Step and Repeat

Step and repeat your artwork across a sheet or roll in one go: rows and columns, or offset rows for circles, with bleed, crop marks, cut paths for your cutter, numbering, scaling and a job label.

See it in the shop · Version 1.8.7 · Needs PowerScripts 3.8.42 or later

Open the PowerScripts panel (Window > Extensions > PowerScripts) and choose Step and Repeat from the Tools scripts. The script has two tabs: Imposition and Options.

To fill a sheet with stickers:

1. Select the sticker artwork (with its bleed).
2. Set the Bleed, and the Horz Gutter and Vert Gutter between stickers.
3. Tick Artboard Size and enter the sheet size, then tick Fill Artboard.
4. Tick Add Cut Paths and choose Item: Cut Rectangle (or Cut Circle).
5. Press Step and Repeat.

• Artboard Size: set the artboard to this Artboard Width and Artboard Height (your sheet or roll width).
• Create new Artboard: put the layout on a new artboard, leaving the original alone.
• Artboard Padding: the margin round the layout.

• Crop Artwork with Clipping Mark: clip each copy to the Crop Width and Crop Height, as a Rectangle or Ellipse (Crop Shape). Handy when the artwork is bigger than the finished size.

• Sheet Quantity: how many you need. The script works out the copies across and down for you, using:
  • Auto update (Balanced Grid): the grid closest to the quantity and closest to square.
  • Auto update (Even Grid): the grid closest to square.
  • Auto update (Exact Quantity): exactly the quantity.
• Horz Copies and Vert Copies: the copies across and down (set them yourself, or let Sheet Quantity or Fill Artboard set them).
• Horz Gutter and Vert Gutter: the gaps between copies. Circle works out the vertical gutter for packing circles tightly with the Circle layout (select one circle first).
• Bleed: the bleed in your artwork. The script warns you with the result if a gutter is smaller than the bleed.
• Center on Artboard: centre the layout on the artboard.
• Fill Artboard: fit as many copies as will go.
• Rotate each: turn every copy by this many degrees (counter-clockwise).
• Layout: Grid (rows and columns), or Circle (Even Offset) and Circle (Even Offset - 1): every other row shifted half a copy, like a honeycomb, so round stickers pack closer. The “- 1” version has one less in the offset rows.

• Add Crop marks, with Crop Length and Crop Offset.
• Group Crop marks: keep the marks in one group.

• Add Cut Paths: cut lines for your cutter, in a spot colour on their own layer (set on Options).
• Vertical Gutters and Horizontal Gutters: Cut Center of Gutter (one cut down the middle of each gap) or Cut to Crop Marks.
• Frame: a cut round the whole layout: at the Cut edge, the Bleed edge, Inside crop marks or Outside crop marks.
• Extend Cuts: make the gutter cuts longer (or shorter, with a minus number) past the layout.
• Item: a cut round each copy: Cut Rectangle (with Rect Corner Radius for rounded corners) or Cut Circle.

The script warns you (with the result) if two cuts would land on top of each other.

• Numbering: put a placeholder in a text in your artwork, and each copy gets its own number: Placeholder, Start Value, Step, and Min Digits (3 gives 001).

• Scale: scale the Artwork Only or the Final Layout by Horz Scale and Vert Scale (for example to allow for shrinkage in sublimation). Scale Line Widths scales strokes too.
• Add Scale Note: write the scale on the sheet, using the Note Template ({applyTo}, {horz}, {vert}).

• Label: a job label on the sheet, from the Template. Codes you can use: {path}, {filename}, {cutWidth}, {cutHeight}, {cropWidth}, {cropHeight}, {bleed}, {horzCount}, {vertCount}, {totalCount}, {horzGutter}, {vertGutter}, {day}, {month}, {year}, {24hour}, {hour}, {minute}, {ampm}.
• Show label text in message box: also show the label in the panel when done, to copy into a job sheet.

• Step and Repeat: does it.

• Crop Stroke: the crop marks' line width.
• Font Size: the label's text size.
• Cut Path Color, Spot Color Name: the cut lines' colour and its spot colour name (match what your cutter or RIP expects, for example CutContour).
• Create Top Layer called: put the cut paths on their own top layer.

1. Select one round sticker. Set Horz Gutter to 3 mm and press Circle to work out the vertical gutter.
2. Layout: Circle (Even Offset). Tick Artboard Size with your roll width, and Fill Artboard.
3. Add Cut Paths, Item: Cut Circle.
4. Press Step and Repeat.

1. Select the card (with bleed) and set the Bleed.
2. Tick Artboard Size with the sheet size, and Fill Artboard.
3. Tick Add Crop marks, and Add Cut Paths with both gutters set to Cut Center of Gutter.
4. Tick Label so the sheet says how it's cut, for example “Cut 90 x 55 | 10up”.
5. Press Step and Repeat.

• Save your common layouts as presets (see Using Presets).
• For multi-page imposition, booklets and double-sided work, see Impose Plus.
• To pack odd shapes as tightly as possible, see Nesting.

• 1.8.7
  • Fixed: the label's time shows am and pm correctly.
  • Improved: numbering is more reliable, and general bug fixes and reliability. Needs PowerScripts 3.8.42 or later.
• 1.8.6
  • Improved: the warnings for a gap smaller than the bleed and for double cuts show with the result instead of stopping the run.
  • Fixed: a horizontal gutter set to Cut to Crop Marks with a Cut Edge frame now warns about double cuts too.
• 1.8.5: Buy in PowerScripts now opens this script's page in the shop.
• Older changes: PowerScripts Release Notes