creo vs fiery?

[sbs01]

we're joining the digital revolution at last after 15 years in the offset game - but there we always just sent our jobs to commercial printers and let them do the heavy lifting. so, while i'm great in setting up files and good at negotiating the final bit of press checks on color, the whole prepress/rip/fiery/creo world is brand new.

SO, the folks at xerox have raved about the creo, and i'm comfortable enough with what we saw (or at least comfortable with the idea that they would be able to teach me how to do what ineed to do but would love to know if anyone has feedback on both systems and advice on which would be better and why...

thanks in advance!

 

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Creo vs. Fiery

Creo vs. Fiery

we're joining the digital revolution at last after 15 years in the offset game - but there we always just sent our jobs to commercial printers and let them do the heavy lifting. so, while i'm great in setting up files and good at negotiating the final bit of press checks on color, the whole prepress/rip/fiery/creo world is brand new.

SO, the folks at xerox have raved about the creo, and i'm comfortable enough with what we saw (or at least comfortable with the idea that they would be able to teach me how to do what ineed to do but would love to know if anyone has feedback on both systems and advice on which would be better and why...

thanks in advance!

Having trained and supported on both I can give you some perspective. EFI's Fiery has come a long way from it's office days. Assuming the stock is profiled to the printer's calibration you can get great output, spot color matching etc. Creo is just as good, if not better and easier to do. But where Creo really distinguishes itself is with VDP using it's VPS format. Processing time is alot less than on Fiery. Creo has their RA Fusion board which separates the RIP from the Output, increasing speed. Also the Fiery needs to re-rip if you make changes to color, layout fonts etc. I like Fiery's Impose/Compose (SeeQuence) module better than Creo's however. Creo's Imposition module for instance doesn't offer as many choices as Fiery's. The Creo in general may be more stable than Fiery (less hangups, restarts etc.).

 

[EZPower]

Fiery hands down.

 

[mattbeals]

Never met a Fiery that I liked. Even the old Fiery 125's. Creo's, I like them a lot. But I see plenty of people love and hate each of them. You can always test them out and see what fits you.

 

[einstein999]

can anyone chime in on KM c6501/c5501, they both have to be configured with a rip. The Creo and Fiery both offer internal and external options on both models (same machine basically, I know). I know that the RIP's I have used often complicate the networking side (scan to email/folder) as all that is done on the RIP vs a standard controller. I don't recommend a RIP at all unless someone actually needs them, but the KM c6501/c5501 are relatively new to me and can't be configured with a "standard" interface, and people like their pricing.

 

[CathieH]

What's the difference between the Creo/Fiery and a Micropress?

 

[MacDaddy]

I've had two KM first with Firey second Creo. Both good the Creo comes with everything you'll need
fiery has add on's graph arts package etc. So ends up costing more. If color does not have to be perfect go with internal rip and save some money.

 

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Creo/Fiery vs. Micropress

Creo/Fiery vs. Micropress

What's the difference between the Creo/Fiery and a Micropress?

Creos and Fierys are RIP engines whose main mission in life is to provide consistent accurate color, as well as a job ticketing/queuing mechanism. Typically it's a 1 to 1 relationship between the RIP and a printer although Fiery Central can drive multiple devices. A Micropress, which became a product when EFI bought T/R Systems, is also a RIP and is typically used to spool, prepare and ticket jobs to multiple printers via direct connectivity tunnels (vs. Windows printing). With Mpress you can edit jobs at the page level similar in some ways to Xerox DocuSP, such as cut & paste, tab creation, chapterization etc. There is overlap between the EFI products however and it can get confusing. For instance you can do some of the same page level editing on a Fiery if you have the Compose module but not to the extent that you can on a Micropress, and the same is true for the color modules. Alot of the digital color presses out there such as the Ricoh C901 must be front-ended with either a Creo or a Fiery vs. a Micropress however you can always add a Micropress to the workflow for additional functionality. You could also consider Alto's suite of products as a cost-effective alternative to Micropress as well.

 

[billyinlasvegas]

It all depends on what you're comfortable with. I would talk to people with your printer/rip combination and see what works best, whatever you do ignore the sales person.

I've used Fiery for years and their product is unbelievably better now than it used to be, and you can use VPS like you would on a Creo RIP.

I've always told people if you haven't used anything else before go with Fiery, but if you already have Creo/Kodak pre-press products then go with Creo.

Again always talk to someone with your same printer/rip combination because they'll tell you what to expect.

 

[CathieH]

I'm currently using a MicroSpool and Print Station Manager MicroPress with two KM machines, one Black workhorse and a C500 that we're going to replace with either a Canon or another KM with higher quality and better capabilities.

I like the Micropress in that it's very interactive and allows for a lot of editing, but the sales people (ack) are talking Fiery and Creos at this point. I've worked with a Creo and it doesn't even come close to what my Micropress can do and I'm feeling like having a Micropress with Acrobat Pro and Pitstop Professional might be the best combination for getting as much control as I can have.

Deckm, what is the Alto Suite of products that you've mentioned?

 

[Steve_S]

SO, the folks at xerox have raved about the creo, and i'm comfortable enough with what we saw (or at least comfortable with the idea that they would be able to teach me how to do what ineed to do but would love to know if anyone has feedback on both systems and advice on which would be better and why...

thanks in advance!

Creo, no question - We have had Creo on several machines for 9 years now. If you have been only in the offset world and you try to reproduce consistent color with a Fiery, you will pull your hair out. We have had both (unfortunately) and will never own a Fiery again. Those are 'upgraded' office RIP's with all kinds of fancy gadgets, but they cannot do color consistently. If you really want the doodads and can live with inconsistent color, you might be OK. I would not touch one.

We also do a large volume of VDP, and the Creo is far superior using their VPS technology.

Just my $.02

 

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Alto

Alto

I'm currently using a MicroSpool and Print Station Manager MicroPress with two KM machines, one Black workhorse and a C500 that we're going to replace with either a Canon or another KM with higher quality and better capabilities.

I like the Micropress in that it's very interactive and allows for a lot of editing, but the sales people (ack) are talking Fiery and Creos at this point. I've worked with a Creo and it doesn't even come close to what my Micropress can do and I'm feeling like having a Micropress with Acrobat Pro and Pitstop Professional might be the best combination for getting as much control as I can have.

Deckm, what is the Alto Suite of products that you've mentioned?

Alto Imaging (altoimaging.com) has a suite of products including document scan & makeready (Image Arranger) and printing (Ultra Print). Both combined are equal to a Micropress in terms of capability but are more Docusp-like in look and feel. It uses Windows print functionality so you don't need the printer connectivity kits. With other modules they also do web2print and database management.

 

[CathieH]

Thanks Deckm. We're going with a Creo instead of the tremendously expensive upgraded Micropress, so I'm off to research that.

Thanks for the info.

 

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Contact

Contact

Good deal..

The contact at Alto is Jeff Read, 215-284-7394.

 

[Steve_S]

Thanks Deckm. We're going with a Creo instead of the tremendously expensive upgraded Micropress, so I'm off to research that.

Thanks for the info.

Don't be shy if you need Creo help!

 

[CathieH]

Thanks Deckm and Steve. I won't be shy about asking you guys anything when my new system is installed. I know that I'll be getting Adobe Pro and Pitstop, but will wait and see if I need more functionality before I suggest the Alto product.

It's the great unknown at this point...

 

[ajr_oce]

I find this percieved difference between Creo and Fiery strange as both RIP's are based on a Adobe PS3 RIP engine. EFI and CREO only offer an alternative GUI and tools, which means you should be able to get the exact same results

 

[Steve_S]

I find this percieved difference between Creo and Fiery strange as both RIP's are based on a Adobe PS3 RIP engine. EFI and CREO only offer an alternative GUI and tools, which means you should be able to get the exact same results

We have had both on the front end of your CS650 and there is no similarity. I have six months of hair pulling with the Fiery to prove it. There will never be another one in our shop again.

 

[ajr_oce]

I am very interested to learn more about this. I have a lot of discussion about RIP choice and the motivation behind it. So, I value your opinion, as you have real hands on experience (my opinion is mostly based on theory). Can you give some specifics?

 

[Steve_S]

I am very interested to learn more about this. I have a lot of discussion about RIP choice and the motivation behind it. So, I value your opinion, as you have real hands on experience (my opinion is mostly based on theory). Can you give some specifics?

Sure - email me here, so I don't fill up the forum with stuff others may not want to read.