Does anyone here use a RIP to print?

[ehasler]

Does anyone print to an Epson inkjet using a RIP like Imageprint?

I'm looking at buying a large format printer soon, and am trying to decide whether to buy a RIP which is supplied with a large number of custom printer profiles, or go for the cheaper and more time-consuming option which is to buy the software/hardware for me to create my own profiles instead, and stick with Photoshop + printer driver to make the prints.

From what I've seen, the RIP will give better quality prints and the profiles are meant to be very good, but it does also cost about 50% more...

Has anyone here got experience of this?

[poah]

for me and my epson R2400 I can't see how a RIP would improve things. I get almost pefect prints using CS2 and the paper profiles.

[HankScorpio]

poah said:

for me and my epson R2400 I can't see how a RIP would improve things. I get almost pefect prints using CS2 and the paper profiles.

Potentially by making "almost perfect" - "completely perfect"...?
If it's only "almost", there will be room for improvement.

(it's the pedant in me)

>> Edited by HankScorpio on Thursday 26th January 21:19

[bacchus180]

I use a RIP for both workflow and colour management. the colours are perfect..

I think we printed over 6000 colour swatches and read them with a spectrometer. then you can do all the linearisation to make it all happen. the other advantage of the RIP is nesting and the use of hotfiles. you can create hotfolders which have specific details like crop marks, profiles for different media types etc.., then you can just drag and drop as many files as you like into them and walk away the rip and the printer do the rest.

I use Shiraz as a rip through an epson 4000 and an hp 5500. and no i ddidn't do the colour management myself!..

got a consultant in to set it all up... far easier