Digital Prints

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Mastering Digital Printing
RIPs
A Raster Image Processor (RIP) can give you a significant amount of control over certain
aspects of your output. It translates a file’s data (bitmap images, vector graphics, fonts)
into a single rasterized (bitmapped) file for printing at the print device’s specific resolution.
For more about RIPs, see Chapter 11.
Printers
See the in-depth discussion about printer choices in Chapter 6.
Quick-Start Printing Guide
In the following main section, I will go into some depth about the different printing steps,
but here I want to get you printing in the shortest time possible. Consider this an overview
or a skeleton approach. (Note: these are the basic steps for self-printing on a desktop inkjet
printer; if you plan to use an outside printmaker or a printing service, see Chapter 10.)
Before we begin, I will make certain assumptions, namely:
1. That you have or have access to a computer system and an inkjet printer and know the
basics of how both work. For this Quick-Start section, I will be using a PC laptop running
Windows XP Home to print from the Adobe Photoshop Elements (2.0) program to a
Canon i960 Photo Printer (see Figure 8.2).
Figure 8.1 Wacom’s Intuos3 (6 × 8)
graphics tablet with tools.
Courtesy of Wacom Technology