9.3

• Color management settings may be configured incorrectly for the output device, leading
to unexpected results.
Large and complex print jobs provide even more opportunities for error, and the cost of
such errors becomes much greater. Job Jackets prevent unprintable or incorrectly constructed
jobs from being constructed in the first place.
What are Job Jackets?
Technically speaking, Job Jackets are XML structures that include specifications and rules
for creating and inspecting QuarkXPress layouts. Conceptually, a Job Jackets structure can
be compared to a folder containing job tickets that describe various types of projects and
layouts, as well as other types of information.
Job Jackets are based on the latest version of the JDF (Job Definition Format) schema. In
addition to letting you control QuarkXPress related specifications, Job Jackets also let you
set values for various other specifications covered by JDF, such as binding and crossover
settings. When you send a layout to output, you have the option of including the layout's
JDF information, so that downstream systems can use that information for automation
and for informational purposes. And the Job Jackets specification is extendable, so
developers of JDF-compatible systems can embed their own implementation-specific
settings into Job Jackets before passing the Job Jackets upstream to the layout artist. These
settings can then be preserved in the Job Jackets file and used by XTensions software, by
JDF-enabled applications, or by other systems, to automate and streamline a wide variety
of processes.
Job Jackets can also help you to collaborate within a workgroup. Several layout artists
working on layouts that share the same set of specifications can link their projects to a
shared Job Jackets file, so that if one layout artist makes a change to something like a style
sheet, the same change can be automatically propagated to the other artists' layouts.
The structure of Job Jackets
Job Jackets are XML structures containing specifications and rules. The topics below describe
the way these specifications and rules are organized in Job Jackets.
Resources
Job Jackets contain Resources, which include the following:
1
Project-level Resources: Things that can be applied to a particular project, such as style sheets,
colors, output styles, and color management settings.
2
Layout-level Resources: Things that can be applied to a particular layout, such as:
• Layout Specifications: Settings that can be used to assign a particular size, orientation, and
so forth to a layout.
• Output Specifications: Settings that can be used to configure a project so that it can be
correctly output to a particular output device.
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JOB JACKETS