Digital Photographer's Software Guide - Bertemes - Net

354
The Digital Photographer's Software Guide
Until recently, one stumbling block tended to be the fact that many photographers were
Mac-based, whereas most RIPs are PC-based. This has been largely resolved by porting
RIPs to the Mac environment and by the Mac being able to run PC software. For serious
photographers, it was always a false issue because a RIP, which places high demands
on processing capacity, really needs its own dedicated machine. There is no reason why
this should not be a PC running Windows on a network composed chiefly of Macs.
Mixing and matching is now common practice.
Buying a RIP
With 60 or more brands of RIP available, it is not easy to make a purchasing decision
without extensive research. The list of software given here has been restricted to brands
that are widely acknowledged to be useful to photographic studios and design businesses.
Even so, a direct comparison between them is almost impossible, owing to the
fact that vendors have many ways of structuring their product lines. All of them have
different prices for small, medium, and large format printing, plus extra charges for
high-productivity software. Quite a few have “add-ons” to perform one or two additional
functions, whereas some lines are fully modular. One of those mentioned (which
one will be clear from the text) has a product line of mind-boggling complexity, with
modular client/server products, each one of which is also available in a stand-alone version.
Then there is the QuadToneRIP, by comparison a model of simplicity that does a
single job superbly well.
ColorBurst X·Photo
Vendor: Compatible Systems Engineering
Purpose: PostScript Level 3 compatible RIP for fine art and photography printing
Description
A PostScript Level 3 compatible RIP for fine art and photography printing, ColorBurst
X·Photo allows you to print directly from an image-editing or layout application, such
as InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and QuarkXPress. One key feature is job management,
normally only found in more expensive RIP applications, with a hot folder that
is accessible across a network. You can reorder, delete, or place jobs on temporary hold.
The software ships with the SpectralVision Pro full-featured ICC profiling software
package. ColorBurst X·Photo is SWOP-certified on Epson Stylus Pro printers.
ColorBurst X·Photo is part of the ColorBurst Queue Series, which also includes X·Proof
with Pantone matching for design proofing; X·Proof Plus with custom spot colors, color
bars, and job titles for proofing and certification; and X·Proof 3800 for printing to the
Epson Stylus Pro 3800 only.