Adobe CS + emulated Adobe PS RIPs: any advice please? (MAGICOLORseries...??)

[Arch Stanton]

Hi all

I'm considering buying a Konica Minolta Magicolor 2350 with PS3 emulation,
but some InDesign CS-produced PDFs I sent to a vendor for testing seem to
have failed. (It's difficult to know why, and if there are solutions
available (firmware updates?), since I don't have local access to the
machine. Gah!) The gradient mesh "flower" sample image supplied with
Illustrator CS also didn't work.

Does anyone here have experience printing to a 2350 since using InDesign CS
and other recent Adobe software? And from latest-version PDF files? (With
CID-encoded fonts?)

How about other emulated PS RIPs? Do the new CS apps appear to be any harder
to print from than earlier versions to non-Adobe RIPs?

I'd happily pay an extra 20% or whatever of the cost of the printer to get
REAL Adobe PS, but it's difficult trying to find out which machines out
there, for a reasonable price for home office use, use genuine Adobe
interpreters. None of the cheaper ones do, and most of the more expensive
ones are way too expensive for me to even think about. I'm not looking to
spend more than £1000, if that. I wish there was more choice about what RIP
I get with some of the otherwise attractive and affordable printers
available. I guess manufacturers decide to either go with it, or emulate it,
and not both. It would be great if there were easy "add-on" options
available to get the genuine thing.

Anyone know of any similar A4 colour network-ready *laser* printers, along
the lines and price of the Magicolor 2350, that either use true Adobe PS, or
something that seems to be bulletproof in their experience?

Thank you

Archie

 

[muks]

Does anyone here have experience printing to a 2350 since using InDesign CS

and other recent Adobe software? And from latest-version PDF files? (With
CID-encoded fonts?)

I have printed from Adobe Photoshop CS and Adobe Acrobat Professional 6 to
HP Color Laserjet 3700 with HP PS driver (printer has PS3 emulation)
without problems.

 

[Timothy Lee]

Anyone know of any similar A4 colour network-ready *laser* printers, along
the lines and price of the Magicolor 2350, that either use true Adobe PS, or
something that seems to be bulletproof in their experience?

Have a look at Xerox Phasers 8200/8400

 

[Brian Lehen]

From: muks <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: comp.periphs.printers
Date: 23 Jan 2004 03:38:10 -0600
Subject: Re: Adobe CS + emulated Adobe PS RIPs: any advice please?
(MAGICOLOR series...??)


I have printed from Adobe Photoshop CS and Adobe Acrobat Professional 6 to
HP Color Laserjet 3700 with HP PS driver (printer has PS3 emulation)
without problems.

Adobe Photoshop is not a Postscript program, Adobe Acrobat although handles
pdfs which are "simplified" Postscript does its own rasterizing, so again it
prints in raster (bitmap) form.

These two apps will print to ANY printer, if you have a postscript printer
or not is irrelevant.

Regards

Brian

 

[Marek Williams]

I'm considering buying a Konica Minolta Magicolor 2350 with PS3 emulation,
but some InDesign CS-produced PDFs I sent to a vendor for testing seem to
have failed. (It's difficult to know why, and if there are solutions
available (firmware updates?), since I don't have local access to the
machine. Gah!) The gradient mesh "flower" sample image supplied with
Illustrator CS also didn't work.

Does anyone here have experience printing to a 2350 since using InDesign CS
and other recent Adobe software? And from latest-version PDF files? (With
CID-encoded fonts?)

How about other emulated PS RIPs? Do the new CS apps appear to be any harder
to print from than earlier versions to non-Adobe RIPs?

I use InDesign CS (and previously used 2.0, 1.5 and 1.0), but I don't
do color, so my experience may not be a great help.

I have a Laserjet 5SiMX (genuine Adobe PostScript, Level 2), and a
Laserjet 8000 (emulated PostScript Level 2). Hewlett-Packard licenses
the PostScript emulation from Xionics, who supply it to a number of
other vendors as well.

I haven't had any problem printing to either printer from InDesign CS.
However, I rarely print directly. I almost always export to PDF and
print from Acrobat Reader. And in that scenario there is a difference.

If I export from InDesign the PDF file prints at normal speed on the
5SiMx. If I send it to the 8000 the first copy prints at glacial
speed, and subsequent copies print at close to the rated speed of the
printer. Note that the 8000 has "mopy" capability, that is, it images
and holds the entire print job so there is little processing time for
subsequent copies. The 5SiMx is an older printer and it will print
only one copy at a time. (This is assuming you want each copy
collated, which I do.)

To get around the slow printing of the first copy on the 8000 I
discovered that if I create the PDF from InDesign using Acrobat
instead of InDesign's native export, then it prints the first copy at
the same speed as the 5SiMx. I've gone around and around with Adobe
about this and they claim that what I am saying is impossible. Well,
scientists at one time insisted the bumblebee couldn't fly, too.
Nevertheless, it does.

Note that the only problem was the speed of the first copy. The pages
are always perfect.

I'd happily pay an extra 20% or whatever of the cost of the printer to get
REAL Adobe PS, but it's difficult trying to find out which machines out
there, for a reasonable price for home office use, use genuine Adobe
interpreters. None of the cheaper ones do, and most of the more expensive
ones are way too expensive for me to even think about. I'm not looking to
spend more than £1000, if that. I wish there was more choice about what RIP
I get with some of the otherwise attractive and affordable printers
available. I guess manufacturers decide to either go with it, or emulate it,
and not both. It would be great if there were easy "add-on" options
available to get the genuine thing.

Anyone know of any similar A4 colour network-ready *laser* printers, along
the lines and price of the Magicolor 2350, that either use true Adobe PS, or
something that seems to be bulletproof in their experience?

As far as I know, everyone is using emulated PostScript these days
except Xerox, at least in the low end price range.

I hope that gives you some information at least. I would suggest that
you go to blueworld.com and sign up for the InDesign e-list. That's
your best bet for getting more detailed information.