Re: Use Debian system as a RIP
Hi Peter,
On Thursday 29 September 2005 07:34 am, Peter King wrote:
> Is there a way of using a Debian system as a RIP.
> I have a client that has just been quoted by Xerox £11500 for a Fiery
> EX12 Raster Image Processor
> the system is only a PIII-500 with 256MB RAM and a 9GB HDD so I am
> thinking of putting together a nice hefty system and use Debian
> instead.
> Apparently the rip just takes a PDF file then converts it to a Post
> Script file and sends it to the printer. Surely there is something on
> Linux to do this.
If it really is that simple (I have no experience with RIPs), then a
Debian system might work. The conversion would be done with the pdf2ps
tool (man pdf2ps), from the gs-common package, or possibly pdftops,
from xpdf-utils.
One thing to thoroughly check out is that ps2pdf, etc. would actually
convert the images your client works with. That is, get a good
cross-section of the PDF images they would work with, and verify that
they are converted to correct, printable Post Script. Having used them
for several years, my experience with these conversion tools is that
they almost always work, but I've had a few situations where they choke
(mostly with what I'd consider quirky documents, which your client may
have.) I have also heard of some people having more trouble than I've
had with those tools.
Of course, another thing to consider is the the EX12 RIP's reputation.
Have other users found it reliable, etc.?
Good luck.
--
Peace,
Aaron Maxwell - http://redsymbol.net
Skills for higher math - http://InnerAlgebra.com
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