Step and repeat plugin for Illustrator

Hi Friends,

I have one Quarry is there any possibility of having Step-N-Repeat automatic in Illustrator Cs5, If Yes, How can i do? and if Variables data is there then also we can do the Step-N-Repeat in Illustrator Cs5.

Please give me a solution for the above quarry.

Thank You
and Great Day
Suresh Dhami

Copy item(s) paste in front then move the object using keyboard preference setting to do a "Fake" step and repeat in Illy. If you use the copy paste keyboard shortcuts and the arrow keys, you can go pretty quickly using this method. Works in all versions of Illy too.

You can also select your items and press Command-Shift-M (Object>Transform>Move), enter the offsets, then click the Copy button to step and repeat it.

If you need to do it more than once, press Command-D (Object>Transform>Transform Again) which will duplicate it at the offsets you already entered.

step and repeat in illustrator

step and repeat in illustrator

Dcurry- offered good advice - or you can just under edit - copy and object - paste in place (same spot as your selection) then go under object and type in how far you want to move horiz or vertically - but this is a pain - something I do not like in illustrator -

Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform: N copies, Move Horizontal N distance. Then select the original object again and repeat for the vertical copies and move distance.

The appearance palette should show both effects applied to the original (click the effect link in the appearance palette to edit the effect).

Object > Expand appearance would be used to remove the live effect and have each object as a separate editable object.

Due to the limited recording abilities of actions in Illustrator (why Adobe, why?!), one may have to look into scripting if wishing to add more automation to this method.

The more I look at this method, the more I like it!

Stephen Marsh

As an alternative check out Quite Imposing which works as an Acrobat plugin.
It can do Step N Repeat and Step N Continue however I don't think it can do Cut N Stack which is shame for variable work.
We tend to impose most of our work on the Creo RIP.

do you have indesign? step and repeat is easy in indesign.

Step and Repeat In Illustrator

Step and Repeat In Illustrator

With actions, Illustrator is a great vehicle to step and repeat. Years ago I developed a set of actions that set up a base template using what ever bearers and marks you create, then the actually step and repeat, that will step and repeat, repeatedly, perfectly. It takes about 15 minutes to set up the base and stepping action, but once made, stepping new items, or revised items take no time at all. In the old days the down size was that the files could be large and could cause network problems, not so much an issue today.

I did try to make a commercial product out of this, cheap, but could not find a good way to present it. If anyone is interested in trying it out, I am not longer trying to sell it, I would be glad to send you what I have, including a manual that I created.

I have attached a move of a challenging step and repeat that I made using my actions.

You probably have heard these comments before: there is dead time at the start, and then the movie is too fast and it lacks sound.

Try putting it on YouTube after addressing these shortcomings.

Al

Greetings Al,

Yes I am aware of the dead time, this was because I took to long before starting the recording software and starting the action. However the speed is inreal time. One can slow down the action via the actions palette, but I wanted to show how fast the stepping is done in comparison to trying to do that step using, duplicate, move and rotate each time you stepped / repeated the art.

Set the cursor to the step distance; Command K, in any units you like as long as you add the units to the measure. Select or marquee the object(s) or group select a group, hold the option key down and use the move arrow for the direction wanted and just repeat as needed. Sometimes when stepping just a font text, it will only work with the paste in front method mentioned earlier in this string, command f but will always work if in a group. if you lock the final step in one direction, you can marquee all the previous no of group(s), lock them too; command 2, then set the cursor to the other direction distance, unlock all; command option 2, again hold the option key and use the mover arrows to go in another direction. In this way, you can impose to a step layout (once you know the math) in about 90 secs! I would argue that is as fast as automation techniques using templates but you don't need the time to make the templates!
John W

I would argue that is as fast as automation techniques using templates but you don't need the time to make the templates!
John W

Many ways to skin a cat, even though I have never have known why someone would want to skin a cat. The beauty of using a template and actions is that one never has to re enter the stepping data to step a new item one the original template and action are made, or use all those (great) key commands, when stepping another item that uses the same die. Additionally if one uses common plates, logo stays the same, but other copy changes, using a template with bearers and mounting marks insures that the new changed copy will always line up with the unchanged copy. Using common plates saves time and materials.

One of my challenges when I managed a prepress department was human error when entering imposition data. By entering it once in an action and then checking that the action for integrity, entering erroneous data in the future for that specific imposition is no longer an issue. Just copy art into clipboard and run the appropriate action for the template.

Step-N-Repeat automatic in Illustrator CS5

Step-N-Repeat automatic in Illustrator CS5

While I am not an "action pusher", I am a big advocate of using them to my advantage, such as to speed up a workflow, eliminate mistakes, etc.

For those that want to see how fast an "out of the ordinary" imposition can be completed, I have uploaded a folder that contains files and actions for both CS5 and CS6. The action will step and repeat art so the first row and second row are top to bottom and the third and fourth row are top to bottom.

Please read instructions below before doing anything.

1. Open the appropriate CS version files, e.g. for CS5 open CS5_BearerForPrintPlanet.ai and PrintPlanetArt_CS5.ai.

2. In Bearer file load appropriate CS version action.

3. Copy art from art file to clipboard and close file.

4. In Bearer file run action. Note in the action pop out window you can control speed of action. I suggest for first run of action set it to step by step.

5. When the save as box appears, I suggest that you do not save. This way you can reset action speed to Accelerated, and rerun the action again to see how little time it takes to impose this art.

After some discussion on LinkedIn, look what was finally offered by a fine fellow named Vasily Hall…

The first two fields are the final array, including the original object/s. So starting with a single original, one would enter Step X: 2 and Step Y: 4 if one wished an 8up result in two columns with four rows.

The second two fields are the gutter/gap between the rectangular bounding area of the original object/s.

Stephen Marsh