Hi, we're upgrading from our Canon iR C3220 with a Fiery-C2 RIP to a _______.
That's where I need some input on both equipment and RIP. We do a lot of newsletter printing that has bleeds on all sides and has to be folded in half. This makes it a nightmare because of front/back registration and offline trimming. We're having to print them, trim, then fold them (backwards first, then the otherway to avoid heavy cracking on the outside crease. Yes, by hand. Smaller particle-size toner on samples from other machines has demonstrated much less cracking.)
As far as RIPs, I've heard a lot of people who are satisfied with their Fiery's. I've just recently gotten involved with the print shop portion of our department and no one's been using any of the EFI software. Now I'm installing it and learning how to use it and such. Conceptually a lot of it makes sense. As far as what new RIP to get, most of the people that have told me "Creo is better, hands down" have been talking specifically about Konica Minolta equipment. As such, I don't know if the Creo is a significant improvement over Fiery on all machines or just more so on KM equipment. We haven't had problems with transparencies yet, which seems to be the Creo's strong point, but I suspect we might if given enough time. I've heard that the Creo does better with consistency, but shouldn't that depend on the printer? I mean if you calibrated a Fiery and a Creo correctly, then the color would only start changing due to something happening to the equipment which would happen regardless of the RIP, right?
Large solid block consistency is probably more important than halftones for us. We also have to match several PMS colors routinely. We've narrowed our search down to these. Info from anyone who has experience with multiple machines, or a single machine with different RIPS, or any info that has some first-hand comparison experience would be greatly aprpeciated.
Xerox DocuColor 7000AP/8000AP
Standard Horizon ColorWorks 8000 Booklet Maker (inline bleed and face trimming plus folding!)
Xerox DocuColor 6060
Standard Horizon ColorWorks 2000/8000 Booklet Maker
Xerox DocuColor 5000
Standard Horizon ColorWorks 5000 Booklet Maker (inline bleed and face trimming plus folding!)
Konica-Minolta bizhub PRO C500
FS-606 Booklet Finisher, TU-109 Trimmer
Konica-Minolta bizhub PRO C5500
FS-607 Booklet Finisher with PK-512 Punch Kit and PI-502 Post Inserter
Konica-Minolta bizhub PRO C6500
FD-501 Folding Unit vs. FS-607 Booklet Finisher with PK-512 Punch Kit and PI-502 Post Inserter (are they mutually exclusive?)
Canon imagePRESS C6000, C6000VP, C7000VP
That's where I need some input on both equipment and RIP. We do a lot of newsletter printing that has bleeds on all sides and has to be folded in half. This makes it a nightmare because of front/back registration and offline trimming. We're having to print them, trim, then fold them (backwards first, then the otherway to avoid heavy cracking on the outside crease. Yes, by hand. Smaller particle-size toner on samples from other machines has demonstrated much less cracking.)
As far as RIPs, I've heard a lot of people who are satisfied with their Fiery's. I've just recently gotten involved with the print shop portion of our department and no one's been using any of the EFI software. Now I'm installing it and learning how to use it and such. Conceptually a lot of it makes sense. As far as what new RIP to get, most of the people that have told me "Creo is better, hands down" have been talking specifically about Konica Minolta equipment. As such, I don't know if the Creo is a significant improvement over Fiery on all machines or just more so on KM equipment. We haven't had problems with transparencies yet, which seems to be the Creo's strong point, but I suspect we might if given enough time. I've heard that the Creo does better with consistency, but shouldn't that depend on the printer? I mean if you calibrated a Fiery and a Creo correctly, then the color would only start changing due to something happening to the equipment which would happen regardless of the RIP, right?
Large solid block consistency is probably more important than halftones for us. We also have to match several PMS colors routinely. We've narrowed our search down to these. Info from anyone who has experience with multiple machines, or a single machine with different RIPS, or any info that has some first-hand comparison experience would be greatly aprpeciated.
Xerox DocuColor 7000AP/8000AP
Standard Horizon ColorWorks 8000 Booklet Maker (inline bleed and face trimming plus folding!)
Xerox DocuColor 6060
Standard Horizon ColorWorks 2000/8000 Booklet Maker
Xerox DocuColor 5000
Standard Horizon ColorWorks 5000 Booklet Maker (inline bleed and face trimming plus folding!)
Konica-Minolta bizhub PRO C500
FS-606 Booklet Finisher, TU-109 Trimmer
Konica-Minolta bizhub PRO C5500
FS-607 Booklet Finisher with PK-512 Punch Kit and PI-502 Post Inserter
Konica-Minolta bizhub PRO C6500
FD-501 Folding Unit vs. FS-607 Booklet Finisher with PK-512 Punch Kit and PI-502 Post Inserter (are they mutually exclusive?)
Canon imagePRESS C6000, C6000VP, C7000VP