How will a PostScript RIP help your large format printing? A PostScript RIP is the brains behind your large format printer. A RIP is software that processes your images and tells your large format printer how to organize the image and where to spurt those millions of droplets of ink to create your beautiful picture. In many respects the RIP is as important a decision as the printer itself. Therefore we are developing this section on RIPs (a way of saying that this page is under construction, and here is the first installment).
There are countless smaller RIP companies but you are always safer to stick with the main companies that have international offices such as BEST, Onyx PosterShop, Wasatch, PosterJet and other RIPs of this class. If a RIP company is not large enough to be international, they may disappear before they can provide an upgrade for your needs next year.
All versions of EFI Fiery hardware RIP for all printers from year 2001 backwards may lack necessary features that virtually all software RIPs already have. However one notable feature of EFI Fiery RIP is total lack of any upgrade path whatsoever, plus inability to operate more than one single printer. Same problem with other hardware RIPs such as ps from Hewlett-Packard. We found this out the hard way... we have two EFI Fiery RIPs. If all the missing crucial features are implemented on future versions of EFI Fiery RIP, we may consider reevaluating this RIP.
There is a nice French RIP for the XES ColorgrafX X2. We saw many other RIPs at 2002 tradeshows such as ColorByte. We will try to update this page after the final tradeshows of the 2002 season. But so far, PosterJet is the fastest RIP we have found. As a result PosterJet is the favored general purpose RIP in the FLAAR office at Francisco Marroquin University. In our facilities at Bowling Green State University of Ohio, Professor Charles Spontelli is evaluating BESTColor, ProofMaster, ColorGate, Wasatch, and PosterJet. Reports will be issued. FLAAR Free First Level Reports are available at no cost, courtesy of our two universities.
