Each of the AccurioPro VDP print drivers includes a feature called Page Sets per Job. This feature allows you to specify the number of pages of VDP output to produce before sending the job to the press. We also refer to this process as Chunking the Job.

Each AccurioPro VDP print driver includes a feature called Page Sets per Job. This feature allows you to specify how many pages of variable data output should be produced before the job is sent to the printer or output destination. We also refer to this process as Chunking the Job.

Using this feature, rather than producing one large output file, AccurioPro VDP automatically breaks the job into a series of smaller files. As each file is completed, it is immediately sent to the printer, hot folder, or other output destination, while AccurioPro VDP continues processing the remaining database records in the background.

For example, suppose you are producing a single-page variable data document and set Page Sets per Job to 250. AccurioPro VDP will generate the first 250-page output file and immediately send it to the printer or hot folder. It will then continue processing the next 250 records while the first file is already being printed or processed. This allows both operations to occur simultaneously, reducing the overall production time.

ABOUT PAGE SETS

It might be helpful to understand what we mean by a Page Set.

Basically, a Page Set is the number of pages that are in your VDP template when you start up a merge. If you are running a single page job, then that Page Set contains 1 page. If you are running an 8-page newsletter, then that Page Set contains 8 pages.

So we call this feature Page Sets per Job (not Pages per job) because during a print run, it is unlikely that you would want to split a VDP job in the middle of a Page Set. For example, you would not want a Page Set to print the first 2 pages of a newsletter in the first chunk, then the remaining 6 pages at the start of the next chunk. So that is why we specify the chunk size in Page Sets and not simply as pages (although the total number of pages is calculated for you, as you will see in the example below).

WHEN TO USE THIS FEATURE

The Page Sets per Job feature is beneficial in several situations.

Start Printing Immediately

Instead of waiting for the entire variable data job to finish processing, you can begin printing as soon as the first chunk has been created. This allows your printer, RIP, or downstream workflow to begin processing while AccurioPro VDP continues generating the remaining output.

Using the previous example, a setting of 250 pages per job causes the first 250-page PDF to be created and sent immediately to the printer or hot folder. While that file is being printed or processed, AccurioPro VDP continues generating the remaining pages. This parallel processing can significantly reduce the total production time for large jobs.

Improve Performance for Large PDF/VT Jobs

The Page Sets per Job feature can also dramatically improve performance when generating large PDF/VT jobs.

When Adobe InDesign exports a PDF, it constructs the entire PDF document in memory before writing it to disk. For very large or graphically complex jobs, this can require a substantial amount of system memory. As available memory becomes exhausted, PDF generation may slow significantly and, in extreme cases, may even fail.

By enabling the Page Sets per Job feature, AccurioPro VDP exports the job in smaller segments instead of creating one massive PDF. At the completion of each chunk, InDesign releases the memory associated with that PDF before beginning the next segment. This keeps memory usage under control throughout the merge process, resulting in more consistent performance and improved reliability.

This type of slowdown is most commonly seen with PDF/VT jobs containing tens of thousands of records. However, jobs with complex graphics, high-resolution images, transparency effects, or variable PDF content can experience similar performance issues even with considerably fewer records. Breaking the job into smaller, more manageable chunks helps maintain optimal performance regardless of the overall job size.

HOW TO USE THE FEATURE

Following are some basic instructions for using the Page Sets per Job feature. The example presented below uses the PDF driver dialog window, but the identical feature is supported in all AccurioPro print drivers. The sample job is a 2-page form letter, which means that each Page Set contains 2 pages. The sample database contains 5,000 records.

1. Open the PDF driver dialog window
2. Click on the dropdown menu next to Page Sets per job and select Specify:
   
   
   This allows you to specify how many Page Sets to produce for each chunk.
3. Enter a number (for this example, we entered 250 Page Sets, which will result in a PDF that contains 500 pages)
4. Verify the number of actual pages that will be produced for each job. This value is calculated and appears next to your entry.
   
5. Once you have specified the Page Sets per job value, Start the PDF session and choose the PDF Preset and output location as you normally would.
6. AccurioPro will start the merge process. In this example, it will merge the first 250 Page Sets, create the PDF file (the chunk), and then start merging data for the next chunk.

FOR ENFOCUS SWITCH USERS

If you are using Enfocus Switch to automate your VDP workflows, you can adjust the Page Sets per Job value in the Variable Data Merge flow element. To do so, simply enter a value for the Page Sets per Job property as shown below:

In the examples presented here, AccurioPro will produce a total of 20 individual PDF files. Each PDF file will contain 500 pages.

If you have questions about this feature, please visit www.accurioprovdp.com/support to open a support ticket.