Item Templates

Pack Item templates (also referred to as Item Templates, Item Designs, Item Options or simply Items) are of two different types and used in the following two ways:

Sizable Items: These are only used in conjunction with a Pack Layout template (.plt). They have an abstract size enabling them to scale and fit within image holes on the Pack Layout. They are used creatively to modify an image hole on a Pack Layout.

Some common applications are:

• Add decorative borders, personalization, or logos

• As design options in IOS

• Build Your Own Packages in IOS

• Adding backgrounds to image holes

Fixed Size Items: These have an explicit physical size and are printed at that exact size. They are most often used to create Item Sheets in Item Sheets Mode.

• ID Cards

• Camera Data Cards

• Proof Sheets

• Second Chance cards

INFO

Sizable items and Fixed Size Items are separate template types although they share the same template filename extension; .pit.

Take care when starting a new Item Template that you select the correct type.

Item templates are created and managed in NeoPack’s Template Designer Mode and can include any combination of images, graphics, or text elements. However, it is important to note that barcodes—both traditional 2D and QR (3D)—must be used only on Fixed Size items.

Creating an Item Template

When creating an Item Template, the first step is to determine whether the item should be a fixed-size or sizable template.

Fixed size items are typically used for small ‘items’ that will be printed as a sheet in Item Sheets Mode. They are created at a precise size, meaning they can accept barcodes and QR codes, as these objects also require a precise size.

Sizable items are a design element with an abstract size that scales to fit into the image hole(s) of the Pack Layouts they will be used with. They are therefore designed with an aspect ratio that matches that of the Pack Layout’s image hole.

To create an Item Template:

1. Open the NeoPack Template Designer Mode (F8)

2. Navigate to File> New

3. Select the desired item template type, Sizable or Fixed Sized, by clicking the icon next to the description.

4. Click the white page area and set the desired dimensions or aspect ratio

5. Add image holes, graphics, text, or other design elements as desired

Items for horizontal and vertical images

Unlike Pack Layouts (.plt), which automatically rotate images to fit within an image hole, images are NOT rotated in Item Templates (.pit). Instead, Item Templates can be created with both vertical and horizontal versions if images in both orientations are expected.

Orientation versions are especially useful for products using layout elements such as logos, graphics, and text that need to be adjusted based on image orientation.

The software automatically selects the correct version depending on the orientation of the selected image.

Item Tags

By default, all Items can be accepted by any Pack Layout.

This behaviour may be undesirable in the Timestone Internet Ordering System (IOS) as an online customer could select an Item option that is inappropriate for the product being ordered. For example, a photographer may wish to offer a Yard Sign with different Item designs to choose from. Those Items should only be applicable to the Yard sign. This control can be achieved by adding Tags to both the Item template and the Pack Layout template.

The principle of tags is simple:

Tags

Items with tags can only be accepted by Pack Layouts with matching tags

Adding an Item Tag

1. Open the item in the Template Designer

2. Navigate to File> Properties

3. In the Item tag(s) field, enter your desired tag.

4. Save the template

5. Open the corresponding Pack Layout template in the Template Designer

6. Navigate to File>Properties and enter the same tag in the appropriate field

7. Optionally, add a default item by adding the template Name to the Default item field

8. Save the template

Example - ‘Build Your Own’ packages

A very common use if Items is with online ‘Build Your Own’ packages, where item designs are used to offer different configurations to a product.

This important concept is discussed in its own article.

Example - A yard sign with three design options

A Photographer wishes to offer a 24×18-inch graduation yard sign product with 3 options. The templates used in this example are available for download.

The General Steps are as follows:

1. Create the templates. Templates can be created in either order as long as the item tag is added.

2. Create the Product

Create the Pack Layout Templates

Create the Item Templates

The Product

This template will essentially act as the “Canvas” that dictates the size of the final product and displays an item template within it.

To create the Pack Layout template :

1. In NeoPack’s Template Designer, create a New pack layout template

2. Set the Canvas size to 24×18 inches

3. Add an image hole set to “Selected Item Design.”

4. Under File> Preferences, add a Description, Key, an Item Tag, and a default item

   1. For the Description, enter something simple and recognizable

   2. For the Key, enter a value that can be entered easily in the product creation page in tsAdmin, “YD24×18” in this example

   3. For the Item Tag, it is important to choose something that will not be accidentally called upon for another product, “GradYardSign” in this example. This tag should be kept the same for all Layout Templates (plt files) and Item Templates (pit files).

   4. For the Default Item, the user can choose to display any of the item designs that will be made in the next step.

5. Save the Template As “YardSign”

To create the item templates:

1. In NeoPack’s Template Designer, create a new item template

2. Set the Canvas size to 24×18. This ensures that regardless of fixed size or sizeable, the design is the exact size or the same aspect ratio as the PLT file.

3. Add the desired Image hole(s) and other design elements onto the template.

4. Under File> Preferences, add the appropriate Item Tag. It is important to use the exact same tag that was used on the Pack layout templates, “GradYardSign” in this example. This should be kept the same for the Layout Template (PLT) and all the appropriate Item Templates (PIT files). The user can also opt to give the item a customer-friendly description that will display instead of the filename, Graduate Design A, B, and C are used here.

5. Save the Template. In this example, the options are GradSignPurple, GradSignWhite, and GradSignBlack, all with the extension “.pit”

   

In tsAdmin, the product is created using a Pack Layout Template (PLT). Only the product associated with the PLT file needs to be created, as the individual items are offered as options for that product through the use of Item Tags.

Once the product has been created, it can be added to an Offer and Package, making it available for ordering through any of the standard methods. Optionally, the user can assign a Package Template or a preview image that will display online.

When an order is placed online, customers will see additional buttons on the customization screen, allowing them to select their preferred layout, as shown below. Note that the customer is being presented with the description of the Item template instead of the file name.

 

Charging for Item design “Options"

When used in IOS as options, Items can be assigned a price that will be added to the package price.

Pricing is controlled through a combination of item properties and pricing rules in tsAdmin and is described in detail in the article below.

Calling  an Explicit Item Template on a Pack Layout Template

In some products,  the user may want certain Item Templates—such as themed borders or fixed designs—to apply automatically, without customer input. This can be done using the Explicit Item Design option on an image hole on a Pack Layout template, which assigns a specific Item Template to an image hole.

NOTE

When an item is explicitly called into a layout’s image hole, it is ‘fixed’ meaning that no other item design can be used in its place. This is an important distinction to be made compared to using a ‘Default’ item as described earlier.

A Default item will also automatically be displayed but can then be changed when ordering whereas an Explicit item can not.