Choosing a RIP

[jayhawksigns]

Just wondering what made you decide for one RIP over another?

I have been looking into switching over to either Wasatch or Onyx for our printing production here.

Our advantage of switching to Onyx over Wasatch is that we have an old version of Onyx, that would let us upgrade to Production House, with the profiling package, for less than the retail cost of the Wasatch software.

Just basically looking for opinions from everyone about the RIP that they are using now.

Thanks.

[jgolo]

I am using Wasatch because of the number of profiles available with the ink I choose to use(Triangle) and the number of users here that could help me when in a jam. It works great BTW and the new 6.0 is even better.

[jayhawksigns]

Thanks for the response John.

I don't know if sticking with Flexi is the best bet, or if the money would be better spent on something like Wasatch/Onyx. Its only money right?

[ScottyDoo]

Aside from the fact that most (though not as many here, heh) would agree that Onyx is by far the industry leader in this arena and best out there, my brother is an engineer there, so I have an inside man. I won't lie, that greatly influenced my purchase.

Upgrading to Wasatch or Onyx is like the equivalent to wearing pull-ups. Don't you want to be a big kid now?

[eye4clr]

Aside from the demographics on this site, Onyx has something like 70% market share - and for good reasons.

Thing is, Flexi can get the job done quite well. Why change at all?

[kazoobanner]

We're looking at upgrading to Onyx PosterShop from Raster Link Pro II (the RIP that came with the Mimaki). It's worked great thus far, but the problems of trying to get some smooth gradients and the very limited controls that RLPII have, have really pushed us into looking for something better.

Any one prefer PosterShop over Production House? Pros/cons?

[aandjdigital]

Here is my question.. What exactly is the benefit to using a RIP? The only printers I have now are the Epson 9600 and the HP3000 and do not use a RIP on either one. Looking at maybe an eco sol printer next year. What are the advantages of using a RIP for any of these applications. Don't use one now, why should I want to? How will it benefit me? What do they do??

[ast]

Originally Posted by aandjdigital

Here is my question.. What exactly is the benefit to using a RIP? The only printers I have now are the Epson 9600 and the HP3000 and do not use a RIP on either one. Looking at maybe an eco sol printer next year. What are the advantages of using a RIP for any of these applications. Don't use one now, why should I want to? How will it benefit me? What do they do??

so you're just using your printer driver to print now?

[GraphiXtreme]

Could be that these have hardware RIPs built in. When you get into the solvent-type printers, you HAVE to use a RIP...it isn't optional. The RIP is what converts the source file into something useable by the printer. Could be that some large printers have a hardware RIP, but the majority require a software RIP. In addition, the RIP gives you added control over the color output, much more so than direct from the native application.

[lund_sorensen]

Im new on these shores, have just bought the Wasatch 5.1.1 - so the manual is one of my readings as of now 8)

Wouldnt printer linearization, calibration and ink limiting be some of the main attractions? Plus the ability to nest when printing. Plus (for later versions as far as I understand), good networking cababilities.

Kind Regards

Niels