AP-P. 55-58 Rips

NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN-RIP SOLUTIONS Originally designed as core technology, RIPs are evolving into process solutions that can affect your bottomline success hen Adobe first released Post- Script in the early 1980s, few real- ized the significant impact it would have on printing and pub- lishing. Prior to that, the term “RIP” was not automatically asso- W ciated with a thriving printing process. A RIP, as used today in our in- A raster dustry, is really an acronym for Raster Image Processor. According image to its function, a raster image processor processor interprets an incoming PostScript language program, cre- interprets ates a display list that indicates PostScript, how this program will be displayed on a page, and then creates rasters then creates (or pixels) of the display list in the rasters, designated colors at the selected resolution for the ultimate imag- or pixels ing process. The first RIP was developed as a way to take the PostScript information created on an Apple computer and print the file to a Laser- Writer printer. The next implementation of RIPs took the same information and output it to a Linotype phototypesetter. Even- tually, most of the major phototypesetter manufacturers followed the Linotype lead, creating RIP By DAVID ZWANG Contributing editor and industry consultant specializing in the application of electronic technology to the graphic arts industry JUNE, 1998 • 55 front- than 12 companies producing entire output workflow pro- ends to RIPs, of which the three major cess. An advantage will be the either players were Adobe, Hyphen extensibility of the Acrobat existing and Harlequin. products that handle PDF files. ma- The non-Adobe RIP manu- This extensibility will allow chines facturers tried to overcome independent vendors to devel- and/ or some of the inherent limita- op extensions to enhance the to new tions of PostScript by develop- process and even target it to photo- ing workarounds in the RIPs. specific niche markets. typeset- Unfortunately, while they ad- To address the increasing ting (now imagesetting) ma- dressed some of the problems, needs of output automation, “RIPing” chines. these RIPs were not necessari- Adobe has developed two com- When Aldus (now part of ly created to conform to the panion technologies—PDF has become Adobe) PageMaker was intro- Adobe rulebook. As a result, forms and PDF Portable Job the common duced, these new capabilities sometimes users would get Ticket Format (PJTF). Forms opened up the possibility of peculiar results when running allows interactive form gener- term for the using these desktop computers the same file through differ- ation, completion and form entire process to do a wider variety of pub- ent RIPs. Over time, the field information retrieval directly lishing tasks. The capabilities of RIP manufacturers began through Acrobat applications of preparing of the first version (Level 1) to shrink and the market began and RIP implementations. In files for final were soon pushed to the limit. to stabilize. conjunction with PJTF, which output— Features such as support for Currently, the two major allows users to predefine pro- a large selection of fonts, big- players in core RIP develop- cess order and process specifi- including ger and more complex im- ment are Adobe and Harle- cations, a very automated out- preflighting, ages, process color and trap- quin, although there are still put workflow can be developed. ping constituted problems for others (Colorbus and 5D, for Adobe’s current RIP ver- trapping and Level 1 PostScript. example) that develop and li- sion is Level 3, which, among screening Many vendors developed cense RIP technology. Even other things, adds native sup- “workarounds” using applica- though some RIPs are inter- port for PDF files as well as a tion software modifications and nally developed by the output variety of processing efficien- hardware additions to the RIPs, device manufacturers, Adobe cies that have a positive effect trying to overcome limitations. and Harlequin have the lion’s on print quality and processing In addition, the major prepress share of the market. Overall, speed. Additionally, support for solution providers of the time they produce compatible RIPs Hi-Fi color is included, which (Crosfield, Hell and Scitex) im- for the vast majority of print- allows for more than four col- plemented RIPs that would ers, imagesetters, computer- ors to be used. “In-RIP trap- allow them to process those to-plate and digital printing ping” is yet another feature. same desktop files through equipment vendors. Adobe licenses its core tech- their existing CEPs systems. While the RIPs automati- nology to many vendors. As a This also took advantage of the cally perform specific sets of result, various output devices wealth of established features tasks, it has become common may not offer all of the avail- of these systems and, more im- practice to refer to the entire able Adobe RIP features and portantly, the markets. process of preparing files for functionality. This allows more In 1982 Adobe announced final output as “RIPing.” This differentiation among the so- PostScript Level 2, which ad- term can include not only the lutions that each of Adobe’s dressed many of the problems actual RIP function but also OEM vendors offers. that had come to light during preflighting, trapping, screen- the early implementations. As a ing and a whole host of other result, new solutions were de- output tasks. As the entire out- Another major player in the veloped based on a “totally” put process has become more RIP game is Harlequin. In the PostScript workflow and CEPS automated, more of these out- past, Harlequin has extended workstations started to disap- put tasks are being incorpo- its RIP to add features and pear from the market. The ven- rated under the RIP umbrella. functions, such as trapping and dors redesigned their systems color management, which have and processes to take advantage not been part of the standard of the “best of both worlds.” Adobe’s continuing devel- Adobe offering of the time. While all output devices re- opment of PDF as the emerg- Harlequin’s RIP version, quire a RIP to process Post- ing standard for document ex- ScriptWorks 5.0, includes na- Script, the RIPs themselves change is central to its new tive PDF support, PostScript actually were produced by a RIP development. While PDF Level 3 language file support limited number of companies. has its roots in Illustrator and and preliminary support for During this period (mid- to PostScript, its page indepen- Adobe’s PJTF in the form of late 1980s), there were fewer dence has an impact on the page setups. Harlequin expects 56 • AMERICAN PRINTER to add increased PJTF support are outside the RIP but part of duce file size and streamline as it “becomes more widely the process solution. processing. implemented in the industry.” Preflight. The basic pre- Creo has a similar process In addition to PDF, Post- flight concept is to check and through Prescript software. Script and EPS, the RIP can “pre-qualify” the prepared file’s This product separates multi- handle TIFF 6.0 and TIFF/IT-P1 characteristics to ensure that page files into independent file formats, and supports ICC they meet the requirements of pages, removes redundant color management profiles. Its the intended output process. image data, embeds missing Hi-Fi color capability allows While this can be achieved to fonts and removes high-res for colors to be processed from varying degrees almost any- image files, replacing them virtually any color system, in- where in the process, the ideal with OPI links. cluding CMYK, spot color sys- solution is handling it as early PCC also has an operation tems and Hexachrome. as possible. While the ideal so- through its PageFlow product Unlike Adobe, Harlequin lution is for the document’s that flattens the incoming has been shipping its RIP as a originator to use an application PostScript file. The “normal- “finished package.” This of- such as Markzware’s Flight- ization” step that is offered as fers equipment vendors an Check of Extensis’ Preflight part of the easier solution. It also means Pro, many vendors have in- new Adobe that most of the Harlequin- cluded an additional preflight Level 3 RIP support front-ends have simi- step that occurs after the Post- also flattens lar features, functions and Script file is introduced into and separates user interfaces. their solutions. multipage Post- Last year, Harlequin an- The most basic of these Script files. nounced a new direction that checks for font and picture Intermediate would extend its functionality availability, with the checking manufacturing even further. Through the de- of color space and image reso- formats. Histori- velopment of EP2000, Harle- lution added in some cases. cally, CEPS manufacturers quin will be creating a new Some of the companies that worked in specially designed To select approach to output workflow. offer this level of preflight are intermediate file formats that EP2000 is, in effect, an “intel- Agfa, Heidelberg Prepress, allowed them to maximize the the “best” ligent workflow controller.” Rampage, Scitex and Fuji. capabilities of their systems. solution, The goal is to create an assort- The next level of preflight When PostScript page process- ment of independent work- functionality attempts to check ing entered the market, the printers need flow task processors (i.e., trap- an additional level of process basic workflow didn’t require to look at ping, imposition, etc.) that conformity and even adds lim- intermediate manufacturing can be handled by the master ited error correction specific file formats due to the struc- how a given controller to process files in to an output process. ture of the RIP. However, to solution will the most efficient way.

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