Overview
The Print Bars tab defines the individual print bars used by the device.
A print bar represents a single colorant, such as Black, Cyan, Magenta, or Yellow. Each print bar is assigned to a print bar group, which provides shared settings such as resolution, bits per pixel, drop size, and side assignment.
Each print bar must have a unique plane number on its side of the device. Plane numbers are used to identify each colorant.
Note: When an existing .sdc file is opened, print bar structure fields become read-only. This includes adding or removing print bars, changing plane numbers, changing print bar group assignments, and changing the UI representation color. Drop volume or toner weight settings can still be reviewed and configured.
Print Bars
The list on the left shows the print bars in the configuration.
Use + to add a new print bar.
Use - to remove the selected print bar.
At least one print bar must always remain in the configuration.
When a new print bar is added, enter the name of the colorant. Smart Device Configurator creates the new print bar by copying the settings from the last print bar in the list, then assigns the next available plane number for that side of the device.
For standard mono and CMYK devices, print bars can be created automatically by the Color Support Option on the General tab:
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Mono creates Black
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Color creates Black, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow
Details
Use the details area to configure the selected print bar.
Plane Number
Use Plane Number to identify the selected print bar.
Each print bar must have a unique plane number on the same side of the device. For example, a standard CMYK simplex device uses:
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Black: plane number 1
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Cyan: plane number 2
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Magenta: plane number 3
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Yellow: plane number 4
For duplex devices, plane numbers must be unique on each side. The same plane number can be used on side A and side B, but two print bars on the same side cannot share a plane number.
If plane numbers are not valid, Smart Device Configurator displays a warning and the configuration cannot be saved until the issue is corrected.
Print Bar Group
Use Print Bar Group to assign the selected print bar to a print bar group.
The print bar group defines the shared print settings used by the print bar, including resolution, bits per pixel, maximum supported drop size, and side assignment.
Print bars that need different settings should be assigned to different print bar groups.
Configure Drop Volumes / Configure Toner Weight
The button shown on this tab depends on the Printer Type selected on the General tab.
Inkjet: Configure Drop Volumes
For an Inkjet device, the button is labelled Configure Drop Volumes.
This opens a table showing each drop size and its volume in picolitres. The drop sizes are generated from the maximum supported drop size configured on the print bar group.
Enter the volume for each drop size.
Valid picolitre values are from 0 to 1000.
Click Apply to save the changes, or Cancel to close the dialog without applying them.
Toner: Configure Toner Weight
For a Toner device, the button is labelled Configure Toner Weight.
This opens a dialog where you can enter the toner weight in grams per square metre.
Valid toner weight values are from 0 to 10000.
Click Apply to save the change, or Cancel to close the dialog without applying it.
UI Representation
Use UI Representation to set the color used to represent the selected print bar throughout the Smart DFE range of applications.
This color is for display purposes only. It helps identify print bars visually.