Best RIP software?

[Bobby Sandstrom]

I'm going to bite the bullet and get a RIP. I want to have COMPLETE CONTROL of my tones! I don't mind doing whatever work I have to do to get it. What seems to be the RIP of choice for this kind of control? Also, is there a source for information on how to master this sort of thing? I'll be using a 4800 with the best available matte papers.

Thanks for your help.

Bob Sandstrom

[Andy Biggs]

ImagePrint and Studioprint seem to be the best RIPs on the market for your needs. I have used both, and they are very different beasts. ImagePrint is much more of a plug and play product, and seems to stray away from ICC compliant functionality. In other words, Imageprint doesn't use ICC compliant profiles that can be used in ICC aware applications. It is a closed system.

Studioprint is a great tool, but there are some catches. It is a PC-only application. I own Studioprint, and I can tell you that you have more control than you know you had. However, it takes a ton of time to get setup properly. Also, it worked off of CMYK profiles only. I suspect this comes from their prepress world.

Andy

[Ron Marshall]

Here is a review of Studioprint. This site also reviews Imageprint.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/software/studioprint-10.shtml

[Kirk Gittings]

Are we talking B&w or color or both? I have used Imageprint for a 4000 for over a year now and have had the oportunity to use StudioPrint and QTR on a 9600 with both UC and Cone ink systems. I found that I could get better control and richer b&w prints with Imageprint than with other systems. I will be upgrading this year to a 7800 and will stay with IP.

[Randy Becker]

I can't tell from your post if you are looking for a color or black and white rip. If you are asking about a black and white one, I highly recommend Roy Harrington's Quadtone RIP. Don't let the name fool you, you DON'T need quadtone inks in your printer to use this. I have used this for a long time and find it incredibly good for black and white printing on epson's printers.

It can be found at www.harrington.com

Best regards,
Randy

[Bobby Sandstrom]

Sorry. I forget to mention I shoot Black and White and on a rare occasion color.

Bob

[Bobby Sandstrom]

And... I use a MAC.

[neil poulsen]

You might check out the ColorBurst X-Photo RIP. It runs on both a Mac and a PC. I purchased their Pro version for the PC, but find I don't need all the additional features that I got. I'd rather be able to run my RIP on both platforms. At the time that I purchased, the X-Photo RIP wasn't available.

In using a traditional RIP like the ColorBurst, one needs to be able to read a linearization chart. The most versatile device for this is a spectrophotometer like the Eye-One with the UV cutoff filter. The cutoff filter enables one to correctly read papers with optical brighteners, which is most papers.

Given that one has this, the rest is easy. Generate a linearization test target and read it using the spectrophotometer. The RIP automatically linearizes the printer. I reprinted the test target with linearization invoked and plotted the data. When they say "linear", they mean linear. I was impressed.

The second step is to generate and evaluate an ink limit target. This was also an easy thing to do. But then with the ColorBursts defaults, I didn't see any over-inking, so there was nothing to enter.

At this point, one has a true CMYK printer. The remaining step is to generate a CMYK profile. While one can obtain these at a cost from vendors, with the right software, one can also generate these on their own. It takes a bit of a learning curve, though. It's my understanding that ColorBurst will soon include an X-Rite engine in their RIP for constructing printer profiles.

ColorBurst provides six months of free support to help people through the process. This is adequate for the purpose. I found their support to be excellent. While there's a learning curve for generating one's own CMYK profiles, I found the RIP related activites using the ColorBurst product to be quite easy.

As for printing, while one can use the RIP for taking the profile into account, etc., it's probably better just to convert and send the image to the RIP from Photoshop. One then has the advantage of using Adobe's Black Point Compensation, which is quite a nice Adobe patented feature. It helps prevent blocking in the shadows.

A lot of people like ImagePrint, but I don't subscribe to their strategy. If I'm going to spend money for a RIP, I want the real thing. They use mathematical modeling based on their testing with different printer models to "optimize" output for that model. One can choose from their large collection profiles for different papers. Their approach doesn't require a linearization. But I have to wonder at this. How can one optimize results to a specific printer without collecting data from that printer? The answer eludes me, especially since printers change over time.

Using a traditional RIP like the one from ColorBurst requires a reading instrument like a spectrophotometer. But, this can also give one the capability of generating their own printer profiles. I find this capability worthwhile for anyone who wants to obtain full advantage from their printer. It adds greater versatility.

[Bruce Watson]

Unfortunately, asking which is the best RIP is a bit like asking which is the best food. Is broccoli really better than oranges? It depends - are you making juice?

For starters, it depends on which inks you want to use. If you intend to print B&W with Epson's inks, then it's going to be hard to beat ImagePrint. Although many people swear by QTR. If you intended to use a B&W inkset like those from Cone or MIS, then I suspect you'll get better results from a RIP that lets you linearize the printer fairly easily, and lets you put inks in the channels you want. The would be Studioprint and again QTR.

There are other options of course. Too many to name them all. Still, here are some links to get you started.

http://www.ergosoftus.com/studioprint/
http://www.quadtonerip.com/html/QTRoverview.html
http://www.colorbytesoftware.com/imageprint.htm
http://www.bowhaus.com/services/IJCOPMmain.php4

You can learn a lot by looking at the archives of these discussion groups also:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/messages
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/QuadtoneRIP/messages

[Bruce Watson]

Whoops. Let me try those links again, adding spacers:

http://www.ergosoftus.com/studioprint/

http://www.quadtonerip.com/html/QTRoverview.html

http://www.colorbytesoftware.com/imageprint.htm

http://www.bowhaus.com/services/IJCOPMmain.php4



http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/messages

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/QuadtoneRIP/messages