which need to send unique information to the fulfillers (such as Aspect and Print Sizes).
Within the variants of the virtual products we must have the Virtual EAN added, this ensures the correct barcode is sent to the fulfiller when sending out orders.
To access the variants simply click into the virtual products "General" menu and select "Variants" as shown below.
Within "Variants", you will see the below which details the fulfiller SKU, Production Attributes, Aspects (Colour) and Print Size.
We must head to the dropdown and enable the "Virtual EAN" toggle.
Once selected the Virtual EAN area will appear in the variant menu as shown below, here you have to set the barcode which has been provided by the fulfiller.
Once set, simply head to the "Save" button option below.
Once saved, you can move onto the next virtual product that requires Virtual EANs, repeating the above steps.
Adding UPC Number
Another key part of the virtual setup is enabling the UPC number on each virtual product. You can either set this manually or via our ecommerce import.
How to see the UPC Numbers (Branding Attribute Sets)
To access the UPC numbers set head to the "Settings" and select "Attribute Sets".
Once here, you will see a full directory of each created UPC number, please take note of the unique ID as this will come in useful for the Import method of setting the UPC number.
The date within will be set by the fulfiller, but for some context each attribute set will appear like this when you click into the data and displays the "Details".
Please note, this data MUST NOT be changed, all required data will be set
The "Attributes" tab can be selected and the data will appear as the 2 attributes. UPC Sticker will display the following data needed by the fulfiller.
Hang Tag will display the hang tag that will be added to the garment by the fulfiller.
Manual method
It is good to understand the manual method of setting the UPC date, this is ideal for setting it one at a time. To set this, simply head to the "E-Commerce" section of the virtual product as shown below.
Once selected you can see the E-Commerce data set against the product, this is not needed for Legends as the ecommerce data is done from your sites.
Head to the "Branding Attribute Set" on the data and selecting this will show the dropdown which collates all of the branding attribute sets which contain the UPC data required for the fulfiller to print the order.
Once selected the data will appear like the below, which details which UPC number will be received by the fulfiller.
Once set, select the "Save" button and move onto the next product in your sequence.
Import Method
The import method can be achieved by running our Ecommerce Data export from the selected products or category. You then will get the export of the "product.id" which will list every unique numerical reference code of each product.
You only have to import the "product.id and "ecommerce.branding_attribute_set_id " fields. The unique code for the branding attribute ID will then need to be set
A full directory of the IDs and their respective names can be found below.
- 3110 - LGM Branding Nascar
- 3108 - Blizzard POD TEST
- 3106 Call Of Duty POD TEST
- 3011 -m Atlas MAX Poly Neon XDi EMB Legends
- 2947 - Standard Print Files Legends
- 2946 - XDi Print Files Legends
- 2945 - Neon Print Files Legends
Once set, you simply need to save the file as a text CSV in the UTF-8 language and quoting all text cells. Once saved, head to the Import ecommerce data button and the data will be imported and set on each product exported in the beginning.
This method is ideal for bulk updates.
Virtual SKU Mapping
To be added
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