FirstPROOF
FirstPROOF, from UK-based Hamillroad Software, is a family of softproofing products for Harlequin or TIFF-based RIPs. It has brought much-needed performance improvements to the computer-to-plate (CtP) RIP workflow. FirstPROOF allows you to make the kind of checks that were once possible with film but are no longer standard with CtP -- checks, among others, for moiré, orientation, and content.
It comes in two main editions:
- Standard, with high performance viewing and navigation; zoom in/out; rotate and mirror; search multiple RIP facility; grid & guide lines to check object alignment; and black trap checking.
- Pro, all the features of the Standard edition, plus measurement tools (distances, areas, screens and densities); moiré inspection; ink limit tool; page registration checker; separation handling (rotate, merge); and ROOM ("Rip Once, Output Many") proof printing of the separations being viewed.
Comment
FirstPROOF Pro has first-rate color management that removes the need for hard-copy proofs entirely. It profiles the monitor, measures dot gain, spectrally profiles the press -- then uses the data to adjust what is being viewed.
The system is easy to operate and does not require the printing of any special test charts. You can put the RIP into "hold mode" so that it does not print before you have inspected the work in FirstPROOF. Highly acclaimed by pre-press managers in the U.K., the product is sold worldwide through distributors in each country or state.
Tech info
- OS: Windows XP onwards; Mac OS 9.x, OS X 10.2.x, 10.3.x, 10.4.x
- Price level: (Standard) approx. $750; (Pro) approx. $1,300
Hamillroad Software
Hamillroad Software is an independent software group, with offices in Cambridge, UK and Cape-Town, South Africa. The company specialises in the development and sale of software products relating to Harlequin and other RIPs in the prepress industry.
From the same vendor:
- Auraia screening (Digital Modulation Screening)
- Lightning TIFF (high performance TIFF output plug-in for Harlequin RIP)
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