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ProofMaster RIP, a novel PostScript proofing RIP from PerfectProofProofMaster RIP was tested on an Epson 7000 wide format inkjet printer using ink and media from PerfectProof. Inks and media were matched very well. They produced well saturated colors that fell within the SWOP CMYK proofing standard colors. We tested two types of media, a glossy which would equate well to commercial grade coated offset sheet and a semi-gloss which looked more like a publications grade stock. ProofMaster runs on a Macintosh platform. Since many prepress environments are Macintosh, it sure helps to have a Mac compliant software. Most of the other software RIPs out there are designed to run on a PC with the Windows NT OS. Proofing RIPs for a Macintosh are few and far between. So the Mac friendly aspect is a really nice thing. ProofMaster also has a PC version. I knew nothing about this software before I started using it for this review. Whether or not a person can load and use the software out of the box without a training seminar is an important question. I was able to load the software and use it with the manual as a guide. Calibration and profiling of the Epson 7000 printer took about 90 minutes. I had to output three targets, measure them on a X-Rite DTP 41 spectrophotometer, and have the software create a profile for the Epson based on the data it captured directly from the DTP 41. I have never created a color output profile in such a short time. The speed derived from a couple of things. First, the profiling software is a part of the ProofMaster package. I didn't have to go to another brand of software, load it, and decipher a new manual in a different style. Next, the number of patches that the system prints is fewer than other profiling systems. Some other color software, especially that operating in an ICC profile environment need hundreds of different color patches. Generally, more patches equate to a more accurate characterization of the color space. But the quantity of color patches used by ProofMaster is carefully matched to its profiling scheme. I say this because the profile produced nice results with the data at hand. A word about the ProofMaster profiling scheme. These are not ICC compliant profiles. The software will work with ICC profiles, but only ProofMaster profiles are necessary. If the inks and media are from ProofMaster you get a lot of the tricky variables removed in advance. The software assumes you have a color measurement tool such as a spectrophotometer; we use the X-Rite DTP-41 here at Bowling Green State University. With ProofMaster everything you need to create profiles and proofs is included in the software. Most of the other RIPs require doing ICC profiling in separate color characterization (profiling) software. This requires purchasing additional software which can cost $2,000 plus. I have not seen another RIP software that also creates color profiles used in the RIPing process. So if you have only one RIP that requires color profiles this is a significant savings. The profiling software is built in and already comes with ProofMaster RIP. The proprietary profile makes this a closed loop system, which is okay for your own press your own in-house proofing. You can work with ICC compliant profiles if you wish, which then makes this a more "open" system. Profiling is done with three sets of color patches.
ProofMaster is Level 3 PostScript RIP. As such, it can work in a PDF environment. PostScript level 3 allows the RIPing of PDF files directly, something not possible with older Level 2 devices. Fully functional trial copies of the RIP are available. The output on the trial version will have the ProofMaster logo printed across the page. The trial is fully functional in every other regard. If you can read the instruction manual and have a scanning spectrophotometer you can easily do the profiling for your printer, ink, and medial setup in a short time. The RIP does not require any additional color profiling software. It is a full-featured Mac based software. It's not a PC RIP ported over and turned into a lite version for the Mac. Being PostScript Level 3 it works nicely in a PDF environment. Notes: the entire testing and evaluation were done by Professor Charles Spontelli in the College of Technology. The testing was done independently of PerfectProof company and actually independently of FLAAR in terms of who did the evaluation and physically where the work was accomplished, namely on the campus of BGSU. Professor Charles Spontelli has an MS degree, Rochester Institute of Technology. He is currently Associate Professor, Bowling Green State University (Ohio), College of Technology. Basically ProofMaster fills a gap in the market. Don't have to be a rocket scientist. Though Chuck Spontelli does have a MS degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology, he took the software cold, read the instruction manual, and did the profiling successfully. My assessment of the results are that this RIP, as a proofing solution, is good in the sense of beyond acceptable right out of the box. As a result of reviewing all the profiles produced by Professor Spontelli, and after interviewing him on each stage of the evaluation, FLAAR recognizes that this RIP should be certified as a viable proofing RIP for the CMYK proofing environment. If ease of use, Mac-friendly interface, speed, and precision of final results are of importance for your proofing needs, then this is a RIP you should try out. Trying it out on your own printer is the way to see it work in your own shop. Nicholas Hellmuth, senior review editor for FLAAR, as well as Director, Large Format Digital Imaging Division, Center for Applied Technology, College of Technology, BGSU, was present at the summery discussion and presentation of details of the evaluation. Student co-op assistant Brad Muckenthaler was present to take notes
Last updated : Feb. 20, 2003
Previous updated : Apr. 10, 2002. First posted Nov. 23, 2001 |
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