We inherited a Navigator 8.0 rip with our used ctp system but just recently ran into a transparency issue out of InDesign 5 which choked up the rip. had to rasterize the problem pages in Photoshop but did get the job out. The rip hasnt' been updated since 2007 so it's probably outdated. Apparently version 8.3 rips the file ok so in the interim, we'll have to update to that version. Wer'e talking to Xitron about updating to 9 but it apparently won't be out till November sometime.
We've been happy with version 8 so far although it's pretty "bare bones" and included 3rd party trapping software and 3rd party proofing software. We have to move to a ROOM system to avoid a major screw up down the road.
Just wondering if anyone else is planning this upgrade. We'd like to go back to ApogeeX but this is a small shop and the cost is very high.
Check out some of the threads here about Sierra/XMF. Seems to be one of the most reasonably priced of the bunch out there. Ask Earendil and/or frailer about them.
Quote from: pspdfppdfx on October 24, 2011, 07:45:11 AMWe inherited a Navigator 8.0 rip with our used ctp system but just recently ran into a transparency issue out of InDesign 5 which choked up the rip. had to rasterize the problem pages in Photoshop but did get the job out. The rip hasnt' been updated since 2007 so it's probably outdated. Apparently version 8.3 rips the file ok so in the interim, we'll have to update to that version. Wer'e talking to Xitron about updating to 9 but it apparently won't be out till November sometime.
We've been happy with version 8 so far although it's pretty "bare bones" and included 3rd party trapping software and 3rd party proofing software. We have to move to a ROOM system to avoid a major screw up down the road.
Just wondering if anyone else is planning this upgrade. We'd like to go back to ApogeeX but this is a small shop and the cost is very high.
Wow, that hits close to home. Our used CTP and RIP will be installed the remainder of this week. It too has Xitron Navigator 8. I have been shying away from CS5 in favor of sticking with CS4. Thanks, pspdfppdfx. That's good info to know.
I'd like to check out other options Joe but the "ball is in motion" and don't really have time to change course. The total cost for v.8 to v.9 is about 9 grand including the upgrade, ROOM proofing to our 7600 which is a plugin that sends the raster data from the rip into a pdf wrapper which we can out put to colorburst for managing the color. The trapping in the rip would be about 2,800 dollars itself. We're now using iTrap which to upgrade would be quite a bit cheaper. (about 800 bucks).
My boss said the Harleqin trapping has a steep learning curve and is too expensive. Anyone find Harlequin trapping complex? I'm not brain surgeon but have worked with apogee trapping in the past. I'd think the defaults would be ok for most of our needs.
I doubt if you could touch a full install of any current workflow for $9K so it's probably best to go the direction you are going in.
Still don't know if we should get the TrapPro that can be included with the rip or continue with the 3rd party itrap. Its my choice but am not sure what to pick. Gotta decide this week though.
queer thing happening here with the TrapPro software....... you can see in the preview that the spot color goes from no trap to producing a stroke on the black. I've been testing the trapping and so far pretty good till I sent this pdf to the rip.
It's just a demo I downloaded, the real software will be installed tommorow. Well there's a least one question to answer here about the trapping ... maybe it's just because it is a DEMO. Well see..
(http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/2973/wtfcf.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/812/wtfcf.jpg/)
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strange, recreated the gradient in photoshop and dropped it in and it worked fine. Gonna try me Illustrator gradient.
no good with Ilustrator background gradient either.....
I do see that the traps seem from your picture to get fatter as the object gets larger - the big one on the left has a full width of a dot of trap and the smallest one on the right barely a fraction of the width of a dot, which should be a setting you can change?
Naw, it's just wacky trapping like that. When the gradient was made in photoshop it looked exactly how i would expect it ....
gotta use this pdf tomorrow when the install happens to ask the experts why this could be happening only with vector gradients. But as I said, I'm only using a DEMO version that I installed on my Mac.... the actual software has not been installed on the host computer which is a pc.
Demo software is used to convince you to buy it. If that is the way it traps it's not very good demo software. :laugh:
haha, yeah... can't wait till tomorrow in a sick twisted kinda way. Installing her via WebEx.
Quote from: pspdfppdfx on December 08, 2011, 01:11:10 PMNaw, it's just wacky trapping like that. When the gradient was made in photoshop it looked exactly how i would expect it ....
which is how? Can you show us?
Because what I am seeing is like trap scaling or something. Are you talking about how it stops trapping once the gradient gets lighter or are you talking about how freakishly fat the trap gets on the one on the left?
attached rip shot when the background gradient was made in photoshop. There are no abrupt changes in trap size just gradual from the light screen to the darker screen. There is no black stroke added as well. Just the spot color trapping into the black screen.
(http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/606/88048221.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/577/88048221.jpg/)
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you can't really see it too well because it's zoomed in so close but the orange spot color trap gets wider as the black screen gets darker at the top.
Anyway, it might just be the DEMO... I'll know later today when the rips install and will post sometime.
I can't see the image due to my IT department blocking it, but if is a trap to a gradient you might be seeing a Sliding Trap. This allows a trap to slide gently from the lighter area to the darker area whenever the difference in "darkness" between the two areas is less than a specified percentage (0-100%).
Basically it prevents the trap from suddenly changing directions.
well we've finally got version 9 up and running..it's only been a couple of days on it but first impressions are that it's waaaay better than version 8. This time we have more of a workflow appearance (as apposed to the bare bones version 8) but that did cost more.
I tested some spot color pdf's with heavy transparency and let the rip do the flattening and it was quick and the trapping was simple and accurate. The trapping is now the Harlequin TrapPro instead of the 3rd party we had before. It works much faster. We have a pdf raster plugin that basically gives us a one rip system (finally) We can even make proofs with trapping. I haven't tried this yet, not sure if there's many instances where we'd need this anyway.
To move from a 2006 rip to a 2012 rip seems to make a drastic difference.
Harlequin RIP 8.x is a great RIP. If it's setup correctly it should be completely reliable. v8.3 should have no problems with RIPping transparency. That being said RIP's are software too so there can be flaws which are usually addressed with updates. Version 9 is a solid RIP. One of my friends helped develop and test v8 and v9 Harlequin RIP's. There isn't much you can't do with them. The trapping though it sounds like TrapPro may have hit a limit. Look at something like Lucid Dreams iTrap product. It's great trapping software.
Just make sure your hardware is capable of maximizing the performance of the RIP.
trapPro hit a limit? so far it's trapping everything very well....