When it comes to your everyday printing tasks using your Canon wide-format printer, are you interested in placing several different images of varying sizes onto one page? Doing so would enable you to trim and frame the images later, which makes it an attractive practice for optimising space and minimising waste.

This is a process known as “nesting”, and you might imagine that if you wish to do it with your Canon large-format device, it will be necessary to invest in expensive software.

However, that isn’t the case! You can, in fact, simply download Canon’s own Professional Print & Layout (PPL) Software for free, and take advantage of intuitive nesting functionality.

This software is an easy-to-use, but also powerful tool for both large and small-format Canon ImagePROGRAF PRO Series printers, as well as the GP 11-ink models.

How does Canon’s Professional Print & Layout Software work?

If you’re interested in adding the Japanese brand’s PPL software to your repertoire of tools for use with your Canon wide-format printer, simply head to the section of the Canon website where downloadable drivers, software, and manuals are stored, and select your printer model.

Then, click on the “Software” tab to take your pick from the various free creative and time-saving tools available for your device.

Once you have the Professional Print & Layout Software in your armoury, you can use it to exercise full control over your printing options. Those possibilities will encompass such aspects as the paper type, source, print quality, chroma optimiser, and more.

This software will give you the ability to compare variations in colour, brightness, and contrast before you give the go-ahead to a particular print job. Such features and intuitiveness will empower you to ensure the best-quality print result.

A range of layout options will be available too, presenting a multitude of ways to creatively display your work. Support is provided in the software for various media types, and you can even use it to “soft proof” your work, simulating different papers before you print. This could be instrumental in your efforts to save both time and ink.

So, what is the process for ‘nesting’ with this software?

“Nesting” can be a great practice for getting the best out of your paper usage, as well as controlling costs. Thankfully, tapping into this functionality in Canon’s PPL software is quick and straightforward.

The basic process is as follows: first, the user switches the Layout setting from Single to Multiple Images. Some slots will be automatically created; the user can delete these. They can then drag an image to the preview area, and a slot will be automatically generated for it.

Clicking on this image (not right-clicking) will bring up the Slot Menu. From here, a particular size can be specified for the image. Depending on the size stipulated, there may be space left over in the preview area to drag in further images, and to set dimensions for these as well.

Multiple copies of the same image can also be added to the preview window, if this is desired, using the plus button in the thumbnail area for the given image.

Subsequent work can be done to crop, rotate, and/or resize images, to make sure they all fit on the page in exactly the way the user wishes. Finally, the user may be sufficiently happy with the full page of images to confirm the start of the print job.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask us!

Whether it’s in relation to the software tools available for your Canon wide-format printer, or a particular printer model in our range here at Prizma Graphics, we would be pleased to give tailored guidance for your situation.

Simply call our team in Berkshire now, on 01296 393700, or send us an email to be provided with specific advice and pointed in the right direction.