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Eternal Warrior
Eternal Warrior
Inspiring
April 12, 2017
Question

Can we have multiple bleed and slug layouts?

  • April 12, 2017
  • 4 replies
  • 3542 views

Hi all,

So I'm currently making multiple versions of the same advert for a product all at varying sizes and layouts.

Because I often need the same elements over and over and I don't want to have to have a folder with up to 10 INDD files when one will suffice... I am making each advert as a new page in my InDesign file and using Liquid layouts and master pages to modify them.

However the problem arises (particularly with slug areas) that visually speaking I don't need the same amount of slug/bleed for each layout...

I.e. an A5 advert doesn't need the same amount of Slug area as an A4...

Whilst for this particular project the bleed isn't such an issue because its all for magazine artwork (max size of a single page A4). I have another project coming up where it would be more of an issue.

So I want to know if its possible to have different slug and bleeds for all the liquid layouts and If not:

  • Do I need to submit a feature request?
  • OR is this likely to come soon / if I update my InDesign to the very very latest version (21.1.0 rather than whatever CC 2017 I'm currently running) will this solve this?

Many thanks,

Eternal Warrior

This topic has been closed for replies.

4 replies

Willi Adelberger
Community Expert
Willi AdelbergerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
April 12, 2017

When I make advertisements I create an INDD with the maximum of bleed and slug which would be required. Upon export I reduce the bleed to the requirements of the publisher. So I don't change the bleed in the INDD, only in the export settings.

    Eternal Warrior
    Eternal WarriorAuthor
    Inspiring
    April 12, 2017

    I can understand how this might work with bleed settings but surely not for the Slug if that is required?

    The Difference between slug on an A5 and A4 surely looks dramatic?

    Willi Adelberger
    Community Expert
    Willi AdelbergerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 12, 2017

    What is the purpose you need the slug for? I need it normally only for information for the printer which is important for production.

      rob day
      Community Expert
      rob dayCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      April 12, 2017

      I.e. an A5 advert doesn't need the same amount of Slug area as an A4...

      I assume you are exporting individual pages, so the slug dimension would be scriptable.

        Eternal Warrior
        Eternal WarriorAuthor
        Inspiring
        April 12, 2017

        Generally speaking It would be individual pages for final versions but there are exceptions.

        Also in the interest of improving communication in the pre-approval stages this would often be packaged into (or back into) a single PDF where applicable.

        Best,

        EW

        L
        Community Expert
        LaubenderCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        April 12, 2017

        Hi Eternal Warrior,

        bleed and info area are document properties and not page properties.

        That's still true with InDesign CC 2017.1 .

        I do not think that this will change in the foreseeable future…

        What's also missing with Liquid Layout is that with resizing the values for the page margins are also resized.
        It would also be wonderful if the baseline grid could be defined by page and would be resized as well.

        So go ahead and submit a feature request.

        For now export to PDF, open the PDF with Acrobat Pro/DC and change the values for bleed there.

        Regards,
        Uwe

          Eternal Warrior
          Eternal WarriorAuthor
          Inspiring
          April 12, 2017

          Ok thanks Laubender (Uwe) and amaarora (Aman). I will go ahead and submit this as a feature request along with your suggestion about the baseline grid.

          In the meantime I will leave this thread open and see if anyone else has any other ideas or knows more just in case.

          Do you have any solutions for the immediate slug box issue?

          Best wishes,

          EW

            BobLevine
            Community Expert
            BobLevineCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            April 12, 2017

            My $0.02 worth.

            Liquid layout and alternate layout are half baked features that were originally intended for DPS layouts. It never worked properly and for my money, they are more trouble than they are worth.

            When I need multiple layouts, I’ll duplicate a page and use the page tool to resize it or just save it as different documents.

            Of course with all things, YMMV.

              amaarora
              Community Manager
              amaaroraCommunity Manager
              Community Manager
              April 12, 2017

              Hi Eternal Warrior​,

              I think it cannot be done since bleed is a document level setting. I would be interested to know if it is otherwise

              One close workaround can be to set the bleed at max value. Then you can specify the bleed as appropriate rather then "use document bleed settings" when exporting. You can export the .indd as .pdf and then explore the Crop PDF pages in Adobe Acrobat DC options? (Bleed box)

              -Aman

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