Navigator 7 Operator Manual-R50622 PDF
Navigator 7 Operator Manual-R50622 PDF
Windows 2000/2003/XP
Operator Manual
™
Navigator RIP 7.0 Release
March 2005
Copyright and Trademarks
Navigator RIP 7.0 Release Operator Manual is based on the Harlequin RIP OEM Manual
™
Navigator 7.0 is based on the Harlequin RIP Genesis Release
March 2005
Global Graphics Part number: HK–7.0–OEMXP–GENESIS
Document issue: 102
Copyright © 1992–2005 Global Graphics Software Ltd. and 2005 Xitron, Inc.
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the use of any information in this publication. The software described in this book is furnished under license and may
only be used or copied in accordance with the terms of that license.
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FireWorks, FlatOut, Harlequin Color Management System (HCMS), Harlequin Color Production Solutions (HCPS),
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Screening Plugin 2-bit (HEDS2), Harlequin Full Color System (HFCS), Harlequin ICC Profile Processor (HIPP), Harle-
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®
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This Harlequin RIP software is a computer software program developed at private expense and is subject to the following Restricted Rights Legend: “Use,
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Contents
6 Screening 203
Managing separations styles 203
Separations Manager dialog box 204
Edit Style dialog box 205
12 Fonts 399
Supplied fonts 400
Types of font 400
The DLD1 format 402
13 Calibration 419
Why calibration is needed 419
Calibration and linearization 421
Calibration in the Navigator RIP 422
Example procedure 424
Editing calibration sets 435
Consistency of calibration 439
Tone curves 441
Press calibration 442
Using a combination of calibration sets 446
Print Calibration dialog box 447
Calibration Manager dialog box 450
Edit Calibration dialog box 455
É É
WELCOME to the Harlequin PostScript language compatible interpreter. This man-
ual is a complete guide to using the Navigator RIP, and provides technical details
when necessary. For details of how to install the RIP, see the separate Installation
Guide.
This manual is intended for anyone using or evaluating the graphical user interface
version of the Navigator RIP for PC platforms running Microsoft Windows 2000,
Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional. The guide covers the features
of the Navigator RIP in a structured way, giving examples that show you how to per-
form a wide variety of useful tasks in the RIP. For more details about the other ver-
sions of RIPs available, see Chapter 1, “Introduction to the Navigator RIP”.
Conventions
This manual uses some conventions to make it clear where you give keyboard com-
mands or choose from the menus and dialog boxes, as described in the following sec-
tions.
The keyboard
You can execute many of the commands available in the Navigator RIP either by
using the mouse or by using a keyboard shortcut. This is a combination or sequence of
key presses that executes a command without you having to choose a menu option
with the mouse. Keyboard shortcuts for individual commands are discussed, in con-
text, throughout the manual.
Shift
The Shift key is often used when selecting a group of objects from a list. For example,
when selecting a group of files to print. It is also used in keyboard shortcuts and in
some mouse actions.
Ctrl
The Control key is used in keyboard shortcuts and in some mouse actions. For exam-
ple, you can often hold down Control while pressing another key or a mouse button.
Whenever this manual describes one of these actions, the text shows which key or
Introduction to the
Navigator RIP
igator RIP can, your old PostScript language files (and indeed your application if you
still use it) are useless.
The input file formats that the Navigator RIP supports are:
• PostScript LanguageLevel 3, Level 2, and Level 1.
• PDF versions up to and including PDF 1.5 files.
• PDF/X-1a:2001, PDF/X-1a:2003, PDF/X-3:2002 and PDF/X3:2003
• JPEG and JFIF.
• TIFF 6.0 and optionally TIFF/IT-P1.
• GIF.
• PCL4.
See Section 5.23 on page 187 and Chapter 8, “Configuring Input” on page 263 for
more details.
Note: RIP versions 5.3 and 5.5 included support for PDF/X-1:1999, this has been
dropped in the Eclipse Release of the Navigator RIP, and replaced with support for
PDF/X-1a:2001 and PDF/X-3:2002.
The Navigator RIP can also enable substitution of high resolution images for Post-
Script-language jobs, using an in-RIP implementation of the Open Prepress Interface
(OPI), versions 1.3 and 2.0, and Desktop Color Separation (DCS), versions 1.0 and
2.0. See Section 5.21 on page 184 for details.
Additionally, the Navigator RIP can be configured to support special features—color
management, font substitution, duotones, and vignettes—of jobs produced by several
image creation and page layout applications. These applications include:
®
• Adobe Photoshop
®
• Adobe Illustrator
®
• QuarkXPress
® ®
• Macromedia FreeHand
See Section 5.24 on page 193 for more details.
Photoshop has the ability to produce spot color separations when in-RIP separation is
selected for a LanguageLevel 3 RIP. This eliminates the problem just described for
output generated by Photoshop 5.0 when sent to any LanguageLevel 3 RIP.
In addition to producing correct output from Photoshop 5.0 jobs, the Navigator RIP
correctly handles jobs from Photoshop versions 2.5 through 4 as well. The Navigator
RIP detects this construct in Photoshop jobs and correctly diverts the duotone to spot
color separations. Note that you must configure the Navigator RIP to generate these
spot color separations for this to work.
For more information see Section 5.24.1, “Adobe Photoshop features”.
1.3.3.4 Images
The Navigator RIP version 5.0 and later supports type 3 and 4 image dictionaries (for
uses such as masks). This allows an application to produce masks using multiple
images in a more efficient fashion. This mask technique also improves performance
by eliminating the need for a detailed PostScript-language clipping path. This feature
is best suited to lower-resolution output devices and workflows.
1.3.3.5 settrapparams
LanguageLevel 3 includes a new software interface that allows the description of trap
settings within a PostScript-language file.
The Navigator RIP version 5.0 and later incorporates the settrapprams interface
and uses this for setting trapping parameters. Harlequin has extended settrappa-
rams to include those trapping parameters that are not covered by the 3010
specification.
1.3.4.3 UseCIEColor
This operator improves color control in the PostScript-language code by allowing
device-dependent input data to be translated to a device-independent CIE color space.
The input colors are mapped to the device-independent color space using an input pro-
file. The colors may then be transformed ready for printing on another output device.
Harlequin has provided this functionality for some time through the color manage-
ment modules the latest being ColorPro. You can choose to use the color management
specified in the job by UseCIEColor, or to override this and instead use the more
detailed controls provided with ColorPro.
ory occupied by composite objects that are no longer accessible to the PostScript
program.
This helps some jobs that allocate a lot of memory, but not all. Some jobs that could
not partial paint will now need significantly less memory than before.
When garbage collection starts, a message is displayed on the console window.
Garbage collection is controlled using the PostScript Language operator vmreclaim.
For more information on garbage collection, see section 3.7.4 of the The PostScript®
Language Reference (3rd Edition).
1.3.7 FlatOut
RIP version 5.0 and all subsequent Navigator RIP releases are capable of stitching sin-
gle-page PGB files into a predefined flat. This feature enables the development of
page-based workflows around the Navigator RIP.
Three components are required to produce a stitched flat:
1. A background PGB file. You can create a background in a page layout applica-
tion and then convert the PostScript-language code to a PGB using the Naviga-
tor RIP. This flat background contains a slot for each page. This background
may contain sluglines, crop marks, and so on.
2. Single-page PGB file(s). For example, to produce an eight-page flat, eight
single-page PGB files must be generated.
3. A flat description file. This file describes the location of the background and
single-page PGB files on disk. The flat description file also indicates the posi-
tioning of pages on the flat.
The flat description file is presented as an input to the Navigator RIP and the PGB
files are stitched into a single flat for output to the specified output device.
The Navigator RIP version 5.0 and later accepts PGB files from Navigator RIPs ver-
sion 4.5. It also accepts PGB files from any other Navigator RIP platform. This
extends the ability to interchange PGB files between Windows platforms, which was
introduced in the Navigator RIP 4.5.
For additional information on how to generate a flat description and more on PGB
stitching, please refer to the FlatOut User Guide.
should however be aware that ColorPro contains color science that is optimized for
the Navigator RIP and is easily utilized with the introduction of SetGoldPro.
ColorPro allows you to specify different gamut-mapping algorithms in the reproduc-
tion of a page. For example, you can simultaneously specify Absolute colorimetric to
reproduce some elements of the page and yet specify Perceptual to reproduce the
photographs. The end result is that, on a single page, the color for photographs are
each calculated without affecting other elements on the page.
Harlequin ColorPro allows processing of colors in page data using ICC profiles
produced by OEMs, third parties, or end-users using third party characterization and
profiling tools. ICC profiles specify a translation between two color spaces. Each
profile is prepared for a specific set of imaging conditions. One device may have more
than one profile. The profiles may correspond to running the device with different
combinations of resolutions, inks, and paper.
New profiles can be easily added to ColorPro, and previously installed profiles can be
selected without the need to reinstall each time a profile is used.
An option to uninstall ICC profiles is also provided.
In addition, ColorPro allows the use of profiles prepared in the Navigator RIP format.
Global Graphics supplies a number of profiles for commonly used systems.
When ColorPro is enabled, the Navigator RIP can detect and use any ICC profiles that
Photoshop has embedded in EPS, TIFF, or JPEG images.
This manual describes the Navigator RIP without ColorPro, but mentions areas where
ColorPro would modify your use of the Navigator RIP. The extra facilities are
described in the separate manual Harlequin ColorPro User’s Guide.
For information on color facilities provided in the Navigator RIP as standard see
Section 14.8 on page 493.
This output is passed to an output plugin (described in Section 1.3.11), and from there
to the output device controlled by that plugin. Output devices are often physical print-
ers producing images on paper or film; but devices can also be files on disk, storing
the images in a specific graphics format.
An output plugin that creates disk files provides a simple method of translating from
the input format to another graphics format. Using such an output plugin extends your
ability to transfer graphics defined in the PostScript language or PDF to other software
applications or systems. For example, you can produce a graphics image without
dependencies on external fonts or color management. Also, you may wish to send a
page description to someone who does not have access to PostScript-language tools
but who can use files in the Tagged Image File Format (TIFF). TIFF is a commonly-
used graphics format and a TIFF output device is supplied with the RIP.
• Serial Port
With this plugin, PCs and other computers can be connected using their serial
ports and communicate with one another. The data transfer speed, however, is
very slow. This plugin supports the Adobe Serial Lines Protocol.
• Sockets
With this plugin, the Navigator RIP can accept input from a network socket
client program, which may be part of a larger workflow system. This plugin
supports TCP/IP and UNIX socket protocols.
pages. Even with fast output devices, time can be used effectively, because the RIP
can be interpreting data while the output device starts up.
1.3.14 Previewing
The Navigator RIP allows you to preview pages, at their output resolution on screen to
check them for mistakes before they are output, at their full output resolution. You can
preview halftone, contone and grayscale images using the full color capabilities of the
display system.
You can request a reduced view of the entire page in a separate window. This provides
a better idea of what the whole page looks like, and also acts as a navigation aid to
help you to display any part of the page at full resolution, to check fine detail.
The remaining functionality depends on the page buffering mode. (Section 4.2 on
page 88 describes page buffering modes.)
Using either of the multiple page buffer modes, you can view several separations or
pages, overlaid or separately. This allows a good check of the page, including check-
ing image positioning, trapping, and so on. You can view separations in their natural
colors, thus obtaining a realistic impression of final output, or in false colors, to high-
light differences between similar separations or composite pages.
In either of the single page buffer modes, you can view only individual separations or
a composite image, and only in the natural colors.
Page buffer compression always produces buffers of the same size as or smaller than
the original. For color pages, it typically achieves a compression ratio of 3:1, and for
newspaper pages a typical ratio of 10:1. That is, the compressed page buffer could be
less than a third of the size of an uncompressed one for color pages, and a tenth of the
size for newspaper pages. For color images, this can mean reducing disk requirements
from 150 MB to only 50 MB.
Page buffer compression in the RIP is a completely lossless procedure. The quality of
your output is fully preserved when compressing and then uncompressing the page
buffers. For details of the amount of disk space you need to reserve for page buffers,
see “Ability to RIP a job” on page 48.
From version 5.5 files greater than 2 GB can be read and written. The most likely use
of this is the ability to generate page buffers greater than 2 GB.
New for version 5.5 is a Media Saving feature. For more information see Section 5.14
on page 156.
Page imposition can be useful both for saving media—pages can be orientated so as to
use the optimum amount of paper—and for printing pre-imposed sheets of paper, for
instance when printing a book where certain pages are made out of the same piece of
paper. Some understanding of the PostScript language is useful here, but the Naviga-
tor RIP is supplied with several imposition templates which can be used immediately.
This chapter is a short guide to getting the Navigator RIP running on your machine. It
does not contain complete installation details because these differ between different
combinations of computer, operating system, and output device. For full details, see
the separate Navigator RIP Installation Guide for your platform (combination of com-
puter and operating system).
This chapter provides details for the following:
• Machine requirements, described in Section 2.1.
• Connecting your machine to an output device, described in Section 2.2 on
page 51.
• The files and folders used by the RIP, described in Section 2.3 on page 51.
• Starting up the Navigator RIP and an introduction to the standard menus and
dialog boxes, described in Section 2.4 on page 57.
• Some menus that appear only when options are enabled, described in
Section 2.5 on page 64.
• Stopping the Navigator RIP, described in Section 2.6 on page 66.
2.1.1 Performance
For a given processor type and speed, the most important things affecting the perfor-
mance of the Navigator RIP are the built-in or physical memory (RAM) and the speed
and size of disks.
It is recommended that you use a 450 MHZ or faster Pentium based PC running
Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 with 256 MB or more of random
access memory (RAM) for the RIP and a minimum of 4 GB of free disk space.
Note: Please check the Install guide for the latest specification information.
In addition the following points should be considered:
• There must be sufficient space to hold page buffers on disk.
• There must be sufficient PostScript-language virtual memory available for the
job. This is especially important when using composite fonts.
• For some output devices, a disk with a certain minimum performance may be
required.
Important: The general rule is that the more memory, the better the performance.
Note especially that if you use the following features, we recommend that you add
extra RAM:
• Add an additional 8 MB RAM for each composite PostScript font used in a
single job.
• Add an additional 12 MB RAM for when using Harlequin Precision Screening
(HPS).
• Add an additional 256 MB RAM when using TrapPro.
In summary, as well as the memory and disk allocations discussed here, the perfor-
mance of the RIP also depends on the following:
• The speed of the processor.
• The amount of additional RAM on your machine. (Additional RAM is RAM
above the basic requirement.)
uncompressed, a four-color page using 8 bits per color (256 tonal values) would use
32 times more memory than the figures given here. It is harder to predict the relative
sizes of compressed page buffers because the contents of the page have a large effect.
For example, the compression ratio achievable for a page filled with an unchanging
background tint is likely to be better for a contone page buffer than for a halftone page
buffer.
In addition, you must ensure you have enough disk space to hold workspace for pro-
cessing the scanned images on any one page of your job. For example, when printing
the Seybold Musicians test job (a full-color scanned image), 8 MB of extra disk work-
space will sometimes be required in addition to the figures shown above. (Whenever
possible, the Navigator RIP uses RAM in preference to disk space.)
If you have spare memory after allocating memory for the considerations described in
“Performance” on page 46 and in the separate Navigator RIP Installation Guide, you
may be able to use this surplus to create a RAM disk in which to place page buffers.
To be useful, the RAM disk must be at least large enough to hold a single page buffer,
and if you want to use throughput (using either of the multiple page buffer modes), it
should ideally be large enough to hold at least two page buffers.
For 2540 dpi color work, a RAM disk of around 100 MB is desirable. For 1016 dpi
monochrome output, a RAM disk of around 30 MB may be enough.
Rate Resolution
Output device
(KB/s) (dpi)
200 300 Large format inkjet printer
2000 300 Dye-sublimation printer
750 2400 Slow imagesetter
1500 1270 Fast imagesetter
8000 4000 Large format drum recorder
With simple jobs, these data rates can be achieved without using a page buffer on disk.
However, with complex jobs, a page buffer may be required, which means that the
disk on your computer must be fast enough to supply data at these rates. If the disk is
too slow and your printer is not capable of stop / starting without abandoning the page,
it is not possible to output the whole page. If your printer can stop / start in the middle
of a page, then achieving the required data rate is less important, but the quality of the
output may still be affected, depending on the device.
When you look at the data rates in this table, note the following:
• The disk speed of your machine must be slightly faster than the data rate of the
output device in order to drive it successfully—the extra speed allows for the
overhead of transferring the output to the printer. For example, a machine with
a disk speed of 1.3 MB/s may be required to drive a slow imagesetter at
750 KB/s.
• To smooth out peaks and troughs of disk performance and other system and
RIP functions, the Navigator RIP uses a printer buffer in memory. Typically,
you should make this buffer large enough to hold between 5 and 10 seconds of
output to the device: for example, 7.5 MB for a device that outputs at
750 KB/second. You can set the size of the printer buffer in the Configure RIP
dialog box: see Chapter 7, “Configuring the RIP”.
We strongly recommend that you use compressed page buffers. If this is done, the
Navigator RIP can achieve higher data rates because less data has to be read from
disk. Compressing page buffers also lets you run the RIP on a slower disk than would
be required were page buffers not compressed. There are very few situations where it
is not desirable to compress page buffers.
in many cases by placing the relevant folders or files directly into the appropriate
folder, but it is safer to use a supplied installation program if there is one.
Warning: Do not delete any files from the SW folder, except in the limited cases where
this manual or the Navigator RIP support staff advise you to do so.
Note: Installing the Navigator RIP creates some of the following items immediately:
other items are created later, as required by later reconfiguration of the RIP or the use
of particular options such as screening features or spooled input.
The SW folder contains the following items:
• The caldata folder, which is created when you first use the Output > Print
Calibration menu option to print a calibration target, and is updated as you print
more targets. This folder holds files and folders describing the printed targets.
If you use the Genlin program to measure a printed target, it generates a file of
results in this folder.
• The categories folder contains the categories resource.
• The charstrings folder contains the file StandardCharStrings, which
contains the standard name-to-character mappings used by most fonts. Other
mapping files may also be stored here.
• The CIDFont folder contains fonts defined in the CID (character identifier)
format.
• The CMap folder contains information for use with CID fonts.
• The colorrenderings folder contains color rendering resources.
• The colorspaces folder contains resources for the color spaces defined in the
Navigator RIP.
• The Complete folder is provided as a default location for the spool folder
input to place files that it has successfully processed.
• The Config folder contains all the configuration files for the Navigator RIP.
These include files detailing such things as the current page setup and Config-
ure RIP settings, as well as folders for information including the configuration
for available devices, default color profiles, and target definitions.
In the Config folder, the Factory Settings subfolder contains the default
configuration for the Navigator RIP when it is shipped. This is essentially a
copy of the Config folder itself.
In the Config folder, the Page Setups subfolder contains all the page setups
you have saved within the Navigator RIP.
• The Crdgen folder contains the color rendering dictionary (CRD) generator
plugin executables. You can only manipulate CRDs in the Navigator RIP with
the ColorPro option enabled.
• The Devices folder contains all the output plugin files (possibly within sub-
folders) for the various output devices.
• The encodings folder contains the font encodings for the fonts installed in the
RIP.
• The Error folder is provided as a default location for the spool folder input to
place files that it cannot process.
• The Extensions folder can contain folders or files used to implement exten-
sions to the RIP.
• The FlatPgbDir folder provides space for the page buffer files used by
FlatOut. See the FlatOut User Guide for details.
• The fonts folder contains fonts used by the Navigator RIP (including the fonts
installed with the RIP).
• The FontSet folder is used for PostScript LanguageLevel 3 font sets, often
used with CFF fonts. It may be empty.
• The forms folder contains resources for bitmap forms.
• The halftones folder contains halftone resources.
Note: The comments in these halftone resources files show how you can define
custom dot shapes in capable graphics and layout applications, and have these
dot shapes linked to Harlequin screens in the generated PostScript-language
files.
• The icccrd folder contains the color rendering dictionaries (CRDs) produced
from ICC profiles.
• The IdiomSet folder contains idiom set resources. Each idiom set in this
folder is loaded when the RIP starts.
• The Inputs folder contains all input plugin files (Spool, and any others).
• The Messages folder has been moved to the same level as the SW folder and
contains localized message files. The appropriate file is selected the first time
the RIP is started
• The MediaSavingDir contains page buffers that are marked for media saving.
From Eclipse Release SP1 the MediaSavingDir is located as a subfolder to
the PageBuffers folder.
• The NamedColor folder is the location of files defining a resource type
/NamedColor, which stores color values referred to by name. It is accessed by
the Install ICC Profile dialog box present when using ColorPro, as well as by
the Harlequin core RIP.
• The NamedColorOrder folder contains files defining the orders in which
resources of type /NamedColor, are searched when the Navigator RIP is look-
ing for the definition of a named color.
• The Page Features folder contains all the PostScript-language header files
that are available in the Enable Feature drop-down list of the Edit Page Setup
dialog box. This menu is generated dynamically from the files available in this
folder. If a feature is turned on in the relevant page setup, the appropriate file is
run at the beginning of the job. Additional example page features are available
in the folder called Examples within this folder. The example files supplied
with the RIP show you how to do such things as produce draft copies, perform
page imposition, resubmit page buffers, and use image replacement with DCS
files. You can add your own files if you wish.
• The PageBuffers folder provides space for rendered pages that are written to
disk. From Eclipse Release SP1 the MediaSavingDir is located as a sub-
folder to the PageBuffers folder.
• The Passwords folder may be empty but is available for files used to install
passwords for optional parts of the Navigator RIP. The RIP installs all new
passwords automatically, as it starts. Files with extension .pwd are files to be
used by the RIP, files with numeric extensions (.001, .002, and so on) have
been installed, and files with extension .pwx are files that the Navigator RIP
has failed to install.
• The patterns folder contains resources for PostScript-language patterns.
• The PrepFiles folder contains all the prep files used by the Navigator RIP.
• The procsets folder contains various patches to the PostScript language, as
well as other functionality that is not built directly into the Navigator RIP.
Patches for specific applications are held here, as well as calibration test jobs.
• The ReproductionCriteria folder is the location of files defining a
resource type /ReproductionCriteria. This is used to link color rendering
dictionaries (CRDs) to the criteria which created them. This allows the Naviga-
tor RIP to test whether a CRD needs to be regenerated or whether one already
exists.
• The Screenin folder contains screening plugins for use by the Navigator RIP.
In many installations, there are no screening plugins.
• The Screens folder is used when halftone screens are cached (saved to disk
for later use). There is a subfolder here for each dot shape cache known to the
Navigator RIP, either as supplied or as created during use.
• The Separation Features folder performs a similar task to Page Fea-
tures but applies only when separating jobs in the Navigator RIP.
• The Spool folder is a default location used by the Spool folder input plugin for
receiving jobs.
• The Sys folder includes HqnStart, the Harlequin-specific startup file, and
Bootlist, a list of files to be executed upon booting (starting) the Navigator
RIP. This folder also contains HqnProduct, which contains PostScript-lan-
guage startup code specific to that product, and HqnOEM, which may contain
additional startup PostScript-language startup code created by the RIP supplier
(or OEM).
• The targeteps folder contains any EPS files that are incorporated in custom
calibration targets (and potentially other targets). This folder is referred to from
target definitions while interpreting a target file, especially in response to the
Print Calibration dialog box.
You may find it useful to inspect FILEMAP.DAT, if you need to associate a par-
ticular file name with the other name in its mapping. For example, this is a typi-
cal mapping (between Press and PRESS):
(Press)(PRESS)M
Note: The file names are all uppercase, exactly as shown in this manual. It is
possible for Explorer in Microsoft Windows to display these names with only a
leading capital letter.
• The version file contains text describing the version of the Navigator RIP, for
use by some RIP utilities. Do not edit or remove it.
<company>.exe
An initial dialog box is always displayed while the program starts up. Some extra
things happen in special circumstances:
• When you are starting up the RIP for the first time after installation, you see a
dialog box asking you to choose the language to be used in dialog boxes,
menus, and messages. The dialog box shows you which languages are avail-
able. (A language is available if the entries after its name are all Present or
Yes.) If you are in doubt, choose English (United States) initially; you
can switch to another language later, using the Navigator RIP > Language menu
option, as described in Section 7.14 on page 259. Select your chosen language
and click OK.
• When you have installed a plugin or other option, that option may require
enabling with a password. The RIP can read the password from a file if the
installation process for the plugin supplied one. If the RIP reads a password
file, it displays a dialog box with a message similar to this but with differences
to the italic text.
Imported password file Passwords/1234-56-variable-string.pwd
Some windows appear, as described in Chapter 3, “Getting Started with the Navigator
RIP”. That chapter describes some basic procedures that you can use to familiarize
yourself with the Navigator RIP. The remainder of this chapter introduces the menus,
tool bar, and status bar; and describes how to stop the RIP.
• The next menu changes name to indicate which device it is controlling. This
menu contains commands for controlling output and cutting the media being
used on any printers connected to the computer. Because the displayed name
can change, this documentation refers to it as the Device menu. (Figure 2.1,
page 58, shows Preview in this position.)
The device does not necessarily have to be a physical output device connected
to your machine. The RIP is equally capable of saving an image to a file in a
particular format, such as TIFF. You can find out more about these options in
“Selecting different devices” on page 118.
• The Color menu contains commands for starting the Separations Manager and
for color management. The color management commands depend on optional
parts of the Navigator RIP. See Section 2.5.1.
• The Output menu contains commands for controlling calibration, media man-
agement, and output.
• The Fonts menu contains commands for installing, deleting, and proofing fonts
within the RIP.
• When required, the RIP can display other menus to the right of the permanent
menus mentioned so far. For example, the Print File menu appears when you
have used the Print File command to print a file, and contains commands allow-
ing you to control printing of that file.
All standard commands in these menus are described in later chapters of this book
together with the situations and operations that require you to use them. See
Section 2.5 on page 64 for details of menus affected by optional features in the Navi-
gator RIP.
Print File Displays the Print File dialog box, where you can choose a
file to print. This is equivalent to the Navigator RIP
> Print File command.
Print Calibration Displays the Print Calibration dialog box, where you can
print various patterns of calibration target for use in cali-
brating output devices, including printing presses. This is
equivalent to the Output > Print Calibration command.
Start Inputs Starts any enabled inputs. This is equivalent to the Naviga-
tor RIP > Start Inputs command when the inputs are
stopped.
Stop Inputs Stops any enabled inputs. This is equivalent to the Naviga-
tor RIP > Start Inputs command when the inputs are
enabled.
Page Setup Manager Displays the Page Setup Manager dialog box, where you
can create and edit page setups. This is equivalent to the
Navigator RIP > Page Setup Manager command.
Device Manager Displays the Device Manager dialog box, where you can
instantiate (create) and configure devices driven from a
multiple device driver. This is equivalent to the Navigator
RIP > Device Manager command.
Separations Manager Displays the Separations Manager dialog box, where you
can create and edit separation styles for the selected
device. This is equivalent to the Color > Separations
Manager command.
Color Setup Manager Displays the Color Setup Manager dialog box, which
allows you to create and edit color setups with or without
color management depending on whether the password-
enabled ColorPro option is activated. See the Section 14.8
on page 493 and Harlequin ColorPro User Guide for
details. This is equivalent to the Color > Color Setup Man-
ager command.
TrapPro Manager Displays the TrapPro Manager dialog box, which allows
you to create and edit trapping setups. TrapPro is a layered
option and requires a password for it to be activated. See
the Harlequin TrapPro User Guide for full details. This is
equivalent to the Output > TrapPro Manager command.
Calibration Manager Displays the Calibration (Dot Gain) Manager dialog box,
where you can create and edit calibration sets. This is
equivalent to the Output > Calibration Manager command.
Cassette Manager Displays the Cassette Manager dialog box, where you can
create cassettes and edit their information. This is equiva-
lent to the Output > Cassette Manager command.
™
Imposition Manager From the Navigator RIP Genesis Release this option dis-
plays the Imposition Manager dialog box, which allows
you to create and edit Simple imposition setups. Pre-con-
figured imposition schemes are provided as standard.
Editing existing and creating new setups is a layered
option and requires a password for it to be activated. See
Chapter 10, “Simple Imposition” for full details. This is
equivalent to the Output > Imposition Manager command.
Input Controller Displays the Input Controller dialog box. Also, this button
hides the controller if it is already displayed. This is
equivalent to the Navigator RIP > Input Controller com-
mand.
Media Manager Displays the Media Manager dialog box, where you can
set up automatic media management. This is equivalent to
the Output > Media Manager command.
Note: The Device Manager, Separations Manager, Color Setup Manager, Calibration Man-
ager, and Cassette Manager buttons are also available from the Edit Page Setup dialog
box.
2.5.2 TrapPro™
TrapPro is an option for the Navigator RIP that can be set up to perform trapping. If
TrapPro is present and enabled, the following command appears in the Output menu.
See the separate TrapPro User Manual for full details.
TrapPro Manager
This command displays a dialog box where you can inspect and create different
sets of rules for trapping. These rules become available in the Trapping section
of the Page Setup dialog box. See Section 14.10, “Trapping features” for details.
Ink Set Manager
This command displays a dialog box where you can configure various types of
ink including normal, opaque and transparent.
Chapter 1 gave a broad overview of the kinds of tasks the Navigator RIP can perform.
In this chapter you will learn how to process simple jobs, and how to switch between
different configurations.
1. Choose the Page Setup Manager option from the Navigator RIP menu. If you
cannot choose this option, stop inputs to the RIP. To do this, click the tool bar
button that shows a red arrow and traffic light, or choose the Navigator RIP >
Start Inputs menu option.
2. In the Page Setup Manager, as shown in Figure 3.1, select a page setup.
Default Page Setup is a safe choice: select it and click Edit to display the
Edit Page Setup dialog box. If you want to create a new page setup, the easiest
way is to copy the Default Page Setup. Select Default Page Setup and
click Copy to display the New Page Setup dialog box.
3. In the Edit Page Setup dialog box, shown in Figure 3.2, set the Device to None
and the Vertical and Horizontal resolutions to something small, say 72 dpi. If you
change the Device, you must choose a separations style listed in the Style drop-
down list and, for some devices, a cassette name from the Cassette drop-down
list.
For the purposes of this example, you can select any option from these lists. For
more information about the options in this dialog box, see Section 5.3, “Edit
Page Setup dialog box” on page 115.
The None device does not produce any printed output, but does perform all the
necessary processing for the job, including producing page buffers—as defined
on page 559 in the “Glossary”. This device can be used for testing and timing
jobs, and is especially useful for previewing the job on screen.
4. Click OK. (Click Save As if you are working in the New Page Setup dialog box,
and save the page setup as Default Page Setup; this changes the original
page setup but it is convenient for use this name during this session.)
5. Click OK again to close the Page Setup Manager dialog box.
The Output Controller/Monitor window must be displayed for you to see the pro-
cessed output for the None device. If you cannot see this window: first choose the
Configure RIP option from the Navigator RIP menu and check that the option shown
against Page buffering is Multiple (Parallel); then display the Output menu and
look at (but do not choose) the option Output Controller.
If there is a check mark next to the menu option, the RIP is displaying the window but
it may be hidden behind another window. The Output > Output Controller menu option
can be used to toggle between opening and closing the Output Controller/Monitor.
Each time that you open the Output Controller/Monitor it opens in front of all other
RIP windows.
Note: The Output Controller is only available in either of the multiple page buffer
modes. You can also view a page in one of the single modes by setting the output
device to Preview instead of None. In the following description we assume that you
are working in Multiple (Parallel) mode. If you are using one of the single
modes, see “Sending output to the screen” on page 123 for more details about pre-
viewing pages.
For the example job described next, make sure that you have deselected the Disable
output check box in the Output Controller/Monitor. This box is selected by default, so
that you can hold pages for on-screen viewing before sending the pages to real output
devices.
2. Select between one and six fonts. To select a range of fonts, click on the first
font of that range and then hold down the Shift key when you click to select the
last font.
3. From the Page Setup drop-down list, select Default Page Setup.
4. Click the Proof button. Several things happen on screen, with some items
appearing and quickly disappearing again:
• A Print File menu appears alongside the other RIP menu titles. This menu
disappears when the job is complete.
• The status area on the right of the tool bar in the Navigator RIP window
shows an animated picture of a hand writing a page. “None” appears in the
status area on the right. (When you use other output devices, you see other
animations and names.)
• Text reporting the progress of the job appears in the scrolling text area of
the Navigator RIP window as the RIP starts the job and reads the necessary
fonts.
• At least one progress dial window also appears and shows what is happen-
ing. For example, the Read Dial shows how much of the job the RIP has
read and disappears when the RIP has processed the complete job. With a
small job like this proof and a fast computer, the Read Dial may not
appear; Figure 3.4 shows the dial. Other dials can appear, depending on the
size of the job and the settings in your copy of the RIP.
Note: When viewing a higher resolution image, the Roam > Reduced Roam menu
option is probably available. It allows you to see more of the image in one view.
When you have finished inspecting the page preview, close the window. To do this,
choose the Close option in the window control menu. Alternatively, you can use the
standard methods for your operating system.
Note: You must close the Roam window (and the Reduced Roam window if you
opened it) before you can roam another page.
Such error messages are harmless if you stopped the job: they simply report that the
job stopped before it was complete.
In other circumstances, an error message alerts you to a possible problem with a job.
The details of the message may help a PostScript-language programmer or your sup-
port organization to diagnose the cause of that problem.
screen resolution to a value in the range 300 through 600 dpi, so that you can see more
detail. Run another job proofing fonts, then move to the next section, “Sending a job
to the Navigator RIP” on page 78.)
To send output to a physical device:
1. First display the Navigator RIP menu and choose the Page Setup Manager option
(which this manual often describes as choosing the Navigator RIP > Page Setup
Manager option).
2. In the Page Setup Manager dialog box, select Default Page Setup and click
Copy to display the New Page Setup dialog box. The New Page Setup dialog
box is very similar to the Edit Page Setup dialog box, shown in Figure 3.2 on
page 71.
3. Select your preferred physical device from the Device drop-down list.
Note: If the device is not listed in the Device drop-down list, you may need to
configure it using the Device Manager, available from the button next to the
Device list and described in Chapter 5, “Configuring Output Formats”. It is
probably easier to use the None device to do another screen preview.
4. Assuming that you have successfully chosen a physical device, set the resolu-
tion and any other required options in this New Page Setup dialog box. Note
that if you change the Device, you have to choose a separations style from the
Style drop-down list and, for some devices, a cassette name from the Cassette
drop-down list.
5. Click Save As; the RIP displays the Save Setup dialog box. In the Save As text
field type a name: Default to Printer is suitably descriptive, so type that
name then click Save.
Note: The Navigator RIP limits all user created names or file names to 31 bytes.
This is equivalent to 31 characters when using standard ASCII text, and 15 char-
acters when using double-byte character sets, such as Kanji.
6. Click OK to close the Page Setup Manager.
7. Choose Media Manager from the Output menu and select the Disable media man-
agement box. (You need to configure the media management before using it—
that topic is covered in Chapter 9, “Media Management”.)
8. Now create a new sample job as before, by choosing the Fonts > Proof Fonts
command and choosing some fonts from the Proof Highlighted Fonts dialog
box.
9. From the Page Setup list, select Default to Printer and click Proof.
The RIP displays the same indicators of activity: text in the Harlequin RIP window, an
animated picture, and one or more progress dials. Another fontlist job appears in
the Active Queue and a large, empty rectangle appears just above the center of the Out-
put Controller/Monitor and starts to fill with gray. This rectangle is known as the
progress box. Note that in either of the single modes, the progress box appears in a
separate window.
This time, when the job is being processed, watch the two gray bars that successively
fill the progress box, a light gray and a dark gray spreading from the top. The light
gray bar represents the amount of data the RIP has processed; the dark gray bar repre-
sents the amount that has been sent to the output device (printer).
Note: The bottom edge of the light gray bar should always be ahead of (below) the
dark gray. If the dark gray catches up, the page may not be output properly—it
depends how the printer reacts to having to wait for data. In this case the RIP printer
buffer has probably been set too small, and you should increase its size. You can do
this in the Configure RIP dialog box available from the Navigator RIP > Configure RIP
menu command. Typical sizes are in the range 4 MB through to 12 MB.
When the dark gray has reached the bottom of the progress box, the RIP has finished
the job and the progress box clears. If the job was processed successfully, you can now
pick it up from your output device. If the job does not output, or stops and starts while
outputting, you may need to reconfigure the RIP or the host machine. (To help you
identify a problem, the text window in the Navigator RIP window displays and
records any error messages.)
• If you select a job and click on the Info button (or just double-click on the job),
the RIP brings up the Throughput Info dialog box, which contains the settings
for that particular job. You can change some of these settings before reprinting
the job.
Note: If you are roaming a page, there are fewer available options in the Output Con-
troller. For example, you must close the Roam window (and the Reduced Roam win-
dow if you opened it) before you can roam another page.
2. When the Input Controller dialog box appears, click New to display the Input
Channel Edit dialog box.
3. In the Input Channel Edit dialog box, choose a Name for the printer you are
about to publish, say Brill-O-Print, and type it in. Select AppleTalk from
the Type menu list and select Default to Printer from the Page Setup menu
list. Make sure that the Enabled box is selected and click OK.
Note: The RIP may fail to publish an AppleTalk input. If so the relevant entry in the
Status column of the Input Controller dialog box shows Stopped.
You can leave the Input Controller dialog box displayed or close it. See if there is a
check mark in front of the Start Inputs option in the Navigator RIP menu; if there is no
check mark, choose this menu option. You will see a progress dial appear as the new
setup is published.
Now go to a Macintosh computer elsewhere on your network, and try to print a docu-
ment. Among the available printers shown by the Chooser, you should now see
Brill-O-Print. If you send a job to this printer, the RIP again displays the progress
box filling with light and dark gray bars to show the job being processed in the usual
way. The progress box is part of the Output Controller in either of the multiple modes,
or a separate window in either of the single modes.
To disable a single AppleTalk input or other input temporarily, select it in the Input
Controller and click Off. To remove an input permanently from the Input Controller,
select the entry and click Delete.
See “Using the AppleTalk input plugin” on page 270 for more information.
on; and provides a way to recall that page format, easily and exactly. For full details,
see Chapter 5, “Configuring Output Formats”.
Once you have enabled the new inputs, and used Navigator RIP > Start Inputs, the RIP
publishes the two new printers on the network. Sending a job to Pos-O-Print causes
it to be output as normal, while jobs sent to Neg-O-Print are output in negative.
You can publish several more inputs to the Navigator RIP, each with different page
setups. As well as changing the Negative setting, you can change the output device,
output resolution, rotation, screening strategies, and many other settings.
2. In the Input Channel Edit dialog box, select the Enabled box and click OK to
exit. If necessary, choose Start Inputs from the Navigator RIP menu. You will see
a dial appear as the new setup is published.
This starts the spool folder and any other enabled inputs. If there are files
already in the spool folder, the RIP asks if you want to start by printing them.
Files that are put into the folder after this input is enabled are rendered and
printed in order of arrival in the folder.
Note: The RIP may fail to publish a spool folder input. If so the relevant entry
in the Status column of the Input Controller dialog box shows Stopped. The
most likely reason is that you have tried to use a folder already in use by another
spool folder input: return to the Spool Folder Configuration dialog box and
choose a new folder.
3. When you want to stop running the spool folder (and all other enabled inputs),
choose Start Inputs in the Navigator RIP menu again.
To disable a spool folder temporarily, select it in the Input Controller and click Off. To
remove a spool folder’s entry in the Input Controller, select the entry and click Delete.
(Removing the entry does not remove the associated folder on disk, nor any contents
of that folder.)
Note: Even though PostScript Language compatibility level 1 is rarely used, you
should note that the spool folder plugin does not work with page setups set to Post-
Script Language compatibility level 1. See Section 5.23.1 on page 188 for more infor-
mation. If this is attempted an “undefined” on “findresource” error will occur.
Figure 3.7 shows some example messages in the Navigator RIP window.
The window displays only messages since the start of the RIP session and can display
the last 32,000 characters of these messages. (Within this limit, you can scroll back to
inspect the messages for old jobs: the window scrolls back to the end when new text
appears.) In Multiple (Parallel) mode—the default page buffer mode—timings require
careful interpretation, because the RIP may be outputting and interpreting jobs at the
same time. Also, if the RIP has to pause (for example, to wait for disk space to be
freed), the timings may be misleading because of the variable time spent freeing
space.
The RIP adds a copy of all the messages appearing in the text window to a file, called
LOGFILE, in the SW folder.
The size of the log file can be restricted by editing the GeneralPreferences text
file found within the Config folder in the SW folder.
By changing the value of /MaxLogfileSize to any value other than 0 will specify
the maximum size of the file in bytes. When this maximum value is reached LOGFILE
will be changed to LOGFILE.OLD.
The size of the file is checked when the RIP is started and each time a message is writ-
ten to the file. Only one LOGFILE.OLD is retained. Therefore, you must be aware of
the size of the log files and rename them to keep all messages.
Note: You will only see messages that have been added to the log file since you
started the current RIP session. To view the entire contents of the log file including
messages from any earlier sessions, you must use a text editor like Notepad or Word-
Pad, provided with Windows.
The log file is an important source of information when difficulties arise. Refer to it if
you have any problems.
Note: From Eclipse Release SP3 Font backup no longer backs up logfiles with the
prefix LOGFILE. Thus copies of logfiles whose names do not start with LOGFILE will
be included in font backup files.
This manual uses the term throughput to mean the productivity of your RIP work-
flow— how much work you are completing in a given time. The Navigator RIPNavi-
gator RIP provides a comprehensive set of tools that allow you to maximize your
throughput.
Also, if you need to change cassettes or deal with a printer fault or media jam, most
RIPs must wait until the fault is cleared before they can output the current page and
continue. If you are processing a long job and a fault occurs, it must be reinterpreted
once the fault has been detected. For an overnight job, the fault will probably not be
detected until the morning, in which case a lot of time will have been wasted.
The Navigator RIP overcomes these limitations by allowing you to choose one of four
different modes of operation.
Mode Behavior
Single (if required) Only buffers a page to disk if the page is too complex to
process in working memory—deletes this buffer after
printing.
Otherwise, sends output directly to the output device.
Mode Behavior
Note: For normal use, you should use Multiple (Parallel) mode. This gives the best
overall performance from the RIP and the best control over every page processed. The
RIP uses this mode by default.
Refer to Chapter 7, “Configuring the RIP”, for details of how to select different page
buffering modes in the RIP.
When the RIP is in either of the single modes, it sends each page straight to the output
device once it has been interpreted. If the RIP buffers a page to disk, that page buffer
is deleted once the page has been printed.
Interpreter Interpreter
....../manualfeed ....../manualfeed
exch def exch def
/paperheight /paperheight
exch def exch def
Jobs Jobs
Page buffer
file
Page buffer
files
Figure 4.1 How the Navigator RIP behaves in Single and Multiple Modes
When in one of the multiple modes, pages are always buffered, and they are not usu-
ally deleted (until disk space is required for new pages) so they can be reprinted at a
later point. The throughput system tools can be used to oversee printing—allowing a
range of benefits, which are described below. See Section 4.3, “The throughput sys-
tem”.
Note also that when in Multiple (Parallel) mode, interpretation can take place at the
same time as outputting an earlier page to a printer or imagesetter, but this is not true
of either of the single modes. This is not illustrated in the diagram.
Even though the increase in job throughput is significant when in Multiple (Parallel)
mode, there may be cases—usually because of hardware limitations—when you will
need to use one of the other modes provided. For example, you may not have enough
disk space to store any page buffers, or the combination of a slow disk and an output
device with a high data rate may mean that working in Multiple (Parallel) mode
becomes impractical. See Section 4.3 for more details.
screen, as shown in Figure 4.2. If you want to remove it, choose the menu option
again. By default, the Output Controller is displayed when you start up the RIP.
disk space is needed for new pages, when it will be automatically deleted. This is
illustrated in Figure 4.3.
2. Interpret job
Figure 4.3 Flow of a page buffer between the active and held queues
If pages are interpreted while output is disabled, the new pages created are added to
the Active Queue as normal. Disabling output does not prevent you from processing
jobs.
You will find Disable output useful if you need to renew the media in an output device,
or if there is a fault on a device, but you wish to continue interpreting and preparing
more pages for output.
The RIP automatically disables output when certain errors occur, for example if a
device determines that the wrong cassette is mounted.
Shift
If you wish, you can move a block of several pages at once. To select a block, select
the first one, then hold down the Shift key and select the last one.
Ctrl
You can also select several page buffers which do not form a contiguous block. Hold
down the Control key while selecting the page buffers.
You can reprint or abort a job, or reorder the pages in the queue, easily and quickly, by
moving the pages between the queues, as follows:
• To reprint a page, move it from the Held Queue to the Active Queue.
• To stop a page before it is printed, move it from the Active Queue to the Held
Queue.
• To abort the page that is currently being printed, move it from the box between
the queues to the Held Queue.
• To change the order of the pages in a queue, move them within the queue.
• If you are moving a lot of pages at once, disable output first to ensure that none
of them are inadvertently printed before you are able to move them.
Note: The Navigator RIP version 5.0 and later can read page buffers created by
version 4.5, and you can roam or print these buffers. The mark ( < ) in front of the
name of an older buffer is there to remind you that there are some limitations on what
you can do with earlier versions of page buffers: see Section 4.3.3 on page 104 for
details.
The page number of the original job
The page number of the original job from which the page buffer comes is displayed on
the right of the delete permission.
For example, if you are producing separated CMYK color, the RIP produces four
monochrome pages for each original page of the job. The first four pages represent the
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black separations for the original page 1. The next four
represent the CMYK separations for the original page 2, and so on. Separated pages
produce pages with the original number labeled by color. Thus the four separations for
page 1 are called 1. Jobname (C), 1. Jobname (M), and so on.
If you only print a range of pages from a document, they are labeled in the original job
from 1 upwards, rather than with the true page number in the document. For example,
pages 3 through 7 of a document are labeled from 1 through 5 in the job.
The original job name
The name to the right of the page number is the job name. This is not necessarily the
same as the file name of the job.
If the job name for a PostScript-language job is not specified in the page description,
then one of the following will apply:
• If the input came from a file, the file name will be used.
• If the input came from the Executive, then the value of %exec% will be used.
• If the input came from an AppleTalk network, then the value of
%ip:atalkname% will be used. The atalkname is the AppleTalk printer it
came from.
For other types of jobs, the file name will be used.
The color for printing the page
Color separation pages in the Output Controller are labeled with their separation name
(for example: C, M, Y, or K; or the spot color name), or Composite if there are several
colors on one page, for example when using the PackDrum page feature. (PackDrum
is intended for use with drum imagesetters, and it is an example so you must add it
before use, as described in “Features” on page 184.)
have greater height than width, and if it is a landscape page, it will be wider than it is
high.
As the page is printed, the box starts to fill from the top with a light gray pattern, fol-
lowed by dark gray. Figure 4.2, page 92, shows this happening.
• The amount of dark gray in the progress box indicates the proportion of the job
that has already been printed.
• The amount of light gray in the progress box indicates the proportion of data
currently in the printer buffer, waiting to be printed.
• The amount of white space in the progress box indicates the proportion of data
not yet printed and not yet buffered.
• When the progress box is completely filled with dark gray, the page has
finished printing, though margins and extra feeds may require a few more sec-
onds.
In addition, the time taken for the current page buffer is displayed in the message area
below the progress box.
Some printers may also buffer the data internally, so they may not start printing until
some or all of the data has been received.
The message area and the progress box are both used to display additional information
when problems arise. For example, if your printer becomes low on media, an icon will
be displayed in the progress box, together with an appropriate status message. See
Appendix A, “Troubleshooting”, for a full description of these error messages.
Note: In either of the single modes, the Output Controller is not available and the
progress box appears in a separate window.
There are two general methods of controlling these attributes: configuring the RIP so
that it carries out certain tasks automatically, and changing them yourself.
• Choosing Never will cause pages to be locked as soon as they have been out-
put, which means that they will never be deleted automatically. If this strategy
is used for long periods of time, the hard disk will eventually fill up, and no
more jobs will be processed until you manually remove pages or otherwise
create more disk space.
Note: The option When necessary offers a good way to retain newer page buffers
and manage disk space automatically. If you choose Never or Always for some spe-
cial purpose, we strongly suggest that you return the setting to When necessary as
soon as possible—the RIP remembers and uses the option you choose for Delete, even
between RIP sessions.
In When necessary and Always modes, it is possible for the RIP to get so far ahead
of the output device that the disk becomes filled with pages in the Active Queue. In this
case, the RIP will temporarily suspend creating more pages until some of the existing
ones are output and can be deleted to allow it to continue. The Navigator RIP window
displays a message warning that the system has temporarily run out of disk space.
If disk space runs out when there are no pages that can be removed and no pages still
to be output, the RIP will continue anyway, and if the disk reserve is used up then it
will abort the job.
Note: The Navigator RIP version 5.0 and later can read page buffers created by
version 4.5. The mark ( < ) in front of the name of an older buffer is there to remind
you that there are some limitations on what you can do with earlier versions of page
buffers: see Section 4.3.3 on page 104 for details.
locked in this way are displayed in the Output Controller with a mark on the left of the
job name, as described on page 95.
You can delete any buffers from the hard disk—whether locked or not—by selecting
them and clicking on the Remove button in the Output Controller. A warning dialog
box appears which lets you cancel the operation if necessary.
Note: If you have calibrated your output device, selecting this option from the Info
dialog box may produce incorrectly calibrated output. If so, select the Negative option
in the Edit Page Setup dialog box instead, and output the job again.
This dialog box allows you to change the margins for the selected page buffer. Type
the margin size you want into the appropriate text boxes. You can choose the units of
measurement you require from the Select units drop-down list. In addition, you can
center the selected page on the media by clicking on the Center page on Media Width
and Center page on Media Length check boxes. The default value for each option is
taken from the page setup for the selected page buffer. If you override any of these
values, they will take effect next time you print the page buffer.
Some of the fields in the Info dialog box may not be editable, depending on the type of
device.
same changes to all of the page buffers produced by the job, not just one. Making
changes to each buffer individually can be tedious, if not impractical, so an option is
available which allows you to change all the page buffers produced by a job at once.
To propagate changes in the current page to all other pages produced by the job, make
your changes for one page buffer then select the Change all pages in job check box in
the Info dialog box before clicking OK to close the dialog box. This change affects
pages in both queues. If the current page is from a job currently being processed and
pages are still being created, the new pages will get the new attributes if this option is
selected.
You can inspect the information displayed in the Info or Page Layout dialog boxes for
an older page buffer but you cannot change anything. The main consequences are that
you cannot change the number of copies to be printed and you cannot change the per-
mission for automatic deletion.
You can Roam older page buffers without any problems beyond a small color change,
which is most pronounced in continuous tone, unscreened page buffers.
All the available processor time on your machine is used in this mode—priority goes
to the task of sending bitmap data to the output device, and any processor time not
used in that way can be used to interpret the next page of data.
It is possible for several pages to have been written to disk, but not yet sent to the out-
put device. This may occur if there are pages which are quick to interpret, or if the
printer is relatively slow or is not ready.
Eventually, of course, this will fill up the hard disk. When this happens, interpretation
is suspended until enough pages have been output and deleted, or disk space has been
freed up by another application. When the disk fills up, the Navigator RIP window
displays this message:
System warning: Insufficient Disk Space
In Multiple (Parallel) mode, you can customize the RIP so that when disk space runs
out, it automatically deletes pages which have been output. See Section 4.3.2.1 on
page 98 for details.
Multiple mode should be used if you experience a lot of data underrun in Multiple
(Parallel) mode. This is only likely to happen with very complex jobs or an output
device that requires data to be supplied at a very high speed.
Note: Data underrun occurs when an output device does not receive data to print at a
fast enough rate. Some devices will signal an error and stop when this occurs. Others
may continue to feed through media—with the consequence that large bands will
appear in the output. Still others will attempt to stop and restart. This may result in a
loss in quality of the image, and in any case is likely to be slower. For more informa-
tion about using the Navigator RIP with such printers, see “Using a printer that can
stop / start” on page 248. See also “Printer buffer size” on page 253.
Note: As a side effect of using Hold and Reprint, the RIP displays a harmless error
message in the Navigator RIP window:
%%[PrinterError: re-print for hold and re-print]%%
However, in some circumstances, it is possible that the Single (if required) mode will
be faster than Multiple (Parallel) mode. This is because the bitmap of an output page
does not need to be compressed, written to disk, read back from disk and decom-
pressed again, before being printed. If you run in Multiple (Parallel) mode, and the
page buffer folder is on a RAM disk, the disk time required is minimal, but you still
have to compress and decompress the page. It is a question of speed versus conve-
nience. Multiple (Parallel) mode offers much greater convenience, and will usually
also offer the best performance.
However, you should use Single (if required) mode if you are either only outputting a
single page, (so there can be no benefit from the overlapping of outputting and inter-
preting) or if the time to compress and decompress the page to and from disk is large.
®
This is true, for example, of the Seybold Rainbow Islands test job, where 30% time
savings are possible if Single (if required) mode is used at 2400 dpi.
The main problem with Single (if required) mode is that if the job is too complex, then
the printer will catch up, a paint to disk will be necessary, and the page output again:
wasting the time spent on the failed page and some media.
Another potential inefficiency of Single (if required) mode is that if the page is rela-
tively simple, a lot of processing time is wasted when the page is outputting, which
could be used to get the next page ready (as happens in Multiple (Parallel) mode).
Table 4.2 Summary of the capabilities of each page buffering mode (Continued)
Navigator RIP, presented some of the basic ways of getting output from the RIP. That
chapter introduced the Page Setup Manager and Edit Page Setup dialog box and
showed how you can use page setups to choose the output device and many output
options.
This chapter describes the details of these dialog boxes and discusses likely output
devices.
Page setups are such an important part of the RIP that you must name each one as you
create and save it. You can use up to 30 characters in a name. It is useful to give each
page setup a meaningful name, without being too specific about its contents.
• Choose a meaningful name because the page setup name appears in several
menus where you have to choose a page setup. Also, for each job, the RIP dis-
plays a message in the RIP Monitor saying which page setup it used.
Choose a form of name that suits the variety of jobs and output devices that you
work with. Consider making the name contain parts indicating the output
device, and settings such as resolution. Another tactic might be to label a page
setup with its general purpose, for example: proofing or final output.
• Try not to be too specific because you can change the settings within a page
setup without changing its name.
For example, this can be useful if you change the device you use for proofing. If
you have several networked inputs that each use the same page setup, it is easier
to edit just one page setup than to create a new page setup and then change all
the inputs to use the new page setup.
You can give an experimental page setup a less carefully chosen name, but try to make
it clear that it is not for routine use.
Inputs menu option or click the tool bar button that shows a red arrow and traffic
lights.)
The Page Setup Manager contains a list of all existing page setups, showing the name
of each page setup, the corresponding output device and some important settings: the
output resolution, the calibration set in use, and the separations style.
In a new installation of the RIP, there is always one page setup called Default Page
Setup. This page setup uses a set of options that can be expected to work with any
installation of the RIP, producing a low-resolution on-screen preview. You can delete
or redefine this page setup to suit your installation.
Edit Select a page setup and click this button to edit it in the Edit
Page Setup dialog box. A shortcut is to double-click a page
setup. See Section 5.3 on page 115 for details of using this
dialog box.
Note: To rename a page setup, copy it and save the copy with
the desired name, before deleting the original.
New Click this button to create a new page setup and edit it in the
New Page Setup dialog box. See Section 5.3 on page 115 for
details of using this dialog box.
Copy Select a page setup and click this button to edit a copy in the
New Page Setup dialog box.
Delete Select one or more page setups and click this button to delete
them.
If any of the page setups are in use by a managed input, the
RIP displays a warning dialog box for each used page setup.
Click Yes if you are certain that you want to delete the page
setup.
Shift
To select a block of setups that appear together in the list, select the first setup in the
block, then, while holding down the Shift key, select the last setup in the block.
Ctrl
To select several setups, regardless of whether they form a continuous range, hold
down the Control key while selecting the setups you wish to delete.
the New Page Setup dialog box” for details. References to the Edit Page Setup dialog
box throughout this manual also apply to the New Page Setup dialog box.
The options you can configure from the Edit Page Setup dialog box include:
• The device to which the RIP sends output.
• The separations to be created from each job, together with the output format.
• The halftone screening to be used with each job.
• The calibration to be applied to each job.
• The color setup for the job.
• The effects to be applied to input jobs.
Section 5.4 on page 118 through Section 5.27 on page 202 describe the options within
these categories. Many options involve subsidiary dialog boxes.
All the information that you need to create a page setup is available from the Edit Page
Setup dialog box. You can call the Device Manager, Separations Manager, Color
Setup Manager, Calibration Manager, and the Cassette Manager from the Edit Page
Setup dialog box.
The changes you make in these managers are independent of the page setup you are
creating. For example, you can use the Separations Manager to create a separations
style, even if you do not want to use that separations style in the page setup.
If you click Save As in the New Page Setup dialog box, a dialog box appears, request-
ing that you enter a name for the new page setup. Figure 5.3 shows this dialog box.
The dialog box shows a list of existing page setups. You have these options:
• Type a name in the Save As text box and click Save. The new page setup is
added to the list in the Page Setup Manager.
• Select a name from the list of the page setups to transfer it to the Save As text
box. You can edit the name first or click Save immediately to overwrite the
existing setup.
• Click Cancel to return to the New Page Setup dialog box.
If you attempt to save a setup using an existing name, the RIP asks you to confirm the
action before overwriting the existing setup. If you answer No, you return to the Save
Setup dialog box where you can choose another name.
Once you have saved the page setup, you must also click OK in the Page Setup Man-
ager to finally save your changes.
may vary, the following output devices are always shipped with the evaluation copy of
the RIP:
• Preview—enables you to preview on your monitor any jobs processed. This
output device is available in both single and multiple modes.
• None—does not produce any printed output, but does perform all the necessary
processing for the job, including the production of page buffers. This can be
used for testing and timing jobs, and is especially useful for previewing on
screen when you want to jump between pages or overlay separations using the
Output Controller. The Output Controller is available in either of the multiple
modes.
• TIFF—produces TIFF (Tag Image File Format) files. Most desktop publishing
applications can import this format of file.
And, depending on which physical output devices are available:
• Plugin devices, for example, Ultre, PelBox and Hewlett Packard HP650.
Note that if you change the Device, you may have to choose a separations style from
the Style drop-down list and a cassette name from the Cassette drop-down list before
you can save the page setup.
• Set both resolutions at once by defining just the vertical resolution—the hori-
zontal resolution is automatically set to the same value.
• Set different vertical and horizontal resolutions by setting first the vertical and
then the horizontal resolution.
Note: The resolutions shown in this dialog box always take effect for jobs that do not
specify a resolution. If the job attempts to specify the resolution, you must select the
Override resolution in job check box if you want to produce the resolution shown here.
to avoid the larger side of the image becoming very large as the smaller side tries to
achieve the device resolution.
Since alphamasks are contone, they are interpolated in the same way as image data.
Image and mask data (that is, contone and binary data) are normally interpolated
differently.
When you print a file to the Preview device, a new window appears containing the
image processed, as shown in Figure 5.4.
You have already seen an example of screen roam in Chapter 3, “Getting Started with
the Navigator RIP”. Using screen preview as a device gives you the same options as
screen roam. You can preview up to 24-bit RGB or 32-bit CMYK raster images, as
long as you have sufficient memory. If you have installed an N-color device, you can
also roam N-color images.
Navigation in the Preview window is the same as in the Roam window. For details see
“Roam and Preview windows” on page 125. You can hide one or more separations
when previewing a composite image. See Section 5.5.3.1, “Roam Options and Pre-
view Options dialog boxes” for details.
page in any queue of the Output Controller, not just the pages you printed to the None
device.
To roam more than one page at once, select all the pages you wish to preview and
click Roam; the selected pages will be overlaid in the Roam window. For example, this
allows you to preview some or all separations of a color image together. Remember,
you can select several page buffers using the Shift and Control keys.
If you roam the separations of a color image or if you are roaming a composite image
then the combined image may become difficult to interpret, particularly if any of the
separations have similar colors. There are ways to reduce the complexity:
• You can hide one or more separations as you are roaming the separations until
all but one separations are hidden. See Section 5.5.3.1 on page 126 for details.
• You can choose to display a separation in any color (in the Info dialog for that
separation) before starting to roam it. See Section 14.11.3 on page 511 for
details.
The Roam and Preview windows are described in detail in the following sections.
image around by holding down the left mouse button when the cursor is over the
image and moving the mouse. While you are dragging the image, the shape of the
mouse cursor changes to a hand. The hand speed determines how quickly the image
moves when you move the mouse. You can set the hand speed, together with other
options, in the Roam Options dialog box. See Section 5.5.3.1 for details.
Shift
Hold down the Shift key to see cross hairs marking the location of the view, in propor-
tion to the size of the Roam window. For example, if the cross hairs are shown in the
bottom right of the window, the window contains the bottom right portion of the page.
Hold down the Shift key and click the mouse (Shift-click) to jump to another part of
the page. For example, if you Shift-click on the middle of the window, the window
scrolls to show the middle of the page.
The Roam Options dialog box contains a list of the separations shown in the Roam
window and the Reduced Roam window.
You can use this dialog box to choose the separations that are displayed. Select a sepa-
ration, or use the Shift or Control keys to select multiple separation names, then click
one of these buttons:
Color display By default, the RIP displays the page image as quickly as
possible. If you prefer a more accurate (but slower) display of
colors, select Accurate from the Color display drop-down list.
(This control may be unavailable if there are restricted dis-
play colors because of hardware limitations or display modes
chosen in the operating system.)
Hand speed The hand speed determines how quickly the image moves
when you move the mouse. If you find that the page image
moves too quickly, you can slow down the hand speed by
selecting Medium or Slow from the Hand speed drop-down list.
You can close the Roam Options dialog box using the Roam > Options menu option
again. Alternatively, closing the Roam window will also close the Roam Options dia-
log box. If you do not close the Roam Options dialog box explicitly, it will be dis-
played the next time you preview pages.
Shift
If you Shift-click at a particular point in the Reduced Roam window, the view in the
Roam window scrolls to center on that point on the page.
Shift
If you Shift-drag with the mouse (hold down Shift key, then press and hold the mouse
button), you can range over the part of the page which is visible in the Reduced Roam
window.
Note: The Output Controller is only available in either of the multiple modes. You can
preview a page in one of the single modes by setting the output device to Preview
instead of None.
See Section 5.5 on page 123 for further information about the Preview and None
devices.
The options in this dialog box fall into categories—location and naming, file format,
and post processing—as described in the following subsections.
ate the name. This method has previously been used in a number of Navigator RIP
plugins.
Choose the method you wish to use by selecting the option in the File name generation
field.
Most tags are content tags, representing variables such as the date and time a job is
processed; the other tags allow you to reject names that would be illegal in a specified
operating system.The maximum length of variables can be specified by preceding the
tag name with an integer. For example, <5jobname> truncates the job name to a max-
imum of five characters. Tags that produce numeric values are truncated from left to
right, whereas tags that produce alphanumeric strings (strings containing the charac-
ters a-z, A-Z, and 0-9) are truncated from right to left. See the example below for fur-
ther details.
Fixed text can be part of the file name stem or extension. For example,
stem_<3unique><sepname><dot>tif would generate a file name of the form:
stem_000Cyan.tif, in which stem_ can be any identifying text.
Try to use a file name extension that does not clash with any established convention.
Note: This file naming scheme does not provide useful file names derived from job
names that contain double-byte characters.
The default when Template-based is selected but the template field is left blank is:
TIFF<2unique>.TIF
This means that when 100 files have been processed the RIP will stop.
The following tags are available and can be used in any order:
Tag Description
<date> The date when the job is processed, in the format YYYYMMDD, unless a trun-
cated form is specified.
<dot> Separates the stem of the file name from the file extension, and appears as a
period character ( . ) in the file name. For example, stem<dot>ext
appears as stem.ext. The use of the <dot> tag enables the verification of
the stem and extension lengths.
<job#> The job number allocated by the RIP. Automatic numbering means that succes-
sive jobs have incremented job numbers: 000, 001, 002, 003, and so on.
<jobname> The page buffer name without the page number prefix and without characters
illegal to the operating system. Whitespace characters are used, if present in the
job name.
<jobname1> The page buffer name without the page number prefix, and using only alphanu-
meric characters (a-z, A-Z, 0-9). Whitespace characters are not used.
<page#> The page number (allocated by the RIP), within the current job. For example:
002.
<prefix> The page number prefix from the page buffer name, such as 1., 2., and so on.
<prefixonly> You can use this tag to include the characters from the prefix before the full point
in the job name.
<realpage#> The page number is determined using the HqnPageCounter procset. This is zero
if the HqnPageCounter procset is not available.
<time> The time when the job is processed, in the 24-hour format HHMMSS, unless a
truncated form is specified.
<unique> A unique sequence number used to make file names unique when outputting
files to a directory.
<xres> The horizontal resolution of the page, as specified in the page setup.
<yres> The vertical resolution of the page, as specified in the page setup.
The legality of an automatically generated file name is always checked against the
requirements of the operating system on which the RIP is running.
To enable portability of files from one operating system to another, you can also use
tags to specify the operating system for which generated file names must be suitable.
The use of these tags changes the rules by which a file name is deemed valid. The tags
do not modify the file names generated, but cause error messages if the file name is
invalid.
For example, you can create the template <dos>Averylongfilename.tif, but an
error is generated. This error occurs because DOS file names require the 8.3 format
for stem and extension, which this template fails to meet by having 17 characters in its
stem. Table 5.2 lists the operating system tags.
Tag Description
<dos> Verifies that the file name is a legal file name for the MS-DOS operating system.
<mac> Verifies that the file name is a legal file name for the Macintosh operating system.
<macosx> Verifies that the file name is a legal file name for the Mac OS X operating system.
<unix> Verifies that the file name is a legal file name for the UNIX operating system.
<win32> Verifies that the file name is a legal file name for Windows operating systems.
Note: Illegal characters which would cause an error on a particular platform are
removed. The template format means that it is not currently possible to include less-
than (<) or greater-than (>) characters in a template due to their use as tag delimiters.
The following examples demonstrate the format of strings produced by individual
tags. Some examples also show how the tags may be used in combination to form a
template. The examples are based on these job details:
Page buffer name: 1. TestPage: Section 20-Book 9
Date: 12th of May, 2004
Note: When creating multiple copies of a file, the same page buffer provides tag infor-
mation. If a template contains dynamic tags (such as <time>, where the value
changes each time that a page buffer file is output), then multiple copies of the file are
created. If the template contains just static tags (such as <jobname>, where the job
name remains constant), a single output file is created. If there is no uniqueness in the
name, because the file already exists, a message to that effect is sent to the RIP moni-
tor and output fails with a file creation error.
<colorant>
This tag includes the color space of the device in the file name string.
For example, the template <colorant><dot>tif produces a file name of the
form PhotoInk.tif for a device using a PhotoInk color space.
<colorname>
The tag <colorname> can be used to include the name of the separation in a
file name, for example: Cyan. You can include just the first letter of the separa-
tion by using the tag <1colorname>, which truncates the separation name to its
first letter. If a composite style is used this is indicated by the string Compos-
ite. If a monochrome style is used this is indicated by the string Gray.
<date>
The template <date><dot>tif produces the file name 20040512.tif. You
can remove the year information by using the tag <4date> to produce the file
name 0512.tif.
<dos>
The use of this tag verifies that the file name is suitable for use in a DOS operat-
ing system. Illegal characters, such as a colon and whitespace characters which
would cause an error, are removed.
For example, the template <dos><jobname><dot>tif, would generate an
illegal file name because the job name is greater than the eight characters
allowed in DOS operating systems. Truncation can be forced by using the tem-
plate <dos><8jobname><dot>tif, which produces the file name
TestPage.tif.
<dot>
This tag separates the file name stem from the file name extension and enables
the verification of their lengths. It is particularly necessary when creating file
names compatible with DOS and Windows, otherwise the extension may be
considered as part of the file name.
You can use this tag to include the job number in the file name string. The
default length of the number is three digits, so the first file name created with
this tag would be 000, unless a different length is specified. You can specify the
length of the job number by preceding the <job#> tag with an integer. For
example, <5job#> creates job numbers five digits long.
In multi-page jobs use the <page#> tag as well as the <job#> tag to differenti-
ate between the different pages of a job.
<jobname>
This tag ensures that only legal operating system characters are used in the job
name.
For example, in the RIP running under any Microsoft Windows operating sys-
tem, the template <jobname><dot>tif produces the file name TestPage
Section 20-Book 9.tif. The colon character ( : ) is removed from the file
name, because this is not a valid file name character for any version of
Microsoft Windows.
<jobname1>
This tag ensures that only alphanumeric characters are used in the job name.
For example, in the RIP running under a Windows operating system, the tem-
plate <jobname1><dot>tif produces the file name
TestPageSection20Book9.tif. The colon and whitespace characters are
removed from the file name, because they are not alphanumeric characters.
<mac>
The use of this tag verifies that the file name is suitable for use in a Macintosh
operating system. Illegal characters such as an asterisk, colon, and quotation
marks cause an error. The maximum length of a file name is thirty-one charac-
ters (including the file extension).
You can use this tag to include the page number in the file name string.
For example, the template <page#><dot>tif produces a file name of the
form 001.tif. It is advisable to use this tag with the job number tag to differ-
entiate between the same pages of different jobs.
<prefix>
You can use this tag to include the page number prefix from the page buffer
name in the file name string.
For example, based on the page buffer name above, this tag produces the string
1.
<time>
You can use this tag to include the time a file is processed in the file name
string.
For example, if printing to file at 15:39:36 (approximately 3:39 pm) this tag
produces the string 153936.
<unique>
You can use this tag to generate a unique sequence number for the page. The
default length of the number generated is four digits long, so the first number
would be 0000. The length of the number can be specified, as detailed in the
example for the tag <job#>.
When restarting the RIP, the unique numbering will attempt to restart at its ini-
tial value, for example: 0000. However, if a file exists with that number, the
next available unique number is used.
<unix>
The use of this tag verifies that the file name is suitable for use in the UNIX
operating system. Illegal characters such as an asterisk, colon, and quotation
marks cause an error. The <dot> tag cannot be used with this tag because file
names in UNIX are composed of a single string and are not considered to have
separate file extensions.
For example, using the template <unix><255jobname>.tif produces the file
name TestPageSection20-Book9.tif, in which the colon and whitespace
characters have been removed.
<win32>
The use of this tag verifies that the file name is suitable for use in a Windows
operating system. Illegal characters such as an asterisk, colon, or quotation
marks cause an error.
For example, the template <win32><jobname><dot>tif produces the file
name TestPage Section 20-Book 9.tif, in which the colon has been
removed.
<xres>
You can use this tag to include the horizontal resolution of the page in the file
name string.
For example, you can differentiate between pages with a resolution of
1440 x 720 dpi and 720 x 720 dpi by using this tag. This tag produces a string
such as 1440 or 720, depending on the horizontal resolution.
<yres>
You can use this tag to include the vertical resolution of the page in the file
name string. For example, on a page with the resolution 1440 x 720, this tag
produces the string 720.
The stem of the name can be a fixed stem or a variable stem based on the jobname.
You can specify the fixed stem of the file name produced (that is, the first part of the
file name) by typing it into the Stem text box. For example: TIFF.
The RIP creates a simple file name based on the stem, a sequentially increasing num-
ber, and the suffix. For example, for a stem of TIFF the sequence is: TIFF00.tif,
TIFF01.tif, TIFF02.tif, and so on. If any of these files already exists, the RIP
creates the lowest numbered file that does not clash and increases the numbers from
that starting point, avoiding any other existing files.
Alternatively, the RIP can use the job name itself as the variable stem of the file name
if you select Use jobname as stem. The job name is truncated if necessary to keep within
the allowed length of file name.
In this case, the RIP creates a file name based on the page number of the job, the job
name, the color of the separation, a number, and the suffix. For example, when sepa-
rating a color job called jobname.ps, you might see: 1jobnamepsC00.tif,
1jobnamepsM00.tif, 1jobnamepsY00.tif, 1jobnamepsK00.tif,
2jobnamepsC00.tif, 2jobnamepsM00.tif, 2jobnamepsY00.tif,
2jobnamepsK00.tif.
If a file already exists, the RIP creates the next file in the sequence.
If you do not want the page numbers to appear at the start of the file name, select the
Del page num prefix check box. In this case, the RIP creates file names such as
jobnamepsC01.tif. This option is only relevant if you select Use jobname as stem.
The Use jobname unchanged option is designed to support jobs arriving with names that
include double-byte characters, as used in several Oriental languages and other
extended alphabets. Previously, the output file name was constructed after testing
characters byte by byte, and discarding characters that were potentially illegal in file
names. This is still the safe and strongly recommended option, but when there are ille-
gal characters it can produce files with unpredictable names, which may be difficult to
use in complex workflows.
To retain the previous behavior, leave the check box Use jobname unchanged
unselected.
To enable the new option, select the check box Use jobname unchanged. (For this
option to work, you must also select Use jobname as stem.) The result is that each TIFF
file has a predictable name but that name may be illegal because of length or charac-
ters used in the name. It is very dangerous to use this option where the form of incom-
ing job names is not known before submission to the RIP.
To recap, the full path and name of a TIFF file can be as complex as the following
example:
D:\RIP\TIFF_Folder\300\1jobnamepsM00.tif
In this example, 300 is the resolution of the TIFF file. The preceding text is the path to
the selected folder and the following text is the file name.
The Unique Filenames option ensures that a ## number is added to the filename, and is
selected as a default (providing the same behavior as previous versions of TIFF out-
put). If the Unique Filenames option is not selected, the filename does not have the
unique ## number added to it.
Shown below are examples of template-based file name generation that give similar
(but not necessarily identical) results to the conventional name generation method.
These examples are based on the assumption that the conventional name generation
fields “stem” and “suffix” are set to TIFF and TIF respectively.
The template-based method uses a fixed-length uniqueness field. The template-based
method will always fail to generate a unique name when files exist in the output folder
using every possible number (whereas the conventional method increases the number
of digits in the uniqueness number).
Template-based and Conventional name generation comparison.
2. <dos> does not shorten names (which the conventional method's option does),
so the tags used to make up the stem need to total eight. To allow for more char-
acters in the prefix, the jobname would need to use less. You must use <dot> to
separate the name and the extension when using <dos>.
3. Because <dos> strips space and full-stop characters, <prefix> and <prefix-
only> become equivalent when <dos> is used.
You can choose the basic internal format used for the file from the TIFF Format drop-
down list. TIFF files can either contain the image data in a Single strip (all in one
chunk) or Multiple strips (several chunks).
Use the Style drop-down list in the Edit Page Setup dialog box to choose the color
space and interleaving style.
To produce TIFF files with reverse bit ordering, select the Reverse bit order check box.
This reverses the order of bits in a byte in the raster data of a halftoned TIFF file
(monochrome), so if the byte was 11010001 it becomes 10001011.
Select the Pad to 32 bit alignment box to make each line of the TIFF file data end on a
multiple of 32 bits. This is an efficiency setting, for monochrome output only, that
may make the file faster to read in some applications.
You can choose between Macintosh and IBM PC byte ordering from the Byte ordering
drop-down list. This option lets you select the byte ordering to be that used by Intel
(IBM PC) machines (little endian machines), or Motorola (Macintosh) machines (big
endian machines). This is the order of bytes in a word, needed by the TIFF reader to
correctly interpret the TIFF header. Most TIFF readers can read both sorts of header.
You can choose the compression format used for the file from the Compression drop-
down list. The choices are: None, CCITT Huffman, CCITT Group 3, CCITT
Group 4, LZW, or Packbits.
Note: The CCITT compression formats are only suitable for monochrome output.
Finally, for all except monochrome files, you can choose a level of anti-aliasing in
which intermediate colors are used to visually smooth boundaries. (Anti-aliasing is
most useful at low or medium resolutions.) Select the desired option from the Anti-
Aliasing drop-down list box. None is the fastest option but provides no anti-aliasing.
Of the other options, the higher numbers provide more smoothing, but also require
more time to prepare a given image.
Note: If you output any job to TIFF CMYK Composite (Pixel) with anti-aliasing set at
8x8, the following error will appear for the TIFF device if the resolution is greater
than 300 dpi:
%%[Warning: band size too small - please increase size]%%
To overcome this problem, you should increase the value in the Band size for printing
buffer option. For more information see Section 7.3.4 on page 250.
Create Window Check this box to display a command prompt window: for
example, to display any messages produced by the post-pro-
cessing command. The command window closes at the end of
the command so, to read any messages, you may need a
timed delay before the command finishes. (A wait for a key-
press may be useful for testing but becomes unworkable with
many output files.)
The string should normally include the file extension and the
full path name of the application file. However, you can type
just the file name if the command file has extension .EXE
and is in one of the folders specified by the PATH variable.
File names passed to the application as data are assumed to
be in the folder receiving the TIFF files, unless you type a
different path name.
imum number of characters used in the result string. For example:%6j represents the
first six characters of the job name.
Code Meaning
%d The current date. In the case of the TIFF plugin, this defaults to a length of 6
digits (YYMMDD).
For example: 26 October 1998 becomes 981026.
%8d gives YYYYMMDD.
%e The job exposure, as entered in the Page Setup dialog box. For example:
221.
%f The output TIFF file name, not including the full path. For example, based
on jobname and not suppressing the page number:
1ColdfacepsC05.TIF.
%n The current job number, an integer that the Navigator RIP increments each
time it processes a new job. For example: 115.
%o The full output directory path set by the Folder button (but not the resolu-
tion, if the check box to include resolution has been checked; nor the file
name). For example: C:\S\TIFF\.
%p The current page number within the job. For example: 13.
Code Meaning
%s The current job name, after removal of characters that would be illegal in a
file name. For example: Coldfaceps.
%s uses the following rules:
1. Skip over the leading nn. which the RIP pre-pends.
2. Remove all parenthetical expressions.
3. Remove everything which comes before delimiter characters - : (colon),
; (semi-colon), @ (commercial at), - (hyphen), and control characters.
Delimiters within parentheses do not count.
4. Remove all non-alphanumeric characters.
5. If rules 1-4 result in an empty name, start over again and just use rule 4.
%t The current time in the format HHMMSS, using the 24 hour clock. The
default length is 6. For example, a time just after 7:30 pm would be shown:
193211.
%z The output file name stem, is taken from the job name if Use jobname as
stem is selected, otherwise it will be taken from the Stem text field.
For example: if Stem is set to TIFF, and Use jobname as stem is not
selected; %z will produce TIFF00, TIFF01, and so on for the output files
TIFF00.tif, TIFF01.tif and so on.
For a more thorough test of how the command behaves when used at the command
prompt of the operating system, select the Create window box and try creating a batch
(.BAT) file with these contents and using the name of the batch file as the application
in your command string.
echo %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9
pause
Note: If you have problems with a command, test it outside the RIP by opening a
command window and running the command manually. If you think that you have
used any substitution code from which the RIP might generate an element containing
characters with a special meaning to Windows, try surrounding that code with double
quotes. For example, use "%f" in the Command field rather than just %f. If there are
no special characters involved, look at the number of substitution codes that you are
using and the length of the command string both before and after expansion of the
substitution codes. The limit on the length of the expanded command string varies
with the Microsoft Windows environment but you should have no problems with up to
125 characters in the string after expansion.
must have ColorPro enabled to use this automatic color management feature. You can
also create your own color setup if you do not wish to use the default settings.
ProofReady plugins have the following capabilities:
• Instant color management using supplied profiles
• A choice of resolution for the output page image for all media sizes and types
supported by the model of printer in use
• User choice of output quality
• Availability of Harlequin screening techniques
• Preview of the screened output
Using the ProofReady plugin is straightforward. You select the required device, con-
figure it, select a profile from the ProofReady menu and then print.
If you would like to improve color accuracy and you have a measurement device
available, you can print an uncalibrated target, measure it with Genlin and then import
the data and make a new calibration set.
You then go back to the Page Setup and select this calibration with the ProofReady
Setup unchanged and proof using the calibration and the ProofReady setup combined.
If you want to create a calibration set for your printer rather than using the reference
calibration profile, you can print an uncalibrated target and import the data using Gen-
lin. Once you have created a calibration set, you must choose it from the Calibration
menu.
You can also expand the capabilities of a ProofReady plugin, by creating and using
custom color setups built upon the same profiles used to create the default color set-
ups.
For more details of ProofReady plugins, see the user guide for the relevant Proof-
Ready plugin.
Device type Any particular device is of a certain type. For instance, some
printers are of type Ultre, and some are of type ExxtraSetter.
Distinguishing different device types is like distinguishing
different models of computer. Some options (for example, the
resolutions or media types available) depend on the device
type.
Output plugin The output plugin is the software you install into the RIP to
make it drive a particular device. It tells the RIP the name and
type of the devices it drives, as well as the address of the
device (that is, where to find the device—in terms of the
computer rather than physical location).
With ordinary output plugins, one plugin can drive only one device. If you want to
install a large number of devices, you need many different output plugins. This can
make configuration of the system cumbersome.
Multiple device output plugins allow you to drive a number of different devices using
just one plugin. You can have any number of devices of a particular type.
Figure 5.7 shows you the configuration of an imaginary system using both single and
multiple device drivers.
U U U E E
Device1 Device2 Device3 Device4 Device5
Ultre Devices (marked U) ExxtraSetter Devices (marked E)
Figure 5.7 The use of multiple device drivers in the Navigator RIP
Five devices are shown, driven by two output plugins. Device1 is of type Ultre, and
is driven by an ordinary output plugin.
However, the remaining four devices are all driven by one multiple device output plu-
gin. Two of these devices are of type Ultre, and two are of type ExxtraSetter, so
this driver must know about at least two device types—it may well know about others.
The Plugin drop-down list shows the multiple device output plugins currently installed
in the RIP. You can install several multiple device plugins, and this drop-down list lets
you choose between them. The devices driven by the selected plugin appear in the
table listing: each line displays the name, type, and address of one device. For
instance, in Figure 5.8 the dialog box lists devices linked to the Epsonvsd multiple
device plugin.
Note: Both the name and the values entered for each device are used here for illustra-
tion only. There are several multiple device plugins but their names and the acceptable
values vary greatly, so they are documented separately.
This dialog box has three fields that you can edit:
• Specify a name for the device in the Name text box. This is the name that
appears in the Device drop-down list in the Edit Page Setup dialog box, and
elsewhere.
• Choose the device type from the Type drop-down list—a list of all the device
types that the selected multiple device output plugin supports. The device types
are preset during the manufacture of a plugin and are not subsequently config-
urable. You cannot tell a multiple device driver to look for a device with a type
not listed here.
• Use the Address text box to type in the address of the device you are adding or
editing. This text box provides device information such as a multiplex address,
a SCSI port, or a file name; all highly dependent on the type of device. For
details of what to enter here, refer to the documentation (available from your
supplier) for the specific multiple device output plugin.
Click OK when all values in the Device Manager Edit dialog box are as you want
them. This confirmation is provisional: you must also click OK in the Device Manager
to finally save your changes. If you opened the Device Manager from the Edit Page
Setup dialog box, you can also save the changes by clicking the Select button. In addi-
tion to saving the changes, the Select button displays the selected device in the Edit
Page Setup dialog box. Click Cancel to discard all changes.
Separations Manager
This icon button is next to the Style drop-down list. It opens
the Separations Manager dialog box, from which you can cre-
ate or edit a separations style. See Chapter 14, “Color Sepa-
ration” for details.
The Separations Manager is independent of the Edit Page
Setup dialog box. You can create or edit a style in the Separa-
tions Manager, even if you do not want to use it in the current
page setup. If you do want to use a new or changed style for
this page setup, select the style in the Separations Manager
and click the Select button.
Color The Color drop-down list allows you to choose a color setup
for the currently selected device and color space. The choice
of separations style determines the color space. Click the
Color Setup Manager button to create or edit a color setup. See
Section 14.8 on page 493 or the separate manual Harlequin
ColorPro User’s Guide.
Separations Manager
This icon button is next to the Style drop-down list. It opens
the Separations Manager dialog box, from which you can cre-
ate or edit a separations style. See Chapter 14, “Color Sepa-
ration” for details.
TrapPro Manager
The TrapPro Manager is independent of the Edit Page Setup
dialog box, and is only available if TrapPro is enabled under
Configure RIP > Extras. You can create or edit trapping setups
in the TrapPro Manager, even if you do not want to use them
in the current page setup. If you do want to use a new or
changed trapping setup, select the trapping setup in the Trap-
Pro Manager and click the Select button.
For more information see Section 14.10 on page 508.
Media saving is enabled for each page setup by clicking the Advanced Media Saving
option situated in the lower left, Cassette & Page section of the Edit Page Setup dialog
box.
With the Advanced Media Saving option selected, jobs processed in the RIP are auto-
matically grouped together with other jobs according to resolution, bit depth, paper
type and output device. The jobs are only output to the device when the page is full. A
collection of jobs on a page is known as a ‘flat’.
For example, you may have a 32 inch roll installed in the output device and a queue of
three A4 sized jobs waiting to be output. Instead of printing a single job along the
width of the roll, the RIP will fit all three jobs along the width of the roll—ultimately
saving media.
The Media saver works by receiving page buffers from the RIP. In the pagebuffer
header there are fields specifying the media width and media height, page width and
page height. The Media saver uses the media width and media height values as the
size of the flat and page width and page height value as the size of the page.
If the device supports cassettes, the media width and media height values are defined
in the Cassette manager. If the device is a roll, media height in the page buffer is the
same as the page height and is ignored by the media saver.
If the device does not support cassettes, the media width and media height values are
those entered by the user in the Page Layout dialog box. Again the roll device rule
applies.
Note: A Watermark RIP cannot currently be used in conjunction with the media sav-
ing option. For this reason, the Advanced Media Saving check box in the Page Setup
dialog box is disabled when using a Watermark RIP.
Margin between
pages value
Cut mark
between flats
Note: If when using media saving you get output that is clipped, you should make the
Margin between jobs value greater than the value of the unprintable margin for the
device.
For a TIFF output device (or any other device with an unlimited media width and
height) the media width and height end up being the same as the Page Size, and the
size of a TIFF flat would be the same as the first page buffer on the flat.
From Eclipse Release SP4 the TIFF media width and TIFF media height text boxes are
added to the Media Saving dialog. These options are designed for use with the TIFF
output device (and any other device with unlimited width and height). The values in
these fields are used to calculate the size of the TIFF flat.
If you want to avoid the possibility of a flat never being output, because there may
never be enough page buffers of the same type, you can click the Time to wait between
pages option and enter either a number of minutes or hours. When an incomplete flat
has been displayed in the Media Saving dialog box for the defined time out period, it
will automatically be output to the selected device. When Time to wait between pages is
not checked, partially filled flats will always wait for new pages of the same specifica-
tion to arrive.
You can Roam individual pages displayed in the Media Saving dialog by selecting
them and clicking the Roam button. Similarly, you can delete individual pages by
selecting them and clicking the Delete button.
When a flat is printed, the page buffers that the flat references are deleted from the
disk. Because of this, the Print Flat button is disabled when a Roam window is open.
If a flat is going to be printed because the time out period has expired and a Roam
window is open, the flat is placed in a queue and is printed as soon as all Roam win-
dows are closed.
By default, if the device is roll fed (for example part drum or capstan), the buffered
pages are placed on the flat in one row along the width of the media. The height of the
flat is ultimately that of the tallest page placed on the flat, and the width of the flat is
as specified in the Page Layout dialog.
From Navigator 6.4 Release this default behavior can be changed in two ways.
• For part drum devices, the Fill whole drum (for part drum devices only) check box
controls the behavior that defines the media height as that of the device width,
allowing multiple rows of page buffers on the flat, and as such allowing the
whole of the drum to be utilized.
• For part drum and capstan devices (that is, roll fed devices), the Track flat width
(for roll fed devices only) check box controls the width of the flat. If it is checked,
the flat width will be the width of the widest row of pages on the flat.
You may encounter problems when you are outputting to a device that specifies a min-
imum media width. If a flat is submitted which defines a media width that is smaller
than the device's minimum media width, the plugin will reject the flat and display the
message:
"Error - The media width is less than the minimum allowed" - and
the job is aborted.
Also note, that if you are outputting separations and the flat size is being tracked
(either width or height), it can occur that the separations will have different sizes. You
are therefore unable to Roam these separations together.
From the Eclipse Release SP3 an option to Switch roam color to black is added to the
Media Saving dialog. This is only enabled when the Order of pages on flat option is set
to none, that is, when more than one separation color is allowed on the same flat.
When selected, the Roam color of the resulting flat is black. This option does not
apply to composite output.
Note: You are able to change the Roam Color from the Throughput Info dialog. See
Section 4.3.2.10 on page 102 for more information.
From version 5.5r1 an extra media saving option is provided called Order of pages on
flat. The Order of pages on flat option provides a drop-down list with the following
options:
none Page buffers are placed on flats if they fit, regardless of color
in the same way media saving worked in version 5.5 of the
Navigator RIP.
by separation
Each flat is dedicated to a particular separation name, there-
fore page buffers with different separation names cannot
appear on the same flat. For example, cyan separations can
only appear on cyan flats. However, once allocated to its flat,
a page buffer may be positioned anywhere on that flat.
not guaranteed that the group of flats that contains all the
page buffers for any one job also contains all the page buffers
for the other separations on the flat.
Note: This option will not work for preseparated jobs,
because the RIP treats each separation as a different job.
—, —, —, K1 K1 K4 K1 — Flat 1
— Y4 C4 — Flat 5
— — Y4 — Flat 6
— — K4 — Flat 7
Table 5.5 shows an example where four incoming jobs are placed on flats differently
according to the selection of either; by separation, page position or by sep-
aration, page position, job.
With by separation, page position selected, the first incoming job contains
only a black separation (K1) which is placed on the first flat in position 1. The second
job (C2, M2, Y2) contains no black separation and therefore creates three new flats (2,
3, and 4). The third job contains only magenta and yellow separations (M3, Y3).There
is space on existing flats for this job, magenta flat 3, position 2 and also yellow flat 4,
position 2. The fourth job contains cyan, yellow and black separations, (C4, Y4, K4).
There is space on black flat 1, position 2 for K4, and also space on cyan flat 2, position
2 for C4. However, yellow flat 4 already contains a separation, therefore a new flat (5)
is created and the yellow separation is placed in position 2.
It can be seen from this that each flat contains separations in no particular order. A sin-
gle job can appear on earlier or later flats as long as there is space.
With by separation, page position, job selected, the first three incoming
jobs are treated as before. The black separation in the first job (K1) is placed on the
first flat in position 1. The second job (C2, M2, Y2) creates three new flats (2, 3, and
4). And the third job (M3, Y3) finds space on existing flats on, magenta flat 3, position
2 and also yellow flat 4, position 2.
The fourth job contains cyan, yellow and black separations, (C4, Y4, K4). Even though
there is space on black flat 1, position 2 for K4, there is no corresponding space in
position 2 of flat 3 and flat 4 for the magenta and yellow plates. This is because this
option keeps the separations for each job together. Therefore, new flats 5, 6 and 7 are
created to accommodate (in position 1), the cyan, yellow and black separations from
incoming job 4.
This illustrates that using this option, jobs stay together and appear on consecutive
flats.
— M3 C3 — Flat 4
— Y3 M3 — Flat 5
— — Y3 — Flat 6
Table 5.6 shows an example where three incoming jobs are placed on flats differently
according to the selection of either; by separation, page position or by sep-
aration, page position, job.
With by separation, page position selected, the first incoming job contains a
cyan and magenta separation (C1, M1) which are placed on flat 1 and 2, position 1.
The second job, (M2, Y2) can use the second position in flat 2 for the magenta and cre-
ates a new flat (3) for the yellow. The third job contains cyan, magenta and yellow
separations (C3, M3, Y3).There is space on flat 1 for the cyan separation, but no space
on flats 2 and 3, position 2 for the magenta and yellow. (The yellow cannot go onto
flat 3, position 1 because it would not be in the correct position for registration).
Therefore, new flats (4 and 5) are used and the cyan and magenta separations are
placed into position 2.
Again, each flat can contain separations in no particular order. A single job can appear
on earlier or later flats as long as there is space.
With by separation, page position, job selected, the first two jobs behave
as before. The first incoming job contains a cyan and magenta separation (C1, M1)
which are placed on flat 1 and 2, position 1. The second job, (M2, Y2) can use the sec-
ond position in flat 2 for the magenta and creates a new flat (3) for the yellow.
The third job contains cyan, magenta and yellow separations (C3, M3, Y3).There is
space on flat 1 for the cyan separation, on flat 1, position 2 but it is not used because
the next flats do not have space. Therefore, new flats (4, 5 and 6) are created and the
cyan, magenta and yellow separations are placed into position 1 on those flats.
This illustrates that using this option, jobs stay together and appear on consecutive
flats.
In this example there are three flats in construction: Flat 10 is destined to be output
on a Capstan device and has two jobs called Box.ps and Box1.ps using 67% of the
flat. Flat 11 is destined for output on a Drum device and has three jobs using 20% of
the flat. Flat 12 is also destined for output on a Capstan device but at a different res-
olution to Flat 10.
Note: Trim page will trim to the full size of the image whether or not that image con-
tains white space.
Note: If you are sending output to a device fed with fixed size sheets, such as a typical
laser printer, using Trim page does not save media and is very likely to alter the regis-
tration between pages: for example, when the content of those pages has a variable
outline or bounding box.
Several features listed in the Enable Feature drop-down list of the Edit Page Setup dia-
log box instruct the RIP to use media as economically as possible. In general, these
features pack pages together so that, for example, more than one page is imaged side
by side in the length of media that would otherwise be used by one page. See “Fea-
tures” on page 184 for a fuller description.
5.17 Margins
You can specify margins for a job by clicking Page layout to display the Page Layout
dialog box. This dialog box varies slightly, depending on the type of device. The
example in Figure 5.14 is for a sheet fed device.
You can set the margins by typing values into the appropriate text boxes. Any margins
you specify are added to values set within the job.
Choose the units to use from the Select units drop-down list. When you specify the left
margin, the right margin is calculated automatically, based on the total width of the
media and the size of the image. If you wish, you can specify a negative value for any
margin. For example a -1.0 inch left margin would clip 1 inch off the left hand side of
the page.
You can center the page on the media by selecting the relevant option. Note that the
page is always centered if you choose this option, even if the job itself explicitly sets
the page width.
If you are using one of the multiple modes, the Page Layout dialog box is also avail-
able from the Info dialog box. This dialog box is displayed when you click Info in the
Output Controller (see Section 4.3.2.2 on page 99). When chosen from the Output
Controller, the page layout options are specific to the selected page or, optionally, to
all pages in the same job. When chosen from the Edit Page Setup dialog box, the
options are applied to all jobs subsequently interpreted with that setup.
The output device dimensions are built into the driver for the current device, and can-
not be changed. You can set the media width in the Cassette Manager. For details of
how to use the Cassette Manager and other media management facilities, see Chapter
9, “Media Management”.
The Rotate drop-down list allows you to select 90, 180, and 270
degree rotations. The image itself remains unchanged. If the job
was already set to rotate in the opposite direction, the two rotations
cancel, giving non-rotated output. Similarly, if the job rotates in the
same direction, the two rotations add.
Eclipse Release SP3 and later of the Navigator RIP includes a Con-
trol Strip check box in the Effects panel of the Page Setup dialog
box.
For more information see “Control strip” below.
™
• ChipCheck —a patent-pending approach that allows the color accuracy of the
proof to be tested quickly and cheaply without requiring the use of a colorime-
ter.
• PDF/X status, showing whether the job being printed is PDF/X compliant or
not, and whether it claims to be.
• Orientation—showing the orientation of the page, and whether or not it is
saved in negative in the original document.
• Feed direction—showing how the output was fed through the printer, as an aid
to resolve some kinds of print artifacts.
• Enfocus Status Check reporting.
Output device
Screening
Anti-alias factor
RIP version
Progressives
Serial number
Neutrals
Global Graphics
Software Logo
The Harlequin at Heart logo is always part of a control strip and is located at the left
end of the strip.
The orientation icon indicates the orientation of the job, that is, whether the job has
been rotated and so on. It also shows as black on white if the incoming job was nega-
tive and forced to positive by the RIP.
The paper feed icon indicates the direction in which the paper is fed through the
printer.
The registration icon allows you to check for any misregistration errors.
The paper measurement icon allows you to take a paper white reading for the purposes
of calibrating your measurement device.
When processing a PDF file the PDF/X validation icon will be displayed. If the file
claims to be PDF/X-1a:2001 or PDF/X-3:2002 then the RIP will validate that claim
during interpretation. The claimed conformance level will be displayed above the
PDF/X validation icon, and the characterized printing condition for which it was pre-
pared will be displayed below it.
If the file is a valid PDF/X file the icon to the right will be a tick, otherwise a cross
will be shown.
A PDF file that does not claim to be PDF/X compliant will show Baseline PDF on the
green background.
Files that claim to be PDF/X conformance levels that are not explicitly supported by
the RIP will not be validated, and will show a question mark in the black box to the
right.This also applies to files that claim to comply with a conformance level which
are not fully validated in the current page setup. For example, PDF/X files will not be
validated if the option in the Accept Type(s) menu of the PDF Options dialog box has
been set to Any PDF <= 1.4 as basic PDF, for instance.
If you select the Do status check check box in the PDF Options dialog box, you will see
one of the above icons in your control strip.
The first icon in Figure 5.21 appears when a certified PDF file is printed, and when the
PDF profile used to certify it matches one of the profiles selected in the PDF Options
dialog box.
The second icon in Figure 5.21 appears when a certified PDF file is printed, but the
PDF file was made with a PDF profile that does not match one of the profiles selected
in the PDF Options dialog box.
The third icon in Figure 5.21 appears when a PDF file is printed that is not certified.
That is, the PDF was file was never certified, or was certified but has changed since.
No icons are shown if the file printed is not a PDF, or if the Do status check check box
has not been selected in the PDF Options dialog box.
™
Figure 5.22 ChipCheck strip
™
ChipCheck is designed to allow very rapid and easy validation that a proofer has been
correctly configured without requiring the use of instruments. It will identify whether
an error has been introduced by, for example, the wrong media selection in the RIP
interface, or whether the required calibration has not been performed. It can also
quickly check whether a stored proof has aged enough to alter the colors significantly.
To read the strip, compare chips from a valid Pantone Coated swatch book with the
patches in the color bar under appropriately controlled lighting (typically D50).
For even faster and easier checking of proofs, build a strip of Pantone chips in the cor-
rect order to compare with the patches.
The process step wedges allow you to measure the process colors at various incre-
ments. The increments used depend on the space available.
The progressives strip allow you to measure color combinations. Each patch has a
label above it indicating the colors used in the patch, for example, CM is a patch con-
taining Cyan and Magenta. The percentage of each color varies, according to the
space available. For example, the first six patches in the strip in Figure 5.24 contain
100% of each named color, and the last six patches contain 50% of each named color.
The neutrals strip allows you to test the neutral grays produced by your job settings.
The neutral patches compare CMY combinations with plain Black, and use values
from a variety of standardized printing conditions, such as SWOP and ISO 12647-2.
The appearance of the neutrals strip varies depending on the space available.
Combined with ChipCheck (see Section 5.19.1.8), this provides a very rapid method
of checking the configuration of the proofing device. If the CMY combinations do not
match the K tints you may have selected the wrong media in the RIP, or you may need
to recalibrate the printer.
The company logo always appears on the control strip and represents the distributor of
the Navigator RIP.
The job style icons indicate the separations, screening and color Style used for the job,
as specified in the page setup.
The first icon in Figure 5.28 indicates a composite color job; the second icon indicates
an unrecombined, preseparated job, and the third icon indicates a recombined, presep-
arated job (monochrome jobs will be marked as composite)
The page number icon precedes the page number. Note that the page number is the
page number within the current file. If for example, you have printed to PostScript
from your design application and chosen to print just pages 7 and 8, then they will be
labelled as pages 1 and 2 on the proofs.
The job file name icon precedes the job file name.
The file modification date icon precedes the date and time at which the file was last
modified. The file modification date will only be shown if it is recorded in the file.
Note: The brackets and slashes within the control strip delimit different parts of the
strip. The date in the first set of brackets is the file modification date (if available), and
the date in the second set of brackets is the print date.
The print date icon precedes the print date and time.
Note: The brackets and slashes within the control strip delimit different parts of the
strip. The date in the first set of brackets is the file modification date (if available), and
the date in the second set of brackets is the print date.
The scale icon precedes details of the scale factor, for example, 50.0%.
The clipped icon is a warning that not all of the 'page' of the job may be shown. This
may be due to the fact that the non-printing margins of the output device have not
been accounted for. See Section 5.19.2.2 for more details.
The file creator icon precedes the name of the person and/or machine that created the
PostScript or PDF file. This information is only displayed if it is recorded in the file.
The output device icon precedes the name of the output device, for example, TIFF.
The page setup name icon precedes the page setup name.
The color setup name icon precedes the name of the color setup. If the default color
setup is being used, then the text (No Color Management) is displayed.
The screening icon precedes details of the type of screening used, for example, HDS
Fine.
The resolution icon precedes the resolution details, for example, 300.0 dpi.
The anti-alias icon precedes the details of the anti-alias factor, for example, 3x3. The
Anti-Aliasing option is available in the Configuration dialog box of various plugins,
such as the TIFF plugin.
The serial number icon precedes the Navigator RIP serial number details. This allows
you to identify the Navigator RIP that produced the proof.
5.19.2 Configuration
If necessary, speak to your plugin supplier for further details on margins files.
You can specify different horizontal and vertical scales if you wish. Note that the
aspect ratio of the image changes unless the values in the horizontal and vertical scal-
ing boxes are the same.
Screen ruling is not affected by the scale at which a job is output.
5.21 Features
You may sometimes want to apply a special effect to your jobs that is not otherwise
available from the Edit Page Setup dialog box. You can do this in the Navigator RIP
by using features. These are both powerful and easy to use.
For instance, you can use a feature to perform a simple page imposition that prints two
pages side by side (and at reduced-scale if required) on one normal sized page to
reduce media consumption when in the draft stages of document production. Another
feature scans PostScript-language jobs for the use of spot colors and reports the colors
on screen before you print.
You can use features by choosing one from a drop-down list, without knowing how
they work, but with a little knowledge you can add new features. A Navigator RIP fea-
ture is a fragment of PostScript-language code which is executed just before a job is
run. The fragment specifies the changes to be made to the interpretation of that job,
but is completely independent of it.
2 across This imposes two pages side by side on the film. By default
no space is left between the pages—the OptimalGutter
value below may be edited to change this effect.
2 up This imposes two pages one above the other on the film. By
default no space is left between the pages—the Optimal-
Gutter value below may be edited to change this effect.
Crop Marks This will add crop marks and gray wedges to a page output
through the RIP. If the page is monochrome, register marks,
crop marks, file name, time & date of processing and a single
gray wedge will be added.
If the page is a composite page being auto-separated by the
RIP, register marks, crop marks, file name, time & date will
be added, along with a step-wedge for each of CMYK, and a
set of progressive patches for ink-trapping and neutral density
tests.
If the job is preseparated, the RIP will also detect the color of
each plate and add the appropriate marks.
If the page is being auto-separated and also includes spot sep-
arations, crop and register marks will be added to each spot
separation plate, and a note of the plate name included.
Fill Film This puts as many pages of a multi-page job onto the output
media as will fit. The size of the input pages is determined by
the setpagedevice or setpageparams call, or the first
BoundingBox or PageBoundingBox comments if there is
no setpagedevice, and as Letter if there is no indication at
all. The output page size is taken as it stands on entry, typi-
cally from the page setup.
Image Replacement
This will load both OPI and DCS image replacement code.
Note: All page features in the Examples folder are supplied as an illustration of what
is possible with the Navigator RIP. The page features are believed to work as
described but they are not supported as a part of the Navigator RIP. Page features that
appear in the Enable Feature list are supported but are documented only in the Post-
Script-language files.
A feature appears in the Enable Feature list only if there is a corresponding PostScript-
language file in the Page Features folder in the SW folder where you have installed
the RIP. The name of the feature in the dialog box is the same as the file name.
All the other supplied examples are files in an Examples folder in the
Page Features folder. There is also a file called Read Me that describes the exam-
ple features and how to create others. To make an example feature available, copy the
file from Examples into the enclosing Page Features folder and display the Edit
Page Setup dialog box.
Similarly, to remove a feature, move it from the Page Features folder into the
Examples folder.
You can add other, new, features by creating appropriate PostScript-language files and
placing them in the Page Features folder.
Well-constructed level 3 jobs also run but are likely to operate more slowly if they use
features better supported in LanguageLevel 3.
5.23.7 Abort if calibration on, and the selected cal set does not
match job
If you require job calibration, select this option to prevent the RIP printing jobs with
an inappropriate calibration set. The calibration set is specified in the page setup. See
Chapter 13, “Calibration” for details.
By default, this option is not selected.
Selecting this option ensures that the RIP generates correctly labeled separations.
Select this option to make monochrome jobs produce a single black separation, and to
make preseparated color jobs produce correctly labeled separations.(Even though cor-
rectly labeled, the separations may also be blank.)
Note: You can avoid blank separations by selecting Not Blank in the Print column of
the Edit Style dialog box, as described in Section 14.7.1 on page 486. That option is
slightly different because if it is used alone on preseparated jobs in a separating work-
flow then the resultant separation may have the wrong label: for example, a presepa-
rated job for CMYK may produce only four K (black) separations. It can be useful to
use both options together.
From Eclipse Release SP4 the default Minimum shaded fill levels value is Auto which
optimizes the value to suit the currently selected page setup, and in particular the
screening setting.
The Minimum shaded fill levels option has a drop down menu allowing selection of var-
ious pre-configured values. The higher the value you select, the more shaded fill lev-
els are created, and the more work the RIP has to do to create those levels, resulting in
reduced output rate. If Auto is selected, the RIP automatically optimizes the Minimum
shaded fill levels to suit the current page setup. For example, if the current page setup
employs screening that allows only 64 shades of gray, the RIP will optimize the Mini-
mum shaded fill levels so that it uses only 64 shades. In addition to this, if the page setup
allowed 256 shades you can make the RIP run faster by manually selecting a lower
value, such as 128.
Display this dialog box by clicking the Extras button in the Page Setup Options dialog
box. This section describes each option in the dialog box.
Separate spot color duotones, tritones & quadtones to spot color plates...
This option enables the interception of Photoshop duotones,
tritones, and quadtones when encountered in EPS files. Select
this box if you want to separate spot color duotones, tritones,
and quadtones to spot color separations.
For this option to take effect, select a RIP separations style
that creates separations and that enables the relevant spot
color separations. The separations style must either specify a
separation for each spot color or have (Other colors in
job) set to Yes. See Section 14.7.1, “Producing separations”
on page 486 for details.
Note: This option is available only when the PostScript Lan-
guage compatibility level option is set to 3. It is only relevant
for Photoshop versions 2.5 through 4; Photoshop version 5
does this automatically if imaged in LanguageLevel 3.
For more information see Section 1.3.3.2, “Duotones, tri-
tones, and quadtones”
By default, this option is selected.
Note: Photoshop images saved to EPS always include the input profile from Photo-
shop, which a job may not want to actually have applied when color managing. For
details on overcoming this, see Appendix C of the Navigator RIP Extensions manual.
5.26 Calibration
The Navigator RIP can apply one or more calibration sets to a job. If you are printing
to a direct output device, the page setup can include a calibration for the output device
and a tone curve calibration.
If you are preparing a job for a printing press, the page setup can include an imageset-
ter calibration, a tone curve calibration, and calibrations for the intended and actual
presses. If the page setup uses an ColorPro color setup, the intended press calibration
is disabled.
Calibration sets are created for a particular device and color space. You can only select
a calibration set for the currently selected device and color space. The choice of sepa-
rations style determines the color space. Note that, while an imagesetter is not a multi-
color device, you can create a calibration curve for each color in the separations style,
to take account of the different screen angles likely to be used for the colors.
To create or edit a calibration set, click the Calibration Manager button, which is the
icon button in the Calibration & Dot Gain section of the Edit Page Setup dialog box.
See Chapter 13, “Calibration”, for more information.
The Intended Press calibration is not available when ColorPro is enabled. Instead, sev-
eral options are provided for processing color data ahead of the transfer to press.
These options include emulating the output of one press on another type of press. For
details, see the separate Harlequin ColorPro User’s Guide. The calibration set speci-
fied in Actual Press is always used.
The Intended Press drop-down list contains a list of all calibration sets created for the
Printing Press device in the current color space. If you have a scanned image that
was not aimed at a specific press, select (None) for no intended press calibration.
There is a default entry supplied for (SWOP (CGATS TR001)), and there may be oth-
ers.
Note: Some of the press calibration sets may be derived from profiles when you are
using ColorPro. See the Harlequin ColorPro User’s Guide for details. You can add
other entries, as described in Chapter 13, “Calibration”.
Screening
This chapter describes halftone screening in monochrome and color work, and the dif-
ferent types of screening offered by the RIP. You use the screening options in the RIP
in combination with the options that control color separations, to create a combined
color separations style.
The RIP does not restrict the concept of color separation to producing separated out-
put. When processing any job, the RIP creates a separation for each process colorant
and also, where appropriate, for spot colorants. The output format determines whether
the separations are printed together as a composite, or separated. By configuring these
separations you can control the printing of individual colorants in the job. Although
there is only one separation in the monochrome color space, the RIP provides the
same options for configuring that separation.
Separations information is saved together with screening information in a separations
style, which can be used in several page setups. You can keep a number of separations
styles that you use regularly, for example to define different screening options.
The Separations Manager displays a list of all existing separations styles for the cur-
rent device, showing the name of each separations style, the corresponding color
space, and the output format.
From the Separations Manager you can create separations styles, and edit, copy, or
delete existing separations styles. This chapter describes how to set the screening
options for an existing separations style. For details about creating separations styles,
see Chapter 14, “Color Separation”.
Select a separations style from the list and click Edit. The Edit Style dialog box
appears. If the output format of the separations style supports screening, the Edit Style
dialog box contains screening options, as shown in Figure 6.2. For example, if you
choose a separation style with an output format of halftone separations, the Edit Style
dialog box contains screening options.
The screening options do not appear if the output plugin for the selected output device
does not support screening. This usually means that the output device supports contin-
uous tone (contone) output or that the device accepts contone data and performs its
own screening. For devices that can be configured to support either contone or
screened output, the screening options in the Edit Style dialog box do not appear when
you select a contone separations style, unless you are using external screening, such as
the Harpoon PCI screening accelerator.
Some proofing output plugins list two entries (for Device in the Edit Page Setup dialog
box) for each model of printer that the plugin supports. One entry is for a device that
uses the screening options in the RIP, which appear in the Edit Style dialog box for
that device. The second device performs its own screening, such as error diffusion
screening (EDS), and does not have screening options in the Edit Style dialog box.
The screening options in the Edit Style dialog box include some familiar to anyone
who has used screening and some that are specific to the Navigator RIPNavigator RIP.
• Section 6.4, “Halftoning”, is a quick introduction to concepts if you are unfa-
miliar with screening and halftoning.
• Section 6.5, “Screen angles”, on page 213, Section 6.6, “Dot shapes”, on
page 215, and Section 6.7, “Halftone frequency”, explain how to use three
basic screening functions.
• Section 6.8, “Screening options and number of gray levels” on page 220
describes an area where the Navigator RIP technology provides some uncon-
ventional and valuable functionality.
The remaining sections in this chapter describe more subtle controls and some
optional features of the Navigator RIP.
6.4 Halftoning
Halftoning is the process of approximating gray levels or color shades with a pattern
of dots. In many halftoning systems, the dots can have only one color value but can
vary in size to alter the ratio of dot color to background color. The simplest use of this
technique is approximating gray levels with a pattern of black dots against a white
background, as illustrated in Figure 6.3.
Here, the size of the dots varies to represent different shades of gray. You see an area
of small dots as a light gray, while an area of larger dots (each nearly filling its
allowed space in the pattern of dots) is seen as dark gray. More strictly, it is not the
size of the dots but the resultant ratio of black area to white area that represents the
gray value.
Color shades are approximated with three patterns of dots, each in a primary color—
cyan, magenta, and yellow—used with or without a fourth pattern of black dots. (This
description of halftoning assumes three patterns—in fact, the fourth pattern of black
dots is almost always used, for technical reasons that do not affect the principles of
halftoning.)
Within each color separation, the size of the dots (in relation to their background) is
proportional to the amount of the primary color in the composite shade. When the sep-
arations are combined, typically by overprinting in registration, they create the illu-
sion of shades of color. The cyan, magenta, and yellow dots cannot be distinguished
when viewed from a distance—instead, the pattern of color dots appears to be an area
of a shade of color.
Each dot is considered to occupy a halftone cell. (Figure 6.4 shows two groups of four
halftone cells.) Every halftone cell is used to represent a gray level or color intensity.
A dot can have any area in the range 0% of the area of the halftone cell (a completely
white cell) through 100% of the area of the halftone cell (a completely black cell).
Dots of intermediate areas create the illusion of gray levels. The number of pixels in
the halftone cell defines how many intermediate areas of dot are possible and, in most
systems, this defines the number of reproducible grays.
Screen frequency
is the number of halftone cells per inch or centimeter. The
corresponding units are lines per inch (lpi), lines per centime-
ter (lpcm), or lines per millimeter (lpmm). For example, a
screen frequency of 100 lpi means halftone cells spaced
every hundredth of an inch.
Screen angle is the angle between one side of the halftone cell and an axis
on the output device (not a fixed axis on the page): the refer-
ence axis is usually the direction of the slow scan. The screen
angle becomes important when you are combining the sepa-
rate patterns of dots used for color reproduction. The most
important consideration is the angular separation of the dif-
ferent screens, not their absolute angles relative to the device
axes.
Note: For most screens, you can use the box Rotate screens
according to page rotation in the Edit Style dialog box to main-
tain screen angles relative to the page axes. This may help
you diagnose the cause of problems with patterning in the
output.
°
0
Screen angle
×° ×°
90 270
×°
180
Note: If you create a Separations style using Eclipse Release SP1, and you decide to
change the Dot Shape used, if both the original and new Dot Shapes are genuine Spot
Functions (such as changing from Euclidean to Square), the screening settings
remain as set, that is, they are not reset to the default values.
If however, either or both the original or new Dot Shapes are a Halftone Dot Shape
(such as an HDS dot shape), the screening settings, such as the screen angles, and the
Yes/No Print? values are reset to their defaults. The default values are defined in the
Screen Names file.
Note: Screen Names files created with the Eclipse Release or later RIPs are incompat-
ible with previous versions. That is, you cannot transfer a Screen Names file from pre
Eclipse Release RIPs to Eclipse Release or later RIPs.
A further consequence is that HPS and other techniques which vary the actual pixels
of a screen cell cannot be applied to threshold screens. On the other hand, threshold
screens can be controlled very precisely, pixel for pixel, and are therefore suitable for
describing Frequency Modulated (FM) screens if the cell is large enough. While
threshold screens can be used to describe conventional “clumped” dots, they are less
flexible because of their resolution dependence and absence of rotation to a specified
angle (at least in their simplest form). Neither kind of screen is suitable for describing
non-tessellating screening techniques, such as error diffusion.
The PostScript language offers several variations on threshold screens, which allow
greater or lesser control over the sizes of the tables involved and the tessellation of the
tiles (equivalent to the “angle”) in a spot function.
There are no threshold screens in the standard set supplied with the RIP but it is possi-
ble to use threshold screens embedded in a job, or installed in the RIP by your sup-
plier.
Note: If you clear the Override dot shape in job check box, these options are enabled, so
that you can override some parameters of spot function screens supplied in the job.
For more details of these options, see Section 6.5 through Section 6.7, and
Section 6.10.
Real World Scanning and Halftones (David Blatner & Steve Roth, Pub: Peachpit
Press, Inc., ISBN: 1-56609-093-8)
If you ignore the fact that the authors are very insistent that the PostScript lan-
guage can only produce 256 gray levels, then this is an excellent introductory
text for PostScript halftoning.
PostScript™ Screening: Adobe Accurate Screens (Peter Fink, Pub: Adobe Press,
ISBN: 0–672–48544–3)
A very good introduction to digital halftoning, which then continues into discus-
sion of process work and advanced screening techniques. Some of the book is
specific to Adobe Accurate Screens™, but many of the concepts are common to
HPS as well. This book also has an interesting section on factors affecting
device calibration and other causes of poor film and press output.
An Introduction to Digital Color Prepress (AGFA Corporation)
This booklet was produced to sell Agfa imagesetters, but many of the ideas dis-
cussed are common to all digital halftoning systems.
Electronic Color Separation (Dr. R.K. Molla, Pub: R.K. Printing and Publishing,
ISBN: 0–9620453–0–6)
This book refers to analog color scanners and does not discuss digital halfton-
ing. The example scanning systems are somewhat dated, but the halftone con-
cept has not changed since the book was written.
• You may wish to override a set of angles requested in a job. This is especially
useful if the job has requested a set of angles that optimize the output quality
for a particular output device, such as a laser printer, but that may diminish the
quality on other devices, such as an imagesetter.
• You may want consistency: for example, on all pages of a single publication
when the jobs come from different sources. Enforcing settings in the RIP is the
simplest way of getting such consistency.
A good choice of angles for general use with color separations in offset litho work is a
set in which the colors are separated by 30°, for example: 15°, 75°, 0°, and 45° respec-
tively for CMYK (and related sets using these angles plus or minus multiples of 90°).
For use with elliptical dots, a separation of 60° is recommended, leading to angles of
15°, 75°, 0°, and 135° for CMYK.
Note: The angles shown in the Edit Style dialog box (shown in Figure 6.2, page 205)
always take effect for jobs that contain no screening requests. If the job attempts to set
screening, you must select the Override angles in job check box if you want to use these
values.
the Angle text box. For details of the other options, see Section 14.7, “Edit Style dialog
box” on page 484.
Note: The Angle column and text box are both blank when the selected Dot shape does
not have a controllable angle. Typically, this is because the dot shape belongs to a
threshold screen (which does not have a conventional angle) or because the screening
is being done in an output plugin or hardware device.
Each colorant has its own screening angle, which allows you to avoid moiré problems
when a job has several spot colors used in duotone combinations with each other or
with the standard process colors.
The angles shown in the Edit Style dialog box always take effect for jobs that contain
no screening requests. If the job attempts to set screening, you must select the Override
angles in job check box if you want to use the values shown in this dialog box.
A Euclidean dot-shape strategy produces better saturated grays at gray values above
50%, especially at finer (higher) screen frequencies. Euclidean strategies increase the
fill of halftone cells from the corners, instead of the centers, when the gray value
exceeds 50%. That is, when the gray value is less than 50%, the dots are black, the
background is white, and the dot size increases as the gray value increases; when the
gray value reaches 50%, the dots become white, the background becomes black, and
dot size decreases as the gray value increases.
6.6.1.1 Round
This is a commonly used dot shape, but dot gain can be a problem in the shadow areas,
since the white diamond at the center of four adjoining circles can easily become filled
with black as the dot size grows. However, round dots give a smooth appearance in the
highlights and middle tones.
To use round dots, choose Round from the Dot shape drop-down list.
6.6.2.1 Elliptical
Elliptical dots generally produce a smoother transition than round dots, because the
ellipses initially intersect only along one axis, though this can produce a lined effect.
Note: As mentioned for Elliptical Euclidean, the screen angles used for all elliptical
dot shapes must be 60 degrees apart, instead of the normal 30 degrees. This is because
of the asymmetry of the elliptical dot.
6.6.2.2 Square
Square dots are rarely used, except for particular effects. Images produced with square
dots tend to have dot gain problems, particularly in the shadow areas. To use the
square dot shape, choose Square2 from the Dot shape drop-down list.
6.6.2.4 Rhomboid
This dot shape is very similar to the square Euclidean shape, but generally gives a
somewhat smoother result. You should consider using it instead of the square dot
shape. To use this dot shape, choose Rhomboid from the Dot shape drop-down list.
6.6.2.5 Line
Line-shaped dots are generally used only to produce special effects, since there tends
to be a lot of dot gain. To use the line dot shape, choose Line or Line90 from the Dot
shape drop-down list.
resolution ⎞ 2
⎛ ----------------------------------------
⎝ screen frequency⎠ + 1
Thus at 100 lines per inch (lpi) and 2540 dots per inch (dpi) you get 646 gray levels …
2
⎛ 2540
------------⎞ + 1 = 646
⎝ 100 ⎠
… but at 175 lpi and 1270 dpi you get only 53 gray levels:
2
⎛ 1270
------------⎞ + 1 = 53
⎝ 175 ⎠
If you switch on Generate extra gray levels in the Edit Style dialog box then you get as
many gray levels as you define with the Limit number of distinct gray levels drop-down
list. It is a feature of HPS that the number of levels can exceed the maximum defined
in this expression.
Some RIP screening options do not follow this expression:
• Harlequin Precision Screening (HPS) is able to produce more gray levels than
predicted by the conventional expression.
• HDS does not have a conventional frequency to apply in the expression—
though it is possible to establish a rough correspondence between each HDS
setting and a conventional screen of a particular frequency at a particular reso-
lution.
when changing brightness or contrast, but this does not directly affect the number of
gray levels that are required from the output device.
100 6
---------------------- × ---------- = 400
( 70 – 20 ) 0.03
This rule varies with the screen frequency that you are using, with the particular tint
range (because steps are most obvious in dark graduations), with the hardness of the
dots produced by the output device and with the size of the difference in gray levels
between steps, but it serves very well as a basic starting point. Because of the variation
with the size of the difference in gray levels between steps it is very unlikely that you
should ever require more than 1024 gray levels, and in many instances 512 or 256 lev-
els are sufficient.
If you are producing blends in applications such as Adobe Illustrator® or FreeHand®
(formerly from Aldus, now Macromedia) then you should make sure that you create
blends with enough steps—the RIP cannot add more steps into the blend. You may
also need to use switch on extra grays and use Harlequin Precision Screening with its
ability to exceed the conventional limit of gray levels in order to display all the
requested gray levels.
Graduated tints from many older applications do not produce more than 256 gray lev-
els:
• Some applications always produce 256 grays for a 0 to 100% graduation.
Examples are FreeHand and QuarkXPress® (version 3.11 and later) when print-
ing to a PostScript LanguageLevel 2 compatible device.
• Some always produce 256 gray levels in a single blend, even a short one such
as 10% to 30%. An example is QuarkXPress version 3.1.
• Some calculate the number of gray levels which the current resolution and
screen frequency could produce on a RIP that does not support extra gray level
functionality and use that. Examples are FreeHand and QuarkXPress
(version 3.11 and later) when printing to a PostScript LanguageLevel 1 com-
patible device.
In the first two cases it may be worth switching on extra gray levels in the RIP if you
are using a low resolution or a fine (high frequency) screen. In the last case you gain
no benefit by switching on extra grays.
This list is disabled when Generate extra gray levels is not selected. With this list
disabled:
• When using HPS, the RIP produces the number of gray levels required to
attain the specified accuracy of screening, as set in the HPS Options dialog
box, shown in Figure 6.6, page 228.
• When not using HPS, the RIP produces the natural number of gray levels
for the screen. (For HDS, the natural number can be very large and using
HDS unlimited can have a performance penalty.)
Generate extra gray levels
There are two possible reasons for selecting this box:
• With all Navigator RIP screening options, it enables the use of the Limit
number of distinct gray levels to restrict the number of gray levels produced
on the output page.
• With HPS only, it enables the use of more screening levels than needed to
get the required accuracy of screen angle and frequency. Generating a large
number of screening levels can reduce undesired patterning, even if the
number of levels actually used is restricted by the value chosen for Limit
number of distinct gray levels. See Section 6.10.1 on page 227 for the control
of extra screening levels in HPS.
• Colors of pages are determined from settings in the Edit Style dialog box.
When a job supplies any screens of its own (using the setscreen,
setcolorscreen, or sethalftone operators) then if the override check boxes in
the Edit Style dialog box are all cleared, the RIP uses the frequency, angle, and dot
shape of the supplied screen until the job provides another screen or cancels any
screens it has supplied.
However, if the Override frequency in job check box is selected in the Edit Style dialog
box the RIP continues to use the frequency given in the dialog box instead of the one
supplied by the job. Similarly, if Override dot shape in job is selected, the RIP ignores
the dot shape supplied by the job and uses the one given in the dialog box instead, and
if Override angles in job is selected, the RIP ignores any angles given by the job in
favor of those in the dialog box.
If all three boxes are selected, all screens given by the job are effectively ignored.
If you are using HPS, the frequency and angle values are also subject to slight adjust-
ment to achieve accurate screening. See Section 6.10.2 on page 228 for details of how
to limit any adjustment.
Note: HDS screens do not have a conventional screening frequency or angle and
ignore the frequency and angle settings. HCS uses a fixed set of angles, so it also
ignores the angle setting.
function). You can enable HPS for a separations style by selecting the Use Harlequin
Precision Screening check box in the Edit Style dialog box. Once enabled, HPS is a
property of the page setup which uses this separations style, and the RIP uses HPS for
all pages printed with that page setup.
HPS allows you to select any screen frequency and to use the usual CMYK screen
angles of 0°, 15°, 45°, and 75° (plus multiples of 90°). To reduce moiré patterning,
HPS uses an adaptive screening technique that can adjust each halftone dot so that it is
placed within one half pixel of its ideal location.
HPS also allows you to choose how rosettes are formed in the image, and to generate
extra gray levels, allowing the use of higher screen frequencies than the resolution
would normally allow.
The default HPS settings supplied with the RIP have been carefully chosen to provide
good output on most, if not all, output devices. We strongly recommend that you test
output using the default settings (in the HPS Options dialog box) before adjusting any-
thing at all. The information in Section 6.10.3, “Possible problems with output” on
page 231, is intended to help in adjusting values if you think that it is necessary.
Section 6.9 on page 225 describes how the RIP arrives at a set of screening values for
a job.
When using HPS, for each screen in a job, the RIP calculates the best set of screen
angles and frequencies to use for the set requested. The process starts with the
requested frequency—the frequency set in the job or, when Override frequency in job is
selected, the value in the Edit Style dialog box. The Edit Style dialog box contains a
list of halftone frequencies: one for each device resolution. The requested frequency is
the one that corresponds to the resolution selected in the Edit Page Setup dialog box.
Some requested frequencies may require a lot of memory or make it difficult to
achieve the desired angle accuracy, while a nearby frequency does not have these
problems. If there is a problem with the requested frequency, the RIP can select one of
these nearby frequencies as the deviated frequency.
The Maximum frequency deviation specifies the greatest deviation from the requested
frequency that is allowed. The RIP selects the individual frequencies for the Cyan,
Magenta, and Black screens such that they are within the specified Frequency accuracy
away from the deviated frequency.
The angle is snapped to the nearest 7.5° if you select Snap angles to nearest 7.5 degrees.
The angles of the selected screen set are then within the specified angle accuracy of
the requested angles.
The following subsections describe some individual options in more detail.
Generate clear centered rosettes is one of the few controls which you might expect to
change in the HPS Options dialog box. When color separations are combined, the dots
form one of two rosette patterns as shown in Figure 6.7. Clear-centered rosettes are
less likely than spot-centered rosettes to show a significant color shift if separations
are printed slightly out of register, but the output produced is normally less saturated,
lighter, and has a more noticeable rosette structure. In general, output at high
frequencies, or where the output may be run on presses with poor registration, should
use clear-centered rosettes, while output at low screen frequencies or on well regis-
tered devices (including most color printers) should use spot-centered rosettes.
If you find that you are not getting consistent clear-centered or spot-centered rosettes
across the full width of a page: try varying the requested frequency slightly; or
increase Maximum frequency deviation, to allow the RIP to find a screen set with better
angle and frequency accuracies.
used for most offset litho work, while settings are also provided for other screening
systems.
To decide which entry you should use:
1. Convert all the screen angles your job uses to numbers in the range 0° through
90°. Do this by repeatedly adding 90° to any values less than 0° or subtracting
90° from any values of 90° or greater.
2. Compare the converted numbers with angles in the menu entries. There are
three possibilities:
• If you reach a set of values where all of the numbers are in a single entry in
the menu then use that entry.
• If the values do not match an entry exactly then select the closest match.
• If there is no close match then select the default (15, 75, 0, 45).
producing halftone screens at accurate angles and frequencies. Using these fre-
quencies and angles means that the output from the RIP with HPS is no better
than without HPS, and indeed may be far more prone to moiré.
The best route is to switch off such features in the sending application if possi-
ble, or to set up a PPD (or other configuration file) which uses the same screen
frequency for all separations, and a standard set of angles: for example, 0°, 15°,
45°, and 75°.
If modifying the input file is not possible then, in the HPS Options dialog box,
select Snap angles to nearest 7.5 degrees and, in the Edit Style dialog box, select
Override frequency in job. You cannot use this second method if you want several
different screen frequencies on a page: for example, for special effects.
The RIP caches screen sets with PostScript-defined spot functions as well as those
with recognized functions. These spot functions are not processed quite as rapidly as
the built-in functions the first time that they are used but when previously cached
screens are used there is no difference in performance between built-in screen func-
tions and spot functions supplied in PostScript.
High performance screening with HPS in the RIP requires a reasonably large amount
of RAM. As a guide, you should assume that extra memory in the range 8 through
12 MB RAM is required to use HPS effectively.
If messages are produced in the Navigator RIP window saying that insufficient mem-
ory is available and that performance is being affected then you should increase the
amount of RAM available to the RIP to obtain significant speed increases.
If you are not using extra grays then increasing the freedom of HPS to select from a
wider range of screen sets by increasing the Maximum frequency deviation, Angle accu-
racy, or Frequency accuracy settings reduces the memory requirement. If extra grays
are switched on, you can also reduce memory usage by using lower values for Limit
number of distinct gray levels and Limit screen levels.
Ensure that the Optimize for angle set value defined in the HPS Options dialog box is
correct for the angles that you are using. If the value is set incorrectly then processing
a job may require significantly more memory.
If you are imposing several separations onto one output film, the relative positions of
the plates which do not use 0 and 45 degree angles (usually Cyan and Magenta) can
make significant differences to memory requirements and rendering times. If at all
possible, ensure that these two plates do not occur side by side: that is, avoid the case
where a single fast scan line on the final film can pass through both a Cyan plate and a
Magenta plate. If all four CMYK separations are to be produced on a single film then
the best default configuration is a two by two square with Cyan and Magenta in diago-
nally opposite corners, because film rotation cannot then cause these plates to appear
on the same scan line.
to the Configure RIP Extras dialog box and OK again to return to the Configure RIP
dialog box.
You can change a password already entered by selecting the appropriate entry in the
list on the Configure RIP Extras dialog box and clicking on Add.
Note: To disable a feature that you have already enabled with a valid password, enter
a password of 0 (zero).
The RIP may reject a password when you type it into the Enable Feature dialog box.
The main reasons for rejection are:
• The password is wrong, probably because of incorrect transmission or a typing
mistake.
• The password is for the wrong option. For example, if you enter an HDS pass-
word after selecting HCS then the password is not accepted.
The fact that the Enable Feature dialog box accepts a password does not necessarily
imply that the password is correct for that particular screen set on that particular copy
of the RIP. (Remember that the serial number of the Navigator RIP is set by the don-
gle.) If you get errors when using an HSL screen, please check that the entered pass-
word is correct.
When used at high frequencies, this screening set is extremely good at holding detail
in continuous tone areas (for example, scanned images), but can suffer from worse
object moiré than, for example, Euclidean dots if the subject of the image contains
fine patterns.
HCS is also very good at creating smooth, flat looking tints in process color work even
at low screen rulings, although you must take care at the edges of such tints, where
patterns can occur unless the tints are bounded: for example, edged with a black rule.
For HCS screens, the RIP uses the screen frequency entered into the Edit Style dialog
box, but ignores the entered angle. Instead, the RIP selects an angle automatically
based on the color separation being processed, from the set (-45°, 45°, -15°, and -75°).
We recommend that you turn on Harlequin Precision Screening while using HCS—at
higher frequencies, also use the extra grays functionality of HPS.
Warning: Do not use Hex HDS Super F or other screens whose names start with
Hex when your output device is operating in a conventional (CMYK or RGB) output
space. Several output plugins remove the names of inappropriate dot shapes from the
Dot shape list to help prevent mistaken choices.
These varieties differ in the size and distribution of the HDS dots (clusters) used to
create tints. The selection of which to use should be based on the physical characteris-
tics of the imagesetter being used, together with details of the plate making, press, ink,
paper, and press environment.
In general, the higher the quality of the entire printing process the smaller the HDS dot
that can be used. The finer HDS screens are best used with high quality imagesetters
capable of holding single laser spots. The coarser HDS screens are best selected on
presses which cannot hold very fine detail, such as high speed web-offset presses. The
physical size of the HDS dot created with each of these options varies both with the
imagesetter laser spot size, and with the resolution at which it is driven. HDS Super
Coarse (HDS Super C) is designed to be suitable for use in newsprint applications on
imagesetters at mid-range resolutions, that is 1000 through 1600 dots per inch (dpi).
HDS Super Fine (HDS Super F) is designed for output devices where final copy is
produced directly: for example, laser or inkjet printers.
HDS Super Fine:
HDS Fine:
HDS Medium:
HDS Coarse:
Below is a table with the spot sizes in microns for the different HDS models and dif-
ferent output resolutions for 20% HDS screen.
Both the frequency and the angle supplied in the Edit Style dialog box are ignored
when using HDS screens, except for calibration.
As with any high definition screening technology, accurate calibration is important for
good quality output using HDS, and it may be necessary to create several calibration
sets for use with different presses or different paper stocks on a given press. In most
circumstances however, a single calibration set is sufficient and you should therefore
specify a range of frequencies likely to cover any line frequency which might be set in
the screening dialog boxes or requested by a PostScript-language job. The HDS
screens are symmetric, that is, you may use a single calibration set for both positive
and negative output.
Though HDS screens do not have the same lines per inch (lpi) characteristic as con-
ventional screening the following rough comparisons may be useful. If we take the
case of an imagesetter working at 1524 dpi with a relatively small dot size (less than
20 µm), then HDS Coarse has a dot gain on film only slightly higher than a conven-
tional 150 lpi screen in the midtones, and holds up better than the conventional screen
in the highlights and the shadows. HDS Medium has a similar correspondence to a
200 lpi screen at 1524 dpi. Finally, HDS Fine has characteristics similar to a 300 lpi
screen, and needs similar careful handling to obtain good results. It should be noted
that the lpi correspondence changes more or less in proportion to changes in the imag-
esetter resolution. For example, a rough correspondence to a 100 lpi screen is given by
HDS Coarse at 1016 dpi, though if the final press has high dot gain this still has to be
taken into account in the calibration.
As can be seen from the above comparison with conventional screening, many people
using HDS screens may become aware of the issues required to print very fine detail
on film for the first time. The following hints and suggestions are useful when work-
ing with HDS screens, particularly HDS Fine, and also apply to conventional and
other screens at very high line frequencies. These hints are not a definitive guide, but
do provide a starting point for producing good HDS output.
Consider every stage of the process, including:
• While scanning, choose an appropriate unsharp masking setting. You may need
to use unsharp masking settings different from those used for conventionally
screened output.
• When producing film positives, try using different laser spot sizes. We have
found that the best results are produced if a relatively small laser spot size is
used in conjunction with exposures sufficient to give solids with densities in
the range 3.5 through 4.0. However, this may not be applicable to every image-
setter.
• When making plates and proofs, take great care to ensure that the film is clean
and dust free and make any other adjustments that help to ensure intimate con-
tact between the film and the proof or plate medium. For example, increase the
vacuum pump-down time from, say, 20 seconds to 60 seconds or more.
• When printing on a press with relatively high dot gain, consider compensating
for this gain. On such presses, particularly on web-offset, you may have to
make an adjustment for the higher dot gain in the highlights and midtones due
to the finer detail in the screen. Various schemes are possible and have been
used for this; one approach is to calibrate the screen for the press directly, but
be aware that images are normally scanned with a modest press compensation
already in place and take this into account.
HDS screens have no angle as such, but are rotationally isotropic (they have the same
characteristics in every direction). Even though the screen angle is ignored, different
patterns are used for each process separation. This does not depend on the screen
angle originally selected, but uses the automatic color separation detection, described
in “Automatic detection of color separations” on page 243.
The screen caches used by HDS mean that HDS output is produced at virtually identi-
cal rates to that using other screening systems within the RIP. The caches are reason-
ably large, although not significantly greater than those used for many combinations
of screen frequency, resolution, and angle. Do not select very large values for Limit
screen levels in the HPS Options dialog box, unless you have very large amounts of
RAM available to your copy of the RIP.
Unlike HPS, HCS, or HMS, the screen caches used by HDS cannot be created by the
RIP if they are not present when a screen is selected. Each of the variants of HDS
requires cache files to be installed into the Screens subfolder of the SW folder. These
are saved in folders named in the pattern HDS-<set>-gen, where <set> is replaced
by particular values. The <set> part of the name is a for super fine, b for fine, c for
medium, d for coarse, or e for super coarse. Each folder has subfolders, named: A,
Ai, B, Bi, C, D, Default, E, and F. These folders allow for up to six independent out-
put colorants, including light and dark versions of two inks, and spot colors. For
example, with a conventional four-color device, the mapping is that Cyan uses A,
Magenta uses B, Yellow uses C, and Black uses D. Installer applications supplied by
Global Graphics for use with the RIP automatically install all appropriate cache files.
The RIP ignores the value set for Rotate screens according to page rotation (in the Edit
Style dialog box) when screening with HDS.
Compression of page buffers is less efficient with HDS than other screening tech-
niques. (It is a general rule of compression that increased randomness in data reduces
the amount by which it can be compressed.) You can expect compressed page buffers
to be larger when using HDS, and disk performance to become marginally more
important to total throughput. It is usually possible to maintain or improve throughput
with the same output quality, by exploiting the ability to process jobs at lower resolu-
tion.
HDS screens cannot be used if the horizontal and vertical output resolutions selected
are not equal.
HMS Elliptical1:
If you have been limiting the screen frequencies that you use because you cannot be
certain of holding the small highlight and shadow dots with finer screens then HMS
should allow you to output at significantly higher frequencies. However, it does not
assist you if you need to limit your screen frequencies because of press registration
problems.
HMS may be used to extend the length of print runs in situations where this is nor-
mally limited by drop-out increasing as the print run progresses.
HMS acts on both the screen frequency and angle as defined in the Edit Style dialog
box in the RIP.
Careful calibration can improve output quality when using HMS. The Euclidean vari-
ant of HMS is symmetrical, but you should normally produce separate calibration sets
for positive and negative output of the Elliptical HMS form.
• An attempt has been made to use a screen set which has not been enabled, or
where the password entered for that screen set is incorrect for the current secu-
rity number. This can occur if an incorrect password has been entered acciden-
tally or if the dongle has been changed from that for which the password was
originally created.
Note: Selection of HSL screens in the Screening dialog box is enabled when
any nonzero number is entered in the Enable Feature dialog box for that screen
set—the ability to select a HSL screen does not necessarily imply that the
number entered is correct for use with the specific dongle connected.
• An attempt has been made to use an HDS screen when HDS has been correctly
enabled, but one or more of the appropriate HDS screen caches is not present.
Chapter 3 through Chapter 6 describe how you can use the Navigator RIP to configure
the appearance of any page of output sent to a printer or the screen.
This chapter shows how you can also configure the way in which the RIP works,
allowing you to get the best performance from the RIP working with your particular
computer, network, and output devices; together with system software and any other
applications running on the computer.
You have control over a variety of settings, including the following:
• The folders in which certain files are placed by the RIP.
• The page buffer mode that the RIP uses.
• The use of buffers in memory.
• Job timeouts.
• Memory allocation.
All of the options described here are available from the Configure RIP dialog box or
subsidiary dialog boxes.
You can also reset the RIP to its factory settings, as described in “Resetting the Navi-
gator RIP to default values” on page 258, or choose a different language to be used in
dialog boxes, menus, and messages, as described in “Choosing the user interface lan-
guage” on page 259.
Section 7.2 through Section 7.7 on page 253 describe the use of items in this dialog
box.
Section 7.8 on page 254 describes the use of the dialog box displayed when you click
the Extras button.
The Options button leads to another subsidiary dialog box: described in part of
Section 7.3 on page 248; and in Section 7.9 on page 256 through Section 7.12 on
page 258.
The page buffer folder should be held on a local disk, rather than on a server. In addi-
tion, if you are using an output device with a very high data rate, this disk must be fast
enough to keep up with the printer.
data for the current page.The RIP will then reprint that page before carrying on with
the next page.
However, if your printer can stop / start, you have two options:
• Allow a page buffer to be created and output again. If the page buffer still
cannot be output fast enough to keep up with the printer, the job will be
aborted.
• Stop the printer until enough image has been processed, and then start the
printer again.
You can choose which of these should be done from the Configure RIP Options dialog
box, as shown in Figure 7.2. Display this dialog box by clicking on the Options button
on the main Configure RIP dialog box.
• If you select the box labeled Allow stop / start, the second option will be used. If
the box is not selected, a page buffer will be created and the page output again.
By default, the box is not selected.
Even if your printer allows stop / starting, you may not necessarily want to use this
feature. Stopping and starting some printers will cause a degradation in the image.
There are very few cases where you will always want to use uncompressed page buff-
ers. If you do want this choice, clear the Compress page buffer box.
band, the more scanlines that can be fitted into the band leading to an increase in per-
formance. However, in this case, memory requirements are generally higher which
leads to a decrease in performance if memory is limited. It is important to note that the
bandsize/performance trade-off is affected by resolution, page width, PDF transpar-
ency, in-rip trapping, anti-aliasing (for example .tiff output), and scaling, as well as the
number and layout of objects within the page. In addition, band size is fixed for each
RIP session even though different page setups may be more optimally served by dif-
ferent band sizes.
The value you should enter depends on the configuration of your machine. Typical
values are 128 KB for black and white output, and more for output in color, perhaps
256 KB. Adjust these values according to experience with your configuration.
• By altering the timeouts available in the RIP, you can to some extent prevent
loss of productivity by timing out complex, but correct, jobs before they con-
sume too much machine time. (Subsequently, you can rerun such jobs under
operator control and supervision: for example, with more resources temporarily
devoted to the RIP.)
For example, assume you are sending output to a fast 900 KB/second printer, while
using another application at the same time, and that application does a screen update
that takes 3 seconds (during which time the RIP is locked out). In that time, the printer
could consume 3 × 900 = 2700 KB (2.7 MB) of data. To prevent data underrun, you
must ensure that you have a printer buffer at least this big.
In practice, a printer buffer in the range 4 MB through 12 MB is usually adequate.
This total includes any buffering memory on interface cards or in the output device,
but if there is such memory it needs separate installation or configuration. From the
memory that the RIP controls, it allocates a minimum of 1024 KB buffer space by
default.
To find the best setting for your system, try starting with a 4 MB (4096 KB) buffer,
and if you have problems with data underrun, increase the buffer size until the prob-
lem goes away. If this fails, you may need a faster disk or more memory. The ability to
roam large or multiple page buffers is related to the printer buffer size; 4 MB is a good
starting point for this use.
To change the size of the printer buffer, enter the number of kilobytes (KB) you
require in the text box labeled Printer buffer in the Configure RIP dialog box. If there
is not enough memory for the requested printer buffer, its size will be reduced auto-
matically.
The figure you enter is the minimum amount of memory that the RIP will use for buff-
ering output. Sometimes, especially in Single (if required) mode, the RIP will use a
much larger amount of memory.
Note: The amount of printer buffer memory needed varies according to job and device
resolution, output device speed, computer speed, disk speed, and so on. Experiment
with a larger buffer if necessary.
7.8 Extras
The Configure RIP Extras dialog box, available from the Configure RIP dialog box, is
used to switch on screening strategies and layered options by entering passwords.
Note: There are other places where you may need to enter a password. Some plugins
require you to enter a password elsewhere; read the documentation for the plugin care-
fully to find out where. Also, some language options for the user interface can require
you to enable the language before you can use it—see Section 7.14 on page 259 for
details.
See “Harlequin Screening Library” on page 235 for details of how to use the screening
options and how to obtain and enter passwords for all options requiring passwords to
be entered in the Configure RIP Extras dialog box.
The other entries in the list can include:
• ColorPro, to enable the color management options within the Navigator RIP.
Harlequin ColorPro is described in the separate Harlequin ColorPro User’s
Guide.
• TrapPro to enable the TrapPro trapping options within the RIP. See the sepa-
rate TrapPro User Manual for full details.
• HDLT, to enable Harlequin display list technology.
• Simple imposition. See Chapter 10, “Simple Imposition” for full details.
• TIFF/IT, to enable TIFF/IT-P1 input.
Note: There is an optional TIFF/IT-P1 output plugin. If this plugin is present, it
shows the entry: TIFF/IT-P1, TIFF/IT-P1. Be careful to select the correct
entry for input or output before entering a password.
• Media Saving to enable the Media saving facilities.
There may also be entries for plugins that require a password. These entries can be the
result of:
• Security dongles that require a password before allowing use of plugins.
• Plugins that require a password for each device type that they provide.
• Multiple device plugins that require a password but group several device types
so that they can be enabled with a single password.
You should receive appropriate instructions and passwords when receiving these plu-
gins and security dongles.
If you want to reduce the amount of memory allocated to the RIP, select the Memory
for RIP option and enter the value in the text box. The RIP is allocated this amount of
memory, less the amount specified in the Minimum memory left for system field.
The Minimum memory left for system field lets you reduce the allocation for the RIP so
that memory is left for the operating system and any other running applications. If this
value is too small, the operating system will start paging, which will degrade
performance.
Note: The following two options are not available for a symmetric multiprocessing
(SMP) version of the RIP.
If a particular job is so large that it cannot all be fitted into memory at once, the RIP
starts to paint partial page buffers to disk. To try and avoid this, you can allocate extra
temporary memory for the RIP, using the Memory reserve for RIP option. This option
allows the RIP to use additional physical and virtual memory while completing the
job.
Note: If you allocate a large amount of extra temporary memory, the operating system
may start paging. Paging would slow the system down more than painting partial page
buffers to disk. We recommend that you allocate less than 4 MB of extra temporary
memory.
There are some instances when the RIP cannot paint partial page buffers to disk: for
example, when recombining preseparated jobs or using TrapPro. The RIP cannot com-
plete the job if it does not have enough memory. In such instances, select the Allow use
of all available memory option. The RIP will use all the available physical and virtual
memory to try and complete the job. Using all the memory may severely degrade per-
formance until the job has finished.
From the total memory allocated to it at startup, the RIP allocates the printer and net-
work buffers. All memory not used for these buffers is used by the RIP for processing
jobs.
The final allocations used are reported in the Navigator RIP window when the RIP
starts up.
If there is insufficient memory to allocate the buffers requested, the RIP tries the fol-
lowing methods of automatic recovery, in the order shown:
• Reducing the network buffer to a minimum of 64 KB.
• Reducing the printer buffer to a minimum of 512 KB.
If there is still not enough memory to give the RIP at least 4096 KB, the RIP will dis-
play a warning and quit.
Note: In the command line, change HARLQN_LS.exe to the exact name of the appli-
cation that you are using.
A dialog box appears, asking if you wish to return to the factory defaults.
• Click Yes if you wish to reset any part of the current configuration.
• Click No if you wish to keep all of the current configuration. (the RIP starts up
normally.)
If you click Yes, the RIP displays several dialog boxes that allow you to reset specific
parts of the configuration, one after the other. For each dialog box, click the Yes button
to reset all the configuration information described in that dialog box. Click No to
keep that part of your configuration.
The RIP allows you to reset most parts of the configuration in this manner, including
page setups, RIP configuration, media management information, and window posi-
tions.
After the last dialog box, the RIP starts up normally.
7.14.2 Procedure
To check which languages are available or to switch to another available language,
choose the Navigator RIP > Language menu option. The Select User Interface Lan-
guage dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 7.3.
The dialog box shows you which languages are available in a multi-column list. A lan-
guage is available for immediate use if the entries after its name or code (in the Lan-
guage column) are all Present or Yes.
To use an enabled language, select your chosen language and click OK. The RIP dis-
plays a dialog box asking if you wish to confirm your choice and quit the RIP. Click
Yes if you are sure, and then click OK to dismiss the second confirmation dialog box.
When you restart the RIP, you should see that it is using your chosen user interface
language.
Note: You may still see a small number of options in lists or messages appearing in
English or another language. This is normal. For example, the Feature and Calibration
lists in the Edit Page setup dialog box display the names of files, which remain
unchanged as the user interface language changes. Similarly, the Harlequin window
displays messages if they are produced directly by PostScript-language jobs and, if
needed, some very rare and technical error messages.
Configuring Input
This chapter describes the different ways in which the Navigator RIPNavigator RIP
can accept its input, and how to configure the RIP to use each type of input. Chapter 5,
“Configuring Output Formats”, describes the different ways in which you can control
output from the RIP, using page setups.
There are several ways of providing input to the Navigator RIP:
• Using one or more managed inputs, as described in Section 8.1, “Input man-
agement”, and the following sections. This is the preferred method for routine
use because, in general, the managed inputs allow users on many machines to
submit jobs to the RIP.
• Using the Print File menu command, as described in Section 8.12 on page 302.
This command allows a user on the machine running the RIP to print all of the
job types possible on that installation of the RIP. You can use Print File while
managed inputs are active.
• Entering PostScript-language code interactively by typing at a prompt on the
machine, as described in Section 8.20 on page 333. You must disable other
inputs for the duration of your interactive sessions in order to do this.
When you use managed inputs or the Print File menu command, you can print several
types of job. The available types depend on the details of your installation of the RIP.
Some types have associated settings in page setups, may require enabling with pass-
words, or require other care in use. The possible types, with references to full descrip-
tions of their use, are:
• PostScript-language files (PS) and Encapsulated PostScript files (EPS), both
described in Section 8.13 on page 304.
• Portable Document Format (PDF) files, described in Section 8.14 on page 304.
• JPEG and JFIF files, described in Section 8.15 on page 323.
• TIFF/IT-P1 files, described in Section 8.17 on page 323.
• TIFF 6.0 files, described in Section 8.18 on page 328.
• Navigator RIP page buffer files, described in Section 8.19 on page 331.
The Input Controller is similar to the Device Manager, described in Section 5.11,
“Multiple device output plugins”. The main list shows the input sources currently
available. Each input source can be turned on or off individually using the buttons—
the state is displayed in the Status column.
Each row in the list represents one particular source, and contains:
• The Name for the input source. This is used to identify the source within the
RIP. It may also be used by the input plugin itself.
• The Type of input. This determines which input plugin the RIP uses.
• The Page Setup. This is the page setup used by all jobs arriving through this
source.
• The Enabled state. This should be On to make the source available when you
start the RIP or start inputs.
• The Status. This can be Stopped, Idle, or Busy.
An input is stopped either because all inputs are stopped, because you have dis-
abled this input in the Input Controller (using Off), or because of a problem
when trying to start that input. An idle input is ready to receive a job but none is
arriving. A busy input is actually receiving a job.
You can also choose to see the same information about items that are not controllable
from the Input Controller. The check box below the list gives you this ability:
A new menu appears in the menu bar, called Input Queue. This menu has these
options:
• Kill Current Job. This causes the job currently processing to be aborted. It may
take a few seconds.
• Stop Input Queue. This turns off the input system when the job currently pro-
cessing has finished.
• Abort Input Queue. This aborts the job currently processing and then turns off
the input system.
2. Type a name for the plugin device in the Name text box.
The name is used to identify the source within the RIP. It may also be used by
the input plugin itself. If you create an AppleTalk input device, when you start
the inputs a printer of this name becomes available on the AppleTalk network.
3. Choose the plugin type from the Type drop-down list.
4. Choose a saved page setup from the Page Setup drop-down list: the RIP applies
this page setup to each job arriving at the source.
5. If the plugin is to be initially turned on, select the Enabled check box.
6. Click the Configure button to display an input plugin Configuration dialog box,
allowing you to specify details relevant to the plugin you have chosen.
The Configuration dialog box varies according to the type of plugin chosen. It is
used to give details about how the input is to be handled, and to set up any hard-
ware associated with the source. See Section 8.1 on page 264 for a list of input
types and page references to their configuration and use.
7. When you have specified all the details for the new source, click OK.
To configure an existing input plugin, select it in the Input Controller and click Edit.
The RIP displays the Input Channel Edit dialog box. Click Configure to see the Con-
figuration dialog box for the selected input. See Section 8.1 on page 264 for a list of
input types and page references to their configuration and use.
Wait timeout This value sets the length of time, in minutes, that the input
source waits for data. If no data is sent for that length of time
and the RIP is waiting for data, the job is aborted.
Abort on error This control sets the behavior of the input plugin on detecting
an error. By default, this box is selected, which means that an
error causes an immediate abort. This is not the typical
behavior of a PostScript-language compatible interpreter but
it may save considerable time spent in transferring data which
is merely flushed (ignored) by the interpreter.
Clear this box if you encounter problems with network soft-
ware or wish to ensure full compatibility with other Post-
Script-language compatible interpreters.
2. When the installation program asks you, choose the folder in which the Naviga-
tor RIP is installed. (To help you identify it, remember that this folder contains
both the Plugins and SW folders.)
3. Wait for the installation process to finish. Reboot the computer.
Now that the plugin is installed, you can create a Navigator RIP input.
The dialog box contains controls to allow for the situation where RIP inputs
have started up before the Windows spooler system—this is possible on fast
machines. The default is to accept failure, in which case the printer will be
unavailable without some user intervention. You can make the RIP keep trying,
within a time limit, by using the controls.
Enable
Select this box if you want the RIP to retry making a connection to the Windows
spooler after initially failing.
Retry delay
Enter the time, after the initial failure, for which you wish the RIP to continue
retrying. A retry delay of 60 seconds is likely to be enough on all machines. Too
long a delay means delaying jobs on other inputs, so reduce this figure if you
have no problems.
Click OK to close the configuration window.
3. Click OK again to close the Input Channel Edit dialog box
4. Use Navigator RIP > Start Inputs to start inputs.
You now have a RIP channel that forms a port visible to the Windows printer configu-
ration software.
5. Select Create a new port, and select ScriptWorks from the drop down selection
box. Click on Next.
6. A list box is then displayed showing the names of all unconnected ScriptWorks
Channels. Select one of these and OK.
7. Configure the printer. To do this choose a manufacturer and printer model from
the lists or click Have Disk if you have a special driver for the printer you wish to
emulate with the RIP. If you do not have a special driver, choose one for a Post-
Script-compatible printer that supports the features you require.
8. Name the printer, and click Next. Choose whether or not to share the printer,
giving it a shared name if you do share it, and click Next.
9. Choose to print a test page and click Finish. Windows copies some configuration
files and prints the test page. You should see the RIP become busy on the
NT Input in the Input Controller.
To use the printer, see Section 8.4.4.
This command spools the file file.ps into the Windows printer system, from where
the job goes to the RIP input channel specified by the default printer.
This can happen if you choose a driver for a printer that supports multiple page
description languages. For example, jobs sent to HP LaserJet printers that support
both PCL and PostScript languages can include problematic control statements at the
start and end of the job. The simplest cure is to pick a driver that produces only Post-
Script-language code when printing to the RIP printers.
Prior to release of the NTPrint plugin v2.0r3, jobs received on an NT print input were
named by the input channel, and not the job. A page feature was provided to overcome
this. From the release of the NTPrint plugin v2.0r3 (shipped with Navigator RIP,
Eclipse Release), the page feature is incorporated within the NT input plugin and thus
will use the name within the job.
The new version of the plugin will work with Eclipse Release and later RIPs.
The NT Pipe input plugin for the RIP allows OPI servers or other applications to sup-
ply data to the RIP via named pipes.
There are two possible cases:
• The RIP and a suitable application can share a single multiprocessor machine,
and use a named pipe to communicate. This allows the other application to
deliver jobs to the RIP at much faster speeds than it can deliver jobs to a net-
worked printer (provided by the Navigator RIP).
• With a single processor machine or an application that cannot share a multipro-
cessor machine, the RIP and the other application must run on separate
Windows NT systems connected through a network. Even in this case, using
named pipes can deliver much better performance than printing over an Apple-
Talk network.
3. For most applications, you can now click OK to close the Input Channel Edit
dialog box.
You can now read Section 8.5.4 on page 279 to see how to connect an application to
this pipe. If you have difficulty, or know that you need to change the default configu-
ration, read Section 8.5.3.
To get an actual name, replace <machine> with the name of the computer running the
RIP, replace <pipe prefix> with the name entered in the Named Pipe Plugin dialog box,
and replace <name> with the name you entered in the Input Channel Edit dialog box.
If the RIP is running on a Windows NT system named BRICK, and the channel has
been defined in the RIP with the name Fred, the pipe name would be:
\\BRICK\pipe\ScriptWorks\Channel\Fred
Pipe Prefix If you wish to use a different scheme for pipe names you can
change the prefix by clicking on the Configure button in the
Input Channel Edit dialog box. The RIP displays the Named
Pipe Plugin dialog box.
\\<machine>\pipe\<pipe prefix>\<name>
For example, when the machine is called BRICK, the pipe prefix is the default
ScriptWorks\Channel, and the name (as entered in the Input Channel Edit
dialog box) is Fred, then the full pipe name is:
\\BRICK\pipe\ScriptWorks\Channel\Fred
A period ( . ) can serve as a shortcut for the name of your local machine. If the
supplying application and the RIP are on the same computer, the pipe name
could be:
\\.\pipe\ScriptWorks\Channel\Fred
4. Give whatever other information the application requires, and complete the pro-
cedure that makes the printer available for use with the application.
If you have multiple copies of the RIP, or have published multiple NT Pipe input
channels from a single installation of the RIP, you can repeat the same sequence for
each channel.
the order of arrival and file naming can be controlled so that all subfiles arrive before
the FP file and you select the TIFF/IT-P1 option described on page 285. If the order of
arrival or naming is unsuitable or unpredictable, using Print File from the Navigator
RIP menu is the simplest reliable method of ensuring that the RIP images the intended
file or combination of files.
The RIP ignores types of files that it cannot print, and any files that you exclude inten-
tionally by configuring the spool folder input.
You can exclude files based on their names. You may want to exclude files that resem-
ble real jobs, but that actually contain accounting or housekeeping information for the
software that delivers files into the spool folder. You may also want to exclude, or at
least delay, real jobs with particular origins or qualities. All this is possible so long as
the file names have a recognizable prefix.
You specify which folder the RIP uses in the input plugin Configure dialog box, avail-
able from the Input Controller. By default, this folder is called Spool and exists in the
SW folder. If needed, you can create several spooled inputs, each with its own folder,
page setup, and exclusion list.
When you specify a folder accessed over a network, make sure that the folder auto-
matically becomes available to the computer running the RIP when that computer is
restarted.
Because files are normally deleted as soon as they are printed, it is important to ensure
that the RIP has permission to delete files in the spool folder, particularly if the spool
folder is on a network file server. See Appendix A, Troubleshooting, for more details.
The files in the spool folders are processed in the order in which they arrive. However,
if there are jobs already in a folder when the RIP is started, or if a very large number of
files have been queued, the RIP determines the order of those jobs by the date stamps
on the files.
3. Click the Configure button. The Spool Folder Configuration dialog box appears.
Make the settings you wish, and click OK. Click OK again to close the Input Channel
Edit dialog box. The spool folder input becomes active, now or when you next start
inputs. When the spool folder becomes active, the RIP reports the number of exclu-
sions, that is the number of prefixes that it will ignore. See the description of the File-
names prefix list option on page 284 for details.
Spool Folder The current spool folder is shown in the text field alongside
this button. This location is where the RIP detects the arrival
of files and considers them as possible jobs, by looking at the
type of file and any file names excluded in the Filenames pre-
fix list.
Note: Choose a folder that is dedicated to receiving jobs. In
particular, avoid using folders where other files are arriving
or changing. (For example, the SW folder is a bad choice,
because the log file changes with every job.)
Click the Spool Folder button to change this folder using the
standard file browsing dialog box. Alternatively, you can type
a full path name in the text field but be aware that any typing
errors can cause an error or the creation of a new folder.
Error Folder If a file fails to print, the RIP moves it to the error folder
specified unless the Delete on error box is selected. If a file
prints successfully, the RIP moves it to the Complete folder
specified unless the Delete on completion box is selected.
Delete on error Select this box if you want the RIP to delete files that the
Spool folder fails to print. Leave this box clear if you want
failed files to be moved to the Error Folder. Note that a file is
treated as an error if you abort it while it is being processed.
Move/Delete All Files
With this option selected the spool plugin will either move to
the error folder, or delete any file which it does not recognize
(such as badly formed PDF documents). The files are moved
or deleted depending on the state of the Delete on Error check
box.
Complete Folder If a file successfully prints, the RIP moves it to the location
specified in the text field alongside this button unless the
Delete on completion box is checked. Click the Complete Folder
button to change this location using the standard file brows-
ing dialog box.
Delete on completion
Select this box if you want the RIP to delete files that the
Spool folder succeeds in printing. Otherwise the RIP moves
these files to the Complete Folder.
ing means that the RIP does not process the files and allows
the files to remain in the spool folder until removed by a user
or other software.
Note: If you remove or disable a prefix while the spool folder
is still active, the RIP processes any files previously excluded
by that prefix but still present in the spool folder.
You can enter several prefixes. Separate multiple prefixes by
commas without surrounding spaces. (If you add spaces after
a comma, the RIP treats the spaces as part of the following
string.) Each prefix can include alphanumeric characters, the
underscore character, the period character, and spaces.
For example, this is a valid list of three prefixes:
aaab_c,BAC,4.4
• One server machine (the one running the Navigator RIP) can receive input
from as many sending machines as can connect to the network. (The RIP must
finish one job before starting another, including jobs from other types of input
plugin.)
• All sending machines are configured in the same way.
• Given an existing network, there is no requirement for extra hardware or shared
file systems.
• A program or user on the sending machine can be informed of the job status as
the job progresses.
There are some potential, minor, difficulties with socket input:
• It requires a small amount of central network management, or user access to
configuration files, on the sending and receiving machines. This management
or user access is required only when setting up the links, not for routine use.
• In general, the socket input plugin accepts only PostScript-language and PDF
input, sent with a basic TCP/IP stream protocol. This protocol is simple to gen-
erate but prohibits the direct use of any extra protocol such as that used by the
UNIX lp program. (The Xinet PapConnect protocol is an option if there is no
Macintosh computer involved.)
Note: Prior to the release of the Socket plugin v2.1r3, jobs received on an input Socket
were named by the input channel, and not the job. A page feature was provided to
overcome this. From the release of the Socket plugin v2.1r3 the page feature is added
to the plugin and thus will use the name within the job.
Note: Most machines running sockets can support several independent types of com-
munication and there is usually ongoing communication for processes including mail,
printing, and file transfer. The different types of communications are kept separate by
assigning each to a different port, usually identified by number. Port numbers below
1024 are listed in a services database and have registered uses and protocols that
enable computers at local and remote sites to communicate according to published
standards. Some numbers above 1024 also have agreed uses, but most are available
for use in a way specific to a single site, as allocated by the local network manager or
system administrator.
Prior to release of the Socket plugin v2.1r3, jobs received on a Socket input were
named by the input channel, and not the job. A page feature was provided to overcome
this. From the release of the Socket plugin v2.1r3 (shipped with Navigator RIP,
Eclipse Release), the page feature is incorporated within the Socket plugin and thus
will use the name within the job.
8.7.1 Requirements
All machines need to support TCP/IP over Ethernet and to be linked by a network.
This is the only requirement for machines running the UNIX, Mac OS X,
Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 operating systems.
Classic Macintosh computers need the following:
• Open Transport, an operating system extension that comes as standard on
Power Macintosh computers with software support for PCI expansion buses.
Open Transport is compatible with operating system versions from System 7.1
onwards.
• The computer must be a Power Macintosh, that is, it must not be based on the
680x0 processor family.
Under Windows XP and Windows 2000, the position of the services database can vary
between different installations of the operating system. The administrator can choose
where to install the operating system (with the chosen location recorded in the envi-
ronment variable %Systemroot%) and the services database is stored in a fixed rela-
tionship to this location. For example, if the operating system is installed in \winnt
then the services database is the file:
\winnt\system32\drivers\etc\services
On Macintosh computers, there is no services database. (This means that you must
choose ports using TCP by number on a Macintosh, but you may be able to inspect the
services database on a computer of another type if you are operating on a mixed net-
work.)
Warning: Where used, the services database is an important part of a networked oper-
ating system. Make a copy of the services database file before editing it in any way.
• The port on which the machine running the RIP is listening for input.
Optionally, you may need to know:
• A second port, used to return the standard output to the sending application.
(The RIP can return this information on the server port: a second port is only
needed if the sending application requires a separate port.)
Your network manager should be able to supply these details.
All other settings are dependent on the software used to send the jobs, and must be
compatible with those you have made in the Socket Configuration dialog box. For
example, you may need to configure the sending software to receive the PostScript-
language status messages.
We recommend that you configure each sending application to close its sending socket
connection at the end of each job, and pause before reopening it to send another job.
The reasons are:
• You can configure the RIP to receive input on more than one socket input—for
example, to allow the use of different page setups. (Each socket must use a dif-
ferent address.) Closing the connection allows the RIP to check for pending
jobs on other input channels.
• Certain jobs may require that the server socket is closed before the RIP can
start rendering. If the socket is not closed, rendering starts when the next job
starts to arrive, which could result in a significant delay.
choose SocketInput from the Type pop-up menu drop-down list. Click the Configure
button. The Socket Configuration dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 8.7.
You must make settings for the server (input) socket. The other (output and protocol)
settings are optional but interrelated: you may need to make more than one choice to
have a valid combination of settings.
The TCP by number and TCP by name options both offer full network access. The
options are equivalent in that both identify a numbered port. The only difference is
that if you give a name, the name is used to look up the number in the services data-
base, a file which links numbers with names.
A Local socket works only with the UNIX operating system and only on the host
machine: that is, where the sending application and the Navigator RIP both operate on
the same machine. It is provided only for compatibility with older systems.
Bi-directional comms
Select this box when you wish the RIP to pass responses back
to the sending application. The RIP passes these responses:
on the server socket when Use Separate Output Socket is not
4. Click OK again to close the Input Channel Edit dialog box. The asynchronous
socket input becomes active, as you click OK or when you next start inputs.
All other aspects of its use and configuration are as described in Section 8.7 on
page 286.
8.10.1 Overview
This is a brief introduction to creating and using a serial input to the Navigator RIP.
There is more detail in later sections.
The first stage of using a serial input to the Navigator RIP is to find available serial
ports on the remote computer and on the computer running the RIP and to establish a
reliable serial link between them. This requires a null modem cable with suitable con-
nectors for the ports: Section 8.10.2, “Establishing a serial link” specifies the cable
more fully and suggests how you or your supplier may need to test the link.
Next you must configure the RIP input. To configure a Serial input, choose the source
in the Input Controller and click the Configure button. The Serial Comms Configura-
tion dialog box appears, containing several controls, described in Section 8.10.3,
“Configuring a Serial input plugin”.
Set the controls to the desired values and click OK, then enable the input in the Input
Controller dialog box and again click OK. When you select Start Inputs from the Navi-
gator RIP menu (or immediately if inputs are already started), a message appears in the
Navigator RIP window of the general form:
Publishing Serial Input printer <serial_name>
Finally, the remote computer must send a job. When the input is receiving data from
the remote computer, an alert box appears on the screen of the computer running the
RIP to show that the plugin is reading data. (There is no progress box because the plu-
gin cannot find out the total size of the job until it has read all of it.)
extra control signals, it may help to know that the RIP controls the DTR line and
ignores the DSR line.)
For testing, you have two options:
• Use a communications or terminal emulation program on both computers.
• Use a communications or terminal emulation program on the remote computer
and the RIP on the local computer. (You must configure a Navigator RIP serial
input first.) Send a carriage return character to the RIP to make the RIP react as
if it is receiving a job: if the link is good, the RIP loads a page setup and dis-
plays a message in the Navigator RIP window. (Like most PostScript-language
compatible interpreters, the RIP does not by default echo characters to the
remote computer.)
There are many commercially available communications programs but the Terminal
program supplied with Microsoft Windows, and the tip program supplied with the
UNIX operating system are adequate.
You can start testing by typing short messages (PostScript-language jobs if you are
sending to the RIP input plugin). Do not consider the link fully tested until it can trans-
fer files of about 10 KB without any corruption. Find the highest speed at which the
link works reliably.
4. Click OK again to close the Input Channel Edit dialog box. The serial input
becomes active, now or when you next start inputs.
Most controls in the Serial Comms Configuration dialog box set shared communica-
tions parameters, which must match those in use by the sending computer and applica-
tion. Alter these communications settings only if you understand their meaning and
you can ensure that the remote computer is reconfigured to use the same settings.
The remaining items also affect communication but are specific to the computer run-
ning the Navigator RIP and are fully described here.
Device Name Set this to be the serial port on the computer running the RIP
to which the remote computer is connected.
The entries in the list include COM1 and COM2.
Output local This setting controls the destination of error messages and
status information about jobs. Select Output Local to have the
normal RIP behavior where these messages display only in
the Navigator RIP window: the normal behavior of the RIP
for other inputs.
Output remote This setting controls the destination of error messages and
status information about jobs. Select Output Remote to send
information down the serial line to the remote computer.
Job Output This setting controls the destination of error messages and
status information about jobs.
Select Remote to send information down the serial line to the
remote computer.
Select Local to have the normal RIP behavior where these
messages display only in the Navigator RIP window: the nor-
mal behavior of the RIP for other inputs.
Link Timeout This setting has an effect only when the plugin is using binary
mode. The value is the time in seconds that the input plugin
waits without receiving new data before considering that the
job has finished. The RIP accepts values in the range 1
through 1000.
Set the value to be larger than any pauses you expect in the
data from one job, but small enough to have the RIP recog-
nize the end of job in a reasonable time. The remote applica-
tion must wait for this time between sending the end of one
job and starting to send the next job, so an overlong value
reduces throughput.
In particular, you may want to set a large value (100 seconds
or more) if you are testing a link by typing PostScript-lan-
guage statements through a terminal emulator program: in
this case, the value must be larger than any pause in your typ-
ing.
Binary The RIP passes all data to the core RIP and detects the end of
job by observing that no data has arrived within a timeout
period. (The remote application must use at least the same
timeout period between sending jobs.)
ASCII All data is passed to the core RIP for processing, except for
special characters. The special characters are ^C, ^D, and ^T.
ASCII mode resembles Adobe binary mode with the excep-
tion of not supporting ^A.
Adobe binary
All data is passed to the core RIP with the exception of spe-
cial (control) characters defined by the Adobe binary commu-
nications protocol (BCP).
The special characters are all control characters: characters which you can send from
within a terminal emulator program by holding down the Control key while typing a
normal character key. For example, you can type Control-T (shown as ^T) by holding
down the Control key while typing the letter T.
The characters most likely to be useful in testing are those supported by ASCII mode.
Character Meaning
^A Treat the following character so that it passes to the core RIP as a con-
trol character which would otherwise have been stopped and taken as a
control.
^A is not supported in ASCII mode.
^C Generate an interrupt. This terminates the job immediately, with an
error.
^D Signal a normal end of job.
^T Request a job status. The job status is returned down the serial line as a
message enclosed in square brackets. For example, this might be one
such message:
%%[job: Test-job; status: Waiting]%%
Choose an appropriate page setup for printing the files, from the Page Setup drop-down
list.
Note: If you do not choose a page setup, the RIP uses the one that you chose last time
you printed a file. If you have not printed a file in this RIP session, the first page setup
in the drop-down list is used. To change the order of this listing, see “Reordering page
setups” on page 114.
The Print File dialog box shows all PostScript-language files in the current folder. (To
show files of a different type, or all files, use the Files of type drop-down list.)
If you want to choose a file that is not in the folder shown, use the dialog box to move
to the correct folder.
Use the Look in drop-down list to use other folders or drives.
Note: To select all files in the list, click anywhere in the central list of files and type
Ctrl+A.
While any file is being processed, an additional Print File menu appears on the menu
bar of the main RIP window.
Alt
You can abort the current job by choosing Kill Current Job from this menu, or by typ-
ing Alt+• (a period character).
When Kill Current Job is selected, the current job is stopped but subsequent jobs will
be processed.
By selecting Stop Printing File, the current file will complete but any jobs queued after
the current job will not print.
Selecting Abort Printing File will stop the current job and also stop all subsequently
queued jobs from ripping.
Shift
You can select a contiguous block of files by selecting the first file in the block, then
selecting the last file in the block while holding down the Shift key.
Ctrl
You can select several non-contiguous file names by holding down the Control key
while making your selection.
Note: The list of files to print can include files other than PostScript-language, PDF
files, TIFF 6.0, and TIFF/IT-P1. The RIP ignores types of files that it cannot print.
The “PDF Options” from the page set up manager allows the user to select from a
range of PDF/X verification settings, see Section 8.14.8.2 on page 317
The aim is to reproduce with high quality all the features of PDF files that can be ren-
dered on paper or film. You can also preview pages printed from PDF files, but the
RIP does not provide a fully interactive hypertext viewer or editor: there are no search,
cross-reference, or annotation facilities.
Note: PDF/X is a standard defining a subset of PDF, designed for trouble-free use
where the creator sends the PDF file to an external printer or other prepress consumer.
For example, a PDF/X-1 file can use OPI references to external file types only if a file
stream of that external file is included in the PDF/X-1 file. Another example is that a
PDF/X-1 file cannot use some color spaces (for example, DeviceN) that are allowed in
PDF version 1.3. See below for more information.
Note: A PDF/X-3 file containing an OutputIntents dictionary will be color man-
aged using the ICC profile indicated by the OutputIntents dictionary as long as the
job uses a device independent color space and the Override color management in job
option is not selected. Fore more information see Section 8.14.1.1 on page 306.
PDF/X-3:2002 allows slightly more flexibility in that color managed workflows are
also supported—elements in Lab, and with attached ICC source profiles may also be
used.
The specifications also set out how a PDF/X file should be processed by the receiver
of the file. If different approaches to overprinting, for instance, are taken at different
sites then it will not be possible to predict the exact appearance of the final printed
piece from a pre-transmission proof.
This section describes how a Navigator RIP should be configured in order to produce
PDF/X-1a and PDF/X-3 compliant output.
8.14.1.2 Trapping
The TrapPro™ options add in-RIP trapping functionality to the Navigator RIP. If these
have been enabled, trapping parameters may be defined in the user interface and auto-
matically applied to all jobs submitted to the RIP. If a PDF or PDF/X file is labeled as
having already been trapped (by setting the Trapped flag to True), the in-RIP trapping
will automatically be disabled while processing that file to prevent traps being applied
twice.
For more information see the TrapPro™ documentation.
• Annotation types.
New line end styles for Line annotations, fine positioning of Square and Circle
annotations, new annotation types – Polygon & Polyline, Caret annotations.
• Cross reference tables.
• Layers.
Used for versioning, as “layers” in, for example, a packaging workflow. Each
group of optional content may be flagged with separate settings to display on-
screen in a PDF reader and to print. The provision of layers within PDF 1.5
allows the support for different languages within a single file.
This message indicates that the PDF 1.4 transparency checker procset has identified
an element marked as transparency in the job. The procset then switches the RIP from
“Normal” mode into “Backdrop Rendering” mode.
Normal mode means the RIP functions normally, and you should not notice any sig-
nificant changes in behavior in terms of performance, memory usage and so on.
In Backdrop Rendering mode there are significant changes. Interpretation time will be
broadly similar as in normal mode however rendering time will be increased. This is
because the RIP does the compositing in the render phase and this process is computa-
tionally intensive. The compositing phase currently requires memory to be allocated
and so vmerrors may occur. In terms of results, the objects are composited at full
device resolution, there is no downsampling like that produced by pre-flatteners.
Areas of the page which have only opaque objects are optimized to render faster and
thus performance depends on how much of the page is covered by objects which are
transparent.
Using the page-by-page check allows the RIP to switch between Normal and Back-
drop Rendering mode on a page by page basis. This improves performance because
backdrop rendering a page containing no transparency is much slower than normal
rendering.
Note: When a PDF file references another PDF file via transparency the second PDF
is now checked while determining if the page containing the reference has any trans-
parent object on it.
Also, not all applications that provide a user interface to define “transparency” do so
using PDF 1.4 structures. Macromedia FreeHand has support for transparency, but it is
®
done in a different way. Also Acrobat Distiller cannot make transparent objects.
For more information see the Navigator RIP Extensions manual.
8.14.5 AcroForms
A PDF file can contain information which is additional to the standard PDF format.
When viewed using an interactive application such as Adobe Acrobat, this additional
information provides interactive features making the page more like a form. These
files are called AcroForms.
With features such as text input fields, multiple choice option lists and clickable but-
tons, a PDF file that features an AcroForm is used to provide comprehensive elec-
tronic form filling functionality.
You interact with the form via the usual mouse and keyboard actions. The AcroForm
can be programmed to respond to events (such as clicking on a button) to provide var-
ious levels of automation.
When the Navigator RIP is given the job of printing a PDF AcroForm, it has to be sen-
sitive to whether or not the form has been completed and is print-ready.
The Navigator RIP uses the following rule:
• If the NeedAppearances key in the AcroForm dictionary (in the PDF file) is
false (or is absent), the AcroForm will be printed such that all fields (and
only those fields) with appearance streams given will be displayed. Otherwise,
if NeedAppearances is true, the Navigator RIP will reconstruct appearance
streams for all the fields it finds.
What this means for the Navigator RIP is that, unless the PDF file has been made
complete and print-ready, the final appearance of the various fields of the AcroForm
could be displayed slightly differently than they might appear in the viewing applica-
tion (for example, Acrobat).
2. Click Add and navigate to the location of your profile and select it.
3. Click Done.
To remove a PDF profile:
1. Select Output >PDF Profile Manager....
2. Highlight the profiles to be removed. Only those profiles not currently being
used by page setups can be removed.
3. Click Remove followed by Done.
For more information see Section 8.14.8.6 on page 320.
For more information on PDF profiles, see http://www.certified-
pdf.net/home.php.
If you need to print PDF files with different options, for example with different pass-
words, you can create a number of PDF page setup configurations.
The options are in sections for page selection, PDF type acceptance, passwords and
Enfocus certified status check for preflight checking of PDF files.
Leave this check box selected to print all the pages in the PDF document. If you
wish to print only a subset of the pages from a PDF job, deselect this check box
and enter the desired pages in the Pages field.
Reselect this check box when you have finished printing the subset of pages.
This enables the printing of all pages from other PDF jobs. (You do not need to
delete the entry in the Pages field.)
Page(s)
Enter numbers for the page or pages that you wish to print. You can enter indi-
vidual page numbers or ranges, separating each number or range with a comma
( , ) character.
To enter a page range, enter the numbers of the first and last pages in the range,
using a hyphen to separate them: for example, 7-16. If you wish to print all
pages from a particular page to the end of the job, enter a range starting with
that particular page and ending with a number that you know to be higher than
the last page in the PDF job: for example, 47-10000.
You can combine individual page numbers and ranges: for example, 1,2,7-
16,23,24.
When printing a PDF job, the RIP displays a message for each page that is not
printed because of being unlisted in this field. This is a typical message:
%%[ Warning: Skipping page 1 - not in requested page range ]%%
PDF version 1.3 offers several options for defining a rectangular area that is the
area of interest for a PDF page. A PDF file may set values for one or more of
these areas, to be used as appropriate to the different ways that the PDF file can
be used: viewing, office printing, imposition, commercial printing, and so on.
The RIP looks for the values of the option chosen in this list and makes a page
buffer of the size set by that option. Only MediaBox must be present in a file,
but the other areas inherit default values from MediaBox.
The options in this list are fully defined in the Portable Document Format Ref-
erence Manual, Version 1.3. The default is MediaBox.
MediaBox The size of the media, which may be larger than the page
imaged upon it.
BleedBox The size of the page whose edges must be reached by bleed
objects, though the trimmed size of the page may be smaller.
There may be printer’s marks and parts of the bleed objects
outside this area.
TrimBox The size of the page as intended for delivery to the reader,
after trimming any printer’s marks and excess bleed areas.
CropBox Rectangle specifying the default clipping region for the page
when displayed or printed. Acrobat Exchange sets this when
cropping a page.
This list allows you to define how strictly the PDF file must conform to various
standards and specifications for PDF jobs. You can use the On error list to
define what the RIP should do if the job does not meet the requested
specification.
The options in this list are as follows:
Auto-detect types
This is the default option. The RIP makes the best possible
attempt to print the file according to the type labeling within
the job. PDF/X files will be recognized automatically. If the
job claims to be PDF/X-1 but does not meet that standard, the
RIP treats that as an error but may still be able to print the
file.
Any PDF/X-1a
Only PDF/X-1a:2001 and PDF/X-1a:2003 files will be
accepted. See below for the action taken when other files are
received.
The options in this list define the action you wish to occur if there is an error: for
example, if the PDF file is an unrecognized type or if it fails to meet the condi-
tion set in the Accept type(s) list. The actions are as follows:
Abort job
Report errors and reject (abort) the job. If a file being pro-
cessed does not conform to the file type selected, the job will
be aborted, and no output will be produced.
Where a condition in the PDF file is encountered which does not conform to the
appropriate PDF/X specification, a warning message is displayed.
Unless you have selected the Reject if invalid PDF type option, processing of
the PDF file continues as normal.
8.14.8.5 Password
Use password to print protected documents
Select this option when you wish to print a document that has been protected by
a password, and enter that password in the text field. Enter one password only.
For maximum security, remove the password after use. This removal is optional
if your other PDF jobs do not have password protection.
Note: The PDF specification allows for files to have Owner and User (reader)
passwords. The RIP checks the password that you enter against both of these
passwords, and allows printing if either password produces a match.
Passwords can be any length but only the first 32 characters are significant. If
you have any way to influence the choice of password used in jobs supplied to
you, suggest that it uses only ASCII characters: the letters A-z and A-Z, the
numerals 0-9, and punctuation marks such as []{} and ;. For example, there
may be problems in entering the password if the password uses characters that
are not in the English alphabet. Avoid multiple white space characters, accented
characters, and characters that require a double-byte representation.
Note: The Honor ‘PDF Color Management’ check box has been removed. The
option is now called Override color management in job and is part of the Input
Document Controls within the Color Setup Manager. See Section 14.8 on
page 493 for more details.
To make fullest use of jobs containing device-independent color definitions,
enable a TrapPro option in the Configure RIP Extras dialog box.
This check allows you to ensure the validity of the incoming jobs and as such be sure
the files are passed successfully along the workflow.
The following options are provided:
Do status check
With this option selected each incoming PDF is compared to the PDF profiles
listed in the PDF Profiles to compare with window. When a file passes the test it
will continue processing. When a file fails the test a message is displayed in the
message window and written to the log file. The file will then continue process-
ing unless the Abort if status check fails option is checked.
Note: When Do status check is selected you must have at least one profile listed
before you can close the PDF options dialog.
8.14.9 Usage
The simplest way to use PDF files is using the Navigator RIP > Print File command. To
see a listing of PDF files in the current folder, use the PDF Files or All Files
option in the Files of type drop-down list of the Print File dialog box. Select the page
setup that sets the correct PDF options from the Page Setup drop-down list.
You can also supply PDF files to the RIP using spool folder inputs and all forms of
network protocols: AppleTalk, sockets, and so on. See the summary of managed
inputs in Section 8.1 on page 264. If necessary, set the PDF options in the page setup
corresponding to your chosen managed input.
Security settings
The creator of a PDF file can limit access to a PDF file, by
requiring a password of the reader or forbidding changing,
copying, or printing of the content. The only function rele-
vant to the Navigator RIP is the ability to forbid printing. In
general, the RIP does not print files where the creator has for-
bidden printing.
Document Information
The Navigator RIP window displays the PDF version number
and general information about the document, as supplied by
the author or creating application.
Extensions The RIP ignores all extended content (for example, multime-
dia content and private data) that is labeled as such according
to the PDF specification.
You can also supply JPEG and JFIF files to the Navigator RIP using spool folder
inputs. See Section 8.6, “Using the Spool Folder input folder” for details.
When ColorPro is enabled, the RIP can detect and utilize an ICC profile embedded in
a JPEG file. See the Harlequin ColorPro User’s Guide for details.
8.15.1 Limitations
A JPEG file in Progressive format (a format option in Adobe Photoshop) cannot be
printed by the Navigator RIP. Progressive format is often used for web downloads.
The easiest way to print GIF files is using the Navigator RIP > Print File command.
To see a listing of GIF files in the current folder, use the GIF Files or All Files
option in the Files of type drop-down list of the Print File dialog box.
8.17.1 General
The Tag Image File Format (TIFF) is a well-established and popular file format for
raster images. There have been a number of published standards for the format of
TIFF files, each successive standard generally being more complex than the last. This
growing complexity has reflected the format increasing in flexibility and providing for
private extensions to the format. The result has been that TIFF now represents a fam-
ily of file formats and there are many programs that implement only the more popular
parts of these formats.
The RIP supports the imaging of TIFF/IT Profile 1 files, generally referred to as
TIFF/IT-P1 files, a common method of transferring images for use in advertising. The
International Standards Organization (ISO) Draft International Standard 12639
describes the TIFF/IT and TIFF/IT-P1 formats. Relevant earlier standards are ANSI
IT8.8 and the Aldus TIFF 6.0 standard (now maintained by Adobe).
The TIFF/IT-P1 format is being promoted by a body called Digital Distribution of
Advertising for Publications. It provides a clean interface for the proprietary color
electronic prepress systems (CEPS) formats such as the Scitex CT/LW format.
TIFF files can contain many different types of data but, in general, a single
TIFF/IT-P1 file contains only one kind of data from a total of six possibilities, each
known by a two-letter abbreviation as listed in Table 8.2.
The exception is the FP file, which includes layout information and the details of some
combination of files, each containing CT, HC, or LW data—it is convenient to call
these other files subfiles of the FP file. The data may appear in any order within the FP
file but applications must image it in a set order.
There must be at least one subfile in an FP file, but no more than one of each type. For
example, an FP file cannot contain more than one CT file and it is typical for FP jobs
to contain only a CT subfile and an LW subfile.
The full list of data types with their typical uses is:
LW Line Work
Some of these data types are partly compatible with the corresponding definitions in
the TIFF 6.0 standard.
The largest difference with TIFF 6.0 is that TIFF/IT has only one image per file. The
FP file format can have up to four Image File Directories (IFDs), but only one
image—the preview image for the FP layout.
The major restrictions on TIFF/IT-P1 compared to TIFF/IT are that TIFF/IT-P1:
• Uses CYMK only (when appropriate).
• Is pixel interleaved (when appropriate).
• Has a single choice of image orientation.
• Has a single choice of dot range.
The Navigator RIP images an FP file by rendering the referenced CT, HC, and LW
subfiles, in that strict order. Order is significant because the HC and LW subfile types
can include transparent regions able to reveal images rendered from previous subfiles.
When the RIP renders subfiles as part of an FP job, it uses extra information in the FP
file to determine the overall size of the page, and position each subfile (which can be
smaller) within that page.
The RIP can also image a single CT, HC, or LW file independently of an FP file. For
each of these files, the RIP locates the image origin at the PostScript-language ori-
gin—relative to coordinates (0,0) at the bottom left of the page. For example, this pro-
vides a limited proofing capability but be careful to avoid printing a partial image
when the subfiles are available before the FP file.
When ColorPro is enabled, the RIP can detect and utilize an ICC profile embedded in
a TIFF file. See the Harlequin ColorPro User’s Guide for details.
8.17.3 Usage
To print a TIFF/IT file, first choose a page setup with a large enough imaging area and
an appropriate resolution for the high resolution data types.
Next, choose the option Print File from the Navigator RIP menu. Figure 8.9, page 302,
shows the dialog box that appears. Display the contents of the folder holding the file
that you want to print.
Choose the file that you want to print. Typically, this is an FP file if you are imaging a
finished page but you can specify a subfile: for example, to proof it alone. There is no
enforced file name convention but the two letters of the data type usually appear in the
name.
For the example of a CT file with name file, you may see any of:
file.ct
file.ict
file.CT
file.ICT
To make sure that you see all files, choose All Files (*.*) in the Files of type
drop-down list.
Select the file you want to print, and click Print.
If you are printing an FP file, the RIP displays a progress dial while reading each of
the files referenced by the FP file and the Navigator RIP window shows text similar to
the following example:
% tiffdev: reading "H:\Suites\Tiffit\66.fp" as a
TIFF/IT-P1 FP (Final Page) standalone file
Starting Job On 24 April 1998 08:51:42
Using Color Setup "(None)"
Using default device calibration
% tiffdev: reading "H:\Suites\Tiffit\66.ct" as a
TIFF/IT-P1 CT (low-resolution contone) subfile of an FP job
% tiffdev: reading "H:\Suites\Tiffit\66.lw" as a
TIFF/IT-P1 LW (linework) subfile of an FP job
Interpretation time: 40 seconds
. . .
If you are printing a subfile (data types CT, HC, or LW), you see less text after click-
ing Print:
% tiffdev: reading "H:\Suites\Tiffit\66.ct" as a
TIFF/IT-P1 CT (low-resolution contone) standalone file
Starting Job On 24 April 1998 08:51:42
Using Color Setup "(None)"
Using default device calibration
Interpretation time: 37 seconds
. . .
If you attempt to print TIFF/IT-P1 files when the TIFF/IT option is not enabled, then
depending on the input method chosen, the TIFF 6.0 input option may attempt to pro-
cess the parts of the file that it recognizes as TIFF. This is unlikely to produce the
desired result. See also “Printing TIFF 6.0 files” on page 328. In the following exam-
ple a TIFF/IT-P1 file is processed as a TIFF 6.0 file.
% tiffdev: reading "H:\Suites\Tiffit\test.tif" as a
TIFF 6.0 baseline (with extensions) standalone file
Starting Job On 24 April 1998 08:51:42
Using Color Setup "(None)"
Using default device calibration
% tiffdev: TIFF6: compression is None
% tiffdev: bits per sample = 1
% tiffdev: samples per pixel (planes) = 1 (bilevel or grayscale)
Interpretation time: 0 seconds
. . .
However, if the TIFF 6.0 input option does not recognize any part of the file as TIFF,
you will see the message:
open: the TIFF 6.0 or TIFF/IT file
is either corrupt, unsupported, of an unrecognised
type or the appropriate file type is not enabled
in Configure RIP / Extras
The RIP displays the same message if you attempt to image TIFF/IT data types that it
does not support or to image files that do not conform to the TIFF/IT-P1 profile.
This support extends to all TIFF files produced by the Navigator RIP TIFF output plu-
gin, with the exception of files produced with these settings:
• In the Navigator RIP version 5.0 through 5.5r0b, where Style in the Edit Page
Setup dialog box has been set to RGB Composite (Band) or CMYK Compos-
ite (Band).
• In the Navigator RIP version 4.5 and earlier, where TIFF format in the TIFF
Configuration dialog box has been set to PlanarConf=2/multiple
strips.
Note: From v 5.5r1 the Navigator RIP can handle RGB Composite (Band) or CMYK
Composite (Band) Style but only with the tiffexec operator. tiffdev still does
not support these styles.
Note: The Eclipse Release and later RIPs support Palette color (Index color) TIFF
files.
8.18.1 Procedures
TIFF 6.0 input is always enabled, but operates only with Spool Folder input and the
Print File command. (It is also possible to use TIFF 6.0 input from PostScript-lan-
guage instructions.)
Copy the TIFF file to the correct folder for Spool Folder input, or select it in the dialog
box shown when you choose Print File. If you use Print File, type the file name or
make sure that the RIP is displaying all files in the list of files. TIFF files often have
the file name extension .TIF but this is not required.
This extract from the text displayed in the Navigator RIP window shows the messages
produced when successfully processing a TIFF 6.0 file.
Setup loaded: "tiff"
Ripping file %H%/Suites/PEOPLE/68.tif as TIFF.
% tiffdev: reading "H:\Suites\PEOPLE\68.tif" as a
TIFF 6.0 baseline (with extensions) standalone file
Starting Job On Thursday, January 29, 1998 08:48:48
Using Color Setup "(None)"
Using default device calibration
% tiffdev: TIFF6: compression is None
% tiffdev: bits per sample = 8
% tiffdev: samples per pixel (planes) = 4 (CMYK)
Interpretation time: 32 seconds
. . .
The remaining text (not shown here) is related to rendering and output, not to the
input.
Note: If you are attempting to RIP images which you have prepared using Photoshop
and saved using ZIP or JPEG compression, the RIP may generate a rangecheck
error.
This occurs because ZIP compression is not a recognized TIFF compression format,
and as such is not documented in the TIFF 6.0 specification. The JPEG compression
that Photoshop uses is a new version of JPEG data in TIFF files which is also not part
of the TIFF 6.0 specification.
2. Create an appropriate page setup and choose the PGB hot folder entry in the
Enable Feature drop-down list in the Edit Page Setup dialog box.
3. Optionally, if you wish to use a spool folder as input, create a new spool folder
input and, in the Input Channel Edit dialog box, choose the page setup that you
created in step 2. Configure and name the spool folder, as described in
Section 8.6.1 on page 281, then make sure that it is enabled and that the inputs
are started.
The preparation of the supplying RIP installation is simpler. Create page setups that
use the output device plugin with resolution and other settings that match those you
have chosen in the receiving installation. You do not need to select the PGB hot
folder page feature.
Warning: For both methods, the receiving RIP effectively deletes the supplied page
buffer file, at the same time as it creates a new page buffer in its own PageBuffer
folder and makes it visible in the Output Controller / Monitor. Even if you use a spool
folder input and leave Delete on completion unselected, the completed files copied into
the Complete Folder are no longer valid page buffers.
When printing a page buffer file, the RIP displays a message in the main Navigator
RIP window, similar to this example, where text in italic varies according to the file
and plugin:
Introducing new pagebuffer: %C%/my_folder/00000003.PGB
Pagebuffer created for device: my_device
Page name: 2. fontlist (K)
Total time: 1 seconds
Job Completed: 00000003.PGB
The receiving installation of the RIP does not check whether each page buffer was cre-
ated for an output plugin that the receiving installation has installed. Any page buffers
created by a plugin that is not installed either fail to appear in the Output Control-
ler/Monitor, or trigger the error:
could not access a resource for a plugin device driver
Controller, where you can view or manipulate the page buffers, before sending any
suitable pages for output. The Output Controller is available in either of the multiple
page buffer modes.
Note: If you intend to keep page buffers produced from the Executive for any signifi-
cant time, set a job name that helps you identify the page buffers.
To generate an interrupt, choose Interrupt from the Executive menu.
To quit the Executive window, type quit or Ctrl+W at the prompt, or choose Stop
Executive from the Executive menu.
Whenever you quit the Executive, the Navigator RIP window displays the following,
harmless message:
Job Not Completed: jobname
Remember to restart inputs if you stopped them before using the Executive.
Media Management
This chapter describes how the RIP provides ways of monitoring and managing the
use of media in a range of output devices. It also describes how you can configure
these ways to suit your operation.
Equally, if the output goes to an online processor, you may need to know that there is
enough film output for the processor to handle satisfactorily.
In addition, there may be times when you want to cut the media in a particular cas-
sette, or feed extra media. If you are working at your computer, and the output device
is not located nearby, doing this by hand might be inconvenient.
The RIP can also instruct the output device to perform cut and feed operations, both
automatically (at pre-specified intervals and events) and interactively, on request
(when you choose menu options). The physical device itself must support software
control of these functions.
You can still perform manual operations while using the RIP media management. The
purpose of media management is to reduce the need for routine manual operation and
record keeping.
A media saving feature is also available. For more information see Section 5.14 on
page 156.
options (and any manual controls on the output device) remain useful for unusual jobs
or special tests.
• To advance the media in the current device, choose one of the Advance menu
options, when available.
There are usually three options to advance the media, allowing you to feed 1, 3,
or 6 inches of media through the imagesetter. (The relevant output plugin can be
written to offer any number of similar options, specifying other lengths or
units.)
• To cut the media in the current device, choose one of the Cut menu options.
There are commands to cut with or without feeding media.
If you choose Cut media with feed, or type Ctrl+K, the RIP will feed a predeter-
mined length of media through the imagesetter, and then cut. You can specify
the amount of media to feed through, in the Media Manager. See “Automatic
use” on page 340, for details of how to set this length.
If you choose Cut media no feed, or type Ctrl+L, the RIP will cut the film without
feeding any extra media.
Note: Some output devices, for instance the PelBox, always perform a feed
before a cut. The RIP cannot override this feed, but it can keep a record of how
much media is fed. If you use such a device, read its manual to find out this feed
length, and enter the value in the box labeled Built in cut length in the Media
Manager dialog box. See “Hardware feeds” on page 352.
Figure 9.1 shows two possible schemes for advancing and cutting media automati-
cally. The RIP supports these schemes and many others.
P2 P1 P3 P2 P1 P4 P3 P2 P1
P2 P1 P3 P2 P1 P4 P3 P2 P1
Using the Media Manager, you can make the RIP perform media cuts and feeds auto-
matically, choosing when and how much media to feed through and when to cut.
You can also disable or re-enable all media management facilities as often as you
wish. (Navigator RIP output plugins designed for sheet-fed devices disable media
management on those devices automatically.) You will probably want to disable media
management when you share feed cassettes between different devices—this will pre-
vent the RIP issuing meaningless warnings about low media levels.
Display the Media Manager dialog box by choosing Media Manager from the Output
menu.
Figure 9.3 shows the RIP Media Manager dialog box. This dialog box allows you to
configure and control media.
The RIP displays the name of the current device at the top of the dialog box, in the
Device drop-down list. All selections that you make in this dialog box apply to the dis-
played device (and to all cassettes that you use on this device). These selections are
not confirmed until you click OK.
You can select another device using the Device list, then set up different options for
managing media in the new device.
Click OK to confirm your media management choices for the device(s) that you have
edited. Click Cancel to abandon all changes made to media management (on any
device) in the current use of the Media Manager.
• Select this box to turn off the automatic media management facilities for the
output device. If you turn off media management, there will be no current cas-
sette selected in the Cassette Manager (See “Setting up the monitoring system”
on page 346).
At a certain length
select the before length check box and specify a length in the
box. This length is the maximum that will be exposed. For
example, you might choose a length that is convenient to pro-
cess.
You can select the units you wish to use for length from the
Select units drop-down list in the bottom left of the Media
Manager. The options available are feet, inches, meters, and
centimeters.
Note: The RIP never cuts the media while part of the way through printing a page.
Where a cut at the exact length would fall within a page, the RIP performs the cut
before outputting the page. This occurs even if, for example, you specify a length of
12 inches and a page is 18 inches long.
Some reasons, and the details, for each feed policy are as follows:
Between jobs Feed through some media after every job that has been pro-
cessed, perhaps to make it easier to see where one job ends
and the next starts.
Note: This feed after a job will not occur if there is a cut after
the last page of the job, caused by either of the cut after pages
or cut after job settings.
Before cut Feed through some media before making any cut, perhaps to
stop film near a cut being exposed to external light.
The RIP feeds the amount of media you specify here before
performing any of the automatic cuts described on page 343,
or a cut that you have requested by choosing Cut media with
feed from the Device menu. See also “Hardware feeds” on
page 352.
There is a related Edit Cassette dialog box in which you can alter the information for a
particular cassette.
The information in the Cassette Manager also appears in the Edit Cassette dialog box:
each category is listed below.
There are two buttons which appear in the Cassette Manager only. Use these buttons
to tell the RIP when you have performed a manual operation. (On some output
devices, a manual operation may be the only option or it may be quicker than an oper-
ation driven by the RIP.)
To set up or change the details for a cassette, select the relevant cassette in the Cassette
Manager window and click the Edit button. Figure 9.5 shows the Edit Cassette dialog
box that appears, containing the details for the selected cassette.
The RIP displays the following values in both the Edit Cassette dialog box and the
Cassette Manager. You can only change these values from within the Edit Cassette
dialog box.
The RIP displays the information about a cassette in columns in the Cassette Manager
and in corresponding text boxes in the Edit Cassette dialog box.
Cassette name An identifying name. This name will be displayed on the Cas-
sette drop-down list in the Edit Page Setup dialog box. The
name is purely for your own convenience—you can change it
to any name you like. Choose a name that allows you to iden-
tify the cassette and that suits your situation and your proce-
dures. You might find it helpful to attach a label with this
name (and the type of media) to the actual cassette.
For example, if you use two cassettes only on an Ultre image-
setter and only for specific types of media then you might
name these cassettes: UltreFilm1 and UltrePaper2. An alter-
native solution in the same situation might be Ultre1 and
Ultre2, with a separate record of the type of media. If you use
the same cassette to hold paper and use it for proofs on differ-
ent output devices then you might call it PaperProof.
Media type The type of media held in the selected cassette. It lets you tell
quickly whether, for instance, the cassette holds paper or
film. The field Cassette Name is purely for your own conve-
nience—you can change it to anything you like.
The entry No Media means that no one has yet specified a
type of media for the cassette.
Media width The width of the media in the selected cassette or drum
recorder. The RIP uses this value when calculating in which
orientation to print a page if you are using the Media Sav-
ing option in the Optimization menu. (See “Printing effects”
on page 169.)
You must set this value to the actual width of media that can
be printed on (the imageable width) because some output
devices cannot image right up to the edge of the media. If you
enter the total width of the media and the output device has a
smaller imageable width then some large pages are likely to
extend into the non-imageable area and those output pages
will be clipped or visually corrupted when the RIP attempts
Imageable to output them. The illustration to the left shows an example
width
of clipping where a page (the rectangle) is wider than the
imageable width (arrowed): only the area shown shaded is
imaged successfully.
Remaining length
The amount of media left inside the cassette. The RIP updates
this value whenever it advances or prints media. (The RIP
also tests the updated value against your choice of threshold
values so that it can warn you when the media is running
low.)
You must type in the length that you have loaded whenever
you refill a cassette with media.
Number A unique number that the RIP uses to keep track of the cas-
sette. You can edit this number only when creating an entry
for a new cassette—the RIP suggests an unused number, but
you can use any other unused number.
Units The units used in the measurement fields in this dialog box.
Use this drop-down list to choose any convenient unit. The
RIP converts any figures already displayed to the units you
choose.)
Note: The unit of measurement that you choose here is also used to display media
usage in the Media Monitor window: see “Monitoring media” on page 346).
When you perform a manual operation on the output device, use the Manual Cut Done
or Manual Feed Done buttons in the Cassette Manager dialog box.
When you refill a cassette, you must use the Edit Cassette dialog box to inform the
RIP how much media is now in the cassette.
Choose the units used for these lengths from the Select units drop-down list immedi-
ately below the Length warnings text boxes—the options available are feet, inches,
meters, or centimeters.
Note: Once you have refilled a cassette, you must update its details in the Cassette
Manager if you want media management to continue to work correctly.
Pages The number of pages exposed since the last cut was per-
formed.
Exposed The amount of media that has been exposed since a cut was
last performed. This is also the amount in the take-up cas-
sette.
Simple Imposition
This chapter describes Simple Imposition the in-RIP imposition option provided with
the Navigator RIP 7.0 Release onwards.
Note: Simple imposition is not compatible with jobs submitted through JDF.
Of all the schemes, only One-up, single-sided and N-up, single-sided may
be used when processing PostScript language files. PDF files may be submitted to any
scheme, and single page formats such as TIFF, EPS and JPEG may be submitted to
any scheme, but only really make sense for use with One-up, single-sided and
Step and repeat, single-sided schemes, because all others are intended to be
applied to multiple pages.
tion Manager icon from the toolbar or the Page setup dialog, or select Output >
Imposition Manager.
Note: The Imposition Manager dialog contains listings when it first appears. The set-
ups within brackets are those supplied as standard. These setups derived from Page
features used in pre v7.0 Release RIPs, and have names that reflect their intended use.
These options cannot be copied and changed or new setups created unless you have
activated Simple Imposition with a password. Imposition schemes are selected from
the Page setup dialog.
Please note that the imposition setups provided as standard cannot be edited. You may
however, use the Copy option to create a duplicate setup which you can then change to
suit your requirements.
The following options are available from the Imposition Manager dialog box:
Delete Select an existing setup and click Delete to remove it from the
Imposition Manager. If a Page setup is using an imposition
setup that is selected for deletion, it will not be removed, and
a message will appear stating this. To remove an imposition
setup the setup must not be used by any Page setup.
Select If you have accessed the Imposition Manager from the Edit
Page setup dialog you can highlight one of the existing Impo-
sition setups, and click Select. This will apply the selected
imposition to the current page setup configuration.
• Whether the reverse side of the surface can be printed. and how the page is
turned on he printing device.
• How the job is folded or cut.
The New/Edit Imposition setup dialog is used to configure the imposition setups. You
can access this dialog through the Imposition Manager.
Note: The imposition setup graphic shown above is configured to show most options
as active.
The following sections describe the various options within the imposition setup dia-
log.
10.5.1 Scheme
Choosing the correct scheme is important as its selection determines which of the
other options in the imposition setup dialog are available. The following imposition
schemes are available:
Step and repeat, single-sided Single-sided, multiple copies of the same page are imposed in
a grid.
Step and repeat, two-sided Two-sided, multiple copies of the same page are imposed in a
grid. This differs from the single-sided variant principally in
allowing different surface margins, slug lines, and so on, or the
front and back of the surface.
Saddle-stitched, left bound Two-up Saddle-stitched production. Surfaces are gathered after
printing, then folded and trimmed to produce booklets. This
variant is for booklets bound on the left, the most common
form for Latin text.
For an example see Section 10.6.1 on page 374.
Saddle-stitched, right bound Saddle-stitch variant bound on the right, for use with right-to-
left scripts such as Arabic and Hebrew. This scheme is also
appropriate for use with Japanese text (even though that is not
written right to left).
Saddle-stitched, top bound A Saddle-stitch variant bound at the top, and designed for use in
items such as calendars, which are hung so you can see two
pages at a time.
For an example see Section 10.6.4 on page 377.
Saddle-stitched, top bound B Top-bound saddle-stitched variant that will be hung (if a calen-
dar) by the binding edge, and where page 2 is on the reverse of
page 1.
For an example see Section 10.6.5 on page 378
Saddle-stitched, top bound C Top-bound saddle-stitched variant that will be hung (if a calen-
dar) by the binding edge, and where page 2 is on the front of
the second surface.
For an example see Section 10.6.6 on page 379.
Saddle-stitched x2, left bound As Saddle-stitched, left bound, but with two copies of the same
job placed side by side.
Saddle-stitched x2, right bound As Saddle-stitched, right bound, but with two copies of the
same job placed side by side.
Saddle-stitched x2, top bound A As Saddle-stitched, top bound A, but with two copies of the
same job placed side by side.
Saddle-stitched x2, top bound B As Saddle-stitched, top bound B, but with two copies of the
same job placed side by side.
Saddle-stitched x2, top bound C As Saddle-stitched, top bound C, but with two copies of the
same job placed side by side.
Cut and stack, single-sided Single-sided, multi-up imposition for jobs that will be bound
with wire, comb binders and so on, and therefore will be
trimmed to single pages. Once printed and stacked, each set of
surfaces will be cut, and stacked on top of the other to give a
full set of pages in order.
Cut and stack, two-sided As Cut and stack, single-sided, but for two-sided work.
For an example see Section 10.6.2 on page 375.
10.5.2 Surface
The Surface options define the size of the raster to be created, that is, the maximum
size, outside of which nothing will be printed. The following options are available:
Capstan (including When there is a media selection Height is taken from the job. For
roll-fed proofers) on the Page Setup Layout dialog, N-Up and Step & Repeat with
the width is taken from that, oth- automatic page counts, only one
erwise it is taken from the cassette row will ever be produced.
width.
Partial drum Width is taken from the job. For The height is taken from the cas-
N-Up and Step & Repeat with sette width.
automatic page counts, only one
column will ever be produced.
Table 10.3 Width and height definition when using From Media option
Unlimited devices Width is taken from the default Height is taken from the default
including TIFF Page size option on the Page Page size option on the Page
Layout dialog. Layout dialog.
Table 10.3 Width and height definition when using From Media option
A Work & Tumble imposition scheme again uses a single plate to print on both sides
of the paper. When the first side of the sheet is printed, the paper is “tumbled”, that is,
the top of the first side becomes the bottom of the second side. The left and right edges
of the sheet remain in the same position for both sides.
Perfecting is when you can print on both sides of the sheet in one pass through the
machine.
These imposition schemes can be achieved using Simple imposition. It does however
depend on which edge of the sheet is fed into your printer.
If your press is fed with the short edge first and you have Long edge configured as
the Flip on setting, you are in effect, using a Work & Turn scheme.
If your press is fed with the short edge first and you have Short edge configured as
the Flip on setting, you are in effect, using a Work & Tumble scheme. This method can
be utilized for a Perfecting press configuration.
If your press is fed with the long edge first and you have Short edge configured as
the Flip on setting, you are in effect, using a Work & Turn scheme.
If your press is fed with the long edge first and you have Long edge configured as
the Flip on setting, you are in effect, using a Work & Tumble layout. This method can
be utilized for a Perfecting press configuration.
10.5.3 Pages
These options define the settings that affect individual pages within a layout. The fol-
lowing options are available:
Layout of pages N-up, Step and repeat, and Cut and stack page schemes can
use an Automatic or Custom layout of pages. When Auto-
matic is selected the number of pages on a surface is calcu-
lated automatically.
You can specify the number of pages on each surface using
the Custom option. You define the number of page columns
by entering a value in the Across field. You define the number
of page rows by entering a value in the Up field.
To define the order in which pages fill the layout use the Page
fill order option, see Section 10.5.5 on page 369 for more
information.
Rotate The rotate options define whether pages within a layout can
be rotated. The Best Fit option will rotate pages as needed
so that they fit the layout.
This option defines how individual pages are rotated within
the page grid. The whole grid (and its accompanying annota-
tions) can be rotated using the Rotate options from the Page
Setup dialog.
Bleed The value in this field is added to the overall page size.
The value entered here will not affect page positioning in any
way, but if there is any graphical content on the page that
extends off the page, this much of it will be printed.
If the bleed value extends more than halfway across a gutter,
the content is trimmed at the gutter centre.
If pages don’t fit If the group of pages do not fit within the surface size, you
have the following options:
Abort job, Trim at top and right, Trim all
sides, and Scale to fit.
Page padding If the number of pages in the job do not fit exactly on to the
specified surfaces. The option are:
Abort job if pages don’t fill surfaces which
will cause a warning to be issued and no output will be pro-
duced.
Add blank pages after last page and Add blank
pages before last page which will add blank pages as
specified.
Add blank pages before cover which will add blank
pages before the next to last page (that is, before the back
cover of a two-sided job).
10.5.4 Gutter
The gutter is the space between pages on a layout. The options in this section define
the size of the gutter. The following options are available:
Push out: means that the inner-most surface uses the set
gutter value, and every outside surface has a larger gutter
increased by the Creep value.
Pull in: means that the outside surface has the set gutter
value, and each inside surface has a gutter size decreasing by
the Creep value, until the minimum gutter size is reached, at
which point the gutter will stay at the minimum size for all
remaining surfaces.
Center line: means that the middle surface in the stack
has the set gutter value, those inside it will have smaller gut-
ters and those outside it will have larger gutters.
If you wish, you may change the current units used by imposition. Changing this
option will convert all existing values in this and any other imposition setups.
On selection of either Front options or Back options the following dialog will appear:
Note: The left, right, top and bottom are all relative to the design orientation of the
imposition scheme, which assume that the image width is greater that the image
height. If this is not the case, or if the surface has been rotated using the Page setup
Rotate option, the orientation is likely to be affected.
Page fill order The page fill order options define how pages will fill the lay-
out, and are all described such that the first half of the name
describes the “fast scan” axis and direction, and the second
half describes the “slow scan” axis and direction. Please note
that the example graphic shows how a 2 x 2 layout would be
numbered.
accommodate the selected items. Do not confuse the Spacing for marks with the mar-
gins specified in the Page Layout dialog which may be used to position the raster pro-
duced by the RIP on the printing plate or output media.
10.5.5.2 Marks
These options allow you to define which marks you want placed onto your imposition
layout.
Crop Marks You can make a selection from the various crop marks pro-
vided. Crop marks are drawn around every page on the lay-
out.
None: no crop marks are used.
Small: small trim marks are placed on the layout.
Full: large trim marks, separation names, step wedges and
color bars are placed on the layout.
PDF page boxes: trim marks are placed to show the loca-
tions of all PDF pages boxes. For file formats other than PDF
this option is the same as Small.
Registration Marks
Select the required option to place registration marks on the
selected surface:
None: no registration marks are placed on the layout.
Desired: registration marks are placed on the layout if
space is available. If space is not available a warning is gen-
erated.
Required: registration marks are placed on the layout. If
space for those marks is not available the job is aborted.
Page border Select this option to draw a page border around every page on
the selected surface.
10.5.5.3 Annotations
The Annotations section of the imposition dialog allows you to add slug line text,
color bars and proofing strips. You can, using this option, add just about anything
extra you wish to your imposition layout.
You can if you wish use your own custom annotation files. This is done by using the
Install Annotation page feature which, when activated via the Page setup dia-
log, allows you to print an EPS file (EPS only), to install that file as a new annotation.
To install your own custom annotation:
1. Create a page setup (not using Simple Imposition) and select the Install
Annotation page feature. For more information on using page features see
Section 5.21 on page 184.
2. Print the Annotation (EPS) file using this page setup. A message will appear
indicating that the annotation is being installed.
3. Go back to the page setup using Simple Imposition. You can now select and use
the custom Annotation in your Simple Imposition setup. See below for informa-
tion on how to add an annotation to the imposition layout.
When used as an annotation the EPS file will be repeated along the length of the
selected raster edge as many times as it will fit.
Note: If the custom annotation does not fit, there will be no error message.
To add an annotation to the imposition layout:
1. Click New.
Note: An annotation will appear in the list. Do not attempt to delete this. Go
straight to step 2.
2. Select your required annotation file from the Edit selected row drop-down list.
For example, select PlateText to add slug line information.
3. Select where on the layout you want to add the annotation by choosing either,
Top, Bottom, Left or Right from the Edit selected row drop-down list.
4. Click New to add further annotations. You can add as many annotation files as
you wish, but you must ensure your layout has enough room to accommodate
them.
The annotations are printed in the order in which they appear in the list, and you can
change that order by dragging and dropping them. If two annotations are placed on the
same edge of the layout, the first one will be on the edge of the layout, and the second
will be moved inwards by the size of the first. Similarly, if an annotation has already
been drawn on the left of the layout, a second annotation on the bottom edge will leave
room at one end for the first annotation.
You can edit the any annotation in the list by selecting it and then choosing the
required options from the Edit selected row drop-down menus.
You can remove any annotation file from the list by selecting and clicking the Delete
button.
When you have completed the front and back options select OK to save them. Select-
ing Cancel will abort any change you have made. Similarly, when you have completed
all your imposition configuration options select OK to save your changes.
16 1 14 3 12 5 10 7
15 2 13 4 11 6 9 8
Back surface
9
11 7
13
15 5
3
1
Red numbers denote unsighted pages
Front
Surface 1 7 3 9 5 11
Back 2 8 4 10 6 12
Surface
Note: This example shows a 12-page job and uses Flip on configured to Long edge.
The resulting sheets before cutting and the stack after cutting are shown below:
2 1 8 7 2 1
4 3
4 3 10 9
6 5
6 5 12 11
8 7
10 9
Blue numbers denote the reverse side
12 11
The final pages are suitable for hole punching and then ring or wire binding.
8
8
7
1
2
2
6
6
5
3
4
4
Front surface Back surface
5 5
7 7
3 3
1 1
Front
1
6
8
surface
Back
2
5
surface
Note: This imposition uses Flip on configured to Long edge. Also, page 8 is a special
case.
The resulting saddle-stitched booklet will look like this:
7
1 2
4
5
5 7
3
6
1
3
8
Front
surface
5
2
4
Back
surface
7
1 4 2
5
5 7
3
12
7
6
11
8
5
10
9
10
6
1
5 6
2
4
3
JDF-Enabled RIP
This chapter provides information for the JDF Enabler supplied with the Navigator
RIPNavigator RIP. If you intend to make use of this feature you should consult the
®
JDF Enabler for the Harlequin RIP User and System Guide which provides full and
detailed information.
Information is provided in this chapter of the facilities open to a user, whereas the JDF
®
Enabler for the Harlequin RIP User and System Guide provides Administrator and
System configuration information.
From the Genesis Release of the RIP the JDF Enabler is supplied as standard, and can
be installed from its own, separately provided CD. You do however, require a permit
which can be obtained from your supplier.
The JDF Enabler is built from a combination of SOAR components, but it runs as a
single additional process called JDFServices. This release of the JDF Enabler
installs as an add-on for the Navigator RIP, and works in partnership with it to form a
fully JDF-compliant RIP device.
JDF support to the Navigator RIP allows the RIP to be used as a component of a larger
workflow based on open systems principles and using products from multiple ven-
dors.
The JDF Enabler is aimed at providing JDF support for commercial print environ-
ments using conventional printing presses and digital proofing devices.
This version provides:
• JDF support as an extra add-on for the Navigator RIP. It is separately protected
by a permit file which can be obtained from your supplier.
• Basic JDF support for the Navigator RIP to enable the quick deployment of
workflow solutions using JDF.
• The foundation for later, extensible JDF support, enabling JDF processes to be
added to those already supported and also to provide JDF technology to core
technology customers.
JDF Enabler supports multiple channels, allowing jobs coming from different sources
to be processed in different ways.
The hot folder for each Input Channel is nominated by the user when the channel is
created. This hot folder name is then provided to the third-party Controller. Addition-
ally, the JDF Enabler will automatically generate an http URL, which is also pro-
vided to the Controller if jobs are to be delivered via JMF command.
<installation dir>/HarlequinRIP/HARLQN_LS.exe
This dialog also allows you to choose whether the Navigator RIP Classic User
Interface (UI) is displayed when you start the JDF Enabler Services. If the UI is
displayed you are able to make changes to the RIP configuration. If you would
prefer the UI not to be displayed, uncheck the Show Classic UI option.
7. When you select a valid RIP executable, a message appears displaying the path.
8. Click OK to remove the message.
9. A JDF Enabler settings dialog will appear. If you do not want your browser to
automatically start-up when you start the JDF Enabler, de-select the Start Moni-
tor in Web Browser at Start-up option.
10. Enter the Port number for your web browser followed by clicking OK to remove
the dialog.
11. A message stating that a configuration file has been written will appear. Click
OK to remove the message.
12. When the installation is complete another message appears. Click OK again to
remove the “complete” message.
The JDF Enabler is installed.
Note: If the installation appears to have stalled, you should check that it is not waiting
for a response, such as selecting the Navigator RIP executable. This may happen if
you use your machine for other purposes while the installer is running.
Note: If you are re-installing the JDF Enabler in the same location as a previous instal-
lation, you will see the following message:
Modifications complete. Note that existing state may be invalid.
Consider resetting to factory defaults
If you have decided not to display the Navigator RIP Classic UI you may pro-
ceed to the next step when a RIP icon appears (without a red cross).
If you have decided to display the Navigator RIP Classic UI, it will appear in
the normal way. You can click OK to remove the About window. Alternatively,
it will disappear after a few seconds.
A ***JDF Enabler Activated*** message will appear in the RIP monitor.
2. If you decided to automatically start the browser when starting up the JDF
Enabler, the browser configured as the default in the operating system will start-
up.
Note: These instructions are for using the default logins and passwords. You
should change the logins and passwords to suit your working environment. This
is done by creating a realm.properties file as described in the JDF Enabler
®
for the Harlequin RIP User and System Guide.
4. If user logins and passwords have been created, you should select your user
login icon. A display similar to the following will appear:
5. Enter your login and password followed by clicking the green arrow icon. If you
key-in a wrong password a “try again” message will appear. Clicking the log out
icon will return you to the initial login screen.
At this point the JDF Enabler graphical user interface will appear.
Note: If you are experiencing shutdown immediately after start-up, you should look in
the logger.log file for an explanation. The log messages will provide information
®
to help diagnose the problem. See the JDF Enabler for the Harlequin RIP User and
System Guide for more information. Errors in any Configuration file will cause the
system to shutdown.
Note: When the JDF Enabler is installed you are provided with an option to select
whether the RIP GUI is on or off. That is, whether or not the Navigator RIP displays
windows and dialogs. If you would like to change this setting after install time, you
can either use the SOAR control ripExec option, or edit the harlequinrip.txt
®
file. For more information see JDF Enabler for the Harlequin RIP User and System
Guide).
Note: If at any point you are unsure whether the browser is showing the correct infor-
mation, use the browser’s Refresh option or press F5. If a refresh does not rectify the
problem, open a new browser window.
If you decided during the install procedure not to display your browser window, or if it
is closed while the JDF Enabler is still running, you can re-display the JDF Enabler
web UI by opening a new browser window and using the following URLs:
http://localhost:8080/soar/index.html
or:
http://<YOURHOSTNAME>:8080/soar/index.html
where 8080 is a typical port number used for your browser. This number could be
something else, for example: 80, 8008 or 8080.
Note: For the URLs to work any pop-up blocker options should be disabled. See
below for more details.
The port number and context are configured in the WebGUIpart config file (called by
default jdfenabler.txt). This file can be changed by directly editing the config
file or by using the SOAR control jdfweb command.
The HTTP context for the web server defaults to /soar. but you can use just / if you
wish.
You can click OK to remove the message. Alternatively, leave it for a few seconds and
the message will disappear.
When you stop the JDF Enabler, the web UI status window will continue to refresh.
Once the RIP is shutdown the web UI will display the message:
The page cannot be displayed
If you decide to restart the JDF Enabler, once the Navigator RIP icon appears in the
system tray (without a red cross), you can simply refresh the web UI and the login
prompt will re-appear.
This section describes all the various components of the Monitor screen:
Stopped When the JDF Enabler workflow is stopped, new jobs will be
XML-parsed and assigned, but not submitted to the RIP.
They will build up in the input queue.
You can control what appears in the Activity and Progress sections of this screen in
two ways; by changing the RIP progress configuration, which appears when you click
the Go to Configure button; or by using the SOAR control joblogger -progress
®
commands. See the JDF Enabler for the Harlequin RIP User and System Guide for
more information.
11.5.1.3 Refresh
The Refresh button will refresh the web UI display and update all fields with
the latest information from the server.
If your web UI appears incorrect or is not displaying the information you would
expect to see, use the Refresh option. If this does not rectify the problem, try opening a
new browser window.
In the example shown in Figure 11.5, there are several “Completed” jobs in the Output
queue. The Input queue has two jobs that are marked as “Assigned” while the other
four jobs require further resources or files, to be downloaded over HTTP. Each of
these four jobs have two outstanding files, with the last job in the queue showing that
12K of 35K has been downloaded.
Note: See below for a description of “Completed” and “Assigned”.
Jobs that require files to be downloaded are addressed each in turn using a “round-
robin” method. In general, this means that the JDF Enabler will distribute the down-
loading work as fairly as possible when dealing with several jobs that require it, and
will prevent the more demanding jobs from holding up the smaller ones.
An example of this type of distribution follows. The first job in the queue has a single
file to be downloaded. The second job then has a single file to be downloaded fol-
lowed by the third and fourth jobs. After this, the second file of the first job will be
downloaded followed by the second file of the second job, and so on. This method is
used because it allows throughput to be maintained even when you have a long queue
of jobs waiting for a single file, and one of those jobs requires twenty files to be down-
loaded. In this case, each job will download a single file before starting at the top of
the queue again. In this way, all the jobs in the queue are not held up by the one job
waiting for many resources.
For each JDF file, the input and output tables present similar information. Some status
values can only appear in the upper table (Unparsed, Parsed, and Assigned), while
the remainder can only appear in the lower table. When a job moves to the lower table,
it means that the JDF Enabler and RIP will do no further work on it.
Channel This is the name of the input channel that was used to get the
JDF file into the system.
Job[Part] ID This field displays the JobID and JobPartID names used in
the JDF. The same name appears in the Job[Part] ID field
when the job is processing.
Job/File Name This field displays the DescriptiveName used in the JDF.
The same name appears in the RIP Job/File Name window
when the file is ripping.
Time Stamp This displays the date and time the file was processed.
Information
Select this option to display more information about
the selected job. The information appears in the Job
Details screen and includes all the information displayed in
the Monitor screen, plus all the RIP monitor log information
associated with the selected job. To update the RIP monitor
log, click the Job’s RIP Monitor Log button. The First, Prev,
Next and Last options are available. See the JDF Enabler for
®
the Harlequin RIP User and System Guide for more
information.
Prev Select this option to view the previous screen of log mes-
sages.
First Select this option to view the first screen of log messages.
Next Select this option to view the next screen of log messages.
Last Select this option to view the last screen of log messages.
Fonts
Whenever the RIP processes a job that uses fonts, they must be available in memory.
Fonts are loaded into the RIP from the disk automatically whenever they are required.
However, the fonts must have been installed first, or they must be embedded in the job
that uses them. Installation is a once-only process where the RIP configures the font
for its use and puts it in the appropriate place. This chapter discusses how fonts are
installed and then used by the Navigator RIP.
The RIP provides a suite of facilities that let you manage fonts easily and efficiently.
This suite includes commands that will:
• Install fonts in the RIP.
• Tell you which fonts are currently installed.
• Produce a proof of any font currently installed.
• Remove fonts from the RIP.
The Navigator RIPNavigator RIP also provides facilities for font substitution and font
emulation. For more information see:
• “Font substitution” on page 411.
• “Font Emulation” on page 413.
DLD1 45 4
Type 1 100 50
Type 4 50 30
Note: It is difficult to give corresponding estimates for Type 3 fonts because they are
inherently so flexible, but they are not particularly efficient.
found, the RIP will instead print the text in a selected substitute base font (see “Font
substitution” on page 411), or issue an error message, depending on the setting for
Abort the job if any fonts are missing in the Page Setup Options dialog box. See
Section 5.23.8 on page 191 for details.
Depending on the font type, you can install a font into the RIP in one of two ways: by
using the Install Fonts command or by downloading the font to the RIP.
All fonts may be embedded, and all fonts may appear in the fonts and CIDFont
resource directories. Most font formats can be installed using the Install Fonts com-
mand, including, Types 1, 3, TrueType, Type 42, CID Types 0, 1, 2, 4 (same as Type
32), CFF, OpenType and CMap resources.
The Install Fonts command and downloading fonts to the RIP are described in the next
two sections.
See “Removing fonts” on page 409 for details about deleting the fonts you have
installed.
Note: PC format files with a *.pfa, *.pfb (Type 1), *.otf (OpenType), *.ttf (TrueType)
extension are visible in the upper list box. If your fonts are not in this format, select All
Files from the Files of type drop-down list.
Shift
To select a block of several files, select the first file in the block, and then hold down
the Shift key and select the last file in the block.
Ctrl
To select several unconnected files, hold down the Control key while making your
selection.
A successfully installed font produces the message:
Installed font ’font_name’ in TrueType format
Note: The format type will be reported in this way for single-font packages only (not
FontSets). The type reported will be TrueType, Type 42, Type 1, DLD1, Type 2, Type
3 and so on.
The Install Fonts command will install into the RIP Type 1, Type 3 and single-byte PC
format TrueType fonts or OpenType fonts with TT outlines.
1
OpenType/CFF is supported. Single-font OTTO packages will install as a single font
or CIDFont as appropriate. Multiple-font packages will install as FontSet resources.
If you try to install a file that does not contain a font, or that contains a font of another
type, the RIP displays a message in the RIP Monitor. This will not harm the RIP or the
file in any way—the RIP just refuses to install it.
Using the installer, TrueType fonts only install as non-CID fonts. They therefore have
to be manually moved to the CIDFont resources directory to make them appear as
CID fonts.
1.
OpenType fonts containing CFF data use the tag “OTTO”
If a font is of Type 1, it will be converted into DLD1 format before being added. This
can then be loaded into the RIP whenever necessary.
Installation is performed on a copy of the font, so your original font file remains
intact.
The RIP may take slightly longer to start up, but any jobs using these fonts will run
considerably faster. Pre-loading a composite font takes longer than pre-loading other
types of font, but saves more time for each job using it.
Note: The List Fonts option does not show FontSet resources.
This list will appear in two places:
• The Navigator RIP window—this lets you see immediately whether or not
fonts are installed.
Palatino-Italic
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQR
1234567890-=!@#$%^&*()_
You can proof fonts, either on a printer or on your screen, by choosing Proof Fonts
from the Fonts menu. The RIP produces the proof using your choice of page setup and
fits as many fonts as possible on a page. Figure 12.2 shows an example of a short-for-
mat proof for one font.
When you choose Proof Fonts, the RIP displays a dialog box that lists all of the fonts
currently installed, as shown in Figure 12.3.
First, choose an appropriate page setup for proofing the fonts, from the Page Setup
drop-down list.
Note: If you forget to choose a page setup, the RIP uses the one that you chose last
time you proofed fonts. If you have not proofed fonts in this RIP session, the first page
setup in the listing is used. To change the order of this listing, see “Reordering page
setups” on page 114.
Select the fonts you want to proof, and click Proof. You can select as many fonts as
you like.
Shift
To select a block of several fonts, select the first font in the block, and then hold down
the Shift key and select the last font in the block.
Ctrl
To select several unconnected fonts, hold down the Control key while making your
selection.
The RIP constructs a PostScript-language job and then runs it, as if you had used
Print File to print an existing file. If other jobs are pending, the proof takes its place in
the queue.
By default, proofs only show a sample of the full character set in a font. If you want a
proof of the complete set of characters, select the Proof fonts in long format check box.
Note: CID fonts can be proofed, but only in long format. FontSet resources cannot yet
be proofed.
Warning: If you remove a font, and then need to process a job that uses it, you will
first have to reinstall it. There is no confirmation dialog box. Before clicking Delete be
sure that you have the original file from which you can reinstall the font.
ing with memory allocation, as requirements will depend on the fonts and types of job
you have.
If you are going to use a composite font regularly, you should pre-load it into the RIP.
See “Pre-loading fonts” on page 406. Pre-loading makes the RIP slower to start up,
but saves a great deal of time when processing jobs that use those fonts.
From the Eclipse Release SP1 a new font substitution mechanism has been added
which is similar (and in addition), to the existing font substitution mechanism (defined
by entries in the SW/Config/FontSubstitution file).
Whereas the existing substitution mechanism is unconditional, the new mechanism
only attempts a substitution if the initially given font name cannot be found. However,
if a conditional substitution is made, a message is displayed on the monitor indicating
the substitution:
Warning: font <-name-> not found, using <-name-> instead
For example:
Warning: font Arial not found, using ArialMT instead.
For more information see the Conditional Font Substitution section in the SW/Con-
fig/FontSubstitution text file.
Sys/ExtraStart/10HqnFontSetStubs
Generates stub fonts for FontSet resources. The stub fonts
will be installed on the %fontset% pseudo-device.
Sys/ExtraStart/20HqnCIDFontStub
Generates the CID-keyed resources for newly-installed, and
previously undetected CID fonts and CMaps.
Either of these files may be removed if the functionality is not required. The numeric
prefix to their names is to force a particular running order; FontSet stubs should be
created before CID font stubs, because FontSet stub files may be CID fonts. The files
in Sys/ExtraStart are run in alpha/numeric order.
This creates a file which effectively contains backups of font files, (and some other
files) from the SW folder.
A message appears in the monitor window informing you of the name of the Post-
Script language file created.
When you have installed your new RIP, you should run this PostScript language file to
install those font files on your new RIP.
12.13.2 Messages
When a missing font is successfully emulated the following message appears:
%%[ Warning: Font <...> emulated. ]%%
However, if the font returned is not what was asked for (for example, Courier), and the
font cannot be emulated, the following warning is output but the RIP will continue to
use whatever font was returned:
%%[ Warning: Font <...> not found. (Emulation unknown) ]%%
That is, if a font is missing and it cannot be emulated, an error is only generated with
emulation switched on if there would have been an error with it switched off.
If the missing font cannot be found in FontEmulation or the database, the following
message appears:
%%[ Error: Font <...> not found. (Emulation not known)]%%
If emulation is switched off for a particular font, the following message appears:
%%[ Error: Font <...> not found. (Emulation disabled)]%%
If there is an error in the Font Emulation dictionary the following message appears:
%%[ Error: FontEmulation syntax /<...> invalid value. ]%%
In the unlikely event of an internal emulation font being replaced by a normal font, the
following message appears:
%%[ Error: Font <...> not found. (FontEmulation installation}]%%
• Aliasing of a font in the database so an identical font with a different name can
be emulated.
• Switching Font Emulation off for a specified font. This is useful if a corporate
logo is using a font in the database.
• Override a font definition in the database.
• Add a new font definition to the database.
Note for OEM: For more information see the Harlequin Technical Note
“Hqn065—Using and modifying Font Emulation”.
Calibration
This chapter discusses calibration of output devices. Calibration involves the mea-
surement of test images produced on an output device and the use of those measure-
ments to produce stable images with good tonal values: here, good means consistent
and usually linearized (in some measurement system). Some devices have a published
specification that you can use in place of measured data: this is true of many printing
presses. In demanding applications, you may use several different calibrations on the
same device, according to the settings on the device or within the RIP.
The way calibration is applied has been changed for Navigator RIP version 5.5r1. For
more information see “Editing calibration sets” on page 435.
This chapter describes how you can produce suitable test images (called targets or test
strips), measure their characteristics, then enter or edit calibration data, while Chapter
5, “Configuring Output Formats”, describes how you can choose different calibra-
tions when producing output.
not resolve a single pixel, and cannot always be turned off between adjacent pixels.
Similarly, in direct output devices, overlap of toner dots in laser printers or ink spread-
ing in inkjet devices often produces a deviation of some kind between required gray
levels and those actually output.
Whatever the physical reason, the result is variability or non-linearity and some
adjustment is almost always necessary to compensate for these physical artifacts. This
is called calibration.
Note: In almost all output devices, a solid (100%) black area prints as a 100% black
area, and white always prints as white. Any failure to achieve this degree of faithful
reproduction usually indicates a problem or maladjustment in the output device, which
you must cure before attempting calibration.
Consider the irregular solid line in Figure 13.1. It shows an example of the kind of
response typically seen from red-sensitive paper on a Helium/Neon-based imagesetter.
The diagonal dotted line represents the theoretical line that would be shown for a per-
fect material. The arrowed lines show how if you request a 50% tint you will actually
see something like a 65% tint on paper, when measured with a densitometer.
When setting flat tint areas for monochrome print work, variation in gray level is often
immaterial because the relatively small tonal variations encountered will not be visi-
ble to an untrained eye. But as soon as scanned images are introduced into mono-
chrome work, it becomes apparent that highlight and shadow detail is lacking and,
typically, that the image is darker than expected. The higher the halftone frequency
used, the more the shadow areas will fill in and highlights will lighten—and the more
necessary calibration becomes.
Color process work brings the problem into flat tint work as well, because variations
of only a few percent from the requested value in just one of the color plates can throw
the final apparent color well away from that intended.
Note: Calibration is important in color work, but it is not a complete answer. Calibra-
tion is sufficient only where the originally requested colors are prepared with the final
output device in mind; calibration can adjust the individual color values but not the
hues of those colors. A color management system is required to make adjustments
which change hues, as for example in digital proofing.
The RIP allows calibration sets to be built for particular configurations. By choosing
appropriate calibration sets, you can make the RIP correct for variations caused by dif-
ferent output devices, line frequencies, exposure values, dot shapes, and negative /
positive setting.
100
Gray level measured from paper ( % )
80
60
40
20
20 40 60 80 100
• You can create a separate calibration curve for each channel of multicolor
devices, for example color ink jet printers and printing presses. If the output
device or printing press supports additional colorants, you can create separate
calibration curves for spot colors.
Although an imagesetter is not a multi-color device, you can create a separate
calibration curve for each color, to take account of the different screen angles.
• If you are preparing a job for a printing press, you can create separate calibra-
tion curves for output to film and output to a printing press. If you are not using
Harlequin ColorPro, you can retarget a job from its intended printing press to
another printing press, using a separate calibration set to remove the compensa-
tion for the gain of the intended press. See “Press calibration” on page 442 for a
discussion of the background issues.
• Tone Curves allow you to make another set of color adjustments, in addition to
the device calibration and the press calibration. See “Tone curves” on page 441
for details.
• You can use different measuring systems, as appropriate for the kind of output
device and measuring instruments.
Additionally, these features are arranged so that is easy to add and use the advanced
facilities provided by the ColorPro options. The extra facilities and changes of proce-
dure associated with ColorPro are described in the separate Harlequin ColorPro
User’s Guide.
consequence is that you can adjust for day-to-day or printer-to-printer variations in ink
density and similar variations in the exposure of imagesetters and platesetters.
3. Use an Edit dialog box to enter the data and label it with the information
describing its use. You may also want to inspect the resulting curve and smooth
or edit the data values. This is where you name the calibration set.
4. Apply the calibration set you have created and check that it provides good out-
put.
Section 13.4.2 on page 426 through Section 13.4.5 on page 434 describe these steps in
more detail.
The page setup you use to print a target can use either kind of Calibration entry:
• To create your own calibration set for a device for the first time your page
setup must use a supplied calibration profile for the device.
• To edit your own calibration set your page setup must use that calibration set.
Once you have identified or created an appropriate page setup, follow the steps below
to print a target using this page setup:
1. Use the menu option Output > Print Calibration and choose your page setup in
the From Page Setup(s) list.
2. Choose the type of target that you wish to print from the Print For menu. Pro-
cess Colors only is often suitable. See Section 13.10 on page 447 for
details of all these options.
3. Prepare your printer—for example by loading the correct paper and click Print
uncalibrated target. (Enable output in the Output Controller if necessary to get a
printed target.)
Note: You must print the target on the paper for which the calibration profile or
set was created in order to obtain an accurate calibration set.
4. Wait for this target to dry thoroughly before attempting to measure it. Even
when a target appears dry, It can take ten minutes or more for some combination
of inks and media to stabilize completely so that the colors are no longer chang-
ing and the target is unaffected by handling.
You can then follow the rest of this overall example procedure from Section 13.4.3 on
page 430.
significantly. However, the media and the chemistry of the developer used can make a
big difference: stable developer chemistry is very important for accurate calibration.
Note: Some settings in the chosen page setup are ignored or altered—notably those in
a ColorPro color management option that would change the color of a graphic object.
Each button creates a slightly different target (test strip) or series of targets. To create
the appropriate series of targets for the example procedure, you need to set up some
values and then click Print exposure sweep.
Note: If your output device does not support software exposure control, run the tests
manually instead, according to your output device manufacturer’s instructions. Typi-
cally: set the exposure manually, click Print uncalibrated target, and repeat for each
exposure value.
Print exposure sweep uses the values in the associated From, To, and Step text boxes to
print test strips at each of several exposures in the range.
13.4.2.2 Messages
From version 5.5 calibration is installed differently however, the end result is the same
as previous versions with the exception of a few extra messages.
Calibration and color management is setup as normal when running a calibration tar-
get. This is different to previous behavior where it was not setup. At the start of the
target procset, everything that has to be turned off is turned off.
The target procset now gets information about its environment from PostScript data in
setcalibration and various color management operators. Therefore, calibration
and color management must be setup normally for this information to be present.
A manifestion of this is that when running calibration targets the normal messages for
calibration and color management are displayed, followed by a number of extra
‘switched off’ messages, for example:
Only the relevant messages appear, that is, if color management is not enabled, its
‘switched off’ message will not appear.
may look slightly different, often having one strip of patches for each color, and it is
possible to have custom targets supplied with each output device driver.)
If you have a densitometer, select the correct exposure by reading the density values
of the two squares labeled D Max/Min on each of the test pages from your exposure
sweep. (Measure both squares to check for a uniform exposure across the page.) Opti-
mum density varies from material to material, but generally a densitometer reading of
between 3.5 and 4.0 is acceptable for film, and between 1.8 and 2.0 for paper. (The
densitometer should of course be switched to give density readings rather than dot
percentage readings.)
If you do not have a densitometer, you can still use this page to select an approximate
exposure setting: study the fine detail in the bottom left of the page, and select the
exposure that gives clear, fine white detail in black areas and vice versa. As an addi-
tional guide, you should be able to tell the difference between the 0% and 2% tint pan-
els, and between the 98% and 100% panels. (These figures are for film or bromide:
inkjet output can be black from the 80% patch upwards.)
Keep the strip that you decide has the right exposure: you can measure values from it
to create the calibration set. If you think a value falling between those used in your
exposure sweep might be better, print a new target at that exposure. For example, set
Exposure in the Edit Page Setup dialog box and then use Print uncalibrated target. You
can only set the Exposure in the Edit Page Setup dialog box if your output device sup-
ports software exposure control, otherwise the option is grayed out.
Choose Navigator RIP > Page Setup Manager. The RIP displays the Page Setup Man-
ager. Select the page setup for which you printed the exposure test (or single calibra-
tion target) and click Edit. In the Edit Page Setup dialog box, set the Exposure to the
chosen value. If your output device does not support software exposure control, the
Exposure option is grayed out and you may have to set the exposure manually.
Click the Calibration Manager button to open the Calibration Manager, shown in
Figure 13.4. This button is next to the Calibration and Tone Curves drop-down lists.
Calibration sets are grouped by device and by color space. When you open the Cali-
bration Manager from the Edit Page Setup dialog box, the RIP displays the calibration
sets for the current device and current color space, if any have been created. The
choice of separations style determines the color space. When you first open the Cali-
bration Manager after installing the RIP, the list box is empty.
If you open the Calibration Manager using the Output > Calibration Manager com-
mand, select the appropriate device from the Device drop-down list and, if necessary,
select a color space from the Color Space drop-down list.
The column headings are various properties of a calibration set. The first column in
the list is the name of the calibration set and the last column is the edited or unedited
status of the calibration. Each of the remaining columns in the list corresponds to the
name of one of the warning criteria in the Edit Calibration dialog box. See “Calibra-
tion Manager dialog box” on page 450 for full details.
Click New to create a new calibration set for the first time. The RIP displays an appro-
priate version of the Edit Calibration dialog box.
Subsequently, you will probably edit the set, as described in “Editing calibration sets”
on page 435.
For version 5.5r1 the way calibration works has been changed. All calibration sets cre-
ated before v5.5r1 will work in the same way they always have. However, if you
decide to edit a calibration set created before v5.5r1 with a v5.5r1 RIP (or later) or cre-
ate a new calibration set, the values will be automatically adjusted to account for the
application of the default curve to the calibration. The default curve is a linearization
profile of the output device. Previously, the default curve was only taken into account
when the calibration set was first created and not after editing. From v5.5r1, the
default calibration curve is always taken into account.
If you leave the Edit calibration dialog by selecting Cancel the new values will not be
saved and the calibration will work as before. If however, you decide to save the new
values the calibration will work using the default curve and will produce more accu-
rate results.
When you click New to create a new calibration set, you enter the Edit Calibration dia-
log box for an uncalibrated target with all Warning criteria boxes empty. The warning
criteria list the resolution, dot shape, screen frequency, and so on that this calibration
set is intended to work with.
At least, you must:
• Name the new calibration set.
• Show what kind of values you are measuring.
• Provide data values.
You should also use the Warning criteria boxes to show which settings the calibration
set is intended to work with.
“Edit Calibration dialog box” on page 455 describes how to use all the items in this
dialog box, but this short procedure mentions the essential items:
1. Type a name into the Name text box.
2. Choose the type of measurement you are making from the Measurements as pop-
up menu drop-down list.
3. Measure the dot coverage percentages from densitometer readings taken from
the target that you chose in the procedure “Choosing the correct exposure” on
page 426 and enter these values into the labeled boxes for calibration data. (The
Import button allows you to import data values taken from a file, which can be
generated by a separate program, Genlin. See Appendix C, “Using Genlin” on
page 539 for use of the program and see page 463 for details of how to read the
file.)
Note: Each value you enter must be consistently greater than the preceding
value (or less than it if you are using a negative film or meter).
The Smooth button allows you to smooth the ends of the graph (and by doing so,
the values of the calibration set) in small steps. If a set of values are out of range
or non-monotonic a warning will appear when you try to exit from the dialog.
4. In the Warning Criteria panel, enter the settings used to create the target: resolu-
tion, dot shape, screen frequency, exposure, and say whether it applies to both
negative and positive settings.
Note: If you create a calibration set from the Edit Page Setup dialog box, you
need only select the Warning criteria check boxes. The RIP takes the default set-
tings from the page setup you are editing.
Click OK to save the calibration set.
You can create a new calibration set, or save all the changes you have made to date by
clicking OK in the Calibration Manager.
You can create or edit a calibration set in the Calibration Manager, even if you do not
want to use it in the current page setup. Once you have saved the new calibration set
by clicking OK in the Calibration Manager, it will remain even if you Cancel the Edit
Page Setup dialog box. If you opened the Calibration Manager from the Edit Page
Setup dialog box, you can also save the changes by clicking Select. In addition to sav-
ing the changes, using the Select button displays the selected calibration set in the Cal-
ibration control in the Edit Page Setup dialog box.
If you click Cancel in the Calibration Manager, you discard all changes to calibration
sets that you have made since you opened the Calibration Manager.
When you edit a calibration set for color data, the procedure is very similar, except
that you must enter data for each color channel. Note that although an imagesetter is
not a multi-color device, you can create a separate calibration curve for each color, to
take account of the different screen angles.
Measure the tint values on this calibrated target. If the values are wrong in any
patches, reread these tint patches on the original exposure sweep target, and edit the
values in the calibration set again.
a new calibration set created (with the New button). The new
calibration set must be selected explicitly in the Edit Page
Setup dialog box each time.
However, whatever method is adopted, the most important rule is to match the edit
command to the type of target. To be explicit:
• When entering measurements using uncalibrated test strips, always do so with
Edit from uncalibrated target (or New).
• When using calibrated test strips, always do so with Edit from calibrated target.
Calibration will be completely wrong if you do not follow this rule.
<calibrated/uncalibrated>
depends on which edit button you clicked in the Calibration
Manager.
<Device name>
is the selection in the Device drop-down list in the Calibration
Manager.
When you edit the calibration set for a printing press, the differences are:
• The presence of a Press drop-down list in the Warning Criteria panel. In this
case the default calibration set is determined by the selected profile.
• The types of measurements available in the Measurements as drop-down list.
When you edit the calibration for tone curves, the differences are:
• The options in the Warning Criteria panel are unavailable (except for the Use
for Pos & Neg option for monochrome devices).
option, you can tell the RIP to abort any job that fails the criteria. See Section 13.12.3
on page 457 for details.
Name the calibration set carefully, so that you can identify all the parameters associ-
ated with it. For example, it may not be sufficient to name the calibration set with the
chosen resolution, since the dot shape and line frequency could also affect the calibra-
tion.
Most settings have obvious single values. Screen frequencies and positive / negative
settings need some discussion.
Screen frequencies are given as a range to indicate the range of frequencies for which
the set is valid. It is a good idea to start by working out which frequencies you expect
to use—for example, 85, 100, 112, 120, 133, 150, 175 lpi, and so on. You can then cre-
ate ranges centered on each of these values—for example, 75 to 93 lpi, 93 to 106 lpi,
and so on. You do not have to create calibration sets for the full range of frequencies—
you may find, for instance, that the lower frequencies do not need calibration, either
because the output device is fairly accurate at these values, or because the work you
do at those frequencies does not demand accurate output. Also, it may be that the same
calibration set will apply to a wide range of frequencies—for example, 100–300 lpi.
You must inform the RIP about the various combinations of positive and negative out-
put and measuring devices.
The Measurements as drop-down list allows you to tell the RIP which densitometer
mode you used when performing your density readings. Some densitometers read in
positive dot, others in negative dot (that is, a clear area may read 0 (zero) or 100).
For a monochrome device, you can specify what kind of output you are measuring
using the Negative media check box.
The Use for Pos & Neg check box allows you to record whether the RIP can use this cal-
ibration set for both positive and negative output, or only one. The default setting of
this box (selected) is usually the best to use, but for very accurate calibrations, apply
this setting only to Euclidean dot shapes. (See Chapter 6, “Screening” for a descrip-
tion of Euclidean screening.) When this check box is not selected, the RIP uses the
calibration set only for positive or negative, as set in Negative media.
• The time and storage conditions between printing and measurement. The
output from inkjet and dye-sublimation printers can alter significantly over a
period of weeks, or even hours if subjected to bright sunlight.
Reasonable calibration can normally be achieved easily, but for very high quality cali-
bration a considerable amount of care in setting up and controlling the imagesetting
environment is required.
any primary calibration to remove compensation for the gain of the intended press,
and then to compensate for the gain of the actual press.
Note that the intended press calibration is not available when ColorPro is enabled.
Instead, ColorPro provides several options for processing color data ahead of the
transfer to press: these options include emulating the output of one press on another
type of press. For details, see the separate Harlequin ColorPro User’s Guide.
For this reason, the process is split in two:
1. You give the gain (expressed as a calibration set) of the intended press, which
may be one of:
• A standard press
Some standard presses are built in to the Navigator RIP.
• A variation on a standard press
A typical variation is, for example, an extra 5% gain at 50% over SWOP
Type 1 printing but with essentially the same shape of gain curve. You can
create such calibration sets in the RIP by extrapolation from the standard
curves provided with the RIP.
• A real press
This press might be one of a group of similar presses, another of which
may be used to print the job. Alternatively, this same press may actually
print the job, but can no longer print with the same gain as assumed when
making the scans.
2. You give the gain of the actual press. The calibration here is expressing the
adjustment needed to put the press back into its reference state (what the press
looked like when first calibrated), which is not usually a linear state, but the
characteristic dot-gain curve of a printing press.
The RIP can then do the calculations which account for the difference. This separation
allows the actual press behavior to be accounted for without needing to remember
what differences to apply manually.
13.10.1 Buttons
Clicking a button prints at least one calibration target, and more if you have selected
several page setups using the From Page Setups list, as described in Section 13.10.2.
The options are:
Print for Choose the set of colors you wish to have printed on print test
strips. You may see just one option, usually Process Col-
ors only, in this list if your output device and the selected
page setup do not support spot colors.
If the output format supports additional colorants, you can
also choose to print the calibration for Spot Colors only,
Process & Spot Colors, or for Monochrome only. The
output format is determined by the separations style of the
page setup.
From / To / Step
Print exposure sweep uses the values in these text boxes as,
respectively, the first, last, and increment values of exposure
when producing an exposure sweep. Take care to enter values
so that the complete sweep corresponds to valid exposure val-
ues for your output device.
For example, values of 100, 120, and 5 produce a sweep
with exposures of 100, 105, 110, 115, and 120.
To recap, the From box is the first exposure setting, the To
box is the last exposure setting and the Step box is the size of
the step. With values of, From 100, To 150 and Step 5. You
will get 11 exposures from 100 to 150 in steps of 5.
Change the Step 5 to Step 10 and you will get 6 exposures
from 100 to 150 in steps of 10.
Note: A special example is the CIP3 output plugin. Its behavior with respect to
calibration is like that of a printing press, because its purpose to provide ink-key
data for use with printing presses.
Printing Press
You can use this special device to calibrate the transfer from film to press. In
general, you do not create calibration sets for a press—though this would be
possible, but expensive, once you had created a calibrated output path to film or
plate. A more common way of working is to adjust the press to conform to one
of the standard references such as SWOP (CGATS TR001) or a BVD-FOGRA
standard and to use the corresponding calibration profile as supplied with the
RIP.
You apply a calibration set for the press that you are using by choosing its name
in the Actual Press drop-down list in the Edit Page Setup dialog box. You can
also adjust a job prepared for a different press; do this by choosing a supplied
profile or measured calibration for that different press in the Intended Press drop-
down list, and making the normal choice for the press that you are using in
Actual Press.
Tone Curves
This special device allows you to make another set of color adjustments in addi-
tion to the device calibration and press calibration. Typically, you might create a
tone curve calibration by estimating the required change at one or two tonal
values and then extrapolating and smoothing to obtain the other data values.
You apply a tone curve calibration set using the Tone Curves drop-down list in
the Edit Page Setup dialog box.
For the special devices, Tone Curves and Printing Press, the Color Space listing
contains all the color spaces for which a profile exists.
To edit an existing calibration set, select it in the list and then click either Edit from
uncalibrated target or Edit from calibrated target, as appropriate.
unedited status of the calibration. Each of the remaining columns in the list corre-
sponds to one of the warning criteria in the Edit Calibration dialog box.
The values in the columns for warning criteria show the intended values for use of
each calibration set, as set in the Edit Calibration dialog box. The RIP will warn you if
you select the calibration set for a page setup with conflicting values. You should cre-
ate a calibration set for each combination of media and settings for resolution, dot
shape, range of screen frequencies, exposure, and negative/positive that you expect to
use with each kind of device. Use narrow ranges if you want high accuracy.
In the columns for warning criteria, you may see the following entries:
(Any) Shows that any value is allowed, so the RIP will not warn if
you select the calibration set. This corresponds to clearing the
check box for the warning criterion in the Edit Calibration
dialog box.
Exp (Exposure) The exposure setting, if software controllable by the RIP. For
example, this option is not available for the None or Preview
devices.
Status The Status column tells you about the source and whether the
current data for the given calibration set came from an uncal-
ibrated target or a calibrated target.
The possible entries are:
C for data from a calibrated strip
U for data from an uncalibrated strip
E if you have edited the data since entering the
Calibration Manager
D if you have viewed the default curve without
editing it
13.11.2 Buttons
Most buttons operate on multiple calibration sets. Only the two edit buttons require
just one selected calibration set.
New Click this button to create a new calibration set. You enter the
Edit Calibration dialog box for an uncalibrated target with all
Warning criteria boxes empty. At least, you must name the
new calibration set and provide data values.
Copy Click this button to copy a calibration set. The RIP creates a
new name for the copy by adding characters (for example,
~[1] or ~[2]) after the original name. If the name is longer
than about 13 characters then you can see the added charac-
ters only in the Name field of the Edit Calibration dialog box,
where you can also edit the name to be more meaningful.
Delete Click this button to delete the selected calibration set or sets.
The RIP generates a warning if the selected calibration set is
used in a page setup.
Note: You cannot delete a calibration set if you open the Cal-
ibration Manager from within the Edit Page Setup dialog box.
OK Confirms the changes you have made and exits the dialog
box.
These ways of entry allow you to follow most working practices. The choice is yours.
When you use the New or Edit from uncalibrated target buttons, the RIP creates a cali-
bration curve directly from the uncalibrated data values you enter.
When you use the Edit from calibrated target button, the RIP creates a calibration curve
more indirectly. In some circumstances and with some devices, this indirect approach
can lead to values that never settle to an error too small to measure; you may find that
the residual errors are acceptable or you may prefer to use Edit from uncalibrated tar-
get.
One way of regarding the process for Edit from calibrated target is to say that the RIP
uses the data values you enter from a calibrated target to detect imperfections in the
existing calibration and adjusts the calibration to remove them. Typically, these imper-
fections and the corresponding adjustments are small (compared to those for uncali-
brated targets) and may provide a better calibration curve than working from
uncalibrated targets. Another advantage of working from a calibrated target is that it
may allow the use of one fewer target—saving both time and media.
The RIP is supplied with default calibration curves for some output devices, each
curve representing the linearized state of a typical device of the same kind. If you are
using ColorPro, the default calibration set is determined by the profile. Without Color-
Pro, the RIP uses the Linear profile.
There are two special devices, shown in the Calibration Manager as Tone Curves
and Printing Press. When you edit a calibration set for one of these devices, the
Edit Calibration dialog box offers slightly different options (as described in
Section 13.5.2 on page 437).
Screen freq The halftone screen frequency. You can enter the lower and
upper limits of a range of frequencies and choose the units in
the accompanying drop-down list.
Add To add a channel for a spot color, click the Add button. In the
Add Channel dialog box, select the name of the spot color
from the drop-down list and click the OK button. The list of
spot colors contains all the spot colors named in the separa-
tions styles for the selected device and color space.
Note that in the special case of the Tone Curves and
Printing Press devices, the list includes all the spot col-
ors named in separations styles for any device in the selected
color space. This is because tone curve and press calibration
can be used with any page setup.
Copy If the data for one channel is similar to another channel, you
can copy the data and then edit it, rather than having to enter
it again. For example, to copy the data from the Cyan channel
to the Magenta channel, first select the Magenta Channel and
click the Copy button. Then, in the Copy Channel Data dialog
box, select the Cyan channel from the drop-down list and
click the OK button.
For some devices, for example with an imagesetter, you
might feel that the calibration of the black channel is also
adequate for the color channels. In this case, use the Copy
command to copy the black channel data to the other chan-
nels.
Delete You can delete any spot color channel from the Channel drop-
down list by selecting the spot color channel and clicking the
Delete button. If you have not defined any spot color chan-
nels, the Delete button is not available.
Measurements as
Use this drop-down list to declare what kind of measure-
ments you are entering in the data boxes. The entries avail-
able in this can vary with the type of output device. Two
examples are Status T, a standard measure of absolute den-
sity, and % Dot, the area coverage of halftone output.
Note that if you choose to edit a different Profile which uses
an alternative measurement system, a Measurement sys-
tem ...not found warning is displayed and the correct
system for the newly chosen profile is automatically selected
in this menu.
13.12.5 Values
You can enter values in any form offered to you in the drop-down list labeled Measure-
ments as. Examples are:
• Dot Gain (relative values expressed in ± values from a perfect transfer curve)
• Status-T Density
• Visual or ISO Visual (which is the same as the Visual channel of Status-T)
• L* (from CIE L*A*B*)
13.12.7 Controls
Negative media Select the Negative media check box to show that you are
measuring data from negative output media. Leave it clear
when you are using positive media.
Smooth This button smooths the values near the ends of a curve: typi-
cally, to approximate a smooth curve where the limited reso-
lution of a measuring device may have truncated similar
values to be the same.
Extrapolate This button is enabled when you are calibrating for a printing
press or when the output device supports extrapolation. There
also needs to be at least one empty data value.
You can use Clear to empty all data values, enter a limited
number of values, and then press Extrapolate to have the RIP
calculate the remaining values. A typical source of values is a
manufacturer’s data sheet, for example, giving press gain in
the form: a gain of 15% at 50%.
In rare cases, extrapolation may not be able to produce a rea-
sonable curve: the RIP displays an error message to tell you if
this has happened. (One example of an unreasonable curve is
a non-monotonic one that rises but then falls before rising
again.)
Clear Click this button to clear all the boxes. This is intended as a
preliminary to entering data in a small number of boxes and
using the Extrapolate button to calculate values for the other
boxes.
Reset Reset deletes all entered data for the calibration set and dis-
plays the default curves for the device (and profile, if Color-
Pro is enabled). For a multi-channel device, it resets all
channels; not just the channel whose curve is displayed.
Import To import the data from a file rather than typing numbers into
the boxes, click the Import button. The RIP displays the
Import Measurements dialog box, shown in Figure 13.6.
For example, if you edit only the Cyan channel of a 4-color device, the RIP will query
you about the Magenta, Yellow, and Black channels. The following message is typi-
cal:
You haven’t viewed the following channels: Magenta, Yellow,
Black. Finish editing anyway?
The RIP does not allow you to save an unreasonable curve. One example of an unrea-
sonable curve is a non-monotonic one that rises but then falls before rising again. If
you try to save an unreasonable curve, the RIP warns you and prompts you to correct
the curve before you can save it.
Color Separation
This chapter describes some basic concepts of color reproduction and the related parts
of the Navigator RIP.
The concept of color separation is no longer restricted to producing separated output.
When processing any job, the RIP creates a separation for each process colorant and
also, where appropriate, for spot colorants. The output format determines whether the
separations are printed together as a composite, or separated. By configuring these
separations you can control the printing of individual colorants in the job. Although
there is only one separation in the monochrome color space, the RIP provides the
same options for configuring that separation.
Separations information is saved together with screening information in a separations
style, which can be used in several page setups. A separations style is defined for a
specific device, color space, and output format. Selecting a separations style in the
Edit Page Setup dialog box determines the color space of the page setup.
These are the related parts of the Navigator RIP:
• The Separations Manager and Edit Style dialog box. See Section 14.5 on
page 480 for details of the choices you make for all separations. (See Chapter
6, “Screening” for details of the screening options for halftone separations.)
• The Color Setup dialog box. See Section 14.8 on page 493. This dialog box
contains the controls for black generation and undercolor removal, trapping,
and overprinting.
• Use of the Output Controller to view superimposed color separations. See
Section 14.11 on page 509. The Output Controller is available in either of the
multiple modes.
This chapter describes how you can define separations styles, while Chapter 5, “Con-
figuring Output Formats”, describes how you can choose different separations styles
when producing output.
14.1 Introduction
To produce a color image, many reproduction systems take advantage of the fact that
there are small sets of colors that, when mixed in the correct proportions, can produce
any of a very wide range of other colors. For example, combinations of red, green, and
blue inks (commonly known as RGB), or cyan, magenta, and yellow inks (CMY), can
between them produce thousands of different hues.
Color printing more commonly uses CMY colors, with the addition of a black ink to
account for imperfections in the printing process. This manual uses the term CMYK
for the system of color representation using these four inks (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow,
and blacK). These inks are the commonly used process colors. There are several other
terms in common use, some terms using B for Black or referring to the order of print-
ing each ink by reordering the letters: YMCK, YMCB, and KCMY are typical.
Black ink is used for several practical, economic, and quality reasons:
• Black appears very often: for example, in text.
• Black ink is cheaper than colored inks.
• Mixing CMY inks produces an impure black, probably tinged with brown, and
can result in objectionable colored fringes on small objects such as characters
in body text. Additionally, one application of black ink replaces three applica-
tions of colored inks so drying time can be reduced.
• Black can be used to extend the range of colors and tints available from mixing
CMY inks.
There are ways to improve reproduction quality or economy beyond the levels possi-
ble with CMYK process inks. There are two general approaches: to vary the number
of process inks (HiFi or N-color printing), or to add spot colors. Each approach has its
own advantages.
To make this database work, it must be referenced in one of the files in SW\Named-
ColorOrder. You do this by editing Intercept, Recombine and Roam.
image in different colors. In this grayscale figure, different shades of gray represent
the various colors.
Separations produced in four process colors
The Magazine
a weekly review
The image in the figure shows the cover page of a fictional magazine. It is mostly
black, but has a small color illustration on the right that consists of some land (in
green), over which there is a road (in pure black), and in the sky (not colored) the sun
(in pure yellow) is shining.
Color images are not produced from separations by mixing inks before application to
the page. Instead, the illusion of a full-color image is produced by seeing different pro-
portions of the four inks laid together on the page. Each separation adds one color
component to the image—cyan, magenta, yellow, and black in turn—and, when they
are overlaid correctly, they form a full-color image.
A color separation is, strictly speaking, a monochrome (that is, one color) image. It is
called a color separation because it is the result of separating one color from the oth-
ers in the color system. For example, the yellow separation in CMYK is a version of
the image that shows only the yellow part of it, separated from the cyan, magenta, and
black. (You can control how colors will be separated from the others in an image.)
Seen in isolation, a single separation may not look much like the full-color image of
which it will form a part but it is usually possible to identify some features of the final
image. In Figure 14.1, the yellow separation shows the sun, which is pure yellow. It
also shows a small amount of yellow in the ground part of the image, which will com-
bine with the cyan separation to form the grass color. However, it does not contribute
to the road or the text, and so it is empty in those places.
Since the yellow and magenta inks can portray yellow and magenta quite adequately
on their own, the cyan and black separations are empty.
The yellow separation shows a square in the middle and nothing else. The square sig-
nifies the presence of yellow in the image at that point. The magenta separation shows
a white square on a magenta background. So, magenta will be printed in every part of
the image except for that square.
Because magenta will not be printed in the white square, only yellow will appear there
when the separations are put together. This is important, since if magenta was printed
there too, it would mix with the yellow, and produce a square that was not pure yellow,
but red. Equally, no other inks will overlap the magenta background, because no sepa-
rations other than the magenta one contribute any color to that region.
An area of a separation that is made empty so that it does not interfere with a graphic
object represented by a color or colors in other separations is called a knockout. This is
because the colored area has been knocked out of the separation.
One problem with using knockouts is that if the separations are not overlaid accurately
enough, there may be a white gap at the edge, as shown in Figure 14.3. This effect is
the product of misregistering the separations, that is, misaligning them when they are
combined. Nevertheless, in cases where printing one ink on top of another would pro-
duce the wrong color, producing separations with knockouts is essential. Generally,
graphic and page design applications produce knockouts automatically.
Inaccuracies caused by misregistered knockouts can be overcome by using special
printing effect such as trapping. The RIP provides some support for trapping. See
“Trapping features” on page 508.
Suppose we have another simple image that is a pure magenta background with a
black square in the middle. Figure 14.4 shows the separations that can be produced.
Figure 14.4 Color separations for a simple image, with black overprinting
In this case, we do not need to make a knockout on the magenta separation, because
the black ink should be strong enough to overcome the influence of the magenta ink
beneath it. So we may choose not to let the black separation cause a knockout in the
magenta separation. This effect is called overprinting, and is the opposite of a knock-
out. Overprinting eliminates the risk of finding gaps in the final output, but cannot be
used unless the overprinted ink is strong enough to overcome the effects of the ink or
inks beneath it. When overprinting is not possible, trapping remains a possibility.
In halftoning strategies, continuous tone gray or colored images are imitated by com-
bining dots of different sizes and colors. They are combined in such a way that, to the
human eye, they mix, and the observer sees the intended color image.
To ensure that the colors combine correctly, the positions of the dots on each separa-
tion are calculated carefully. The grids, or halftone screens, for each separation are
aligned at different angles, to avoid moiré patterns.
Once each separation has been produced, the final image can be constructed by print-
ing the separations directly on top of each other. The intermediate stages are progres-
sive proofs. In the CMYK model, this is usually done by printing yellow first, then
magenta, cyan, and finally black. Figure 14.5 and the following figures show the
stages involved when printing color in this way for the example image in Figure 14.1,
page 472.
Figure 14.5 shows how yellow ink for the yellow separation is printed on blank paper.
You can also preview separation printing on screen in the RIP. See “Roaming separa-
tions” on page 510.
Next, the magenta ink for the magenta separation would be printed on the paper, but
since the separation is empty for this image, nothing is printed.
Next, the cyan ink for the cyan separation is printed. To the eye, the pattern of cyan
and yellow dots in the area of land will appear green as simulated in Figure 14.7.
Finally, the black ink for the black (K) separation is printed. All of the separations
have been combined, producing a full-color image as simulated in Figure 14.8.
The RIP can take full-color jobs as input, and interpret them once to produce separa-
tion information for each color in the space. In CMYK, this creates four monochrome
output pages, each corresponding to a different color separation. When the full-color
image is to be produced, the colored parts of a separation show where inks should be
applied, and the white parts where not. Alternatively, the RIP can print the separations
together as a composite.
The Separations Manager displays a list of all existing separations styles for the cur-
rent device, showing the name of each separations style, the corresponding color
space, and the output format.
To display the list of separations styles for a different device, select a device name
from the Device drop-down list. When you use a device for the first time, the RIP gen-
erates a set of separations styles for that device. Some devices can support simple
styles only. Others, like TIFF, can produce many different styles, so the names of the
styles are chosen to avoid ambiguity.
You can edit these separations styles to suit your installation or create new ones.
Edit Select a separations style and click this button to edit it in the
Edit Style dialog box. A shortcut is to double-click a separa-
tions style.
Note: To rename a separations style, copy it and save the
copy with the desired name, before deleting the original.
New Click this button to create a new separations style. The New
Style dialog box appears, as described in Section 14.6.2.
Once you have set the color space and output format, you
cannot change them for the named separations style.
Copy Select a separations style and click this button to edit a copy.
The New Style dialog box appears, as described in
Section 14.6.2.
Delete Select one or more separations styles and click this button to
delete them together. You cannot delete a separations style if
it is used in a page setup.
You cannot delete the only separations style in a list.
You can also select separations styles and reorder them by dragging them to new posi-
tions in the list. The order in the Separations Manager is the order of appearance in
menus where you choose a separations style.
Style name Type in a name for the separations style. The style name must
be unique and can be up to 30 characters long.
Color space Select the color space from the drop-down list. You can select
any color space known by the RIP, not just the color space of
the target device. Monochrome, RGB, and CMYK are always
available. If you have installed an N-color device, you can
also use its color space, even if you are not printing to that N-
color device. This choice determines the process colorants
specified in the separations style. The output format specifies
how the colorants will be printed on the output device.
Output format Once you have selected the color space, select an output for-
mat from the drop-down list. This specifies how to generate
the output on the target device. The available options depend
on the selected output device and the setting for Color space.
For example, with a typical CMYK device operating in its
own color space, you can generate output as monochrome
separations, as colored separations (either single or progres-
sive proofs), or as a composite. For an RGB output device,
you can convert CMYK or N-color separations to RGB out-
put, and so on. When an arrow appears in the output format
name, it indicates that the color space does not match that of
the output device.
Note: Once you have set the color space and output format, you cannot change them
for the named separations style.
Click the Create button to open the Edit Style dialog box, described in Section 14.7 on
page 484. Click Cancel to discard your changes immediately.
Shift
To select a block of separations styles that appear together in the list, select the first
style in the block, then, while holding down the Shift key, select the last style in the
block.
Ctrl
To select several separations styles, regardless of whether they form a continuous
range, hold down the Control key while selecting the styles you wish to delete.
Click OK to confirm all the changes you have make in the Separations Manager and
Edit Style dialog boxes. The OK button saves the changes you have made and closes
the Separations Manager. If you opened the Separations Manager from the Edit Page
Setup dialog box, you can also save the changes by clicking the Select button. In addi-
tion to saving the changes, the Select button displays the selected style in the Edit Page
Setup dialog box. Click Cancel to discard all changes.
Note: If you open the Separations Manager from the Edit Page Setup dialog box,
changes that you make in the Separations Manager are independent of the Edit Page
Setup dialog box. For example, if you create a separations style, and close the Edit
Style dialog box with OK, and the Separations Manager with OK or Select, the new
style will remain even if you click Cancel in the Edit Page Setup dialog box.
This dialog box contains a list showing the separations that the RIP can produce.
There are initially separations for the process colors in the selected color space. In
Figure 14.11 there are separations for the four process colors in the CMYK color
space.
If the chosen output format supports additional colorants, you can control the printing
of spot color separations using the (Other colors in job) entry, or you can add
a separation for a specific spot color.
The order in the list defines the order of production of separations on output. If the
output device can generate separations in a different order, you can move a selected
color up and down the list by selecting it and dragging to the new position.
You can rename or delete spot color separations. You cannot delete the standard pro-
cess color separations from the list, nor can you change their names. You may, how-
ever, ask the RIP not to produce a certain separation.
For particular jobs, you may want to vary the settings in the interests of efficiency or
to ensure compatibility with PostScript-language code that uses Level 1 operators. For
example, the default settings produce separations for all process colors, so you may
want to turn off some process colors if a job is mainly defined in spot colors. Also for
example, if you need to reprint just a single separation (and it is not saved in the
Output Controller), you can turn off all the other separations.
The Print option in the Edit Style dialog box determines which separations are pro-
duced. The RIP produces all those separations marked as Yes and the non-blank sepa-
rations marked as Not Blank.
Note: If you are printing a preseparated job, and you wish to not produce some separa-
tions, select Recombine preseparated jobs, even if you then wish the RIP to produce
output separations. The RIP produces all separations of a preseparated job except
when recombining.
If you are producing screened separations, you can control the screening of process
and spot colors by using the screening options in the Edit Style dialog box. See Chap-
ter 6, “Screening” for a description of these options.
Note: The separations shown in this dialog box always take effect for jobs that do not
specify their own separations. If the job attempts to specify separations, you must
select the Override separations in job check box if you want to produce the separations
shown here.
Warning: The name you enter for the spot color must match
the one used in the job in every respect: upper and lower case,
use of embedded space characters and any trailing CV or CU
suffixes. For example: a typical Pantone specification is
PANTONE 386 CV but applications may report this in differ-
ent ways.
Print If this option is set to Yes, a page will be produced for the
separation, even if the separation is blank. If this option is set
to No, the page will be omitted, although any effects it might
have on the others are still calculated. You might use this fea-
ture to suppress process color separation for a job using spot
colors only. If the option is set to Not Blank, the RIP will
produce a page for that separation as long as the separation is
not blank.
For example, to produce only the process colors and convert
all colors defined as spot colors in the job to process colors,
set each process color to Yes and set (Other colors in
job) to No. These are the default settings.
To produce a separation for every spot color requested in the
job and for each of the process colors, set each process color
to Yes and set (Other colors in job) to Yes. Then any
calls for unlisted spot colors in a particular job mean that the
RIP produces the required separations automatically for that
job.
If you want to produce a separation for a specific spot color
and to convert all other spot colors which may be included in
the job to process colors, set the specific spot color to Yes
and set (Other colors in job) to No.
Of these ways, the one you choose is likely to be dictated by
the characteristics of your output device and process, such as
the number of inks available in one pass.
Angle This box appears only if you are editing a halftone (screened)
style. Enter the screen angle you want to use for this separa-
tion. See Section 6.5 on page 213 for more details of screen
angles.
Note: This box defines a default value, used if the job does
not set its own screen angles. If you wish to use angles
entered here even when the job requests other values, select
the check box Override angles in job, also in this dialog box.
Note: If you have one of the optional TrapPro features enabled, you can create sets of
trapping rules and apply them within the RIP. From the Eclipse Release of the Naviga-
tor RIP, the ink set options have been removed from the Edit Separations dialog and
placed within their own Ink Set Manager. TrapPro and the Ink Set Manager options
are fully described in the separate TrapPro User Manual.
New Use this button to add a separation for a spot color to the list.
A new row appears in the list of separations. Type the name
of the spot color into the first text box below the list, to
replace the text New Color. If required edit the settings for
Print.
Warning: The name you enter for the spot color must match
the one used in the job in every respect: upper and lower case,
use of embedded space characters and any trailing CV or CU
suffixes. For example: a typical Pantone specification is
PANTONE 386 CV but applications may report this in differ-
ent ways.
Delete Use this button to delete the selected spot color separation.
The separation disappears from the list. You cannot delete
process color separations.
14.7.3 Recombination
The Navigator RIP Eclipse Release provides a single method of recombination known
as “Recombine 2”. Recombine 1 is replaced completely with Recombine 2 which uses
both object and raster methods where appropriate.
Recombine version 2 provides the following main benefits:
• Improved accuracy of object placement.
• Improved accuracy of the recombined color.
• The job must contain all the required separations in one file or AppleTalk con-
nection. It is not possible to recombine jobs where each separation is in its own
file.
• Where the job contains more than one set of separations, separations from each
set (or page) must appear contiguously—for example each page (or set) should
appear in the order, KCMYDE (where D and E represent spot colors). That is,
KCMYDE for the first page, KCMYDE for the second page and so on. The
pages must not appear ordered by colorant. For example: the order
KKK…CCC…MMM…YYY… DDD… EEE… is not allowed. Where there is
only one set (or page) of separations in the job, the order of separations in the
job is unimportant: for example, CMYKDE and KCMYED are both accept-
able.
The additional settings for recombined jobs are:
• The Override angles in job option is automatically selected when Recombine Pre-
separated jobs is selected. It is highly recommended you leave it selected. In the
Edit Style dialog box set the angle you require for each separation. See
Section 6.5 on page 213 for details.
• It is highly recommended that the Override dot shape in job option is selected.
• It is highly recommended that the Override frequency in job option is selected.
• You can also override other screening features if you wish.
Note: Recombine 2 cannot be selected in a page setup which makes use of the
HqnImpose2 procset. Therefore, Recombine 2 cannot be used with any page setup
using Simple imposition. This includes use of the page features: Fill Film, 2 up, 2
across, and several example page features. (The RIP detects when this combination
is attempted and displays a warning.)
by a Color Setup Manager and Color Setup dialog box. The trapping controls appear
in the Trapping section of the Edit Page Setup dialog box.
This method allows each color setup to be saved and used with any number of page
setups. The location of these controls in an independent dialog box allows for UCR
and trapping when producing composite color pages (for example when driving a
color device directly), as well as in separated output. It also allows for the controls to
be made unavailable when inappropriate.
If you wish to create a setup with Color management including, ICC profiles, custom
rendering intents or perform press emulation on a proofer, you should use the Harle-
quin ColorPro option. This option is activated by a password and you should contact
your dealer for more information.
If you do have Harlequin ColorPro activated in your Navigator RIP and you wish to
create a setup with color management, you should consult the Harlequin ColorPro
User Guide.
2. In the Color Setup Manager dialog box, select the device for which you want to
create a color setup. If you are creating CMYK Separations (halftone), you
should select Printing Press in this option.
3. If necessary, select the color space for which you want to create this color setup.
Note that when you create a page setup, the separations style you choose deter-
mines the color space of the page setup.
4. At this point you have the option to select either, New ‘No Color Management’
setup, or New ‘ColorPro’ setup (which is only available by use of a password). If
you can select New ‘ColorPro’ setup, you should consult the Harlequin ColorPro
User Guide for more details.
Table 14.1 Input Document Controls in the New Color Setup dialog box
Fields Description
Override color Select this check box to override any color management
management in job supplied in the job and use the options set in this dialog
box.
If you do not check this box, the Navigator RIP searches
the job for a color space array, embedded ICC profile, or
a color space resource. If there is such an element, the
Navigator RIP uses it to transform the relevant object on
the page and then treats the object as defined in device-
independent color. See Appendix B, “Jobs Containing
Color Management Data” for details.
Note: A PDF/X-3 file containing an OutputIntents
dictionary will be color managed using the ICC profile
indicated by the OutputIntents dictionary, as long as
the job uses a device independent color space and the
Override color management in job option is not selected
Table 14.1 Input Document Controls in the New Color Setup dialog box (Continued)
Fields Description
Table 14.1 Input Document Controls in the New Color Setup dialog box (Continued)
Fields Description
Drop white objects When Overprint process colors is selected, Drop white
objects determines how the RIP handles white objects:
objects defined as 0 0 0 0 setcmykcolor,
1 setgray, or 1 1 1 setrgbcolor.
Table 14.1 Input Document Controls in the New Color Setup dialog box (Continued)
Fields Description
Table 14.1 Input Document Controls in the New Color Setup dialog box (Continued)
Fields Description
Image only black This option controls whether solid black objects appear
in the process color separations other than Black when
the Overprint 100% black option is selected. If this box is
selected, the RIP ignores the other process color compo-
nents of black objects and no trace of the objects appears
in those separations. If this box is not selected, then the
other process color components are taken into account. If
this box is not selected, the objects appear in any separa-
tion where the color component is defined as non-zero in
the CMYK color space (or not 1 in the RGB color space).
Process color components defined as 0 in the CMYK
color space or 1 in the RGB color space are always over-
printed.
Use late color Color management modules prior to the Navigator RIP
management ™
Genesis Release instigated color management at the
front-end of the process, (with the exception of recom-
bine jobs where color management was applied at the
back-end of the process). Applying late color manage-
ment gives better quality results with blended colors.
See Section 14.8.2 on page 502 for more information.
Table 14.2 Input Separation Detention angles in Job options in Color Setup dialog box
Fields Description
Table 14.3 Output Controls for RGB options in the New Color Setup dialog box
Fields Description
Black generation This is the process of computing how much, and where,
black should be added to the image.
This option determines how much black ink should be
used to reproduce colors. Select Ignore, Minimum,
Light, Medium, Heavy, Maximum or UCR from the menu.
After setting options in the New Color Setup dialog box, click Save As and assign a
name to this color setup. The Color Setup Manager dialog box displays the new color
setup that you have created. Note that you can also Edit, Copy, and Delete color setups
from the Color Setup Manager.
5. Click OK to confirm all the changes you have make in the Color Setup Manager
and New Color Setup dialog boxes.
The OK button saves the changes you have made and closes the Color Setup Manager.
If you opened the Color Setup Manager from the Edit Page Setup dialog box, you can
also save the changes by clicking the Select button. In addition to saving the changes,
the Select button displays the selected color setup in the Edit Page Setup dialog box.
Click Cancel to discard all changes.
When the Use late color management option is selected, color managed blending is per-
formed in a single pass of RIP processing with its obvious efficiency benefits. The
Use late color management option is available on both ColorPro and No color manage-
ment color setups.
decide how much of a color is to be represented by black ink, and how much by the
others. Because a perfect theoretical description of the color image is provided by the
CMY components, if black is added without the appropriate removal of some of the
cyan, magenta, and yellow, the color produced on the printed page will not be the one
intended.
Undercolor removal (UCR) is the process of reducing the amount of other colors
present where the black is added. The legend ucr represents undercolor removal in the
graphs later in this section.
Note: The black generation settings in this dialog box operate in the RIP without Har-
lequin ColorPro. With ColorPro enabled, an alternative method is normally used. The
settings made here are used with ColorPro only when sending RGB data direct to a
four-color device, without first converting to a device-independent color space.
14.8.5.1 Ignore
This option does not set black generation and undercolor removal. It replaces as much
color as possible with black, while maintaining the intended color, irrespective of ink
densities. Because no PostScript-language code for performing undercolor removal is
generated, it is the fastest method.
14.8.5.2 Maximum
K, ucr
CMY
This option introduces a lot of black, taking into account the maximum black ink den-
sity. Specify the maximum black ink density in the adjacent Max black text box as a
percentage value, as described in Section 14.8.6 on page 507.
14.8.5.3 None
CMY
K, ucr
CM ucr
CMY
ucr
CM
ucr
These options introduce black gradually, according to exponential functions, with pro-
portionately smaller amounts of black added and color removed for the lighter colors
than the darker ones. This is again subject to the constraints of maximum ink densi-
ties, specified in the adjacent boxes. See Section 14.8.6 for details of controlling these
ink densities.
14.8.5.5 UCR
K
CMY
ucr
Instead of an exponential curve, this option adds no black until the maximum colored
ink density is reached and then adds black linearly up to its maximum. The maximum
colored ink density is the maximum ink density value minus the maximum black den-
sity value. See Section 14.8.6 for details of controlling these ink densities.
QuarkXPress has the ability to generate arbitrary trapping. It can do so in either of two
ways:
• By including explicit overprinted borders in the PostScript-language page
description it produces. This method works on all RIPs but may produce large
job files.
• By indicating that a capable RIP should generate the trapping. The RIP can do
this if you select the settrap (Quark) option. The QuarkXPress operator
must use a printer description file declaring that the RIP supports this feature.
Using this option allows QuarkXPress to generate more compact PostScript
code, which saves disk space and may lead to faster interpretation by the RIP.
settrap (Quark)
Use this option to have the RIP generate overprinted borders
according to instructions embedded in suitable jobs by
QuarkXPress. See Section 14.10.1 for details of how to pro-
duce suitable jobs.
If your copy of the RIP has one of the optional TrapPro features enabled, there may be
extra entries in this list and you also can create new sets of trapping rules that also
become entries in this list, as described in the separate TrapPro User Manual.
Depending on the separations style, each page of a composite color job can produce
several pages, one for each separation. Once these pages are in the Output Controller,
the RIP handles them in the same way as any other pages.
The pages are tagged with their color, which appears after the name in the Output
Controller. For example, the job picture.ps separated for CMYK printing would
have four entries in the queue, as follows:
picture.ps (C)
picture.ps (M)
picture.ps (Y)
picture.ps (K)
Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black are abbreviated to C, M, Y, and K respectively. Red,
green, and blue are abbreviated to R, G, and B respectively. Spot color separations are
tagged with the full name of the separation.
Shift
You can view a block of several separations at once. Click to select the first one, then
hold down the Shift key and click to select the last one.
When you view multiple separations, the colors are overlaid to give an impression of
how they will look when combined on paper. For example, in a high-resolution
screened picture, you should be able to see the rosettes of the screen pattern. (See
Chapter 6, “Screening”, for more discussion of viewing superimposed screens.)
You can roam a separation in a different color, which can be useful, for example, if
you want to see the differences between two separations of the same color. To high-
light the differences, change the roam color of one page and then roam the pages
together. For details of changing the roam color, see Section 14.11.3
Note: You cannot inspect or change the roam color while you are roaming a page
buffer from any page in the same job.
The Change Roam Color dialog box appears with a table displaying all the colorants
present in the selected page buffer. The columns in the table are:
Colorant This is the name of the colorant in the page buffer. In a sepa-
ration, there is only one colorant. In a composite page buffer,
all the included colorants appear. (Typical composite page
buffers contain only process colors but, for a small number of
output plugins, there can also be spot colors.)
Red This is the red component of the roam color, in the range 0
(zero) through 1.0.
Green This is the green component of the roam color, in the range 0
(zero) through 1.0.
Blue This is the blue component of the roam color, in the range 0
(zero) through 1.0.
Roam Color This is the name of the roam color. In an unchanged page
buffer this is the same name as appears in the Colorant col-
umn. In a changed page buffer, the color is the last one cho-
sen for this colorant. You can substitute any other color by
choosing from a list of common colors or by typing new val-
ues.
To change a color, first select it by clicking on its row in the table. The boxes at the
foot of the table display the RGB values and the name of the roam color for the
selected colorant. You can choose named colors from a list or specify any other color
by RGB values:
• To select a named color, use the drop-down list for Roam Color. The listed
values are any special colors represented in this page buffer, a list of default
colors for the RGB and CMYK spaces (Default Red and so on), and an entry
called Other. You cannot select Other: it shows only that you have edited the
RGB values to a color not in the list. To return to the original roam color for a
colorant, use the list to select the name that appears in the Colorant column.
• To specify any color not in the drop-down list, edit the values in the fields for
Red, Green, and Blue. Once you have edited a value then, as soon as you move
to another field (or select a different row in the table), the Roam Color name for
the edited colorant changes to Other. If you want to edit another color, click
on its row. (You can do this for all colorants if you wish; each can have its own
value for Other.)
Click OK in this dialog box and OK again in the Info dialog box to save your changes
to roam colors. Click Cancel in either dialog box to abandon your changes.
0 Troubleshooting
This appendix provides solutions to common problems that can occur when running
the RIP.
The first sections contain information about the warning messages that can appear.
They are grouped according to where the messages appear in the RIP.
Section A.1, “Warning messages and what to do”, gives a list of some of the
major error messages that may occur when running the RIP. All of the messages
in this section appear in dialog boxes.
Section A.2, “Warnings in the Navigator RIP window”, describes the warnings
that appear in the system monitor. They are grouped according to the type of
problem.
Section A.3, “Warnings within the progress box”, describes the messages that
appear in the progress box. The progress box is part of the Output Controller in
either of the multiple modes, or a separate window in either of the single modes.
This list does not include the warnings generated by output plugins.
The remaining sections provide additional information on specific topics.
Section A.4 on page 524 contains information on imposition and media saving.
Section A.5 on page 524 describes Seybold test timings.
Section A.6 on page 525 describes solutions to problems when imaging TIFF/IT
files.
The RIP failed on bootup An error has occurred while Reset the RIP to the factory
the RIP was starting up. defaults.
The RIP startup failed An error occurred while Reset the RIP to the factory
starting up the RIP. defaults. Reboot the
machine. If this does not
help, reinstall the RIP.
Could not access a resource The plugin driver for the Reset the RIP to the factory
for the current plugin device current device seems to have defaults.
driver been moved.
Move a copy of the device
driver into SW\Devices.
Could not access a Setup The setup file has been cor- Reset the RIP to the factory
resource rupted or is missing. defaults.
Could not open the newly This probably means that Close some files.
created RIP setup file there are too many other
files open.
File too deeply buried inside The file pathname is too Move the file that you are
directories long for the RIP to cope trying to access to a point
Move it somewhere else with. higher up in the file system
so that the full pathname
becomes shorter.
Incompatible version of the The setup file you are using Find and install a copy of
RIP setup file used/ is associated with a different the correct setup file that
Old RIP setup file used version of the software. was supplied with the ver-
sion of the RIP that you are
running (this file must be
placed in the SW folder) or
reinstall the RIP.
Problem finding file— The RIP cannot find a file. Try running a disk repair
maybe disk is damaged utility.
Bad jobs at the receiving The sending application Check that the sending
end may not be using the correct application is using the
protocol. expected protocol: basic
TCP/IP socket stream or
Xinet PapConnect. Check
that no other machine is
already using the same port
and sending something that
is not a PostScript-language
job.
Check that the sending
application is using the
expected protocol.
Missing, bad, or corrupted The Socket plugin or the Check that the RIP Socket
status messages at the send- port is not configured cor- plugin is configured to
ing machine rectly. return the PostScript-lan-
guage standard output on the
correct port (Address).
Check that no other machine
is already using the same
port and sending something
that is not the standard
output from a PostScript-
language job.
System warning—Insuffi- Create more free disk space before reprocessing the job that
cient Disk workspace gave the warning.
System Warning: Free disk The RIP waits for some disk space to be freed.
space gone below requested
This is not a fatal error. It can happen, for example, if the
limit
RIP is outputting pages, or has pages waiting to be output in
the Active Queue. When these pages have been output, they
are deleted automatically and the RIP continues with its cur-
rent job.
If there are no pages waiting to be output, free up disk space
by doing some of the following things:
Delete some files.
Turn on page compression in the Configure RIP dialog box.
Reconfigure the PageBuffers folder by placing it on another
disk with more free space.
Ensure that there are no locked pages in the Output Control-
ler.
Error: invalidfont; Offend- Check that the RIP has installed the font correctly.
ing Command: <command>
Try proofing the fonts using the Proof Fonts option on the
Fonts menu. If the font fails to proof it may be corrupt. If the
fonts proof correctly, the job itself may be corrupt.
If any job requires a particular font which is not installed, the
RIP attempts to use Courier as a substitute.
<FontName> Font not The font specified in the PostScript-language file is not actu-
found; using Courier ally loaded into the RIP. Courier is the default font in this
case.
Courier Font not found; If this message appears, the RIP currently has no fonts
using Courier loaded at all. Use Install fonts to install some fonts—the
minimum font set that must be installed is Courier, Times,
Helvetica, and Symbol. Alternatively, reinstall the RIP.
ERROR IN CONFIG FILE The RIP failed to finish interpreting the file.
For example, you will see this message if you try to print a
TIFF file that is corrupt, unsupported, or of an unrecognized
type.
This can also occur if a file in the spool folder is locked by
another application. Close the file and try again.
Inappropriate compression This message appears if you try to print a file that has an
inappropriate compression format. For example, a color or
grayscale TIFF file with CCITT compression. CCITT com-
pression is only suitable for monochrome TIFF files.
Buffer full
The page buffer on the output device is full
Busy
The output device is working on another job
Busy or off-line
The output device is either busy or off-line
Communications failed
Communication between the RIP and the output device has either been
broken or was never established
Cover open
The cover of the output device is open
Data underrun
The output device has not received data from the RIP when it was
expected
Deleted cassette
The required cassette has been deleted, in the Cassette Manager.
COMMENT: from SW 4.5 onwards.
Ink low
The ink supply to the output device is running low
Ink out
The ink supply to the output device has been exhausted
Invalid clipping
An invalid clipping was requested of the output device
Invalid resolution
An invalid image resolution was requested of the output device
Low power
The output device is low on power
Misplaced cassette
The required cassette is in another output device.
Missing cassette
There is no cassette in the output device
No cassette
The input media cassette requested is not available
No power
The output device has no power
No take-up cassette
There is no take-up cassette for the output device
Not ready
The device is not ready, for an unspecified reason—perhaps unknown
or too complex to show. Look for an extra message in the Monitor
window.
Off-line
The RIP cannot communicate with the output device
Page stop-started
The RIP has supplied data quickly enough, but the device has
stop/started
Paper jam
Media has jammed in the output device
Paper low
The paper or film supply to the RIP output device is running low
Paper out
The paper or film supply to the output device has been exhausted
Printer caught up
There was a data underrun, and stop-start was either not selected or is
not supported by the printing device
Take-up full
The take-up cassette is full
Toner low
The toner supply to the’ output device is running low
Toner out
The toner supply to the output device has been exhausted
Unknown error
An unknown condition has caused an error
Warming up
The output device is preparing itself for communication with the RIP
Wrong cassette
The wrong cassette is in the output device
Clipped images
The RIP does not take a page size from TIFF/IT files. You must select a suitable
page setup before printing the file. Use a TIFF analyzer to discover the page
size.
The RIP displays this message if you attempt to image TIFF/IT data types that it
does not support or to image files that do not conform to the TIFF/IT-P1 profile.
If you attempt to print TIFF/IT-P1 files when the TIFF/IT option is not
enabled, then the TIFF 6.0 input option may attempt to process the parts of the
file that it recognizes as TIFF. If this message appears then the TIFF 6.0 input
option does not recognize any part of the file as TIFF.
Poor performance / Long imaging times
Text in the TIFF/IT file can lead to large numbers of line segments and very
large files. See the comments made in “Installation and requirements” on page
326.
Also, if the computer running the RIP is running other applications at the same
time, the other applications may be using memory that the RIP could use to
operate more quickly. Shut down any programs that you do not need, then stop
and restart the RIP to be sure that it is using as much memory as possible.
Problems with SCID files
Standard Color Image Data (SCID) primary data files are incompatible with the
TIFF/IT support in the RIP, but SCID alternate data is compatible. SCID pri-
mary data is incompatible because it uses the dot range 28 through 228. (See the
“Glossary” on page 549 for an explanation of dot range.) The ISO document
DIS 12640 describes the dot ranges and other differences between the primary
and alternate formats, but the next paragraph is sufficient to identify both types
of data.
Primary data files are named N1 through N8 and S1 through S10, and each is
visibly labeled ISO 400 in the image. The alternate data is calculated from the
primary data, has a lower spatial resolution, and is visibly labeled ISO 300 in
the image. The names of the alternate data files end in the letter A, resulting in
the names N1A, S1A, and so on.
This is not an error. It is a reminder that the options chosen in the PDF Options
dialog box have caused a page to be omitted from the PDF job being printed.
This omission may be intentional.
%%[ Error: invalidaccess; Offending command: pdfexec ]%%
The PDF files may have been saved with security settings that require a pass-
word to be entered for printing. Obtain the password (from the supplier of the
PDF job) and enter the password in the text field in the Password section of the
PDF Options dialog box. Passwords are case-sensitive.
If you enter the correct password (in the Navigator RIP) and still see this error,
check that you have not entered one or more white space characters at the end of
the password. Another possible cause of this error is that the password uses
This is not an error nor a warning. It is information about the structure of an OPI
job. This message is most likely to occur when processing a PDF/X-1 job, but
could occur for a basic PDF file.
****** PDF/X-1 Error: text explaining the reason
The job is not a valid PDF/X-1 job. See the following messages for explanations
of the various reasons that can appear in messages of this form. The RIP may be
able to process the job as a PDF 1.3 file, if you have allowed this by a choice in
the Accept type(s) list.
Note: If you have used a creating or editing application that claims to be com-
pliant with PDF/X-1:1999, you should report these errors and warnings to your
supplier of that tool. The RIP performs strict checking of referenced files as well
as the basic PDF content of a PDF/X-1 job.
Note: RIP versions 5.3 and 5.5 included support for PDF/X-1:1999, this has been
dropped in Eclipse Release and later RIPs, and replaced with support for PDF/X-
1a:2001 and PDF/X-3:2002.
****** PDF/X-1 Warning: Clipped out 'stroke' operator in EPS
The job deviates from the file PDF/X-1 standard—in this example because of a
PostScript-language operator used in a referenced EPS file. (The operator is ille-
gal in an EPS file referenced from a PDF/X-1 job but harmless in this context.)
Any message starting “PDF/X-1 Warning:” has some problem, for the reason
given in the rest of the message, but will not cause the RIP to abort the PDF job.
An embedded EPS file uses a vector painting operator. PDF/X-1 does not allow
embedded EPS files to contain vector painting operators: stroke, fill, show,
and so on.
****** PDF/X-1 Error: Invalid alternativeSpace in Separation
colorspace
The PDF job uses an illegal color space. PDF/X-1 places restrictions on the
alternative Space of Separation color space and the base color spaces of Indexed
color spaces in embedded EPS files.
****** PDF/X-1 Error: LZWDecode in EPS
The PDF/X-1 file must specify the type of an EF object (embedded file) using
the Subtype key. The Subtype key can be TIFF, EPS, DCS, and so on. The RIP
checks that the Subtype key is present, is one of those allowed, and matches the
actual type of the file.
****** PDF/X-1 Error: Invalid TIFF PhotometricInterpretation
The PDF job references a TIFF file of an illegal type. Embedded TIFF files
must be CMYK, monochrome, or gray scale. PDF/X-1 does not allow RGB,
Lab, or other color spaces.
****** PDF/X-1 Error: PDF referenced from PDF/X-1
The PDF job references a file type that is illegal for PDF/X-1. The PDF/X-1
standard allows only TIFF, EPS, DCS, or TIFF/IT-P1 files to be embedded.
The following messages can appear as Errors or Warnings. They appear as Errors
if you have set up the RIP to accept only PDF/X-1 jobs.
In most cases, understanding the messages requires detailed knowledge of the PDF
specification but all the messages indicate that the job is not PDF/X-1 compliant. If
you see these errors when printing PDF/X-1 jobs, you have two alternatives: one alter-
native is to ask for the job to be re-created in a form that is compliant with PDF/X-1
and wait for that job to be supplied to you; the other alternative is to use a page setup
that accepts basic PDF (using the option Any PDF <= 1.3 as basic PDF) and
print the non-compliant version. (In rare cases, there may be a more fundamental error
in a PDF file that prevents you printing it at all; in such cases, you must use a different
PDF file.)
The PDF version number is too low, too high, or otherwise unsuitable for use
with this version of the RIP and the settings in use.
****** PDF/X-1 Error: missing Info dictionary
PDF/X-1 files have restrictions on the allowed PDF operators, parameters in the
graphics state, transfer functions, color spaces, methods of compression, half-
tones, and patterns. The job has tried to use an invalid option.
PDF/X-1 jobs can use only embedded fonts. The job has tried to use a font with-
out embedding it.
****** PDF/X-1 Error: invalid filespec
Files referenced through OPI in a PDF/X-1 file must be embedded within the
PDF/X-1 file itself. The job includes OPI references to files that are not embed-
ded.
****** PDF/X-1 Error: invalid external file
PDF/X-1 jobs can use external files only for OPI. The job has tried to use an
external file for some other purpose.
****** PDF/X-1 Error: invalid embedded file
PDF/X-1 jobs can embed a limited number of file types. The job has a file spec-
ification that is badly specified for Macintosh, UNIX, or DOS platforms, is not
embedded, or where the Subtype of the file indicates that the file is not TIFF/IT,
EPS, DCS, or TIFF.
****** PDF/X-1 Error: invalid PS XObject
All data in a PDF/X-1 job must be prepared for exactly one characterized print-
ing condition, which is identified using embedded ICC profiles. (A job can
embed multiple ICC profiles and each must contain a characterized printing
condition but all conditions must be the same.) The RIP reports the first condi-
tion to the Monitor window, in a message similar to this example:
Prepared for printing condition "CGATS TR 001".
Spooler problems
Some spoolers check for a specific product name. The RIP is
set to LaserWriter-Sim. If the spooler does not recognize
this, it may not send the job to the printer. This name has been
chosen to minimize such problems.
Management Data
Settings within the RIP, in the job, and in the images themselves can all control the
processing of images in a job. This appendix describes the settings that influence this
processing and explains which setting takes precedence in each particular case.
Section B.3 on page 537 summarizes this information.
Important: Different rules apply when you are using Color. See the Harlequin Color-
Pro Users’ Guide for details.
If you are not using ColorPro, the RIP checks the following for Photoshop and PDF
jobs, and allows independent control of what happens.
When processing jobs containing Photoshop EPS images:
• Is the Override color management in job option selected in the Color Setup dia-
log?
• Does the image contain a PostScript color space array?
• Is the UseCIEColor parameter set to true in the job?
See Section B.1 and Section B.2 for details.
When processing jobs containing PDF files:
• Is the Override color management in job option select in the Color Setup dialog?
Settings within the Navigator RIP, in the PostScript-language or PDF job, and in the
images themselves can all control the processing of images in a job.
Note: Some options apply only to EPS files produced by Adobe Photoshop.
Section B.5 on page 538 describes the cases specific to PDF jobs.
Typically, when using device-independent color spaces, PDF version 1.2 files use the
CalGray and CalRGB color spaces and PDF version 1.3 files use the ICCBased color
space but these usages are under the control of the creating applications — see the Job
Options dialog box: for the Advanced tab in Distiller 3.0; for the Color tab in
Distiller 4.0.
Full use of device-independent color requires ColorPro to be enabled.
Note: A PDF/X-3 file containing an OutputIntents dictionary will be color man-
aged using the ICC profile indicated by the OutputIntents dictionary, as long as
the job uses a device independent color space and the Override color management in job
option is not selected.
0 Using Genlin
Genlin is a utility provided with the Navigator RIP to read calibration targets gener-
ated by the RIP.
C.1 Introduction
Genlin supports these measuring instruments:
• X-Rite 408
• X-Rite DTP41 series
• X-Rite DTP32
• X-Rite DTP34
• X-Rite DTP12
• X-Rite 938
• Gretag Macbeth Eye-One
The remaining sections show how to set up and use Genlin, and how to troubleshoot
any problems.
• Section C.2 describes set up and use
• Section C.3 on page 545 describes troubleshooting
Select your desired settings, as explained here, and then click OK.
RIP Folder Identifies the SW folder of the RIP installation that you are
using to print targets and import data.
You can read targets that have been created by the RIP run-
ning on another computer if you have network access to the
corresponding SW folder. If you want to do this, click Change
and use the file browser to select the SW folder of the remote
the RIP installation.
The default is the relative path to the SW folder of the the RIP
with which Genlin is supplied (as shown in Figure C.1).
To do this, select the channel you wish to edit and choose Yes or No from the
menu below the Read? column. If both your measuring instrument and target
support more than one measurement system you may also have a choice of
alternative filters and measurement types in the menu below the Measure As col-
umn. For example, choose Cyan Status T (X-Rite), then click OK. See
Section 13.12.5 on page 460 for details of measurement types.
4. Measure the target by referring to the details for your type of measuring instru-
ment. If you have repeated problems reading a patch or strip see “Troubleshoot-
ing” on page 545.
In particular, you must follow the screen prompts to measure the target. Note
that when using the DTP32 and DTP34 devices you must click OK in the Con-
firm to proceed dialog before loading the target. For DTP41 devices, you should
click OK after inserting the target.
Manual instruments
Follow the screen prompts to measure the target. If you are
using a manual instrument such as the X-Rite 938 you will
also see prompts in the display panel of the instrument to read
individual patches within strips. For example, the prompt
Move to: C100 means read the 100% Cyan patch.
Choose File > Abort Target if you wish to abandon reading a target.
5. Click OK when you have finished measuring the target.
At this point, Genlin has created a data file containing all the linearization data for the
target, which you can import into the RIP. (The file is named import and is located in
the caldata folder within the RIP’s SW folder.)
6. Use the menu option Output > Calibration Manager and, in the Calibration Man-
ager, choose the appropriate Device and Color Space for the target. (See
Section 13.11 on page 450 for details of the Calibration Manager.)
C.3 Troubleshooting
This is a list of some possible error messages and symptoms that you may see,
together with suggestions for avoiding them.
There is a mismatch between the Port setting in the Configuration dialog box
and the port interface to which your measuring instrument is connected. Try
changing the Port setting or connecting your measuring instrument to the speci-
fied interface port.
Error: The USB device cannot be found
This message appears if Genlin is unable to locate the chosen USB device.
Ensure the measuring device is connected to the USB port and is powered on.
Ensure also that you have selected the correct Instrument and Port in the Config-
uration dialog box.
Error: No responding device attached to selected serial line
Error: The USB device is not responding
Either of these messages may appear if the measuring instrument does not have
any power supply. Check the power supply to the measuring instrument and
ensure that it is switched on. If the problem persists there may be a fault with the
power adapter or cabling.
Error: Number samples received, but Number expected
This message appears if the Eye-One software was unable to correctly detect the
boundaries of each of the patches on the calibration target. That is, the number
of patches read does not match the number of patches expected. You may have
scanned the calibration target too quickly or confused the software by scanning
part of the number at the top of a strip, and so on.
C.3.2 Symptoms
Failure to communicate with the measuring instrument
This may be due to a mismatch between configuration settings and the actual
instrument or interface port used. A break in cabling, or a failure in software
between the computer and the measuring instrument may also be the cause of a
communication failure. Check the connections and settings in the Configuration
dialog box. If these appear to be correct, try switching off or disconnecting the
measuring instrument for 30 seconds and then reconnecting it.
Alternatively, Genlin may not be able to communicate with the measuring
instrument due to the re-configuration of the interface port by another applica-
tion. If you think this is the case, close the application that you suspect is caus-
ing the conflict. If necessary, shut down and restart your computer.
If recalibrating, you may have printed the target on the wrong paper type. Other-
wise, you may have read the wrong patches when using a manual instrument, or
incorrectly aligned the target when using a strip-reader. Finally, the target may
be incorrectly printed or the measuring instrument may need recalibration.
Failure to transfer correct data to the RIP
Ensure that the RIP Folder specified in the Configuration dialog box is the path
to the SW folder of the RIP installation into which you are importing data.
If the RIP Folder is correct, this problem may be due to a problem with the con-
tent of the caldata folder where target and import data is stored. This is very
unlikely event but if it happens, delete the caldata folder, which is a subfolder
of the Navigator RIP SW folder and print the target again.
Note: After deleting the caldata folder you cannot use Genlin to read targets
created before you deleted the folder—you must reprint the targets.
The reference number printed on the target does not appear in the list when you click
File > Read Target
This can happen if the target was printed using a different Navigator RIP instal-
lation. Ensure that the RIP Folder setting in the Configuration dialog box is the
correct path to the SW folder of the RIP installation used to print the target.
This can also happen because the caldata folder was deleted between printing
the file and trying to read it with Genlin—reprint the target and measure the new
print.
This glossary gives a brief description of many of the important terms and concepts
surrounding the Harlequin RIP. Italics are used to indicate terms with their own entry
elsewhere in the glossary.
active device
The active device is the imagesetter or other output device to which the RIP is
sending its output. This is the output device specified in the page setup for the
job. See also menu device.
anti-aliasing
A technique in which intermediate colors or grayscale tones are used to visually
smooth boundaries between different colors. Anti-aliasing is most useful at low
or medium resolutions and with boundaries between very different colors. The
Harlequin RIP TIFF output plugin can perform anti-aliasing, with a control
offering choices between more smoothing and faster preparation.
aspect ratio
The height-to-width ratio of a page.
banding
The white bands which can be produced if interpreted data is sent to certain
kinds of imagesetter too slowly (see also data underrun)—the result is that
media continues to feed through, but no image is available to print, leading to
black generation
The process of adding black to CMYK images in variable amounts according to
printing effects required.
cassette
A container for output media. This cassette contains a roll of film or paper and
is slotted onto the top of an imagesetter in such a way that the media can be fed
through. Some versions of the Harlequin RIP include the Media Manager which
allows you to monitor the amount of media left in many different cassettes auto-
matically.
See also current cassette.
choke
The process of overprinting a small border on graphics to make them look
smaller. Spread and choke are often used as part of trapping to protect against
misregistration of color separations.
CIP3
CIP3 was a group called International Cooperation for Integration of Pre-press,
Press, and Post-press (CIP3). The CIP3 group developed the Print Production
Format (PPF) for files to contain information about print jobs including admin-
istrative data, information about inks and register marks, comments, and pre-
view images. CIP3 has become CIP4, and maintains a web site at
http://www.cip4.org/.
CIP4 is a similar group called International Cooperation for Integration of Pro-
cesses in Prepress, Press, and Postpress, formed to continue the work of CIP3
and to develop a new file format called Job Description Format (JDF).
color separation
A monochrome image that describes a component of a color image that has
been described using a particular color space. In printing, images are commonly
depicted in the CMYK space, leading to four separated pages for each full-color
page.
color space
A scheme of representation for color images, such as CMYK or RGB. Colors are
represented as a combination of a small set of other colors, or by other parame-
ters, for example: hue, saturation, and brightness (HSB).
composite font
A font which consists of more than 256 characters. Composite fonts are indis-
pensable for producing images which contain, for example, Japanese text. How-
ever, they need to be treated as separate from ordinary fonts.
core RIP
The Harlequin RIP PostScript-language compatible interpreter. This is the pro-
gram which takes PostScript-language page descriptions as input and produces
bitmaps as output.
crop marks
Marks, printed near the edges of an image, which indicate where the paper
should be trimmed.
current cassette
The cassette feeding media to the output device receiving commands. This can
be the active device (receiving a job) or the menu device (receiving commands
from options in the Device menu).
data rate
The speed that an imagesetter receives data for imaging. It is important that the
RIP sends data to the imagesetter at approximately the data rate of the imageset-
ter, otherwise data underrun may result. You can find out the data rate for a par-
ticular imagesetter from the instructions for that imagesetter.
data underrun
The result of a RIP failing to supply data to an output device quickly enough. If
the output device cannot stop / start successfully, banding or other effects will
occur which may cause a loss of output quality.
device type
The Harlequin RIP’s concept of a multiple device driver means that you can use
a single device driver to run several different imagesetters or other output
device, rather than requiring a separate device driver for each one. One multiple
device driver can run several imagesetters which have the same device type.
The nature of the device type depends on the multiple device driver, and is
likely to consists of groups of imagesetters. For instance, Ultre may be one
device type, and Pelbox may be another.
DLD1 font
The Harlequin RIP’s own font format, into which most fonts can be converted.
Operations with DLD1-formatted fonts can be performed significantly faster
than they would be with normal font descriptions.
dot gain
A printing effect which results in dots being printed larger than they should be.
It occurs as a result of ink spreading on the printed page, and if not compensated
for, can lead to an image appearing too dark.
dot range
The range of numerical values used to represent color values. TIFF/IT-P1 uses a
dot range of zero (0) through 255.
Note: The value 0 may be associated with white and 255 with 100% black or
the full density of a particular ink, but this is not essential: in the MP data type,
for example, these end values can be associated with particular colors and the
intermediate values represent proportionate blends of these two colors.
See also TIFF (Tag Image File Format).
dpi
Dots per inch. A measure of the resolution of an output device. Dots per centi-
meter (dpcm) and dots per millimeter (dpmm) are also offered by the Harlequin
RIP.
error diffusion
A technique that can be used to screen contone images into a halftone reproduc-
tion. The technique works by calculating the error between the required (con-
tone) value and the achieved (halftone) value at each point (which might be a
single pixel or a halftone cell), distributing that error to neighboring points, and
using the error to modify the contone values for those points. This is repeated
for the errors at all points. The result is an irregular and non-repeating screening
pattern that shows very little color error.
Error diffusion is easy to implement on low resolution devices but can be diffi-
cult to use for high resolution or color output, where the irregularity makes it
difficult to predict moiré or dot gain effects. Another problem occurs where the
image is rendered in bands, which may be processed in an order that is different
to their spatial order: this can lead to visible discontinuities.
The Harlequin RIP does not support error diffusion directly but Harlequin Dis-
persed Screening has some of the same “random” visual qualities while remain-
ing predictable with respect to behavior on physical output devices. Also, output
plugins can implement error diffusion screening in their output, while accepting
contone page buffers from the RIP.
exposure
Some imagesetters (for example, Pelbox) have an exposure setting which can
alter the strength of the laser which produces the image. In these cases, the
exposure may be set using the Edit Page Setup dialog box.
feature
A section of PostScript-language code that may be automatically interpreted
with any job, specified using the Edit Page Setup dialog box.
font
A set of type characters for use in a textual printing job. Fonts typically contain
alphabetical and numerical type, as well as common special symbols (such as
marks of punctuation). The Harlequin RIP is supplied with the industry standard
35 fonts for PostScript Level 2, and some special purpose fonts. Users can
install third-party fonts as required.
halftone
A complex image which has been broken up into a series of very small dots so
as to reproduce it. A newspaper photograph is a good example of a halftone
image. See Chapter 6, “Screening”.
halftone cell
A single dot in a halftone image.
hard copy
A physical copy of a document, on media such as paper or film.
hardware feed
Some imagesetters will automatically feed through media whenever a job is
completed. In versions where the Harlequin RIP’s media management facilities
are available, the RIP can take account of any devices that do this.
This figure shows a simple example for the letter h in low resolution without
hinting (left) and with (right). Here, the hinting has balanced the width of the
vertical strokes.
See also font.
Note to OEMS: Several input plugins are provided as standard with the Harle-
quin RIP, but OEMs can undertake to write their own, or can
contract Global Graphics to do so.
Input plugins have several uses—they are primarily used as methods in which
input can be sent to the RIP (for example, using a spool folder), but they can
also be used as PostScript-language devices or data manipulation filters, and
they can be used to perform asynchronous actions.
keyboard accelerator
A set of key presses which have the same effect as a mouse-based operation—
such as selecting a menu item—while probably taking less of a user’s time to
perform.
lpi
Lines per inch. A measurement of halftone screen frequency. Lines per centime-
ter (lpcm) and lines per millimeter (lpmm) are also offered by the RIP.
media
The various materials, such as paper or film, that are used in producing hard
copy.
menu device
The menu device is the output device that provides the name of the Device menu,
and receives the commands generated by choosing options from the Device
menu.
See also active device.
moiré pattern
A printing effect that occurs when a color separation is printed with incorrect
screen angles. It is undesirable and can be minimized by the use of correct
screen angles. See also HPS (Harlequin Precision Screening).
N-color
N-color is a name representing a family of systems of process colors other than
the conventional four-color CMYK system (and CMY and RGB). N represents
a variable number of inks, which can be less than four for economy in simple
jobs such as forms printing or more than four for high quality or HiFi color.
Examples of N-color systems are the PANTONE Hexachrome Color Selector
system and Photo-ink technologies.
output device
A computer peripheral capable of producing printed copy of a document, such
as an imagesetter or laser printer. See also active device, menu device.
Note to OEMS: Several output plugins are provided as standard with the RIP,
but OEMs can write their own plugins or commission Global
Graphics to produce custom plugins.
page buffer
A file on disk used to store a page of interpreted output, before it is printed or
previewed. Depending on the page buffer mode in which you run the RIP, it can
produce page buffers always, or only when required. Once produced, page buff-
ers can either be retained on disk, to allow reprinting; or deleted after printing,
to save space on your hard disk.
page imposition
The process of printing several pages, of, say, a pamphlet, on one sheet of
media, so as to minimize the amount of trimming that needs to be done. For
example, two copies of a four page A5 pamphlet could be produced from a sheet
of A3 by printing the A5 pages in the pattern shown in this figure:
Page 1 Page 4
Page 2 Page 3
The pattern needs to be printed on both sides of the A3 sheet, reversed vertically
on one side. Two copies of the pamphlet could then be produced simply by cut-
ting the paper along the horizontal line, and folding along the vertical line. This
process is much simpler than producing and trimming each page separately and
rearranging them so as to form a booklet.
Imposition is one of the applications dealt with in the PostScript-language
extensions provided by the Harlequin RIP.
Note to OEMS: See the Using Harlequin RIP Extensions manual for details.
PDF
PDF has these meanings:
Portable Document Format. A PDF file describes pages, using graphic capabil-
ities similar to those in the PostScript language. Compared to PostScript-lan-
guage files, PDF files are typically smaller and more portable to different
printers while producing more predictable output. This is the most common
usage of PDF.
Printer Description File or Printer Definition File. Files, special to a creating
application or to the Netware operating system, that define the characteristics of
a printer. Many more applications support PPD files, which have a similar pur-
pose.
Photo-ink
Photo-ink technologies use different densities (light and dark versions) of one or
more colorants. A capable system is then able to use the light ink in highlight
areas and the dark ink where more colorant is required. A typical set of colors is
light cyan, dark cyan, light magenta, dark magenta, yellow, and black.
pica
A unit of measurement in printing. Usually, equal to 12 points or 0.166 inches.
plug-in module
A software product that can be interfaced with the RIP to provide extra features
or customizations.
point
A unit of measurement used in printing. There are 12 points to a pica. Histori-
cally, there have been several definitions of the point: a common definition is
0.01384 inches, or approximately 72 points to the inch. The PostScript language
uses a default user unit which is exactly 1/72 of an inch (0.01389 inches or
0.3528 mm). This unit is frequently called a point, and this is the definition used
by the RIP.
PPD
PostScript Printer Description. Each PPD is a file that defines the characteris-
tics of a printer. When installed correctly, a PPD customizes an operating
system printer driver or a creation or page layout application to optimize Post-
Script-language jobs for the printer described by the PPD. Many imagesetter
and printer manufacturers provide PPDs for the printers that they produce.
precision screening
See HPS (Harlequin Precision Screening).
prep file
A PostScript-language header file, which is interpreted before the main job pro-
cessing in order to provide a standard setup to be used by a range of different
jobs.
preview
To view an interpreted job on the screen before producing a hard copy of it.
progressive proof
A proof or series of proofs in which (some) intermediate stages of laying down
the colors are shown. For example, a CMYK page is usually printed in the order
yellow, magenta, cyan, and finally black. The full set of corresponding progres-
sive proofs would be Y, Y+M, Y+M+C, and Y+M+C+K. If the page is to be
printed with two passes on a two-color press, the most useful proofs are likely to
be the ones representing the product of each pass on the press: Y+M and
Y+M+C+K.
proof
A preview or hard copy of some or all of the characters in a font, or of an image.
The RIP can create various forms of proofs—as composite output, as a set of
separations, or as a progressive proof—to suit the needs of the situation.
rendering
The term rendering refers to the process of creating a bitmap image or raster
from the interpreted page description. This bitmap can be used by the output
device to produce a visible image.
RGB
A color representation scheme (or color space) where separations in red, green,
and blue are overlaid to create full-color images. The RGB scheme is usually
used by computer monitors and televisions, and by some printers.
RIP
Raster Image Processor. A standard term used to name programs or devices
which take an image of some description—text, line (vector) drawings, or pho-
tographic images—and convert it into a bitmap for display on a computer screen
or output on an imagesetter. The final bitmap is the raster referred to in the
name.
roam
To preview interpreted jobs in the Output Controller, available only in either of
the multiple modes. See also preview.
rosette
The pattern in which halftone cells are arranged in a separated image. This
figure shows how the RIP can produce rosettes which either have dark centers
(on the left of the diagram) or clear centers (on the right of the diagram, with the
central dot removed).
screen angles
The angles at which the halftone screens are placed in relation to one another.
spread
The process of printing a small border just outside the edges of graphics to make
them look bigger. Spread and choke are often used as part of trapping to protect
against misregistration of color separations.
stop / start
The ability of an output device to stop and restart during printing.
tag
In TIFF or TIFF/IT files, an Image File Descriptor (IFD) contains a number of
entries (tags), each consisting of an unique tag number from 0 to 65535, and its
corresponding value or values. Tag numbers are generally determined by the
TIFF 6.0 or TIFF/IT specifications, and each has a specific meaning. (In
TIFF 6.0, tag numbers above 32767 are vendor defined.) For example, the tag
number for the tag named DotRange is 336.
throughput
Generally, the efficiency with which images are interpreted and produced. In the
Harlequin RIP specifically, throughput is another term for Multiple (Parallel)
mode, where interpreting and output are carried out in parallel, and the Output
Controller is used to manage the printing of jobs. See Chapter 4, “Harlequin
RIP Output Methods”.
virtual memory
Virtual memory has these meanings:
In PostScript terminology, virtual memory or VM is a pool of memory used for
the storage of composite objects such as strings, arrays, and dictionaries. Post-
Script-language compatible interpreters are free to implement VM using all
appropriate types of memory in their working environment.
In computer operating systems, virtual memory is disk memory used as an
extension to physical memory, built-in memory, or RAM. Many operating sys-
tems support the use of virtual memory.
A angles
Abort if calibration on screens expected in incoming job 508
page setup option 191 screens for process colors 214
Abort Printing File command 303 anti-aliasing
Abort the job if any fonts are missing defined 549
page setup option 191 AppleTalk 270
Accelerate displayed job names 96
Edit Page Setup option 202 input plugin 264
See also Harlequin Harpoon aspect ratio 549
accelerators asynchronous actions 264
hardware processor for the Harlequin RIP 23 Asynchronous Socket
keyboard equivalents for menus 17 input plugin 265
Accurate color display 127 Asynchronous Socket Quit
AcroForms 309 input plugin 265
Act on InDesign page comments when recom- Automatic cassette selection 158
bining... 197 Automatic Prep loading
Act on XPress page comments when recombin- Configure RIP option 256
ing... 198
active device 549 B
Active Queue 92 background reading 212
Add Channel dialog 459 band size
Add showpage at end of job for printing buffer 250
page setup option 190 banding 549
adding black generation 504, 550
a new input plugin 268 overriding in job 505
a new page feature 186 Bootlist file 55
See also installing bromide. See media
adjusting tone curves 202 Buffer full message 521
Advance n inches command 340 Buffer space low message 521
Advanced Media Saving 156 buffers
advancing media 338 network 252
Allow stop start page, defined 559
Configure RIP option 248 printer 253
Allow use of all available memory 257 Busy message 521
Always, delete option in Output Controller 98 Busy or off-line message 521
U
UCR 501, 505
Ultre. See imagesetters
undercolor removal 501, 505
uninstalling
fonts 409
units of measurement
dpcm 554
dpi 554
dpmm 554
lpcm 557
lpi 557
lpmm 557
pica 560
point 561
Unknown error message 524
Use late color management 502
Usr folder 56
Utilities folder 56
V
version
file in SW folder 57
vignettes
defined in spot colors 193