What happened with Adobe PressReady RIP software?

Is Adobe PressReady still being updated or has this software been phased out? Adobe PressReady was a great idea, a low-cost $250 RIP for a desktop printer that produces outstanding color. But we heard that Adobe PressReady is not being updated? We will check this out at the next trade show.

We got Adobe PressReady with our Hewlett-Packard ColorPro GA desktop printer, but the person assigned to use it preferred his Epson. Said the Epson produced small typefaces more clearly. The HP printer had banding across areas of dark background. Thus it will be interesting to see if Adobe PressReady can improve the quality of this four color printer to make it match the six color Epson output.

Possibly the person never loaded the Adobe PressReady on his computer; this software is a space hog.

An alternative Raster Image Processor for desktop printers would be iProof PowerRIP or Aurelon's various products. Aurelon is especially apt if you are using Macintosh. Downside is that Aurelon support is primarily in Europe. iProof PowerRIP appears to be a budget product seeming descended from Birmy. Birmy. Birmy was a low-end RIP for people who did not want to deal with a full-strength RIP (I know, Birmy was the first RIP I bought, many many years ago, before I was aware of Wasatch, PosterJet, ProofMaster and the other professional RIPs. iProof PowerRip 2000 does not seem to be listed for Epson 1520 nor Epson 3000 and not for Epson 5000 or 5500 either. The Epson 3000 and 5000 series are entry level; the Epson 3000 is not recommended. The Canon 8500 tabloid size printer is much better, but is not on the Birmy list. It seems you are supposed to use iProof paper as well. All RIP companies prefer you purchase their paper too. At our university print shops we proof on whatever inkjet media we have at hand since PosterJet, Wasatch, etc work on every paper we have.

In the long run purchasing a lite RIP may result in dissatisfaction. When you learn everything that a lite RIP is not capable of doing, then you have to buy another full-strength RIP anway. Thus it might be wise to start off with a company that specializes in high-end professional solutions. In this case PerfectProof might be a solution since PerfectProof offers telephone technical assistance and even on-site training if you are a large company installing lots of employees who all need to get up to speed on large format printer digital color management. Another option would be O.R.I.S. proofing RIP from CGS. Whichever RIP you select, make sure it is a robust professional RIP, not a lite RIP.

Whatever route you chose, inkjet proofing sure is less cost than dye sub or wax transfer proofs or the most expensive, Rainbow proofs.

If you are unsure which report is best for you, just explain what you intend to print, whether this is for commercial use or in a small fledging business, whether you are new to this or already have another inkjet printer, and so on. This way our staff can judge which FLAAR reports are most appropriate for you.

If this will be your first printer, then we have a special report that holds your hand and leads you through all the basic questions that will assist a first-time buyer of a large format printer. Purchase the FLAAR report on "RIP + Help." This explains what RIP software is, why this is useful, and includes tips, warnings, information, and help for a wide range of matters for a newbie. Here you will really appreciate that FLAAR is based at a university; Professor Hellmuth has plenty of experience writing in a manner that explains which hardware and software functions, and which not.

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All reports by Dr. Nicholas Hellmuth

UPDATED: December 4, 2001, revised May 13, 2002; last updated May 25, 2003