Print software manufacturer Wasatch has announced an unprecedented discount on upgrades for its premium RIP software package, SoftRIP. Users are now able to upgrade from limited versions of its powerful RIP software, with some versions upgradeable to full SoftRIP for as little as £99, and further huge potential savings available right across the board, on software packages with a value of up to £2450.
Restricted, standalone editions of the software are already supplied as standard by several printer manufacturers. The full SoftRIP package features a number of tools to improve productivity and ensure exceptionally loyal colour matching, while being able to control up to four printers simultaneously. Amongst its array of powerful workflow options are real-time queue monitoring, a tiled view for over-sized or overlapping jobs, and the ability to archive printed files complete with colour settings. The cost estimator also gives a realistic end-to-end picture of how much money is spent on each job.
Wasatch, which is one of the largest RIP versions in circulation, engineered its Precision Stochastic Screens (PSS) halftoning specifically for the software to give it a 16-bit deep rendering pipeline that produces perfectly even gradations and greys without stairstepping. This method also increases throughput speeds by up to 30% for variable-dot printers and more than 100% for fixed-dot printers.
Wasatch’s Phil Pirie claims that one of the primary reasons for upgrading is to take advantage of the quality benefits available from the latest generation printing systems. “Upgrading from feature restricted or printer specific Wasatch versions can really release the potential of the latest print hardware, with drivers now available for all current devices, including the recently launched HP Designjet latex printers. In terms of colour quality, with its 16-bit rendering, we firmly believe that SoftRIP now sets the benchmark that all other RIP software will have to be judged against.”
Phil is also enthusiastic about the high value benefits of this upgrade program - specifically its accompanying service agreement. "When users purchase a Wasatch upgrade they’re not only buying a comprehensive product with astounding colour capability but also one of the best support packages on the market,” he explains. “The contract means that leading industry technicians will advise individual users by phone, fax or e-mail, using their experience to walk them through use of the software, device setup, network and computer connectivity, colour management and other printing issues. This deal also includes eligibility for free downloads of SoftRIP updates released during the six month service contract.”
With printers needing to promote a wider range of services than ever before, SoftRIP allows them to broaden their portfolio to incorporate personalisation and versioning via variable data (VDP) simply. Lines of text and individual graphic elements can be added to a background image without slowing down the production process. Data can be incorporated from standard mail merge formats, comma separated values (CSV) and Microsoft Excel. The VDP option makes the manipulation of images and text easy, putting automatic resizing and sequential numbering at the user's fingertips.
Rotating, resizing and mirroring are readily manipulable, and for textile printing, which has become incrementally more popular in the sign and display market, continuous patterns can be engineered with utter simplicity. The user creates a single pattern shape which SoftRIP then multiplies and aligns exactly. Installation of the software is equally painless, with only the printer, profile and connection types needing specification before the RIP is ready to use.
Contour cutting is also made accessible with the Wasatch SoftRIP. Paths can be used from popular design applications, such as Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw, and complex shapes can be nested and duplicated simply within the RIP. The software excels in environments where a separate printer and cutter is used, and can track register marks between multiple devices. Free 30-day trials of the premium Wasatch add-on products are available for users who want to try out a number of advanced modules, including variable data printing, contour cutting, separations printing, and seamless textile repeats.
Wasatch SoftRIP is available in the UK and Europe from Tech8
