Need Opinion from those who have used Onyx 11 & Caldera VisualRIP

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

We are faced with an issue, we are having issues with our Onyx 10.1 and our L260. HP is saying its Onyx and Onyx is saying that we need to update to the latest version to fix the issue. Here in lies the problem, They want us to pay $995 to upgrade to 11.1. We also got an offer to get caldera Visualrip and turn in our Onyx key for $1495.

We like Onyx a lot but paying $1000 to fix a problem is absurd to me, and I demo'd Caldera a while back and really liked it. So for those of you who have used both, which do you prefer?

 

[P Wagner]

What is the nature of the issue in Onyx 10.1?

For the record, I have Onyx 10 and 11, as well as Caldera and about 6 other RIPs. I really feel like Onyx and Caldera are each best in breed products, although Caldera is Unix-based (incl Mac) and Onyx is Windows-based.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

We are having consistent data drop outs causing 79:04 errors on the printer. We have done everything including factory reset printer and update to latest firmware, Reinstall Onyx, New Motherboard and seperate NIC cards. HP is saying its a RIP issue, Onyx is saying the L260 is not supported properly in 10.1 and we need to update to at least 10.2.5 (but they no longer do that and have to move to 11.1). I've never had issues before the L260 and the L260 runs perfectly fine except for the varying frequency and timing of the 79:04 error.

We have been getting them at the start of prints, during, and immediately after... this is whats leading HP to believe its a DATA issue from the RIP. Also our Printer is isolated from the network on its own NIC port directly in to the RIP computer on its own private PEER network.

 

[Steph_Stamm]

We are faced with an issue, we are having issues with our Onyx 10.1 and our L260. HP is saying its Onyx and Onyx is saying that we need to update to the latest version to fix the issue. Here in lies the problem, They want us to pay $995 to upgrade to 11.1. We also got an offer to get caldera Visualrip and turn in our Onyx key for $1495.

We like Onyx a lot but paying $1000 to fix a problem is absurd to me, and I demo'd Caldera a while back and really liked it. So for those of you who have used both, which do you prefer?

You may want to consider throwing FlexiPRINT HP Edition into the ring here. SAi is the newest HP Platinum-level partner, and as such, HP worked closely with us for over a year on the integrated solution with the HP Latex 300 series. The result is a fully HP-certified driver set with a some extras that make production printing easier. Our HP Edition RIP products also include drivers for the full-range of HP printers, including your L260, and have more features at lower prices.

You can watch videos, view pricing and get more information at www.thinksai.com/hplatex. You can also contact your reseller - there are many on this forum that would love to help you!

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Thanks Steph, I have used Flexi in the past versions 8.5 and 10.1 and was not very happy with the user experience. Its not as detailed with fine level control as I need, although I have not used any of the current gen stuff.

Also do you have a cross platform upgrade price or do you only have the subscription model now?

 

[Steph_Stamm]

Sorry to hear previous versions of Flexi didn't work out for you! Flexi 11 has some great new tools and a mobile app for working while on-the-go or away from your business, in addition to its standard full suite of sign design, RIP and Print and Print & Cut tools. As for the subscriptions, that is an option. You can get the full blown Flexi (including all the HP drivers) for as little as $50 a month. Of course we still have the traditional upgrades as well.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Do you have a trial version, just to see if the issue I had before are fixed or different now?

 

[nate]

Do you have a trial version, just to see if the issue I had before are fixed or different now?

Don't bother. If you're serious about printing, grab a copy of Caldera and don't look back. We've had them all here in the shop at varying times, and Caldera is by far the simplest to use and has a robust set of features. It'll win any hands on competition with little to no effort.

 

[AF]

The current Colorgate works flawlessly with the 260. Also, you can run it on the same rip machine you have now. The user interface is the cleanest with all the action in one window. The ICC creation process is also very simple but powerful. If you have multiple 260s the rip has the ability to normalize the output between them. Have never had a network error with it despite our 260 being on our primary LAN.

I think it is unfortunate that Onyx failed to deliver you a working printer driver, despite acknowledging that the one they shipped you was bugged and a working version being available. A working driver is not a feature upgrade, it's a fundamental necessity for the rip to function.

 

[scott pagan]

you may want to reinstall printer driver (install new printer) in your current version of Onyx to see if your current drivers are corrupt.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

I've had onyx since version 7, switched to 10 in 2011... Its not a fault of Onyx and more so just misinformation when going from L25 to L26. I have already did a complete reinstall of Onyx and printer drivers and it still does the same thing.

The hardest part is the randomness, we never know when its going to happen.

We are looking Hard at moving to Caldera, and trying to decide if we are going to switch to Mac (loathe) or convert the current computer to Linux. We are also trying to work with Onyx on possibly getting a deal on a key update to 10.2.5 at a reduced cost.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

The current Colorgate works flawlessly with the 260. Also, you can run it on the same rip machine you have now. The user interface is the cleanest with all the action in one window. The ICC creation process is also very simple but powerful. If you have multiple 260s the rip has the ability to normalize the output between them. Have never had a network error with it despite our 260 being on our primary LAN.

I think it is unfortunate that Onyx failed to deliver you a working printer driver, despite acknowledging that the one they shipped you was bugged and a working version being available. A working driver is not a feature upgrade, it's a fundamental necessity for the rip to function.

We tried Colorgate and Wasatch back in 2011 when we were switching to Onyx X10.... Was not a fan of either even more so then Flexi. We are at a point where we will reevaluate all of our options again though, so I will look to see if they have trial editions.

 

[chafro]

I use both. Each has his advantages.

i like caldera more for color management and mass production.

for doing a lot of small runs and different clients I see a lot of advantages to onyx. I wouldn't use caldera for my small latex printers. I didn't like the workflow for many different jobs or images, the compose lacks information about the files you have uploaded.

Onyx profile maker doesn't do accurate icc's, have done them with eye1 and with barbieri. We are even considering buying a caldera license just to do the color profiling in caldera but rip and work in onyx.

 

[AF]

Unless things have changed, Caldera has limited support of the Linux version so it is preferable to use a Mac with X11.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

For those with Caldera, is a MAC Mini with an i5 sufficient enough to RIP large files (JPG, 150dpi, 53" x 120") at a quick speed?

Currently Onyx X10.1 will RIP that size file for us in about 5 mins on a i7-2600K w/ 12gigs of 1300 Ram.

 

[nate]

For those with Caldera, is a MAC Mini with an i5 sufficient enough to RIP large files (JPG, 150dpi, 53" x 120") at a quick speed?

Currently Onyx X10.1 will RIP that size file for us in about 5 mins on a i7-2600K w/ 12gigs of 1300 Ram.

This is what makes Caldera great. Outside of large machines that have their own controllers, Caldera is a true Rip and Print. You load the files, hit print and your printer starts to print. No waiting for the software to RIP.

 

[nate]

Unless things have changed, Caldera has limited support of the Linux version so it is preferable to use a Mac with X11.

While I can't speak for Caldera, the Linux version is what we've been on for five years now, and it works great. They've come out with four updates to the Linux version itself in that time. Not sure what you're speaking of but that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Nate, so it rips while printing? Is there a way to set a pre-process amount of time before printing?
We can do Print on the Fly with Onyx, we've just had too many issues with it that we turned that feature off.

 

[nate]

I use both. Each has his advantages.

i like caldera more for color management and mass production.

for doing a lot of small runs and different clients I see a lot of advantages to onyx. I wouldn't use caldera for my small latex printers. I didn't like the workflow for many different jobs or images, the compose lacks information about the files you have uploaded.

Why are you using Compose? Just send them all to Nest and let Caldera figure it out.

 

[dypinc]

I have been testing RIPs Caldera and now Onyx while waiting for final release of the Fiery XF drivers for my HP L360.

Caldera - Not bad, good control over some things like CM, easy to create profiles, nesting, step and repeat, but poor implementation of marks and too much jumping between windows. Had too many transmission errors.

Onyx - Very poor color management, not easy to create profiles, (I can see now why people are always begging for profiles) very slow RIP times, too much moving from window to window, hard to find setting, haven't yet found the setting to force Black to Inkjet Black (very essential for Latex) no error messages why files won't RIP that RIPed fine in Caldera and XF. Haven't found a way to print grommet or trim marks. Pretty much junk in my option.

Still waiting on the trial of Colorgate. Used it in the past, it was pretty easy to push jobs through, every thing in one window, easy to create profiles but were not very accurate, had to read new LAB values to get accurate spot colors, would not show grommet or trim marks in preview. Hope to see some of this stuff has fixed when the trial show.

Fiery XF - I have used it for years. Could not find a good reason not to use it. Very fast RIP time, fast to setup and push jobs through, great color management, colors always correct, Spot colors dead on. All marks show up in preview. Server with client for any workstation Mac or Windows. Granted I have more experience with this RIP but there is a reason why.