Groundbreaking new features to handle short runs and variable data 

Acton MA - In the year that the Harlequin RIP® celebrates its 25^th birthday its developers, Global Graphics Software, have announced the latest in a long-line of technology innovations with the launch of Harlequin MultiRIP 10 today.

This new version of the Harlequin RIP has been developed specifically to enable print shops to grow out into digital print or to expand into digital marketing. It introduces major new features that speed up the processing of PDF/VT and increase the rate that pages are fed to the press for significant productivity gains. It’s the ideal print engine to drive short run digital presses profitably alongside CtP.

Martin Bailey, CTO at Global Graphics Software points out “Harlequin MultiRIP 10 brings the speed benefits that we introduced at drupa for high-volume production presses to allow smaller print shops to use digital presses to maintain profitability even as run lengths decrease. It also helps them handle personalized work efficiently to drive into higher margin markets.”

New features

More speed = print more jobs in a shift: Extensive multi-threading allows maximum use to be made of multi-core CPUs so that pages pass through the RIP faster than ever before. With Harlequin Parallel Pages™ the RIP will interpret one page while it’s still rendering the previous one. A 64-bit RIP build now allows use of virtually unlimited amounts of RAM to ensure that even the most complex jobs run at high speed.

Variable data support: Harlequin VariData™ greatly accelerates the processing time of PDF/VT and PDF files containing variable data, by using a unique method of intelligently recognizing repeated content. Even jobs with single-use images, QR Codes for purls, or personalized graphics can now be output at full engine speed.

Great color “out of the box”: it’s easier to achieve consistent, predictable and repeatable color reproduction across any number of devices by tight integration of Harlequin MultiRIP with third party closed loop color controls for automatic updates.

Like its predecessors Harlequin MultiRIP 10 it contains a range of performance and productivity features for print shops and can be used to drive CtP, proofing, digital presses and wide format devices. It is compliant with industry standards and offers print shops workflow options that run inside the RIP rather than on separate applications, saving time and money. These workflow options include simple imposition, font emulation, trapping and screening.

Harlequin MultiRIP processes PDF and PostScript® in one RIP engine as well as TIFF™ and JPEG, so handling mixed workflows with consistent output is easy because print shops can use the same screening and color management across all files. The Harlequin RIP has processed PDF files natively since 1997, including rendering of live PDF transparency since 2002. It accelerates the speed of processing transparent pages significantly.

Harlequin MultiRIP is sold via Global Graphics Software’s OEM and system integrator partners, such as Xitron, ECRM, Presstek, Compose and Rampage.