RIPs--Directing the Imagesetter

The RIP controls every major component in a print job's early life, from interpreting a growing array of file formats to deciphering color to maximizing throughput performance at the output device.

When selecting a RIP, a prepress manager—knowing the RIP is the cornerstone of any given prepress department, impacting every aspect of every print job for which that department is responsible—must determine exactly where the RIP will fit into an established prepress workflow. This means determining how the RIP will facilitate color separation and OPI swaps, as well as handle imposition and trapping—especially trapping and imposition, arguably the most time-sensitive productivity functions in prepress.