Xitron (Ann Arbor, Michigan), a leading independent developer of RIP and workflow products for commercial, digital, flexo and high-speed inkjet printing, has begun shipping the next generation of Harlequin RIP – Navigator 12.0r1. “After months of in-depth quality testing by Xitron engineering, Navigator 12 with PDF 2.0 compatibility is ready for deployment,” said the company. Navigator 12 will be one of the first PDF 2.0-compliant RIPs available in the commercial market. Harlequin RIP was the first commercially available RIP with PDF 2.0 compliance.
“This has been one of the most anticipated RIP releases in recent memory,” said Karen Crews, President of Xitron. “It’s vitally important that we get this into our customers’ prepress operations before jobs in PDF 2.0 format become the norm, rather than the exception.” The PDF 2.0 specification was published just over one year ago and development of a Harlequin RIP capable of complying with the specification was running in parallel with the anticipated final specification.
“Pre-release testing is the crucial step in the delivery process,” Crews said. “It’s not just a matter of verifying that print jobs process properly. It’s also ensuring that the RIP works with the thousands of computer-to-plate, computer-to-film, and computer-to-press interfaces that Xitron supports around the world.” Xitron is expecting to fulfill upgrade requests from hundreds of Xitron Navigator, RTI, Compose, and ECRM RIP users over the coming months.
Navigator RIPs drive CTP and CTF engines from Agfa, Screen, Fujifilm, Kodak, MarkAndy, ECRM and Heidelberg, to name just a few. In the digital market, the Navigator-based Digital Front End (DFE) drives high-speed inkjet presses from manufacturers such as Colordyne, Printware, Neopost, Trojan, Superweb Digital, IPT, AstroNova (QuickLabel), and many others. Navigator also drives presses using the latest VersaPass and Duralink head technology from Memjet, as well as presses using inkjet heads from Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Xaar, Fuji Dimatix, Ricoh and Kyocera.
“Navigator version 12 is now in position to drive the widest variety of output devices of any RIP offered today,” Crews added. “This makes it the perfect choice for any shop running conventional offset for flexo, while exploring digital options for their future.” Most Harlequin RIPs from Version 5 onward can be upgraded to insure interpretive accuracy for PDF 2.0 jobs, or PDF 1.7 jobs that contain transparent elements. Existing Harlequin RIP users can get information about upgrading to version 12 by contacting Xitron at https://www.harlequinripupgrade.com/.
Xitron releases Navigator 12 Harlequin RIP workflow
