RIP for LF Printers

[mickiev]

We currently run a cyclone RIP outputting to 2 HP 5500 printers.

We are looking to upgrade the RIP and later on connect additional printers (maybe replacing the 2 5500 or keep them along side the new printers)

We have either the chose of the ColorProok XF or the Onyx Production house RIP's.

We have a basic hot folder work flow and only use 1 type of substrate.

The questions are which RIP is
1. easier to use in a hot folder work flow.
2. will provide the maximum use of the substrate to minimize wastage.
3. allows for additional printers to be added easily.
4.

Or is the answer both and it just depends on budget?

Thanks

 

[PrePress Guru]

Re: RIP for LF Printers

I run Onyx productionhouse 7.
I can answer yes to all of your questions. I think it comes standard with 4 printers and 2 rips.
It works great with the 5500's. I have one connected in addition to my Epson 9880.

The only issue that i have is the lack of a manual for media manger. This is something thats ticket me off for 2 years.
Onyx has no plans to provide one so creating your own profiles will be trial and error. Heavy on the error!

-ian

 

[9876curve]

Re: RIP for LF Printers

I have used both - both are fine RIPs and will do a good job for you. The real difference is not in feature comparison, but the wider issues.

Onyx is the market leader by a long way, has a huge installed base with a long history in production RIPs.

They have a large support system both online and in terms of tech support. The distribution chain is mature and experienced.

They have teams of people working onsite at the printer manufacturers building drivers as the machines themselves are developed often years before we see them.

These things often sway more people than the actual software as the RIP is at the centre of your entire workflow.

Do you want to risk it when the software falls sick and the support base just isn't there to help? What if you find a bug - how many engineers are there to assure you one of them will give your particular issue the time it needs?

These tend to lead people to buy Onyx even if a feature set of a different RIP seems initially more attractive for one reason or another.

Fiery XF is a new RIP from a company steeped in the proofing rather than production environment. Thus the support chain is smaller and less experienced and the driver and cutter library is smaller and lags behind Onyx considerably.

But watch out Onyx - EFI are now a huge concern and the only company large enough to seriously challenge them in the years to come when they find their feet. The Wasatch, Calderas etc of this world are also good RIps but lack the coverage and support to make a dent in Onyx's market dominance.

Today, it's Onyx, no question. Two years from now......we'll find out!

PS Ian will be happy to note that Onyx are soon to launch a Profiling Wiki which details the entire profiling process - more than you could ever want to know! It is in Beta right now but it already seems an impressive undertaking. I'll report back when it is launched.That's why they are not producing a new profiling manual.

 

[mickiev]

Re: RIP for LF Printers

Thanks, looks like the onyx is the way to go at the moment.

Cheers

 

[PrePress Guru]

Re: RIP for LF Printers

Andrew,

Thanks for the info. I will believe it when i see it!
In my dealing with them, I have learned to not trust anything they say. While im a loyal customer, im an unhappy customer.
If i we could go back to the stability of version 6 and 6.5, we would be better off. The U2 version is still not out. Onyx has dropped the ball of profiling papers. They have not documented many of the changes they have made for almost 2 years. If they it was any other industry, they would probably be out of business.
I have found that this way of doing business is SOP for the Printing/Pre Press industry. There is a laundry list of vendors that practice this particular way of screwing there user base in our industry.

Btw, there are more angry users like me. For now, I have to stay with them, the alternatives are worse. Onyx needed to step up a longtime ago.
If there was something better, i would have dropped them a longtime ago.

-Ian

 

[PrePress Guru]

Hi Andrew,

Onyx has finally released 7.2. Im downloading it now. Hopefully it will fix the may issues I and many others have.
The release notes are not that encouraging but the the fixes to layout look promising.
The color WIKI is also up. Im reviewing it now and im mostly pleased.
It would be great to have a pdf version to print for easy reference.

The wiki for anyone interested is located at Media Manager Profiling Guide Version 7 : Table of Contents

I will report back with V7.2 results.

-ian