Maximizing RIP Earnings

One differentiator between high- and low-end RIPs is color management, says.

“I go to my supplier and I’m ordering a couple rolls of Roland photo glossy paper. My supplier says, ‘You know what? XYZ company has photo glossy paper, they’ve discontinued the line, and I have six rolls I’ll sell you for the price of two.’ The problem is, if I buy those and use the profile for the Roland, I’m not going to get really good color.

“But if I have color management capabilities built into the RIP, and I have the right person who’s trained to do it, no big deal. In half an hour, I can build a color profile, I can use those six rolls of media, and I’m going to save a lot of money.”

You can garner similar savings with third-party inks, whose unique formulations require printers to develop color profiles for them. With the color management skills, Morrison says, you can save about 50 percent on ink from your suppliers.

(Today’s RIP suppliers are promising software that is scalable, affordable, and bundled with MIS, ERP, and workflow management functions. .)