A new release of the Jaws RIP has been launched by UK developer Global Graphics Software. It includes new features for wide format, speciality printing and software applications, and is said to give performance increases averaging up to 500% over its predecessor.

You can’t buy a Jaws RIP directly as it’s incorporated by OEMs into digital front ends and embedded controllers. Earlier versions are used extensively by RIP and printer makers such as Wasatch, Onyx, Quark, Pitney Bowes and Canon Finetech, for applications ranging from wide and grand format output, textile, ceramic and silkscreen pre-press, high-speed file conversion, and PDF creation.  More than 5 million copies of the Jaws RIP have shipped to users worldwide since 2000 when Global Graphics bought this technology from another UK developer, 5D.

New in Jaws 3.0 are 64-bit memory management, dynamic memory management and multi-threaded architecture. The combination makes this new version the fastest ever, with performance improvements of between 300% and 500% over the previous version. Other new features include improved transparency tiling and optimised blending for faster processing, enhanced support for ICC colour correction and improved font handling and compatibility.

Kendal Madsen, director of engineering at wide format workflow specialist Onyx Graphics, said: ‘Onyx Graphics is a market leader in the large format printing industry. Key to the success of Onyx has been the use of the Jaws RIP engine, which we use for both PostScript and PDF file processing. Our customers have come to rely on the quality, consistency, and reliability produced by the Jaws RIP. I have been impressed through the years at the ease at which we are able to integrate each new update of the Jaws engine into our product. We are currently implementing Jaws 3 and are excited to take advantage of the new multi-threaded capabilities.’

Michael Ware, president of Wasatch Computer Technology, said: ‘We have been using the Jaws RIP core since 1993. We find it to be fast and highly functional. One of the reasons we have stayed with Jaws and Global Graphics for nearly 20 years is their commitment to service and their continued enhancement of the Jaws product line.’
Larry Spevak, the president of ColorBurst Systems, uses the Jaws RIP as the basis for the Overdrive RIP that can drive any inkjet printer. He said: ‘Our OverDrive 2 product uses Jaws 3.0 for a range of rendering functions from driving the output to creating thumbnails and previews. The benefits of Jaws 3.0 are significant speed increase for jobs, especially when they are rotated in the RIP. Additionally, there’s better support for live transparencies for handling complex files from InDesign & Illustrator.’

The Jaws RIP has an open architecture that gives OEMs and application developers the flexibility to implement a wide range of their own choice of features including third-party screening and colour management across Windows, Mac and Linux.

Contact: www.globalgraphics.com