Software - RIP Software

Caldera has strengthened its sales staff with the arrival of Nan Jin.  Mrs JIN will be reinforcing the sales team as Area Sales Manager for Asia Pacific, including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korean, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and Kampuchea. Native Chinese, fluent in French and English, Nan has a good sales experience on international markets.

Caldera appoints Mickael Trens sales manager for Canada

Caldera has also appointed Mickael Trens sales area manager for Canada.  In this new role, Mickael will be responsible for identifying and maximizing opportunities to grow sales in the Canadian market, matching an understanding of customer needs with Print-to-Cut workflow solutions and the best possible service to existing and new clients. He will get strong marketing support on this mission from Canadian native, Sebastien Hanssens, Caldera's Vice President of Marketing and Communication.

Roland DGA Corporation today announced VersaWorks Version 4.0, a full featured easy-to-use RIP software package developed exclusively for the company’s line of wide-format inkjet printers and printer/cutters.

Roland inkjet printers and printer/cutters are used by professionals worldwide for applications ranging from signs, banners and vehicle wraps to custom apparel, packaging prototypes, labels, decals and POP displays.  Based on the latest Adobe CPSI 3019 engine, VersaWorks 4.0 RIP software is included with all Roland inkjets, providing users with a powerful, fully integrated digital printing solution.

Existing Roland inkjet customers can upgrade to Version 4.0 free of charge through an Internet connection using the Roland@NET service.

“VersaWorks is an exceptionally robust, true Adobe PostScript 3 RIP ensuring outstanding production output and ease of use,” said Hiroshi Ono, senior product manager for Roland.  “We are pleased to offer VersaWorks 4.0 to our Roland inkjet customers free of charge, reflecting our ongoing commitment to providing them with the most advanced technology available.”

Fully compatible with Windows 7, Vista, XP and 2000, VersaWorks 4.0 offers several new enhancements including error diffusion for outstanding print quality and an Advanced Job Log feature that allow users to export job information such as printing length and ink consumption into Excel supported file formats.

New Metallic Spot Colour Library

With the introduction of Version 4.0, VersaWorks now includes more than 500 metallic colors in the Roland Metallic Color Library, part of the Roland Color matching system.  This spot color library supports users of VersaCAMM VS-640 and SOLJET PRO III XC-540MT inkjets and includes silver, gold, bronze and a range of pearlescent colors.  More than 1,000 standard spot colors are also available in the Roland Color System supporting all Roland inkjets.

The Roland Color System allows users to print spot color charts and swatch books on any media.  These reference tools help customers choose the best spot color to match a corporate logo or team color.  Roland Color System spot colors can then be reproduced on the same media with 100 percent accuracy every time.

For users of Roland’s VersaUV LEC LED-UV inkjet printer/cutters, VersaWorks 4.0 now features more than 70 textures in the Roland Texture System Library that can be produced using the LEC’s clear coat ink.

Powerful Printing and Cutting Options

Other VersaWorks features include several print options to match the demands of each job.  Users can choose from high-speed mode for production banner printing, the MAX Impact preset for vivid outdoor graphics and Artistic mode for exceptional indoor graphics. VersaWorks features Variable Data Printing, supports up to four Roland devices simultaneously and offers support for Roland’s GX series cutters which allows professionals to manage stand-alone cutting operations or pair a Roland cutter with select Roland inkjet printers for print/cut applications.   VersaWorks automatically estimates the ink usage and print time for each graphic to accurately monitor time and costs.

VersaWorks also offers embedded ICC profile support, ink level adjustment tools, software proofing capabilities, and advanced cropping, tiling and nesting options.  The PerfCut function enables users of Roland printer/cutters to produce precision perforated cut lines.

 

Caldera Graphics has announced a strategic partnership with SwissQprint for the supplying of production RIPs with the wide-format SwissQprint Oryx printer. SwissQprint is a young company having more than 10 years of experience in the business of UV printing and it brings to the market a new level in quality standards thanks to its Oryx offer.

Naturally, the company has investigated different RIP solutions to be proposed to Oryx end-users, and it appears after intensive tests that the Caldera solution is the only one to deliver such productivity and quality based on Linux or Mac platforms.

"It is important for SwissQprint to rely on a professional and quality driven solution that we provide the best of the potential of our printer" said Kilian Hinterman, senior product manager in SwissQprint. "Even more, the new features like APPE gives another advantage to become the caldera–swissQprint package to an unbeatable product."

The GrandRIP+ solution from Caldera ensures applications oriented on Added Value for every SwissQprint Oryx end-user in the field. Users are optimizing their printer output with the award winning Caldera solutions, which include exclusive features such as Tiling, Layout, Color Management, Multitasking & Automation.

"GrandRIP+ is today the reference solution when it is comes to UV applications. The SwissQprint Oryx printer represents a step forward in the recent evolution of that segment as it is strongly rising the level of quality and flexibility for print producer thanks to its scalability in the ink configuration that goes from simple CMYK over the additional Light colours up to White & Varnish; applications. Only GrandRIP+ from Caldera can cover such a spectrum," said Valery de March, OEM Manager of Caldera.

 

Key Features include Media and White Ink Handling Flexibility, Contone and Dot Proofing, Easy-to-Use Linearisation and Profiling as Well as Multiple Printer Support

EFI announced today EFI XF 4.1 (EFI XF Colorproof and EFI Fiery XF) for Epson Stylus Pro WT7900, offering an advanced solution for packaging proofing. New features include easy and flexible white ink handling on difficult substrates such as transparent and metallic media, contone and dot proofing, accurate spot colour reproduction, easy printer linearisation and profiling, and multiple printer support. EFI Colorproof XF 4.1 also supports ISO 12647-7 compliant proof validation on any opaque proofing media including automatic proof verification with the onboard SpectroProofer measurement device. EFI Colorproof XF 4.1. supports all the high-quality features of Epson Stylus Pro WT7900, allowing a greater return on investment.

"EFI Colorproof XF 4.1 capabilities takes printers, such as the Epson Stylus Pro WT7900, to a new level of accuracy and ease for packaging proofing," saidStefan Spiegel, general manager of EFI Graphic Arts Solutions."A number of top level customers have already put the combination of EFI XF 4.1 and the Epson Stylus Pro WT7900 to the test. They tell us the results they achieve give them an edge over the competition in terms of both customer satisfaction and profitability."

 

White Ink Handling

Advanced white ink handling includes adjustable white ink density; white tinting, definable in CMYK to match the appearance of white on the press; definable printing order (colour on white, white on colour or surface print and reverse print); selectable white ink printing modes (bounding box, image areas only or white spot colour channel only); opacity simulation for transparent media; support of multiple white channels and support for up to two control strips printable with and without white.

EFI XF 4.1 for the Epson Stylus Pro WT7900 comes pre-installed with output profiles for all Epson proofing media including ClearProof and CrystalClear Film. It supports the latest Windows 7 and Mac OS 10.6 operating systems.

"The media flexibility of the Epson Stylus Pro WT7900 with EFI XF Solutions is remarkable. The output quality in terms of spot colour accuracy and dot quality on both transparent and metallic media as well as white-ink handling is the best I've seen," said Mario Levers, head of production for Toppack Summen & Bergs GmbH, a leading provider of brand solutions based in Ahaus, Germany.

 

Additional Key Features

• Automatic linearisation, profiling, optimisation and calibration (with definable calibration intervals) to perfectly set up and maintain the system (software & printer & substrate)
• Automatic printing and inline-verification of proof without user interaction
• Automatic job-specific analysis and optimisation with Dynamic Wedge ™ - a dynamically created control strip containing the job key colours (including spot colours) for verification and  job specific optimisation.
• Automatic media wedge measuring of up to two wedges enabling the ISO 12647-7 compliant verification based on the Ugra/Fogra media wedge or IDEAlliance control strip and the job-specific control of the job key colours with the Dynamic Wedge.

 

For detailed information of EFI FX 4.1 visit www.efi.com/fieryxf

 

SA International (SAi), the leading provider of Solutions for the Professional Sign Making, Large Format Digital Printing and CAD/CAM for CNC Machining Industries, today announced that Flexi 8.6v2 and PhotoPRINT 6.1v2 have achieved RIP (raster image processor) Certification for the HP Designjet L25500 Printer series.

Flexi and PhotoPRINT received the highest rating possible in all applicable categories of the HP Designjet RIP Certification, including Printing Performance, Calibration, HP Media Support, Media Flexibility, Printer Reporting, and Job Management.

HP’s RIP certification tests are designed to ensure smooth integration with the unique features of HP’s printers. Only RIPs that meet the criteria for certification are allowed to use the “Certified for HP Designjet L25500” designation. The results of the test, showing how Flexi and PhotoPRINT fared in the test, can be viewed by visiting this link.

“Flexi and PhotoPRINT met HP’s rigorous certification challenge head-on and achieved recognition for the most complete functionality with the HP Designjet L25500 Printer series,” states Gudrun Bonte, Product Manager for Flexi and PhotoPRINT.

The HP Designjet L25500 produces a range of indoor and outdoor applications, ranging from POP displays to vehicle wraps. Water-based HP Latex Inks do not require special ventilation and are comparable to eco-solvent inks in terms of durability. Other highlights of HP’s latest addition to the Latex Printing Technologies portfolio are user-replaceable printheads, a built-in take-up reel, and instantly dry prints.

 

 

Caldera Graphics has launched its new V8 software version optimised for X-Rite iPrism and the Adobe PDF Print Engine.

The new Version 8.0 includes:

The Adobe PDF Print Engine option enables integrated, end-to-end PDF workflows for printing graphically rich content, including variable content for personalised 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 transparency effects.

i1Prism, the new X-Rite Color Management engine, contains a new ICC Profile generator that enhances Color separation and Color matching in the Caldera print workflow. With this option, users will benefit from the last state-of-the-art algorithms to print colors that were not reachable with previous profilers with a higher accuracy than before. Smoother and larger gamuts will provide an extended and better color matching. The deep collaboration between X-Rite and Caldera developers has allowed a complete adequation between the needs of Caldera end-users and the power of i1Prism. The new version of Easymedia will bring end-users an incredible color experience.

EasyMedia (Caldera's profile creating software) has two new tools for evaluating the quality of a profile and comparing profiles. The Gamut Viewer is a 2D view of the gamut of a profile in the "ab" subspace (of Lab), with a slider for modifying L in real-time. The gamut viewer can also display measurement data (LAB values measured on the ICC target) as single isolated points. This is an interesting feature allowing one to check if the profile has missed some colors. The Color Analyzer tool displays statistics about how the profile renders different colors, each grouped into different (predefined) color sets. For each set, you can visualize the average LAB deltaE, meaning the expected color difference and the percentage of in-gamut colors. For example, there is a "Pantone set" containing all Pantone solid coated colors, so one can immediately know how many Pantone colors are in-gamut.

The Caldera Image Bar now manages multiple "Tabs", allowing one to organize his work much more efficiently. The Image Bar Tabs are folders containing a certain number of images, either opened in Fileman, created with Compose, Tiling+, etc... It is possible to create new tabs, rename tabs, delete tabs, etc... But also to move/copy files very quickly from one tab to another by simple drag-and-drop or by using the corresponding entries in the menu.

Caldera is now full UTF-8. This means that the standard universal encoding (already used on Windows and Mac) is now implemented in place of the obsolete ISO-8859 system (or KOI-R in the case of Russian). This will solve problems of accentuated characters in file names, which are usually displayed as strange hieroglyphs in Caldera. This will also permit Caldera to support any language in the future, including multi-byte ones (Chinese, Korean, Japanese).

The automatic printer detection feature allows the printer drivers to broadcast over the network (or parse the USB ports in the case of an USB printer) to automatically find the IP address and port number of the printer. All newly installed drivers will have, by default; the "Auto-Connect" flag set.