Prepress
HP Expands RIP Certification Program for Optimal Printing Experience
Wednesday 29. October 2008 - HP today announced the first alliance partners for its Raster Image Processor (RIP) Certification Program, supporting the new HP Designjet Z3200 Photo Printer.
The certification program provides photographers, digital fine artists, and graphic and pre-press professionals greater color management, software compatibility and overall functionality when using an HP-certified, third-party RIP solution. Certification tests for the HP Designjet Z3200 include print quality, productivity, the range of HP and custom media profiles that can be supported, and how well the printers built-in spectrophotometer can be used to automate tasks such as calibration and profiling. Only third-party companies who have demonstrated conformance with these criteria are awarded the “Certified for HP Designjet Z3200” designation.
“Since announcing the HP Designjet Z3200 at Photokina 2008, we have successfully certified seven of the industrys most reputable RIP solutions to provide customers with unparalleled color management, productivity and ease of use,” said Santiago Morera, vice president and general manager, Large Format Printing Division, HP. “This certification program underlines HPs commitment together with that of our alliance partners to provide our customers with a superior printing experience.” Highlights of current alliance partner solutions include:
GMG ColorProof Automated provides for more efficient proofing in the contract and packaging market. The automatic GMG ColorProof calibration, monitoring and recalibration of the HP Designjet Z-series ensures that every proof leaving the printer is a high-quality GMG contract proof that can be repeated at any time, even on a different HP Designjet Z3200 at another location.
Calderas award-winning suite of production-oriented print and print-to-cut workflow solutions offer “on the mark,” easy-to-use color management and a powerful master/slave architecture for distributed computing over the network. Caldera is the ideal RIP for printing wide-format jobs with eye-catching colors and contrast on all HP printers. HP Designjet Z3200 certification applies to Calderas VisualRIP+, GrandRIP+, ReproSHOP, CopyRIP and CopySHOP v7.55 products.
ColorGATE PRODUCTIONSERVER 5 is a modular software solution for centrally controlled large-format printing. It can be extended for proofing purposes, photo- and fine-art applications and even film-positive production. Paired with the HP Designjet Z3200, ColorGATE software turns the printer into one of the most versatile large-format inkjet printers, taking full advantage of the built-in spectrophotometer for recalibration, profiling and quality control purposes.
ErgoSofts PosterPrint software incorporates superior color management and production features to help businesses maximize productivity and efficiency while minimizing costs. The HP Designjet Z3200 Photo Printer together with ErgoSofts PosterPrint software is a top choice for even the most demanding professional digital print providers.
The AIT International Shiraz RIP family of products are aimed at the professional production market and cater to the full spectrum of users – from start-ups to large print service providers. By fully utilizing the HP Designjet Z3200 Photo Printers ability to relay information back to the host computer, Shiraz RIPs optimize production while minimizing potential mishaps. The RIP is available for both Windows and Mac OSX Universal platforms.
CGSs ORIS Color Tuner is a leading professional contract proofing system for inkjetdevices that combines automation and color management to provide a complete proofing system. With ORIS Color Tuner and the HP Designjet Z3200 Photo Printer, users can significantly lower their cost-per-proof and reduce the amount of time spent on proofing. Proofs produced on the HP Z3200 meet the current industry standards.
Fujifilms Easy Studio Print is a powerful, easy-to-use RIP featuring templates, nesting and color management. For no additional cost, customers can upgrade to ImageHunter. Aimed at professional photographers, photo labs and digital bureau this production solution includes workflow tracking, costing, tiling, intelligent nesting, batch printing and queue management. Both solutions are optimized for the HP Designjet Z3200 Photo printer. The RIPs support Mac and Windows and offer a wide variety of ICC media profiles.
This certification program expands HPs already extensive solution development program, which provides third-party software developers access to hardware, software development kits (SDKs) and additional resources to assist in the creation of solutions compatible with HP large-format printers.