Caldera or Onyx RIP?

[Tgngreatnews]

I just ordered a new OCE 460GT and haven't decided what RIP to use. I like the thumbnail view in Caldera, but am told Onyx V11 now has thumbnail views as well.

Any suggestions?

 

[tree32]

Which Rip to Use

Both are good ripping software and I only had first hand experience with Onyx. My company used to use Caldera and it worked well once you got it going, but wasnt user friendly and they were always having trouble getting it dialed-in. But at the time we used it to manage 5 15ft wide format printers so that may had something to do with it.

We now use onyx for a single HP latex printer and it works wonderfully. Other than the connect/disconnect button everything is intuitive and it does have thumbnail preview on the right. After playing around with it for 20 minutes I had it all figured out. It has also been very stable, no crashes in the 6 months we have worked with it.

 

[HulkSmash]

I just ordered a new OCE 460GT and haven't decided what RIP to use. I like the thumbnail view in Caldera, but am told Onyx V11 now has thumbnail views as well.

Any suggestions?

Caldera Hands down.

 

[tomence]

Caldera Hands down.

I just got my L260 delivered and installed two days ago and bought Caldera for my RIP. I have built a custom PC and the tech tried to install Linux Debian and came to a problem, he could not setup the ethernet network port, Linux could not find the ports. He called Caldera and they could not help him out, they told him there is only one guy that knows how to install Linux on PC but he was out of his office. Am i better to go with Onyx or is there a way to fix this problem?

The tech loaded Onyx ProductionHouse on my laptop as a demo for 20 days so i can use the printer until problem is solved, and i really like Onyx so far.

I really don't want to spend another $600-$700 for a mac mini.

 

[Asuma01]

Having to use linux or buy a mac is what made the choice to use onyx easy.

 

[TXFB.INS]

Why would they limit to use only Linux or Mac OS? that seems like a serious oversight.

 

[tomence]

In which way is Caldera better than Onyx?

 

[bigben]

I just got my L260 delivered and installed two days ago and bought Caldera for my RIP. I have built a custom PC and the tech tried to install Linux Debian and came to a problem, he could not setup the ethernet network port, Linux could not find the ports. He called Caldera and they could not help him out, they told him there is only one guy that knows how to install Linux on PC but he was out of his office. Am i better to go with Onyx or is there a way to fix this problem?

The tech loaded Onyx ProductionHouse on my laptop as a demo for 20 days so i can use the printer until problem is solved, and i really like Onyx so far.

I really don't want to spend another $600-$700 for a mac mini.

I've installed caldera on a linux pc at first. There was alot of problems. I finally just bought a 400$ mac mini, even if I have apple stuff, and never had any problems.

 

[nate]

Why would they limit to use only Linux or Mac OS? that seems like a serious oversight.

Actually it's not. It makes perfect sense. With Linux they can control the whole environment. Everything is built by them. The Linux distro is setup to run Caldera well. There's not a lot of overhead that comes with it. It just works. In any way shape or form, I can do things faster in Caldera then I could ever do in Onyx. Plus you don't need to keep making your computer bigger and better.

 

[nate]

In which way is Caldera better than Onyx?

Every way.

It's faster. I can get a file in, setup, and printing in caldera before I can get a file in to Onyx

It's modular. I never have to worry about a crash. I can run the whole shop on it without worry. I used to run 5 machines on Onyx, and crashes expected, taking the while shop down with it.

It's scaleable. You can run your printers via one machine, or run each printer via a separate machine. You can have 1 user or 10 or 100 prepping files. You can be printing, cutting, making profiles, and prepping files all at the same time.

It's use of the Adobe Print Engine makes for a very efficient and correct PDF workflow. I know you can get the Adobe Print Engine in Thrive, butit's been with Caldera since v8. It makes PDF workflows simple. Load the file and print. No worries about transparencies, flattening, etc. Files print like they're made.

I've been on Versaworks, Wasatch, Onyx and Caldera. Once you get going with Caldera, you'll never understand how you could use any of the other products I just mentioned. It's so forward thinking.

 

[nate]

I just got my L260 delivered and installed two days ago and bought Caldera for my RIP. I have built a custom PC and the tech tried to install Linux Debian and came to a problem, he could not setup the ethernet network port, Linux could not find the ports. He called Caldera and they could not help him out, they told him there is only one guy that knows how to install Linux on PC but he was out of his office. Am i better to go with Onyx or is there a way to fix this problem?

The tech loaded Onyx ProductionHouse on my laptop as a demo for 20 days so i can use the printer until problem is solved, and i really like Onyx so far.

I really don't want to spend another $600-$700 for a mac mini.

Why would you have to buy a Mac mini? There's no need for that. Your PC will work fine. You can either have Ernst walk you through getting the settings correct, or get a new network card... It's really no big deal. You don't need an insanely fast beefy machine for caldera. Heck-- why not keep the new machine for you, and put your old machine for Caldera? You just don't need the horsepower like you do for Onyx.

 

[cmykpro]

My vote is for Onyx Thrive. The adobe RIP engine is absolutely superior. I built a custom i7 rig dedicated to Onyx running windows 7. I have 5 Solid state drives, one dedicated to onyx and the OS and then a drive for each printer. Pair that with 32 gig of stupid fast RAM and we have a beast that runs most of our operation. My philosophy is why on gods green earth would you trust your workflow to a $600 mac with one mechanical drive. I will say I am a fan of Linux however there just isn't enough mainstream programming for RIP's to justify going that route. To each their own...

 

[VTSigns]

It's not even close here. Caldera is far superior for all the reasons Nate listed above. I have used both and Onyx was miserable to use. Once you use Caldera you will never desire to use another RIP.

 

[nate]

My vote is for Onyx Thrive. The adobe RIP engine is absolutely superior. I built a custom i7 rig dedicated to Onyx running windows 7. I have 5 Solid state drives, one dedicated to onyx and the OS and then a drive for each printer. Pair that with 32 gig of stupid fast RAM and we have a beast that runs most of our operation. My philosophy is why on gods green earth would you trust your workflow to a $600 mac with one mechanical drive. I will say I am a fan of Linux however there just isn't enough mainstream programming for RIP's to justify going that route. To each their own...

This is where you miss the point. My Caldera install is running on 18 computers. Eight are at users desks to prep files, six run as print servers for the printers themselves, and four run our Summa cutters. All of the computers are the $500 Costco special (limit 5 at a time, had to go a few times), and are now more than three years old. My system is still better than your brand new setup. It's all in how the resources are used. That's what is so great! You don't have to keep throwing horsepower to get better performance. The performance is already there.

 

[cmykpro]

This is where you miss the point. My Caldera install is running on 18 computers. Eight are at users desks to prep files, six run as print servers for the printers themselves, and four run our Summa cutters. All of the computers are the $500 Costco special (limit 5 at a time, had to go a few times), and are now more than three years old. My system is still better than your brand new setup. It's all in how the resources are used. That's what is so great! You don't have to keep throwing horsepower to get better performance. The performance is already there.

So what you are saying is your ten Volkswagen's are far superior to my one Ferrari 458? Quite frankly I don't wish to deal with the networking headaches of running multiple low end machines trying to talk correctly with one another. I can only imagine the failure rates of "costco" value machines and would never ever even consider letting one of those into my precision workflow. I understand your point of having the RIP accessible to multiple points however Onyx does that already. Granted it doesn't work precisely as Caldera does but it does do the job very well. As I said above I haven't used Caldera and am in the mindset of if it isn't broke why fix it? Onyx does everything and more I could ever ask and the latest color correction tools have dramatically reduced my down time due to correction issues. I have zero interest into getting into a pissing match and flexing e-muscles. If Caldera works for you then I say more power to you. I'm just simply stating that Onyx has been awesome for us and I have zero reason to switch. The OP is looking for real world input and that is exactly what I feel I have given.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]

My system is still better than your brand new setup.

[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]So everything we know about data transfer rates must be null eh'? You're telling me that a 7200spin Costco pc drive can rip a file faster then SSD's in RAID 0? Really? I have twenty fold the performance you do all from one machine and only have to worry about one machine being up vs. 18 garbage machines. I apologize for going on about this however for you to come on and say you have a better setup is laughable at best. If you want to have a reasonable conversation I would ask that you bring valid points up in a way that aren't insulting...[/FONT]

 

[HulkSmash]

So what you are saying is your ten Volkswagen's are far superior to my one Ferrari 458? Quite frankly I don't wish to deal with the networking headaches of running multiple low end machines trying to talk correctly with one another. I can only imagine the failure rates of "costco" value machines and would never ever even consider letting one of those into my precision workflow. I understand your point of having the RIP accessible to multiple points however Onyx does that already. Granted it doesn't work precisely as Caldera does but it does do the job very well. As I said above I haven't used Caldera and am in the mindset of if it isn't broke why fix it? Onyx does everything and more I could ever ask and the latest color correction tools have dramatically reduced my down time due to correction issues. I have zero interest into getting into a pissing match and flexing e-muscles. If Caldera works for you then I say more power to you. I'm just simply stating that Onyx has been awesome for us and I have zero reason to switch. The OP is looking for real world input and that is exactly what I feel I have given.


So everything we know about data transfer rates must be null eh'? You're telling me that a 7200spin Costco pc drive can rip a file faster then SSD's in RAID 0? Really? I have twenty fold the performance you do all from one machine and only have to worry about one machine being up vs. 18 garbage machines. I apologize for going on about this however for you to come on and say you have a better setup is laughable at best. If you want to have a reasonable conversation I would ask that you bring valid points up in a way that aren't insulting...

You're completely missing it. His point is you can customize caldera how you want. Master and Slave setups. It's used for better work flow. I've used Onyx. It's no where near as good as the caldera setup. Also Caldera support is free, and they're probably have one of the best support centers that i've ever come across. Ernst, is a superstar over there. If you're using 1,2 or 3 printers, i guess you wouldn't understand the need for caldera over onyx. It's just a much better, and more reliable option.

 

[cmykpro]

You're completely missing it. His point is you can customize caldera how you want. Master and Slave setups. It's used for better work flow. I've used Onyx. It's no where near as good as the caldera setup. Also Caldera support is free, and they're probably have one of the best support centers that i've ever come across. Ernst, is a superstar over there. If you're using 1,2 or 3 printers, i guess you wouldn't understand the need for caldera over onyx. It's just a much better, and more reliable option.

These could be valid points, I don't know "Ernst" and I generally have respect for colleagues in the industry. However for a person who doesn't know me or my business to come across and say they are somehow "better" really ignites a spark in me. For a so called "Superstar" to use junk machines in his workflow is mind boggling to me. If cheap garbage worked well then there would be no reason for high priced machines that slaughter the lesser. So convincing me that using a multitude of cheap machines to accomplish the greater goal is obviously new. For example he states he uses eight $500 costco machines to "prep" files. I have nothing less then i7 machines running SSD's since the mechanical hard drive is the biggest bottle neck in our industry. So my rigs can "prep" files ten time faster then his which in effect costs me less labor and increases efficiency across the board.
After re-reading I feel as I'm coming across as "I spent more money so my workflow is better." I don't want to be one of those folks however sometimes the truth hurts. I have video cards in my designers machines that cost more then his pc's. The reason for this? EFFICIENCY! I would rather spend more money up front for a more productive tool for my designers then pissing around with a slow back end.
Again I have much respect for those shops who do allot with a little. I have seen amazing things firsthand come from low budget shops. Ernst, I really do wish you the best and hopefully my defensive mechanism didn't cause any damage.
We are all in this together. My stance, stand strong together, survive together....

 

[HulkSmash]

These could be valid points, I don't know "Ernst" and I generally have respect for colleagues in the industry. However for a person who doesn't know me or my business to come across and say they are somehow "better" really ignites a spark in me. For a so called "Superstar" to use junk machines in his workflow is mind boggling to me. If cheap garbage worked well then there would be no reason for high priced machines that slaughter the lesser. So convincing me that using a multitude of cheap machines to accomplish the greater goal is obviously new. For example he states he uses eight $500 costco machines to "prep" files. I have nothing less then i7 machines running SSD's since the mechanical hard drive is the biggest bottle neck in our industry. So my rigs can "prep" files ten time faster then his which in effect costs me less labor and increases efficiency across the board.
After re-reading I feel as I'm coming across as "I spent more money so my workflow is better." I don't want to be one of those folks however sometimes the truth hurts. I have video cards in my designers machines that cost more then his pc's. The reason for this? EFFICIENCY! I would rather spend more money up front for a more productive tool for my designers then pissing around with a slow back end.
Again I have much respect for those shops who do allot with a little. I have seen amazing things firsthand come from low budget shops. Ernst, I really do wish you the best and hopefully my defensive mechanism didn't cause any damage.
We are all in this together. My stance, stand strong together, survive together....

Uh, I just said i used both. I don't need to know you or your business to know which RIP is better. Have you tried Caldera?

 

[Bly]

Running 4 printers off Production House 10 here.
It rarely if ever crashes, no transparency problems and profiling is a breeze.
It's a very productive setup.

 

[cmykpro]

Uh, I just said i used both. I don't need to know you or your business to know which RIP is better. Have you tried Caldera?

Sigh... If you bothered to read my posts in their entirety you would see the core of my point being I haven't used Caldera and haven't had a need since Onyx does everything I need it to do and then some...

No one ever said or implied you need to know me. I simply stated do not come on here and say your setup is better without knowing that info. I don't believe you ever did that so i'm not sure where you're going with this? FFS people, get educated beyond your envelope before bashing another's operation. For the gazillionth time, NO I don't use Caldera and don't have a need since Onyx has done all I need it to do. Use what works best for you without putting down the guy next to you. Their will always be better things upon the horizon, try not to napalm any bridges until then....

PS - The Broncos suck. That is all.... :X