GRACoL Proofing Options

[TerryWyse]

Integrated Rip has advantages, but so does a stand alone Rip. We used GMG's stand alone Ripserver to drive 4 seats of Colorproof 4.5 (up to 12 separate remote printers). When we upgraded one seat to version 5.1 (the seat with the Ripserver) in order to drive an Epson 9900, we lost the ability to Rip for other Colorproof 4.5 seats...no tiff output from the intergrated Rip. So we also had to purchase a stand alone Ripserver to continue to drive the remaining seat of Colorproof 4.5. We could have upgraded all, but as was stated, mucho $$$.





meh...I personally preferred to have them separate. All depends on how much tinkering you plan to do. Its very much a manual process setting those workflows up either way. With version 5.x, its improbable that one would inadvertently corrupt the workflow, which is a bonus, but I didn't find setting these up intuitive.



and for a spectro-proofer, the automatic calibration is pretty sweet

I agree with much of what you're saying Mike. It's been something of a love/hate relationship for me with v5.x vs. v4.x. I was used to doing all sorts of under-hood stuff for custom MX3s and such with 4.x and the older version was dead reliable...once you set it up, it Just Worked. My fear with the new version and it's reliance on the underlying database is reliability....but so far those fears are unfounded (knock on silicon). One thing for sure is that the new version virtually requires an updated RIP platform for good performance....better run solid state disks and Win7 64bit if you want it to fly, especially if you're driving any of the new x900/x890 Epsons. Older platforms driving a couple of these and using load-balancing won't be able to keep up.

Terry

[Stephen Marsh]

Also, as a side note, I'm looking for software to approve G7 proofs via the GRACoL Control Strip or something similar. GMG's Proof Control can do this, is there anything else out there?

Sure, many RIPs can do this, another one to take a look at is the Kodak Matchprint Inkjet Proofing System. General options include using say an offline spectro and a Dymo label printer - or using an inline spectro attached to the inkjet printer.

KODAK MATCHPRINT Inkjet Proofing System - Kodak Graphic Communications Group

No matter the vendor or solution, get some sample prints made using your common file content so that you have an idea of what results you will get up front before purchasing a solution.


Best,

Stephen Marsh

[rich apollo]

We used GMG's stand alone Ripserver to drive 4 seats of Colorproof 4.5 (up to 12 separate remote printers). When we upgraded one seat to version 5.1 (the seat with the Ripserver) in order to drive an Epson 9900, we lost the ability to Rip for other Colorproof 4.5 seats...no tiff output from the intergrated Rip. So we also had to purchase a stand alone Ripserver to continue to drive the remaining seat of Colorproof 4.5. We could have upgraded all, but as was stated, mucho $$$.

That's one of the sweet things about Serendipity - clients are free and unlimited. You can drive as many devices as your server hardware can manage. Upgrades are VERY affordable. When you purchase your license you get drivers for the ENTIRE family of devices. So, for example I have the Epson drivers; that means I can drive any device Epson has built to date, including the stinky old 5000s.

And, if you overrun your server hardware, you can purchase mini-licenses and build a cluster.