Re: BEST v5
Re: BEST v5
- Subject: Re: BEST v5
- From: Nick Wheeler <email@hidden>
- Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 17:12:15 -0400
On 10/13/03 11:54 AM, email@hidden wrote:
>
I read with much of interest all the statements from last week and now I
>
have some little questions:
>
1. Did all the fine art poeple tell the RIP vendors what they want?
>
2. What do you need inside the "RIP"
>
3. what do you want to pay?
>
4. Which kind of printers should be supported?
>
I think, if there is an "White Paper" from your side, it is much easier for
>
the RIP vendors to take care about your needs. So get together and lets talk
>
about all this things and offer this "White paper" to all RIP vendors.
>
Ulf:
The two products that are furthest along in this regard are ImagePrint by
ColorByte software and ColorBurst from Compatible Systems Engineering (I
think that's the company name).
Both ColorByte Software and CSE seem intent on "listening" to the photo
community. Both companies spend quite a bit of time working with and talking
to photographers.
It may be slightly confusing to call these applications RIPs in their non
postscript raster only versions. I believe it would be more appropriate to
call them stand alone print driver applications or some such.
In my humble opinion the essential feature of any professional level print
driver would be linearization, such as was available in the early versions
(c 1994) of the Colorbus RIP or as employed by the Fujix line of Printers
from Fuji. Many of us in the photo community dream of an ImageBurst
application that would combine the very best features of ImagePrint and
Colorburst in one application: the process and crossover control of
ColorBurst with the ImagePrint's screening, ease of use and some of it's
interface features, as well as ImagePrint's superb b/w capabilities.
The screening has to be at least as good as good as Epson's. That was always
the issue with the versions of Best (and every other RIP for that matter)
that I saw. What is considered acceptable screening by prepress standards is
laughably inadequate in the Photographic Community.
I would also advise full 16bit throughput, such as is now available with
ImagePrint. As the screening and printers improve 8bit will no longer be
good enough.
Both ImagePrint and ColorBurst sell in the 1500.00 range and are well
supported by their respective companies. Neither product is really there
yet. It is safe to say that the level of frustration in that small corner of
the photo community interested in fine digital printing is quite high. There
is a lot of good work being done, but the potential is so much greater....
Best wishes,
Nick Wheeler
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