PostScript RIP for large format inkjet printers
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EFI Postscript RIP |
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 Caldera, 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.
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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.
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There is a nice French RIP for the XES ColorgrafX X2 that I saw in past years (before this branch of Xerox printers disappeared). This was our first view of French software; now, in 2008, we just spent several days inspecting this RIP company in their international headquarters in Strasbourg. So Caldera has more staying power than Xerox's printer division. Today Caldera is one of the top five RIP solutions for solvent and UV-curable flatbed printers.
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.
Since RIP software is more complex today (summer 2008), I do most evaluations at the demo room of the manufacturer.
The FLAAR information network will be updating all its evaluations of RIP software during 2008.
Last updated: April 28, 2008.
Previous updates: Sept. 23, 2002, Oct. 20, 2001, Feb. 20, 2003.
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We are adding new pages and new features every month so it is not always realistic to update old pages from past years. All the old equipment is still available on eBay, so we keep even our old pages. If you wish only the more up to date product reviews, these are in PDFs (not in the web pages, but in PDFs which are linked in the columns at the right of every page). Please realize that we tend to update a page (or a PDF) primarily when it is clear that our readers ask about this brand or model frequently. With over 45 brands of UV printers and over 200 models in the past ten years, it is not realistic to update pages on obsolete brands or unpopular models. If you prefer to speak with Nicholas Hellmuth in person about a printer, you can bring him to your company anywhere in the world as consultant. By later in 2011 each of our web sites will be in 36 different languages with instant translation (and better than old fashioned web page translators of several years ago). So far all the languages are available on www.FLAAR.org and www.3d-scanners-3d-software-reviews.org. Next will be our fine art photography, giclee, decor web site. |
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