Prepress
NATIVE POSTSCRIPT AND PDF? HARLEQUIN ANSWERS DRUPA QUESTION
Friday 04. July 2008 - Global Graphics has published a new White Paper to address the most commonly asked question by visitors to the Global Graphics stand at drupa "is it really the case that the Harlequin RIP processes PostScript and PDF natively?"
“We were asked the question so many times,” says Martin Bailey, Global Graphics CTO, “that one of the first things I did when I got back from drupa was to put together a White Paper to explain that the Harlequin RIP interprets PDF and PostScript natively in a single RIP. In fact the latest version, the Harlequin PLUS Server RIP, interprets XPS natively as well. Basically there are three interpreters in one RIP, one for each of PostScript, PDF and XPS. The RIP automatically recognizes which file format has been submitted, interprets it and then all files use the same rendering pipeline. Any additional functions like trapping, color management or screening are performed before or during the rendering process.
“Why does this matter in a production environment?” he smiles, “well, first of all you do not have to flatten transparent artwork because the RIP has processed live transparency since version 6 in 2002. Also, if you need to process PostScript files, have a PDF workflow, or are ahead of the curve on XPS and have already been sent files in this new format, you dont even have to think about whether they will go through the RIP or not: if your production staff know how to use the Harlequin RIP they can process these jobs easily without having to train on separate applications. Finally, having three native interpreters in one RIP is the best way of ensuring consistent, high-quality output because the risk of unintended differences in the behavior of, say, color management between PostScript and PDF that might occur if they were supported in separate RIPs, is significantly reduced.”