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Flexi on hp latex vs onyx
- Thread starter ironchef
- Start date
I can't speak for latex but I just made the switch to onyx from roland versaworks and I couldn't be happier. It's a little more detailed and bit of a learning curve but my prints look a lot better. Richer colors, better rip speeds, immediate printing, etc. My only complaint is that Avery didn't have any profiles for my machine so that process took a while.
FYI, you can get a 30 day free trial of onyx production house. Their support is second to none as well.
FYI, you can get a 30 day free trial of onyx production house. Their support is second to none as well.
I'm using flexi on my Latex because it came with it (Home machine) At work, I use onyx.
At first I presumed flexi wasn't as good because I use onyx 8 hours a day at work, and I'm still learning flexi. A few months later, and I still hate flexi. Onyx is more polished, better laid out, it just seems better in every way.
The ONE thing I like about flexi is you can drag and drop a file into the queue... onyx for some reason doesn't let you do that.
But if I was using my home machine to make money, rather than as a toy / hobby, I'd pay for onyx in a heart beat. Onyx also has a trial. Flexi doesn't have a trial.. but you can buy a month worth of flexi for $60. You're looking at a couple grand for a fully functional rip.. If you have no experience with any of them, Give each a try.. They all work good, it's just user preference, and a few little things each are better at than the other. None of them are a bad choice.
At first I presumed flexi wasn't as good because I use onyx 8 hours a day at work, and I'm still learning flexi. A few months later, and I still hate flexi. Onyx is more polished, better laid out, it just seems better in every way.
The ONE thing I like about flexi is you can drag and drop a file into the queue... onyx for some reason doesn't let you do that.
But if I was using my home machine to make money, rather than as a toy / hobby, I'd pay for onyx in a heart beat. Onyx also has a trial. Flexi doesn't have a trial.. but you can buy a month worth of flexi for $60. You're looking at a couple grand for a fully functional rip.. If you have no experience with any of them, Give each a try.. They all work good, it's just user preference, and a few little things each are better at than the other. None of them are a bad choice.
Onyx is your answer.
Behrmon
Pr. Bear-Mon
Agreed.
rjssigns
Active Member
I run Onyx in the lab at school and don't care for it. Overly complicated initial interface, with too many clicks to get a job going. Is Onyx powerful? Yes. It gives you a lot of capability with color control, building profiles etc... Is it the best out there? Opinions vary. If it is what you were trained on and all you know it may be the greatest thing since sliced bread. If you've had the option to run several other RIP's your opinion could very well change.
Are you running 12.2? The newer onyx's are adding features to make it less clicks. With custom quickserts, 90% of our workload is done by clicking one thing. Same with Flexi, though. Onyx is adding more options / etc so you don't need to go into job editor... It's getting better.
As for which prints better? I imagine they're all equal. The only difference would be color wise... Are you going to be making your own profiles? If so... Onyx has been often thrown around as the best for profiling. I haven't profiles on Flexi yet, so I can't compare the two.
As for which prints better? I imagine they're all equal. The only difference would be color wise... Are you going to be making your own profiles? If so... Onyx has been often thrown around as the best for profiling. I haven't profiles on Flexi yet, so I can't compare the two.
rjssigns
Active Member
I don't know the version number of Onyx. Will have to check once I get back in the lab in another month or so. AFAIK it is always up to date.
I got some training on both before I decided to go with Onyx, I like some things about Flexi but overall it just felt a bit dated to me. It could've been updated since then since I'm not sure what version that was. But I can't say I ever regretted the decision or had any problems with Onyx.
If your jobs are design/cut, I recommend Flexi.
Another nice shouldn't forget is Signlab.
Flexi, from what I've heard, does true cut nesting. So it'll nest and save material - Where as onyx nests by bounding boxes.
So you'll save some material with flexi... Personally I don't see the benefit. Material isn't THAT expensive, and if your stuff is too close, weeding might be a pain, or perf cutting might be a pain, etc.
I'm going to sub to flexi for a month. The HP version is too limited to really gauge how good it is. I think I'm biased because in my HP Flexi, you can't even crop an image... it's very limited. I guess since it came with the printer for free, I can't complain.
Still debating on paying $50 a month, or coughing up $1500. 2.5 years paying monthly, and it'll always be up to date... or $1500 flat rate and I never have to pay again. The cheapskate in me is saying pay the $1500... But the idea of constant updates is nice. Just hard to justify $50 per month for a Hobby printer I don't make money off of
eahicks
Magna Cum Laude - School of Hard Knocks
We didn't choose Flexi....already had it. In fact I've used it for many years (have run Mimaki, HP, Roland) and it's just what I'm used to. I have used Onyx in the past, and while I could tell the boss "hey, let's switch to Onyx (or Caldera, or whatever)" and he'd be fine with it. But I frankly don't see the need. I'm not missing anything in my process that Flexi won't do. It takes a little work ensuring everything is set correctly for printing and ripping with it, but again, it's one of those things I "know" so I don't seek any alternative. I mean....all in one....design (most stuff), cut, rip, print. Works.
Lets put it another perspective.
How do you find the design aspect of it? We use illustrator for everything (And photoshop). I can't see a rips design being as good as adobe products. Does it have any benefits compared to adobe, other than free?
I'll try flexi cloud tonight and give a more "Experienced" view. Kind of interested in how Flexi does nesting. So from flexi is ok. It's just the little things I'm used to in onyx, that flexi doesn't have (Because of base version, not because Flexi lacks them).
I think it's like Adobe illustrator VS Corel Draw. Both work just fine, both have a few key points people love / can't live without... But in the end, both will produce the same results, just in a different way. There is no wrong choice.
How do you find the design aspect of it? We use illustrator for everything (And photoshop). I can't see a rips design being as good as adobe products. Does it have any benefits compared to adobe, other than free?
I'll try flexi cloud tonight and give a more "Experienced" view. Kind of interested in how Flexi does nesting. So from flexi is ok. It's just the little things I'm used to in onyx, that flexi doesn't have (Because of base version, not because Flexi lacks them).
I think it's like Adobe illustrator VS Corel Draw. Both work just fine, both have a few key points people love / can't live without... But in the end, both will produce the same results, just in a different way. There is no wrong choice.
eahicks
Magna Cum Laude - School of Hard Knocks
For vector drawing/editing/node manipulation, Flexi is way easier to me. Illustrator is fine. But for most sign work, Flexi will do everything Illy will do, and like I said, some of it easier. I find Illy's toolbars and menus cumbersome.
Don't think of Flexi as RIP that has an editor...it's not that. It's a sign software with an attached RIP (Production Manager) that flows together. And with the newer version for HP Latex (Profiling and Media Management) it's all in one.
C
ColoPrinthead
Guest
I am on a Flexi setup because TrafficJet, and have used Onyx extensively over the last 14 years. Flexi is fine but it doesn't nest/impostition very well where as Onyx was always great. We just imposition in illustrator to avoid frustration with Flexi. Onyx is my favorite RIP after working with VersaWorks, Colorburst, Caldera, and Flexi.