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Product category: Printing Pre-Press Systems and Materials (Repro, Platemakers, CTP, Workflow, Document Management, Design Software, etc.)
News Release from: Global Graphics Software | Subject: Harlequin RIP Genesis Release
Edited by the Printingtalk Editorial Team on 19 April 2005

New RIP Release Boosts Processing Power

The latest version of the Harlequin RIP - the Genesis Release - was announced yesterday by Global Graphics.

The latest version of the Harlequin RIP - the Genesis Release - was announced yesterday by Global Graphics The Harlequin RIP Genesis Release is claimed to bring increased efficiency and productivity to Harlequin RIP-based systems used in a wide variety of pre-press, printing and workflow applications

Available immediately to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), the Genesis Release is said to offer important new features for print operations of all sizes including native compatibility with PDF 1.5, a font emulation capability for time critical applications such as newspapers and print ondemand and in-RIP imposition for two-up conventional printing and digital print.

Global Graphics said that the new release also supports PDF/X-1a:2003 and PDF/X-3:2003 as well as the JDF 1.2 specification and improved colour management.

Adrian Ford, Global Graphics' chief technology officer, said: "The launch of a new Harlequin release follows a sustained period of development which sees a new level of technology introduced in to the product.

The Harlequin RIP is a high-performance processor and all users are set to benefit from new enhancements.

We have also introduced specific functions aimed at the CTP, digital print and newspaper segments.

We believe that the Genesis Release sets the standard once again for RIP technology in graphic arts applications.

It offers the processing power that the industry needs, combined with flexibility, scaleability and a vast number of options that allow our OEM customers to deploy tailored systems with minimal time to market." Global Graphics said it consulted widely with its customers to produce the latest version of the RIP and has simultaneously paved the way for future functions that will be added incrementally.

Paul Collins, Global Graphics' Harlequin RIP product manager pointed out: "We have focused on developing features that will deliver efficiencies for all Harlequin RIP users, including support for the Page Description Language and file formats that our customers require.

We have introduced what we believe is the most advanced font emulation feature available on the market today and an integrated imposition engine that will bring substantial benefits to users with small format devices." The Harlequin RIP excels in high volume environments where it has established a reputation for speed, reliability and quality, added the company.

Customers include A B Dick, HP, Esko-Graphics, Presstek, Highwater, Agfa, Compose, ECRM, Polkadots and Xitron.

New features available in the Genesis Release include: PDF 1.5, PDF/X-1a:2003 and PDF/X-3:2003 support, and in addition to handling all popular file formats the new RIP provides full support for PDF 1.5.

In line with Global Graphics' commitment to open standards the company said it is among the first to offer support for PDF/X-1a:2003 and PDF/X-3:2003.

The Genesis Release maintains the Harlequin RIP's ability to process PDF files natively without the need to convert to Postscript first, to ensure fast and accurate rendering, said Global Graphics.

Font emulation for time critical applications, such as print on demand (digital production print), newspapers, magazines and jobs where artwork or advertising is supplied independently of the paying customer.

In what Global Graphics believes to be the most advanced font emulation capability available, the Genesis Release will make a typographically acceptable match to missing fonts with no text overflow and with appropriate character spacing, weight and width.

For work requiring only simple imposition the Genesis Release is claimed to introduce an automatic imposition feature that is selected from the RIP's page setup.

It has been introduced to enable those Harlequin RIP users who do not require complex imposition to increase efficiency and is initially targeted at two-up conventional printing (mainly, but not exclusively, CTP for offset litho) and the digital print market.

The release also introduces improved colour rendition in overprinting regions and blending.

Colour management can be applied at the end of the process, after composition, for greater fidelity.

The Genesis Release also supports Version 4.0 of the ICC profiles, added the company.

Version 2.0 of Global Graphics' JDF Enabler for the Harlequin RIP is designed to be compliant with the published JDF 1.2 specification and with level two of CIP4's Base Interoperability Conformance Specification.

Global Graphics' JDF development continues to be focused on meeting the needs of both large customers with formal JDF workflow requirements and those that are looking to improve efficiency by adopting ad hoc JDF workflows said the company.

The JDF Enabler Version 2.0 now allows for the handling of TIFF files either as an input file format in its own right or as a reference file format within JDF to support TIFF shooter workflows.

TIFF split workflows are supported, where the bulk of the processing overhead for a job takes place on a separate machine to that feeding the final output device.

The Genesis Release has been in beta tests with a number of Global Graphics OEMs for some months, including global pre-press system supplier Esko-Graphics, RIP integrators and workflow specialist Xitron, as well as pre-press workflow developer Polkadots Software.

Christian Erikstrup, the international sales manager of the commercial print division at Esko-Graphics, said: "JDF plays an important role for Esko-Graphics.

Standardisation and automation of pre-press workflows, even for small offset printers, represents a large part of our future strategy for workflow.

In fact, we believe that it will bring new life to small printshops.

We are placing renewed focus on the two-up and four-up end of the offset market and on our RIPmate RIP and workflow system, based on the Harlequin RIP.

The Genesis Release will assist us in strengthening our offer to RIPmate customers." And Bill Owens, the product manager for Navigator systems at Xitron said: "The Simple Imposition feature will allow us to meet a need for many of our OEM and end-user customers by offering a fast, reliable method of generating imposed layouts for printing without the need to invest in full imposition.

Judging by the number of requests we have from OEMs and end-users for a tool like this we predict that it will be very popular." According to Robert Dumas, the director of sales and marketing at Polkadots, the development by Global Graphics had enabled Polkadots to fast track JDF development in it Prepage-it product.

He said: "Thanks to Global Graphics' JDF enabler and our own integration efforts, Prepage-it can accept JDF imposition data as well as now read and modify the data for further processing.

The continuing JDF development by Global Graphics means that Prepage-it users with a Version 7 Harlequin RIP will be able to accept, modify and even generate JDF job tickets, specifying file processing parameters in the workflow, including trap parameters, colour handling, resolution, screening, separation styles and more." Global Graphics' OEM and system integrator partners will announce products and systems based on the Genesis Release separately, said the company.

Partners include manufacturers and suppliers of imagesetters, CTP and direct-to-press systems, digital colour proofers, digital press and workflows.

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