Caldera has brought out Caldera V9 Rip software which harnesses the latest version of the Adobe print engine, APPE 2.5 for more productivity features and refinements. Enhanced colour options, improved transparency handling and faster previewing are some of the improvements.
Caldera V9 brings two significant updates to its Spooler module. Operators can now double-click a job within Spooler to reopen it within the Print window, allowing them to verify parameters or resubmit it with modified settings. LiveSpooler, meanwhile, introduces a new XML exchange protocol which allows for the monitoring of offline devices within the print environment, thereby improving workflow management – especially for users of Caldera’s Flow+ package.
Caldera V9 also brings developments in colour control and correction. Amongst these is the ability to make last-minute adjustments to contrast, luminosity and colour balances within the main Print window, avoiding the need to jump between modules for minor alterations.
The operator can also save the current Print window configuration in a named file, allowing for rapid switching between different workflow options. Color Books of swatches are also generated on-demand by V9, providing a multi-page PDF file of reference colours so that operators can more easily match desired brand colours with those available within the given print configuration.
Implementations of the Caldera RIP with the Easy- Media profiling module will also be able to take advantage of i1Prism V2, now integrated within Caldera V9 to provide excellent smoothness in colour rendering and more fine-tune settings, such as contrast and saturation control. EasyMedia users will also note a new function allowing them to report on ink density and resynchronise ICC profiles if required, correcting linearisation curves to compensate for current printing conditions, such as head changes and remaining ink volume.
Memory management, font support and Xobjects are significantly better supported by the new APPE 2.5 integration, which also provides smaller fixes, such as more consistent direct colour substitution and the ability to replace spot colours in RGB mode. The primary advantage for Caldera V9 users, who have the APPE option, are the improved Ripping speeds, especially for files with transparent elements, which will see 20% of the Rip time shaved off on average. In tandem, the new Global Rasterisation option allows for the preview of more complex documents, such as those with transparency or overprint information.
A totally new option in V9 is the fruit of Caldera’s partnership with colour management specialist Alwan, InkPerformer. This module, which requires a special license key, calculates new levels of black ink to reduce the use of other inks while reproducing faithfully the hues intended from the original file.
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