Laurie Solomon wrote: > > To add to Pam's description, RIP basically translates any non-postscript > computer language into postscript computer language; it can be bit mapped > images or plain text. It primarily is used if you are sending the file to a > commercial printer to be mass produced via offset printing or another > process which uses high quality typesetting and platemaking processes which > typically have been based on postscript. If you are sending it to your > printer for printing, it is not necessary because your printer like most > consumer inkjet printers - even the top end ones - has its own internal > program for translating the computer file into a printable file. In your > printer case, RIP is primarily for reading and translating, importing and > exporting postscript files which may be sent to you for printing or which > you may send out for printing on a high end commercial press. > Actually, as Rafe and Richard pointed out, I mucked up the first paragraphy of description. RIP's traditionally translate vector based objects, such as Postscript fonts and graphics from programs such as Freehand (Illustrator, Quark, Pagemaker, Framemaker, etc.), into raster notation that a bitmap printer can understand. I've used RIP's previously to print from a vector program to an inkjet printer, they're not needed to print to Postscript printers. What makes this topic particularly confusing here is that when printing from Photoshop, which is a raster notation program, one should NOT need a RIP. From what C.D. has said, I think the reason it's needed in Photoshop is to talk to the printer in CMYK notation, because the Epson drivers expect to have RGB notation input. > I do not know for sure; but I believe that postscript language and > mathematical vector files are identical. I think that even vector files > also need to be ripped to be translated into postscript language. In one > sense Postscript language is like Visual Basic in contrast to being either > a bitmap or a mathematical formula; hence, both bitmaps and the vector > mathematical > formulas would need to be translated into Postscript language to be used by > computerized printing presses and typesetters that use and read Postscript > language. Your printer, for example can read and print both bitmapped and > vector written files even if it does not employ Postscript but uses its own > non-postscript conversion printer language. No, Postscript is it's own language, a page description language (PDL), that tells the printer how to layout and print a particular stream of data. Generally in graphics you want to talk about vector objects rather than vector files, Bezier curves in objects rather than files. A file can contain many objects; and their formats usually could not be treated as vector objects. Visual Basic is an abomination of a programming language that should not be in the same sentence with Postscript. :) Visual Basic appears to have object properties, but that's just the interface trying to fool everyone. And the only reason we even have this is because Basic is the last language Bill Gates learned and/or used (he's not dumb, just has had other things on his mind for the last 25 years or so). Printers do not read bitmapped or vector files. They read their own PDL (or more than one if the vendor chooses to facilitate multiple PDL's in one printer); and every program must translate its internal file formats to the appropriate language for the printer target. Fortunately, for software developers, most of this work is done these days in the printer drivers and operating systems. Pam -- Pamela G. Niedermayer Pinehill Softworks Inc. 1221 S. Congress Ave., #1225 Austin, TX 78704 512-416-1141 512-416-1440 fax http://www.pinehill.com - Please turn off HTML mail features. Keep quoted material short. Use accurate subject lines. http://www.leben.com/lists for instructions.