PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 23, 2007 - HP today announced that its successful RIP certification initiative for the HP Designjet Z6100 Printer series has tested and certified SA International's (SAi) Flexi 8.5, a dependable, feature-rich sign-making software, and PhotoPRINT 6, a popular color management RIP. The certification of SAi solutions rounds out the first phase of HP's program which aligns essential user performance expectations with the unique capabilities of the printer series, targeting a wide range of large-format printing applications.
The HP Designjet Z6100 RIP Certification Program has significantly improved the end-user experience and instilled greater trust in the complete solution. The Certification Program provides graphics professionals, print service providers and technical designers working in color-critical environments with enhanced compatibility. These users gain improved levels of functionality and interoperability when they select one of the HP-certified third-party RIP products. Due to the enhanced ICC profiling capability from the printer's embedded spectrophotometer, the results from the HP Designjet Z6100, SAi PhotoPRINT 6 are more accurate, vibrant and consistent in color. Users in the sign and digital graphics markets can now have confidence knowing that the product has been through rigorous testing.
"The HP Designjet Z6100 RIP Certification Program has been successful and has certified products from five of the industry's most reputable RIP providers," said Enrique Lores, vice president and general manager, Large Format Printing Division, HP. "Through this program, we uphold our commitment to giving customers more reliable choices to choose from. By assuring compatibility of RIPs with the HP Designjet Z6100, we maintain our commitment to the Print 2.0 strategy of delivering digital solutions that enhance the printing experience."
Today's latest additions to the HP Designjet Z6100 RIP Certification Program further promote productivity and ease-of-use in large-format printing. The SAi Flexi 8.5 and PhotoPRINT 6 RIPs offer Application Direct Printing allowing users to print from any application using presets or ICC profiles, and can produce fast pre- and post-job estimations with Job Estimation. Flexi 8.5 and PhotoPRINT 6 are also compatible with the Microsoft Vista operating system.
"SA International is extremely pleased to have recently participated in HP's RIP Certification Program for the HP Designjet Z6100 Printer series," Donald Feagan, president, SAi. "As a long-term development partner with HP, we continuously look for ways that HP and SAi can improve our products for the sign and digital graphics markets."
RIPs that have achieved certified status carry the unique "Certified for HP Designjet Z6100" designation. Certification tests for the HP Designjet Z6100 include print quality, productivity and other important characteristics of printer management and job handling. Certified RIPs also offer profiles for a range of HP media.
This Certification Program expands HP's already extensive solution development program, which provides third-party software developers with access to hardware, Software Development Kits (SDKs) and additional resources to assist them in creating solutions compatible with HP large-format printers.
Full details of the compatibility tests and the currently certified solutions can be found at www.hp.com/go/z6100/solutions.