Onyx 18

[Pauly]

Onyx have announced "Onyx 18" upgrade from 12.2. Avalible in june. Im pretty keen to get my hands on it.


A New Color Experience

• ColorCheck™, a new approach to process control that enables print service providers to guarantee color accuracy to their customers as well as ensure consistency of output across devices over time.
• ColorCheck ensures conformance to standards including G7 and Fogra as well as baseline testing for process control and in-product indicators for printer recalibration.
• ONYX Color™, the industry leading color engine, includes core enhancements for improved black ink combinations that gives increased shadow detail, texture and definition
• Increased saturation of reds and oranges without compromising ink savings. Special application benefits include textile and soft signage.
• ONYX 18 is the first iccMAX compatible solution, a new standard recommended by the ICC for all wide- and grand-format applications including soft signage and textile.
• PosterColor 2.0, a technology first introduced to the industry by Onyx Graphics, uses next generation smart rendering intent to boost saturation of solid colors for added ‘pop’ across all image types.

Next Level Power and Reliability

• APPE 4.8 accelerates processing for patterns and soft masks with super-fast algorithms for rendering complex file types resulting in big performance gains.
• APPE 4.8 brings spot color handling with up to 127 channels that can be specified and used in any given region.
• Accuboost, new for ONYX 18, is an iterative ICC profiling technique for pinpoint accuracy of ICC profiles.

Dynamic Tools for Productivity

• New dynamic tools for print productivity including:
  • Swatchbook quick search functionality
  • Swatchbook support for specialty ink including white and metallics to print on any material
  • Easy crop positioning during job preparation
• Step and Repeat functionality is now included in ONYX Thrive, enabling users to create patterns with all image types for a variety of print applications including print-and-cut workflows and textile applications.
• Larger nesting previews to see before you print
• Nest rotation to match printer set-up.

 

[SignMeUpGraphics]

Excellent... can't wait to get our hands on this and see what it's like.
I also hope they resolved the issues with Graphtec cutting I've been talking to them about.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

We have been playing with the Beta, it's much better than 12.2. It's significantly faster and even with the HP's it seems like colors are much better.

I really wish they would update layout tool or give similar features to rip queue for image placement.

 

[TomK]

Wish they had a subscription program like flexi offers.

 

[Pauly]

Excellent... can't wait to get our hands on this and see what it's like.
I also hope they resolved the issues with Graphtec cutting I've been talking to them about.

There is a few issues with 12.2 so i am hanging for it. As always im in for the new colour management stuff.

We have been playing with the Beta, it's much better than 12.2. It's significantly faster and even with the HP's it seems like colors are much better.

I really wish they would update layout tool or give similar features to rip queue for image placement.

I think they've done something for image placement on the RIP Que. or they just make the image larger to see placement.
I've never liked onyx colour engine, But from x10 to x12 it has gotten better. I see they've done some updated with it. I will test it vs my current program i use that to me seems to give out the best output.
I also like the fact now you can print to a standard and do checks. Barbieri has this in their software but it's an extra $1000 or there abouts.

Wish they had a subscription program like flexi offers.

They do. You purchase the program and pay a subscription to keep it updated.

 

[Bly]

Yeah for thousands a year.
I think I'll upgrade when I need to.

 

[Pauly]

Yeah for thousands a year.
I think I'll upgrade when I need to.

cheaper for 3yrs. But 18 is the update you'd want if you do a lot of colour control i believe. otherwise the rest are fine. But if anything id have at least x11.

 

[TomK]

They do. You purchase the program and pay a subscription to keep it updated.

That's just typical software maintenance/updates. I meant more like pay a small(er) monthly fee to use the software, stop paying, stop using the software.

 

[ColorCrest]

I also like the fact now you can print to a standard and do checks.

How does one perform the check?

 

[Bly]

cheaper for 3yrs. But 18 is the update you'd want if you do a lot of colour control i believe. otherwise the rest are fine. But if anything id have at least x11.

I'm on 12.1 and it runs all our gear fine so there's no real need to upgrade.
This is how I've gone with onyx since v7 or whatever.
Once it's running sweet we just keep using it until we get a machine that needs the latest version.
From experience a lot of their so called game changing improvements are things that I never use.

 

[ColorCrest]

ColorCheck ensures conformance to standards including G7 and Fogra as well as baseline testing for process control and in-product indicators for printer recalibration.

What is I mean to ask is; How does one go about this procedure?

 

[Pauly]

With in onyx? only 18 does it and i haven't used it so not sure. But the youtube videos may help

Outside of onyx? There's software for it. I've also never used software to check as i dont do g7 and fogra standards. I wasn't going to pay for software that i didn't really need as we only print to maximum gamut.
It'll be good to have inside RIP software rather than external software.

 

[ikarasu]

How's the color management different? Even after profiling with spot Color replacement on, some stuff is way off... Like 123 yellow is so light it's not usable.

I haven't done a lot of custom profiling or advanced profiling beyond making a good grey profile. So I'm sure it's likely us not changing the millions of options.

I guess what I'm asking is if the "average" user who doesn't tinker with profile settings will notice better color accuracy? Or if it's just for those who understand profiling on an advanced level and now there's even more options?

 

[Pauly]

I'm on 12.1 and it runs all our gear fine so there's no real need to upgrade.
This is how I've gone with onyx since v7 or whatever.
Once it's running sweet we just keep using it until we get a machine that needs the latest version.
From experience a lot of their so called game changing improvements are things that I never use.

You're right. There's no point in upgrading unless you need to or you know you can use the features.

How's the color management different? Even after profiling with spot Color replacement on, some stuff is way off... Like 123 yellow is so light it's not usable.

I haven't done a lot of custom profiling or advanced profiling beyond making a good grey profile. So I'm sure it's likely us not changing the millions of options.

I guess what I'm asking is if the "average" user who doesn't tinker with profile settings will notice better color accuracy? Or if it's just for those who understand profiling on an advanced level and now there's even more options?

It all depends how good your profiles are in the beginning.
It's not about tinkering, it's about real world results and data. To create an ICC profile you need a spectrophotometer and to check standards or to check your print quality if it has diminished over time (it happens with types of printers or heads dying ect)
If you care about your colour output, then some of these things will matter. If you use canned profiles, then it really wont matter.
Onyx was always advanced in creating media profiles, i can't answer your question fully as i haven't used it yet as it's not released but im assuming the ICC profile engine has been tweaked and more options to get accurate colour in generating the profile.
For the "average user" with a spectrophotometer you will probably use the new option i think.
For the quality control, you may or may not use them.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

The new rip queue layout upgrades are just a larger view from what I've found. I want the ability to override it's stupid placement and square only nesting in rip queue. They really need to upgrade to true shape nesting soon!

 

[White Haus]

The new rip queue layout upgrades are just a larger view from what I've found. I want the ability to override it's stupid placement and square only nesting in rip queue. They really need to upgrade to true shape nesting soon!

Agreed. I've always found nesting/batching jobs in RIP Queue to be a painful and slow process. Only once it goes through the stages of processing/RIPing then you can see that you're using more sheets than you should, and it's back to the drawing board!

 

[Andy_warp]

I have X11, and don't use it at all. I tried to build 6 or 7 profiles, and couldn't get one better than the rip that came with my machine. Caldera. I've always been a fan of Onyx, I might have to give a demo version a shot!

New icc standard, adobe print engine, and black generation enhancements all sound good to me. The black gen is where I was getting hung up with my ink set...

Swatchbooks in Onyx blows the doors off of the colorbooks function in Caldera IMO.
I like how it handles the spot color libraries better too.

 

[Pauly]

I have X11, and don't use it at all. I tried to build 6 or 7 profiles, and couldn't get one better than the rip that came with my machine. Caldera. I've always been a fan of Onyx, I might have to give a demo version a shot!

New icc standard, adobe print engine, and black generation enhancements all sound good to me. The black gen is where I was getting hung up with my ink set...

Swatchbooks in Onyx blows the doors off of the colorbooks function in Caldera IMO.
I like how it handles the spot color libraries better too.

Im sorry i dont understand what you've said.
I have found Onyx ICC engine is sensitive to ink curves.

 

[ColorCrest]

Im sorry i dont understand what you've said.
I have found Onyx ICC engine is sensitive to ink curves.

...and I would like to better understand what you've said here.

Onyx ICC engine is sensitive to ink curves; how so exactly? What curve control are you using and what are the results?

 

[Andy_warp]

Im sorry i dont understand what you've said.
I have found Onyx ICC engine is sensitive to ink curves.

I'm basically forced to use Caldera, but I like the Onyx interface better.
I may have better luck building a good profile with the new version.

I have Thrive.