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ProofStation Quick Start Guide
You can use this quick start quide to get you going quickly with ProofStation. If you would like any assistance at all with getting started, please give us a ring and we will be very happy to talk you through it. All our contact details are on our Contact Page here.

The complete ProofStation User Manual is installed along with ProofStation and is accessible from within the program. A copy of it has also been uploaded to this web site and can be viewed here.
  Step 1 Download and Install ProofStation  
  The software will work fine on both Windows XP and Vista, however on Vista we have found that on installation it may tell you that "this program might not have installed correctly". This message can be safely ignored and you should select the option "this program installed correctly".

If you haven't done so already, download the software from our downloads page - you only need to download ProofStation - or just click here to download it directly.

Either:
  1. Click the link.
  2. Save the file to your local system.
  3. Double click the downloaded file (ProofStation_Setup.exe) to run it.
  4. Follow the instructions. All the defaults should be fine for most normal configurations.
  5. Some versions of windows may complain about lack of certification - this can be safely ignored.

Or:

  1. Click the link.
  2. Run the file (if you have that option, otherwise use the instructions immediately above)
  3. Follow the instructions. All the defaults should be fine for most normal configurations.
  4. Some versions of windows may complain about lack of certification - this can be safely ignored.
Assuming you have gone with the defaults, all the files will have been installed into the folder C:\Program Files\ParkerFranklin\ProofStation and a shortcut will have been placed on your desktop for easy launching.

uprightGo to step 2		  
     

  Step 2 Run ProofStation  
  Either:
ProofStation IconDouble click the ProofStation icon on your desktop
Or:
From your start menu and select Programs\ParkerFranklin\ProofStation
ProofStation Welcome dialog

At the welcome screen click New Event


downGo to step 3		  
     

  Step 3 Enter the Event Details  
  ProofStation Enter Event Details
The Event Code dialog will appear. It is critical that each new event has a new unique event code; this is normally obtained from an account we will give you on our ordering web site.

However for test purposes only you can use the code 1112 2210 3316. Enter this code (spaces are optional) and a name for your test event and click OK.

Click OK to go with the defaults (nothing selected) on the next dialog.

down leftGo to step 4 		 
     

  Step 4 Loading the Pack and Order Form Files  
 

You will now be asked to navigate to and open two files; the Order Form Template and Pack Details files. The order form template file tells ProofStation how to layout the order forms and the pack file contains details about the packs you have selected for this job.

These files are normally generated by our programs PackCoder and ProofLayout, however to get you started quickly, some sample files were installed with the software at C:\ParkerFranklin\Files\SampleJob.

For the order form layout file open OrderFormLayout.txt (the extension .txt may be hidden). For the pack details file open PackDetails.csv (the extension .csv may be hidden).

Note that this layout is normally printed on paper that has been pre-printed with appropriate backgrounds:
3 up front order form3 up back order form
Without these pre-printed pages you will only see the elements that get printed by ProofStation (proof images, barcodes, prices etc). See ProofLayout for more information about these layouts. Pre-printing these backgrounds serves two main purposes; it means the printing on the day will typically run faster and it is generally cheaper to get these pages printed with the backgrounds in bulk by a commercial printer, rather than using a lot of expensive ink on an inkjet printer.

Also note that printing order forms in this way is only one option; you can still use photographically printed proof cards if you prefer that approach.

DownGo to step 5

 
     

  Step 5 Finish the Start Up Dialogs  
  Just go with the defaults for the next two dialogs.

On the third select Yes to begin with printing enabled (ensure you have a printer connected and loaded with A4 paper).

Then go with the defaults on the next two dialogs

Full details about these dialogs can be found in the help.

downGo to step 6 		 
     

  Step 6 Untethered  
  untethered Click the Untethered box on the right (this is a more convenient mode for demo purposes)

downGo To step 7		  
     

  Step 7 Fixed images per order  
  morefixed images per orderClick on the More button, and in the dialog change the value in "Fixed images per order" to 3 and click OK.

This tells ProofStation to print three proof images on each order form.

up rightGo to step 8		  
     

  Step 8 Adding your First Images  
  Now simply find three images using "My Computer" or "Windows Explorer" and drag and drop them straight into the ProofStation window (of course this would normally have been done by tethering your camera to the laptop by USB or similar).

Note: Images must be greater than 200kb in size to work.

An order form will be printed with proofs of the three dropped images, a barcode for unique identification back in our lab and details of the packs and prices taken from the sample pack details file. These details would normally have been printed onto paper with pre-printed background, instructions etc. See ProofLayout for examples.

You can continue dragging more images in to further test the software.

downSee below for a few more notes.		  
     

  Continuing an Event  
  continue an event

After an event has been run once it can be quickly re-run later. Simply run ProofStation again and this time click Continue Event.

select database
At the next dialog browse to and select the event folder you wish to continue. Assuming you went with all the defaults at installation the event database folder should be in a subfolder below C:\ParkerFranklin\Database and the actual folder with "Event_" followed by the name you gave the event followed by "_111222103316_database". So if you called the event "My Test Event" the event database folder will be "Event_My Test Event_111222103316_database". Select this folder and click OK.

You now have the opportunity to load a new order form layout file or simply select the same one as before and then continue as for the new event from Step 5 above.
  
     

  Rotation  
  When dropping your images in you may find them rotated. You can apply an automatic rotation to get them the right way up as they come in.
rotationClick More then Settings and then click the icon that best suits the way you shoot.		  
     

  Tethering Your Camera  
  To see our software working with your camera you need to "tether" it to the laptop. This is done by using your camera's capture software eg. Nikon Capture. The settings in your software will specify a folder where each image is to be sent. You can either note this folder down and edit the "Source (hot) Folder" in ProofStation to match (found at More then Settings). Or ask your capture software to point to C:\ParkerFranklin\HotFolder (which was created for you when you did the installation).