Re: Rip, just another rip-off or money well spent?

[Raphael Bustin <rafeb@channel1.com>]

> A good rip with all the bells and whistles would be more digestable in
> the $1,000 to $1,500 range. Still expensive but reachable for people
> using them for commercial production.
> 
> Jim Davis
> www.visual-artists.com

Jim,

Even at that price, the cost of a RIP is way out of line
for those of us in the "amateur" or "hobbyist" category,
particularly considering that the printer(s) being driven
often cost a small fraction of that amount.  I'm talking
about personal, non-commercial situations here.

Of course, there are more "reasonably priced" RIPs,
but the couple that I tried were both inferior to
the standard Epson driver -- so why bother?

For $250, you get a damned nice printer, plus software,
from Epson.  RIP vendors only have to supply the 
software.  You're telling me they can't get adequate
profits at $250 a pop?  If the quality and *utility*
of such a thing were apparent to us amateurs, there
would almost certainly be a sufficient market to make
such a thing profitable.

If the Birmy RIP had produced an output (on my '700)
that was at least equal to that of the Epson driver,
I probably would have bought it.

My '700 cost me $250, more or less.  If there were
a software product for $125 or even $250 that
significantly enhanced its output, I would have to
give it serious consideration.  At $1500, no way.


rafe b.

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