Which RIP for HP 260 Latex - are RIPs available by trial

[k_graham]

I am just about convinced to go with a HP Latex printer but if so which RIP?

Are the RIPs available with perhaps a 30 day trial so one could actually determine the best for their requirements?

We currently use CorelDraw a lot for 1 page design so would expect to continue with that but would like to be able to deal with Transparency issues where clients provide Adobe PDF files with transparency so a Adobe PDF enabled RIP would be preferable.

Also I've seen a comment that some take 30 to 50 feet of media to custom profile, another reason I would like to know if their are trials available to see what works and what is convenient to use.

Thanks,

Ken

 

[John Butto]

http://www.shiraz-software.com/product/shiraz-rip-server/
There is a free trail download, windows or mac

 

[KevSign]

Talk to you dealer get Caldera Rip for 30 days.

 

[KDWPRINT]

Onyx RIP Trial

Ken,
I can get you a 30 day trial for the Onyx RIP. I also have some input on the Latex printer.

Kent

 

[vinylbytim]

I have been using ONXY for years I love it. Take the time to set up your quick sets! I have a Mimaki JV3 and HP L25500.

 

[ProColorGraphics]

I am using Caldera VisualRIP+ to run my L26500 and L26100 and LOVE it! I wouldn't use anything else.

 

[ProWraps]

takes about 5' of media per profile. caldera will give you a free trial. give them a shout. to profile your media, you will need a spectro. not sure if that machine has an onboard spectro but the one that comes on the l25500 isnt recommended for some reason. we went with calderas easy color automated spectro (barbieri) and have happy with it as well.

 

[Robert Gruner]

Post Script RIPs have certainly evolved over the past 10-15 years; but, then, so has wide format digital printing. RIPs are so important to printers who pride themselves on their ability to provide their customers highest quality color images.

Onyx and Caldera are both excellent choices, so which one do you purchase?

There's a price war on these days for both products. There was a time when selling a PS RIP required intensive training and support. Resellers needed to enjoy a 30-40% margin to justify the efforts of selling, installing, training, and supporting the RIP. NOT so today. Several national resellers have taken to selling their RIP offering as a LOSS LEAD item.

It's a BUYERS market.

 

[k_graham]

Post Script RIPs have certainly evolved over the past 10-15 years; but, then, so has wide format digital printing. RIPs are so important to printers who pride themselves on their ability to provide their customers highest quality color images.

Onyx and Caldera are both excellent choices, so which one do you purchase?

There's a price war on these days for both products. There was a time when selling a PS RIP required intensive training and support. Resellers needed to enjoy a 30-40% margin to justify the efforts of selling, installing, training, and supporting the RIP. NOT so today. Several national resellers have taken to selling their RIP offering as a LOSS LEAD item.

It's a BUYERS market.

I will try at least Onyx and Caldera - I think the APPE versions with Adobe interpreter. I had intended to buy a new workstation and run this RIP from there but see Caldera desires 64 bit Linux based. I run a storage server with 32 bit SME Linux from Contribs.org and a low end HP Proliant server with Xeon Processor and 4 gigs of RAM. Would the Xeon Processor Proliant server seem a good choice for Caldera and if so what would you recommend for RAM and Harddisk space or do you recommend SSD's. The Proliant has been solid with its ECC RAM and is quite configurable disk wise, though one must buy drive cases off ebay to house SATA drives as HP seems to want way to much for the drives.

Ken

 

[ProWraps]

i think you will find instantly that the ease of use between the two programs will be night and day.

we tried both.

onyx, we felt was a nightmare to use.

caldera, much easier.

many other shops i have talked to have felt the same way and have also converted over to caldera.

 

[k_graham]

i think you will find instantly that the ease of use between the two programs will be night and day.

we tried both.

onyx, we felt was a nightmare to use.

caldera, much easier.

many other shops i have talked to have felt the same way and have also converted over to caldera.

Thanks, what do you run it on for hardware, I don't want to under or overdo it.

This will be running a HP 260 latex and Graphtec cutter on a gigabit network. Can we just design in CorelDraw and send it or pdf's to the RIP like any old printer?

 

[dypinc]

One thing I a am wondering about with Caldera is, can I control it from any workstation as in a client or web interface.

I am so spoiled by the Fiery client server way of doing things that I loath having to go to the actual RIPs to set up jobs. Because for what ever reason HP has refused to write Mac drivers for the XF RIP when the server is run on a Mac which would be great because I get so tired of dealing with Windows constant issues.

 

[Bly]

Onyx had it's problems in the past but the latest version seems well sorted.
It handles PDF tranparencies well, and doesn't scale down images to fit on a narrow roll anymore.

Profiling is quick and easy and you can submit jobs through a web browser over a network.
If you set up your quicksets you will hardly ever have to go into the program itself.

 

[ProColorGraphics]

When I bought my copy of Caldera Visual RIP+, it came all loaded and ready to go on a new Mac Mini. That option cost a whopping $1. Yes, I got it setup on a new mac mini for $1. It has worked great the whole time! Like ProWraps said, their tech support is awesome too!

 

[k_graham]

Which processor, amount of RAM , Hard drive size on Mac mini as I see they have changed over time. Would you recommend anything be faster, or larger than what you got.

Thanks, Ken