What RIP do I need

[David Rowland]

Well printers should come with RIP, this adds better support options as printers are colour management nightmares else. Lots of deals out there with RIP which are affordable now, particularly if this is your first step into the world of digital printing.

[Shane Drew]

If you already have sign software and corel, just tell them to supply a dedicated RIP instead. They probably are making better margins on the combo they are selling you, but that is not your problem.

Sign Software like signwizard6 has a RIP included too (Onyx I think), and is as cheap as buying a seperate RIP anyway, so you may find there is little saving.

The only difference will be buying a dedicated RIP will probably have more features than the Sign Software/RIP, as they are usually minimal versions of the real thing.

I have probably added more confusion to the post now… sorry about that 😳

As Dave says tho, a RIP to a Wide Format Printer is like tires for your car. Not much good without them…

[Rod Young]

quote Kieran Browne:

I am in the process of buying a wide format printer. Either HP8000sr or Mutoh 1604. I have two good prices from suppliers. Both quotes include Sign software as a RIP either Onyx or Flexi . Are these essential or can I Buy a seperate RIP (or do I need 1). I have Sign Lab and Corel already. I feel as If There simply adding on Price to make up what for the reduced price from the show.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

What version of SignLab do you currently have? SignLab includes a RIP called the Print and Cut Manager, which provides quite a bit of extra functionality. Here are some features to consider:

1. The Print and Cut Manager provides a queue interface, where jobs can be collected for different media, printer model, etc. So you can collect jobs of a similar nature and run them off in one go.
2. Easy scheduling controls provide control over ripping/printing/lamination/cutting. For example, scheduling would be used to pause the output during the lamination step of a print/laminate/cut job.
3. A hot folder system is available in order to receive jobs from non-Windows operating systems. By copying a PostScript file into a designated "hot folder" directory, the Print and Cut Manager will act upon that job.
4. Whilst a job is being spooled, the Print and Cut Manager can simultaneously rip pending jobs that otherwise would be sitting idle in the queue.
5. The raw print data can be previewed prior to printing. This will allow you to inspect an on-screen approximation of the ink being laid down. Depending on the printer model, this will also give you an idea of halftone quality used in screen printing.
6. There is an abundance of media profiles provided with each supported printer. Media profiles typically vary according to the media manufacturer, choice of inks, and image resolution.
7. On the SignLab side, a Calibration Wizard is provided for creating your own media profiles. This wizard involves printing a series of charts that help you identify the highest quality for the given media. The wizard includes explanations of each calibration step and elaborates on how to interpret each chart.
8. There are advanced Print and Cut Manager features as well, such as image adjustments, colour adjustments, ink volume adjustments, though I won’t elaborate on those here. Suffice to say the functionality is available for you.
9. The Print and Cut Manager can be configured to receive jobs from other Windows applications. In addition, in-rip cutting is supported from line art applications like Illustrator, CorelDraw, etc.

Okay, this is somewhat long, so I’ll end this here. I checked concerning the printers you mentioned. The Print and Cut Manager does not provide support for the HP8000sr, though there is support for the 9000. And there is support for the Mutoh ValueJet 1604.

Regards,

Rod at CADlink

[Karl Williams]

I’d have thought if the machine you were buying was HP or Mutoh the Onyx Rip should come bundled with the kit. Artsystems stock both machines and the Onyx rip. Onyx is a good rip package. But you may find only the basic one is sold with the machine and you can only print on one machine from it. To print from other models you would have to upgrade your license.