Best RIP for HP 570 latex + Roland 640?

[balstestrat]

If memory serves the current old RIP is a 2Ghz, Intel i7 which I think is 4 core, 12 Gigs RAM, and has a separate Graphics card .

I did put in an inquiry to Caldera to see what they were actually offering me. I had told them the upgrade would be for a 700 HP Latex and we would be using the same 60" cutter.

HP apparently does ship the 700 with a 1 year of Onyx but when I trialed both it and Caldera 7 or 8 years ago the Caldera printed what Onyx could not and every call to Onyx started with you need to buy a $$$ service plan. Thus my leaning to Caldera.

Doesn't really tell too much about the processor, other than the speed which says it's an oldie.
There's a lot more to a processor than just the nametag and cores. Todays piece of silicon is a totally different beast than how ever many years ago. Anyways we are drifting away from the point.

Onyx and Caldera are both fine, at least today. Onyx in my opinion is easier to use because of how the workflow and graphical interface is designed. Caldera is more complex but you can also do more complex stuff easier with it.
Just down to ones preferences. Both produces the same output if you don't go too deep into the "ink savers", special features and whatnot.

 

[k_graham]

I did find out today from Caldera the quote was actually the HP but including upgrade to VisualRip4 and 1 year maintenance.

 

[Spacecucumber]

i think a good option for this plot is NeoStampa. This rip has excellent color engine and excellent drop management.

 

[Michael-Nola]

I handle RIPs, integrations, JDF automations, and digital processing automations for several companies. I have spent countless hours in front of every RIP on the market. Some 2 cent opinions based on my experience.

- If you need something cost effective, reliable, easy to use, and user-friendly semi-advanced options - Onyx Thrive. Keep the subscription, it's invaluable. Profiling is designed to be effective for less advanced users. Very good online documentation. This is good for the vast majority of shops.
- Flexi is fine when it's comes in as a package and you just need simple printing. Not for your use though.
- GMG Print Factory is the most advanced and robust system. You get every feature you can imagine, cloud analytics, multiple print engines, client/server commercial design, etc. Their pricing is very simple and straight-forward. Some licenses need to occasionally be purchased or upgraded. Again, keep their maintenance contract, it's invaluable. A bonus here is that GMG Color Proof is a big market segment in ad agencies and large printers. Combining the two is obviously beneficial, and running the same rip as lots of ad agencies is obviously beneficial. This is not the cheapest option by any means, but it is by far the most feature rich and robust.
- Caldera is a legacy standard in the market. I have moved every shop I handle off of them and no one has looked back. It is very robust and color accurate. Lots of features, but they omit lots of other features that are included in all competitor's packages (you can buy these features at an exorbitant extra price). Their pricing model has not changed as the market got more competitive, so you will end up paying a lot more here over time as they nickel and dime you to death. They will be stuck on Mac and Linux forever as they are unable to fundamentally rewrite or update the software since it's core was released in 1998. Investing here has increasingly been a diminishing return. Advanced tasks like auto-rip workflows and JDF are a nightmare. Operators make lots of mistakes and waste due to it's user-unfriendly design multiplied by lack of automations. Poor online documentation for new users. I would also note that their support is extremely slow and difficult to deal with. Shop down? They'll get to you in 1-2 days.

There are a handful of other options, but the most common solution for most shops is either Onyx or Caldera at the moment. Do some demos or trials, choose what's best for you, print.

 

[AGinVT]

We use Versaworks for our Roland Soljet and Onyx for our HP, although the Onyx can get super glitchy for us. Does really weird things, like changing print profiles to random ones and changes print color for tiled prints vs untiled ones, Found that one out the hard way. Works great most of the time, but needs some babysitting and occasional restarts.