Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/02/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Marc, A RIP handles the translation of a digital image into a form that is required by your printer. Most RIPs today are very sophisticated and get more performance out of a printer than the software provided by the printer vendor. Those of us who print black and white images on Epson printers found that there was a greenish tint to the images made by the Epson drivers due to the way light reflected off the black ink. Some rather sophisticated software guys solved the problem by mixing small amounts of other colors in order to make neutral blacks and grays. Along with the RIP software are color profiles that tell the computer about the colors the printer can actually make and how to mix the colors in order to achieve them. These recipes for color printing are different from paper to paper - just as exposure requirements between papers changes from vendor to vendor and paper type to paper type. RIPs also handle other details so you can make multiple sized versions of the same image on the same paper without much work - picture packages in other words. Most people who print in color don't need RIP because the printer people spend a lot of time trying to get color right. But getting black and white to come out neutral - or with a selenium-like tone - that's very hard. So that's why you often hear about them here. I'm a bit astounded that you have been so baffled by this technology shift - but I respect your difficulty. You might find it easier to take pictures, take the memory card to Target or WalMart or your local drug store and printing them at a kiosk which work very well. Print only the pictures you like. It really is easy - it's just different. Look at it as a challenge to mental acuity. <grin> I hope this was useful and helped you in some way. Adam On 2/6/06, Marc James Small <msmall@infionline.net> wrote: > At 05:25 PM 2/6/06 -0500, Tina Manley wrote: > > >I'm your senior by 4 years and I have figured out! You can do it, > >too, and it's much, much easier than learning darkroom photography > >was many years ago. Just get a good Epson printer, archival inks, > >and a RIP (some are free). > > My point exactly, Tina. What is a "RIP"? Whne I do chemistry, I do not > have to know what a "RIP" is. I do know film and chemistry and the like, > but "RIP" is far beyond my ken, I fear. > > Marc > > msmall@aya.yale.edu > Cha robh b?s fir gun ghr?s fir! > > NEW FAX NUMBER: +540-343-8505 > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >