Using XPS in prepress

[Captain_Type]

It looks like you can just open the XPS in a browser and print it to a PDF creating printer. The thought of relying on a browser to reproduce line endings/kerning faithfully is pretty scary though. Has anyone done this?

http://xpstopdf.blog.com/

[Joe]

Yeah, but you can open a PDF in your browser too.

Microsoft has a free viewer for XPS too.

If you are on a PC you can open an InDesign file and print it to the XPS printer and, in theory  :laugh: , it should be as good as a PDF.

[David]

It's also an option in Publisher to export XPS.

I would imagine that most if not all people using Publisher have no idea what XPS is.

As near as I can tell, people using Publisher have no idea that they can create a PDF either.

 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[Laurens]

I have fortunately not run across this in the production environment.  However our PC tech guy here at work shows me Windows 7 a few months before release and how they have a new type of file like a pdf.  He starts sending out memos using xps format and of course no one can open them because the rest of the company has either a Mac or is running Windows XP.

One has to wonder why Microsoft didn't force the viewer upon users by including it in the most recent Service Pack. It wouldn't be beyond them.

[Joe]

Tried sending one through Prinergy but Prinergy won't touch it. It says it is not a valid input file type.. Here is an XPS file though if anyone want to give it a try.

NiXPS has a viewer for the Mac but it's not free. NiXPS View v3.0 for Mac

[Syphon]

We haven't receive any XPS files, yet.
But is Microsoft XPS a good thing or a bad thing for prepress? I prefer to stick to Adobe PDFs since we have few problems, especially when prepress creates them. We often do end up making them since none of our clients know what a PDF is.

[beermonster]

i'd say bad at the moment

some folks get excel, word and powerpoint - and publishiter files to deal with - some goon now has xps to save their "designer graduate from college so i know what i'm talking about" files to - good luck you poor bastids who get these files....

[RiotMac]

Tried sending one through Prinergy but Prinergy won't touch it. It says it is not a valid input file type.. Here is an XPS file though if anyone want to give it a try.

NiXPS has a viewer for the Mac but it's not free. NiXPS View v3.0 for Mac

I figured Prinergy wouldn't handle it yet. Probably won't for a while and like someone else said... knowing Kodak it will be an $8k option.

I personally don't think XPS will make any appearance around here and an actual dent in Adobe PDF's hold on the industry.

[David]

Tried sending one through Prinergy but Prinergy won't touch it. It says it is not a valid input file type..

Esko Suite 7 doesn't recognize the file type, either that or I don't have a license for it.
 :kiss:

[tapdn]

Postscript error on my Compose rip... no go

[beermonster]

if you change the suffix to .zip you can "unpackage" (unstuff) the thing and see the bits and bobs that make it - messy and i have no idea (read i dont really care) what all the bits and bobs are tho

[Captain_Type]

That's pretty callous, considering Bob's your uncle...

[Farabomb]

Yea, EVO won't touch it. I always have my laptop with me so I can easily convert it to a PDF. Just hope I'm not on vacation when the first one hits.

[mattbeals]

http://www.globalgraphics.com/products/harlequin_rip/

It's the only RIP I know of that will process XPS files natively. The X in XPS is XML and the XPS file itself is a ZIP archive. The XPS viewer is simply that; a viewer for the container files. The Mac program,NiXPS, is the only XPS native editor that I know of. It's good software.

As for whether XPS will ever show up in print production, probably not for a while in commercial offset work like most people here are involved with. But for in plant operations I wouldn't think it will be much longer. Why hasn't it shown up already? Microsoft is tired of paying attorneys fee's and penalties for anti-trust lawsuits. That's part of why they didn't include their own anti-virus software in Windows 7. People love to sue Microsoft...

[beermonster]

haaa well i'm fine with my harlequin rip then - you lot can keep ya fancy schmantzy xemeffinhell/preenergy/evoeevil/truepooflow and apeegee wrips - i gonna keeps my harleyquin psl3 rip coz i can use xps files - so sod you lot :cheesy: :tongue:

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