Create your first print adaptation

In this tutorial, we’re going to create a print adaptation from a print template, download it, and then make a second version with different text. Print adaptations are how you produce on-brand posters, flyers, and other printed material for your market without design software. By the end, you’ll have two print adaptations in My Content: the original, and a variation saved alongside it.

This is part 4 of 4 in the marketer tutorials. Previous: Produce your first batch of digital adaptations.

Prerequisites

To follow this tutorial, you need:

A user role with at least the Creator role for Templates and for Assets, both under Adaptation Studio, which lets you create adaptations from templates. The Standard User role preset includes both. Each role’s permissions are listed in User role presets and permissions.
At least one print template on a templates page in your portal, ideally one with a text field you can type into.

It helps to have done Create your first digital adaptation first. Print templates open in a different editor from digital ones, but you find them in the same place.

What you see here depends on your workspace’s configuration. The sections and fields in each print template are set up for each template, so yours may differ from the ones described here. To change them, contact your administrator.

What we’ll create

We’ll create a print adaptation with the headline Spring is here, save it, and download a PDF to check it. Then we’ll find it in My Content and save a second version with a different headline, keeping the original as it was.

The tutorial takes about 15 minutes, including the videos, in four steps:

Step 1: Open a print template
Step 2: Create and save the adaptation
Step 3: Find and download it
Step 4: Save a second version

Step 1: Open a print template

Print templates are listed separately from digital ones, in their own tab.

Create a print adaptation (1 min 24 s)

We’re going to open a print template in its editor. This step’s video also covers step 2.

Open Content Portal.
From the left navigation, select Adaptations, then View Template.
Select the All print templates tab.
Select a template to open its details panel.
Select Create Adaptation.

The print editor opens in the full page.

You’ll notice that:

The template’s fields sit in collapsible sections on the left, and a live preview fills the centre.
The editor looks different from the Create Adaptation window for digital templates, because print templates are built differently.

Step 2: Create and save the adaptation

Now we’ll fill in the template and save our adaptation.

Expand the first section on the left and review its fields.
Find the section that holds the main text, and enter Spring is here as the headline.

If the template has no headline field, change any other text field instead.

The preview updates as you type.
If the template has a size section, leave the size as it is.

Print templates allow only small size changes within limits set by the template, and the editor displays an error if a size falls outside them.
Select Save, and name the adaptation Tutorial poster.
Select Download…, then download the low-resolution PDF.
Select Finish and Close.

You’ll notice that:

The PDF you downloaded shows the finished design with your headline.
The Scale control at the top right changes how big the preview looks, not the size of the adaptation.

If you select Finish and Close before saving, the editor asks you to save first, because unsaved changes are lost.

Step 3: Find and download it

Every print adaptation you create is kept in My Content.

Find and download a print adaptation (44 s)

We’re going to find Tutorial poster and download it from there.

Open My Content by selecting at the top right.
Select Print Adaptations, then the Adaptations tab.
Search for Tutorial poster.
Open the adaptation’s menu and select Download.

You’ll notice that:

Print adaptations have their own tab, separate from Digital Adaptations.
Unlike digital adaptations, a print adaptation doesn’t spend time in an In Progress tab: it’s ready as soon as you save it.

Step 4: Save a second version

Often you need the same design with different words, such as a version for another product or season. We’re going to make one without changing the original.

Amend a print adaptation (1 min 7 s)

Select Tutorial poster to open its details panel.
Select Edit Adaptation, below the adaptation image.

The print editor opens with your saved values.
Change the headline to Summer is here.
Select Save As, and name the new adaptation Tutorial poster summer.
Select Finish and Close.

You’ll notice that the Print Adaptations tab now lists both Tutorial poster and Tutorial poster summer. Open Tutorial poster: its headline still reads Spring is here.

Save As creates a new adaptation and leaves the original untouched. Save would have overwritten Tutorial poster with the new headline instead. Use Save to correct an adaptation, and Save As to make a variation of it.

The finished adaptations

Here’s what we’ve built:

Tutorial poster: a print adaptation with the headline Spring is here, saved and downloaded as a PDF.
Tutorial poster summer: a second version with the headline Summer is here, saved alongside the original.
Where they are: My Content > Print Adaptations > Adaptations.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you’ve learned how to:

Open a print template in the print editor.
Fill in a print template’s fields and save an adaptation.
Download a print adaptation as a PDF.
Find a print adaptation in My Content.
Edit an adaptation, and choose between Save and Save As.

To send a print adaptation for review, promote it first: for print, you also choose a format for the file. For further information, refer to Promote a print adaptation.

Create a print adaptation covers every print option, including scale and download formats.