Print Merge in Corel 9

If you are still using Corel 9 and want to use the print merge I suggest that you upgrade to X4 as the print merge function is a lot better in X4 than version 9.

Using print merge In CorelDraw

Print merge lets you print the same document or plate many times using different text each time. For example, if you are printing a number of engraving plates for a certain trophy size, you can personalize each plate by merging in different names.
Print merge works by combining a specially formatted text file with a CorelDRAW file. The CorelDRAW file must contain text to replace with words from the text file during the print merge. Each time the CorelDRAW file is printed; words from the text file are substituted with the printed version.

Preparing a drawing for print merge

To use a print merge in a drawing, you must insert the text that will be replaced when you perform the print merge. Each character/word of text to replace must be a separate text object.

To prepare a drawing for print merge in Corel 9 or less.
Create a drawing in CorelDRAW that contains at least one text object.
When performing a print merge, keep the following in mind:

• Each text object to be replaced must be unique.
• Text must be Artistic text, not Paragraph text.
• Allow enough space for the substitute text. For instance, “Name” doe not take up much room, but, when “San Francisco” is substituted, More space is required.
• The substituted text takes on the same attributes (typeface, point size spacing, etc.) and alignment (left, right, center) as the original text.
• Any transformations applied to the original text (except Blend, Extrude, and Fit To Path) are applied to the substituted text.
• The text in each text object in the drawing must be identical to the corresponding text in the TXT file. This includes capital letters, spaces, line breaks, blank lines.

Preparing a text file for print merge

To perform a print merge, you must create an ANSI text file (.TXT) that contains the information you want to merge with the drawing.

To prepare a text file for print merge

1 Open a new text file.
2 On the first line, indicate the number of pieces of text to replace. The example in step 4 indicates that there are three pieces of text in the drawing to replace with text from the text file.
3 Starting on the second line, type the text exactly as it appears in each text object in the drawing. This includes capital letters, spaces, line breaks, blank lines, etc. The text must end with a character; blank spaces or lines after the text prevent the merge from working.
4 Add back slashes (\) before and after each piece of text. The text can be entered on separate lines, as in the example below:

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\Name\
\Date\
\Instructor\

Or, you can type text on the same line as in the following example:

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\Name\\Date\\Instructor\

5 Type the text to substitute for the text. Because back slashes serve as markers to indicate the beginning and end of text, you cannot use them in the text to be substituted. There must be an entry for each piece of text. The text file should look like this:

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\Name\
\Date\
\Instructor\

\Jon von Wolf\
\18 August 1995\
\N4r. Donald Smith\
\Katie MacBear\
\18 August 1995\
\Ms. Maria Santana\

Or, if you are using the linear approach, like this:

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\Name\\Date\instructor\
\Chris van Wolf\\18 August 1995\\T\4r. Donald Smith\
\Kelly MacBear\\18 August 1995\\Ms. Maria Santana\

6. Save the file as an ANSI text file (.TXT extension.)

Merging a text file with a drawing

When you are preparing to merge, remember that CorelDRAW neither saves nor displays the results of the merge. It prints them directly, in sequence. Therefore, check both the text file and the drawing for mistakes before merging. Also, make sure there’s enough space in the drawing to accommodate the text you plan to substitute. The print merge command is no longer available by default, but can be customized.

To add Print Merge to the File menu

1. Click Tools, Options.
2. In the list of categories, double click Customize, and click Menus.
3. Double click File & Layout, File.
4. Choose Print Merge from the Commands List box.
5. Choose File From the Main Menu list box.
6. Click the Add button.

To merge a text file with a drawing

1. Open the text file, verifying that it has been properly prepared, and then close it. CorelDRAW needs to access the text file to do a print merge, but cannot do so while it is open.
2. Open the CorelDRAW file. Verify that it has been properly prepared.
3. Click File, Print Merge.
4. Choose the text file.

One final note is that when you send the job to the laser each set of text will be sent over as a new page. So if you have one name set per page and send over 25 sets of names you will get 25 pages in the laser.

Check out files Print Merge.Txt and Print Merge.cdr for examples of the above tutorial.

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