Caldera has announced the commercial availability of version 9.20 of its popular RIP software, with updates including advanced preflighting, colour management enhancements, True Shape Nesting and a new Image Bar interface enabling quick access to documents. The latest version of Caldera's flagship RIP engine was first unveiled at FESPA 2013, where it was warmly received by visitors from all sectors of the industry.

Colour management is at the forefront of the new release, with v9.20 including EasyMedia as standard for the first time and giving users cloud access to the Caldera ICC profile library. "When we talk to our customers about what is important in their businesses, colour management always comes up," explains Frederic Soulier, chief technical officer Caldera. "Anything that is such an integral part of a wide-format operation should be supported by their software, and that's why we decided to make EasyMedia a standard part of the RIP solution in v9.20 – if it's not an option for our customers, it's not for Caldera."

The new Preflight tools will help to ensure users produce perfect prints the first time, incorporating the renowned Callas technology also used in Adobe Acrobat. The Preflight option checks for compatibility against a number of standards and rules, including PDF/X, PDF/A, PDF/VT, image resolution, fonts and ICC profiles, and returns a simple red or green light report. The preflight process can be initiated either manually, and applied to one file, or automatically to all files in a specified Hotfolder.

For VisualRIP+ and GrandRIP+ users, the Preflight tool will produce a web report for the operator, as well as an enriched PDF file highlighting any issues. Preflight also integrates with Flow+, sending reports to the MIS manager, and with Caldera WebShop to show a simple file status to the end user. "The Preflight tools will take the guesswork out of printing by making sure a file conforms to our users' standards before it gets as far as being printed," says Joseph Mergui, chief executive officer, Caldera. "By taking advantage of this new option, Caldera users will not only save themselves time with the automation it offers, but also money and resources through not needing to re-print."

In v9.20, Caldera is also revolutionising the print-to-cut process with the new True Shape Nesting tool, which will help print shop managers maximise their resources with more efficient placement of images on media. As requested by Caldera's users, True Shape Nesting uses the actual contours of an image, ignoring any blank space or bounding boxes, to nest images together in a way that minimises media waste when cut. In addition, the tool will help users save ink by eliminating any need to print beyond the cut contours.

Caldera has also updated its Process Standard Verifier to allow businesses to calibrate and verify their prints according to the G7 standard. Adding to the existing standards verification tools for Fogra Process Standard Digital, the latest enhancement to this tool will help Caldera users prepare for G7 certification.

In addition, a new Image Bar feature will act as a document tray, giving users easy access and instant visuals as well as keyword filtering, to save time when searching for specific files.

"These new upgrades to the Caldera RIP represent the real partnership we have with our users," says Sebastien Hanssens, vice-president marketing, Caldera. "Many are user-requested features, and others have evolved from less specific feedback. By listening to the people who use our products day in and day out, we have been able to focus our efforts on the things they really need to make their production run as efficiently as possible. It is this continuous user-led development that is keeping Caldera at the forefront of wide-format software."