Software

ONYX Graphics Inc. has announced ONYX Imagez software, a basic, affordable RIP package designed for large-format aqueous and entry-level solvent inkjet printers. It is ideally suited to single-person and in-house users that want professional print results while maintaining complete control over print operations.

"Aqueous inkjet printers are often found in corporations, law firms, universities and hospitals, which use them to create signage, posters and presentations," said Dean Derhak, director of product management, ONYX. "These groups have brought their printing in-house to save money on outside services. However, they have found that standard operating system printer drivers are lacking in vital features. ONYX Imagez software is an economical RIP that gives in-house users the tools they need to reduce media usage and produce great color."

ONYX Imagez software will also appeal to freelance designers, photo enthusiasts and anyone desiring professional print results from their large-format (24 to 44 inches wide) aqueous inkjet or entry-level solvent printer.

ONYX Imagez software gives users the same ONYX color engine as ONYX production RIP solutions, but with a simple workflow for non-production applications. It delivers great color output and offers media-saving nesting tools. ONYX Imagez software supports aqueous inkjet printers from Canon, Epson and HP as well as entry-level solvent printers from HP, Mimaki, Mutoh and Roland through an easy-to-use interface. It can produce an on-screen proof of actual print color, eliminating the need for—and the media and ink costs of—a test print. Further media savings can be realized using the automated or manual print nesting feature. ONYX Imagez software includes Pantone spot color matching so brand managers can be assured of color fidelity every time.

Additional features include support for media recalibration, a job queue list, auto-centering either horizontally or vertically, easy color correction, proof text watermarking and tiling. It supports Postscript, PDF, JPEG and TIFF file formats. Photo package templates are also included for users to quickly and easily produce multiple copies of photos in select standard sizes.

ONYX Imagez software will be available in two versions: ONYX Imagez, the basic package, and ONYX Imagez Pro, which includes an Eye-One densitometer for media calibration. The packages will be available for purchase as software downloads from the ONYX Imagez website in November 2009. Customers interested in ONYX Imagez software can sign up for a free, full-featured downloadable 30-day trial.

As stated in our previous News from the HP Stand editorial, at time of launch there will be no 'PostScript onboard' version of the new HP Designjet L25500 latex printers, but HP have been working closely with all of the major RIP manufacturers, and have announced that drivers will be available at end-user launch-time from eight of the leading suppliers, specifically these are:

    * Onyx - PosterShop
    * Caldera - VisualRIP
    * Colorgate - Production Server
    * Wasatch - SoftRIP
    * SAi - FlexiSign and PhotoPrint
    * CADlink - Signlab and Digital Factory
    * AIT - Shiraz
    * ErgoSoft - PosterPrint

HP Designjet L25500 demo units are expected to start shipping to their international distributors and resellers over the coming months, with end-user installations expected to begin in earnest from January 2010 - all of the above named RIP manufacturers will have drivers ready for their software, with additional software vendors no doubt following suit in due course.

The convenience of automating the scheduling and collation of versioned jobs is now seamless on Inca Digital wide format printers with the launch of the Inca Print Run Controller (PRC) software module.  With high speed printing rates making digital production more versatile and profitable, PRC allows users to schedule the print order and produce print jobs quickly and simply to prevent RIP and workflow bottle-necks, streamline production, reduce operator error, reduce post-print collation requirements and enhance customer service.

Inca has developed PRC to assist in the production of an individual order incorporating different elements or images, sizes or languages. It is also applicable when a large number of images need to be output in varying quantities with variable elements to a large number of recipients.  PRC's ability to streamline the overall production process allows digital output on medium - longer run lengths to compete with screen printing and offset litho technologies.

"The introduction of PRC is another change in the capabilities of wide-format digital print by shortening turn around times and reducing the margin for error", says Linda Bell, Inca CEO.  "The software module is ideal for users of Inca Onset, S20 and Spyder machines where speed no longer has to be sacrificed when variable images and versioning are incorporated into a print run."

PRC's ability to RIP once/output once or RIP once/output many, depending on run lengths, cuts job changeover times considerably.  Users now have the opportunity, for example, to pre-define print jobs by geographical location and delivery priority.  This has the potential to significantly reduce shipping and collation costs, whilst at the same time maximizing the time customers have to produce the job.

Another benefit is that PRC allows job scheduling to be managed in the studio before it enters the pressurized environment of the shop floor.  Printer operators can focus on the task of printing to improve efficiency and productivity still further.

PRC is fully compliant with PPML 2.10 (Personalised Print Markup Language) and works with a user's RIP to transform image files into a format which can be output as normal.  The ability to work with industry-standard PDFs and conform to preflight parameters also ensures that colour integrity and other workflow criteria are maintained throughout.

There are versions for a range of Inca machines and the software is available from Q4 2009 from Inca Digital or its exclusive distributor Fujifilm Sericol.

GMG, developer and supplier of high-end colour management and proofing solutions, is pleased to announce that the company has joined the EQUIOSNET Partnership Program launched by Dainippon Screen. The aim of the program is to provide a variety of printing solutions that use end-to-end automation to prevent human errors, shorten turnaround time and optimise the entire production process.

Screen is focusing on the development of more automated and efficient systems in the printing industry. Consequently, Screen customers will be able to benefit from GMG's colour management expertise as GMG is well-known for providing high-quality, fully automatic colour conversions and outstanding technology for the stabilisation of nearly every printing process.

"We look forward to a close collaboration with a global company such as Screen within the EQUIOSNET Partnership Program. We believe that this program will benefit our mutual customers greatly", says Paul Willems, Chief Executive Officer of GMG GmbH & Co. KG.

The growth in demand from display producers wanting to work with industry-standard PDFs has led UK-based wide-format RIP software specialist Shiraz Software to develop and launch an integrated plug-in for use with its Signature and Server versions. Designated the Shiraz Adobe PDF Engine plug-in, this new option embeds complete functionality within the existing RIP and now enables users to adhere to the standard delivery format common throughout the digital print market.

Shiraz Software RIP now benefits from the same core technology used by Adobe to build Acrobat, and this ensures high-performance PDF processing which is optimised consistently on all platforms. The optional plug-in extends the RIPs functionality to full Acrobat 9 (PDF 1.7 +Ext) certification, providing greater security and reliability in distribution and exchange of electronic documents and forms across all work-flow environments. This requirement is becoming increasingly relevant and important to wide-format digital print service providers who are being driven to adopt commonality with other creative professionals in the graphic arts market.

The Shiraz Adobe PDF Engine plug-in is available for integration within Shiraz v6.60 and Signature v7.0. This makes it ideal for users of multiple output devices which use the company’s Server option as well as smaller companies using the Signature product for driving a single printer.

Able to handle live transparency and layering, as well as PDF files of virtually all sizes and specifications, this Shiraz plug-in produces high quality rendering for smooth graduations and blends. It provides the exceptional quality and reliability found in proven Adobe technology and is fully interoperable with other products in the company’s portfolio, such as Illustrator and InDesign.

All colour spaces are supported, including RGB, CMYK, L*a*b (CIELAB), as well as spot and indexed requirements. Font rendering is accommodated to include unicode (UTF) and double-byte fonts which allow the use of complex and extended character sets. The Shiraz Adobe PDF Engine plug-in is efficient on multiple CPU systems in a thread-safe manner and offers excellent memory management.

The release of this new, essential option now gives existing and new users of our products the ability to conform with industry standard PDF work-flow which is rapidly becoming an essential requirement within the wide-format digital printing industry, states Ramin Shahbazi, Shiraz Softwares business development director. We've put our Adobe PDF Engine plug-in through intensive and rigorous testing world-wide prior to bringing it to market and this solution will now provide reliable, accurate and supported implementation of the latest Adobe PDF specification.

Shiraz Software provides software, work-flow management and RIP solutions for all users of wide-format ink-jet printers, with products including its Server options for businesses running multiple printers and Signature, which is designed as an entry-level stand-alone solution. All versions are fully upgradable and are available for Windows, Macintosh and Linux platforms.

A low-cost image management and printing option, Shiraz Focus, is also available for professional photographers. All current releases are fully compatible with Windows 7 and Macintosh OSX Snow Leopard (10.6)

Caldera has extended its partnership with Adobe and announced the integration of the Adobe PDF Print Engine (APPE) into its RIP solutions. The association of the two technologies will guarantee for production printing fast and reliable reproduction of files in the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), including complex images and transparencies.

Caldera has built the technology into its new generation of RIP solutions and will be available with Caldera's V8 software edition which will be released at the end of 2009.

The Adobe PDF Print Engine enables integrated, end-to-end PDF workflows for printing graphically rich content, including variable content for personalized publishing. The Caldera print solutions powered by Adobe PDF Print Engine allow PDF files to be rendered natively, without conversion to PostScript, helping to ensure that complex designs and effects, even variable print elements with transparency, are efficiently and reliably reproduced.

"With the Adobe PDF Print Engine, the Caldera RIPing speed is not only increased for all PDF files, but the output is much more consistent with the design and editing products of the Adobe Creative Suite. Adobe PDF Print Engine eliminates the need for flattening transparency, maintaining content in a device-independent state right up until final rendering," said Guillaume Muller, R&D director.

With this new Adobe PDF Print Engine, Caldera simplifies upstream PDF workflows and unifies prepress production. It empowers designers to create leading-edge content with confidence, knowing that it will be reproduced as expected by print producers.