Prepress
HARLEQUIN WEB PORTAL LAUNCHES TO GRAPH EXPO VISITORS
Monday 27. October 2008 - Latest version of Harlequin RIP also on show
Global Graphics new interactive community and online store for Harlequin RIP users at www.harlequin.com is being launched to the US market at Graph Expo. Also demonstrated on the Global Graphics booth will be the Harlequin PLUS Server RIP (v.8.0), the first graphic arts RIP to natively process PDF, PostScript, and XPS in a single RIP engine.
Harlequin.com provides a comprehensive range of RIP-related information for the Harlequin user including FAQs, White Papers, technical datasheets and a peer-to-peer forum. It makes it easy for pre-press operations and print shops to evaluate and purchase products that will add new features to their RIP for increased productivity. Most products are available for evaluation free-of-charge for 30 days so that users can try before they buy ( see separate press release about Harlequin Cross Modulated Screening). Harlequin.com also provides a service to match users who may have lost touch with their original supplier and who want to upgrade their current RIP, or buy a new RIP, with a new supplier in the Global Graphics OEM network. The site is backed by Xitron, Compose, Fusion Systems, HighWater, ECRM, RTI, Presstek and Polkadots who provide technical support to purchasers of Harlequin products.
The JDF-enabled Harlequin PLUS Server RIP (v.8.0) is the first graphic arts RIP to process natively PDF, PostScript and XPS in one engine so that print shops dont need to worry about how they receive files from their customers, and how they need to process those files because they can print multiple file formats with a consistent high-quality result. The Harlequin RIP has rendered PDF natively since 1997, introducing support for transparency in 2002 with Version 6.0 of the RIP so there is no need to flatten transparent artwork.
The Harlequin PLUS Server RIP provides faster processing speeds than its predecessors, notably through multi-threaded rendering that helps remove RIP bottlenecks in handling raster data and takes full advantage of the new Duo and Quad core technology. A new retained PDF raster feature speeds up variable data processing by only RIPping new content on multi-page jobs so that the same areas are not processed repeatedly. From a host of other new features introduced in v.8.0 highlights include: support for PDF 1.7, the PDF/X-4 specification, as well as JDF 1.3; support for the HD Photo format, a new file format for continuous tone still images that surpasses the limitations of existing image formats with superior compression capabilities and extended dynamic range, a soft-proofing feature that allows the print service provider to quickly create a PDF that represents exactly how a job will appear on press for customer approvals and compatibility with PANTONE Goe
In 2008 The Harlequin RIP celebrates the twentieth anniversary of its first use in a commercial system.