# GhostView & GhostScript RIP(Who,What,Where and Why?)



## MBrhythm (Mar 1, 2007)

What can you tell the T-shirt world about these 2 FREE softwares?
What printers do they work on best?
Where can one download them?
How do you use them?
Pros & Cons...
Why use them and not another RIP program? or why not?

We all want the best thing at the cheapest possible price. but, we want the best thing.........


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## MBrhythm (Mar 1, 2007)

""RIP Programs
Of course we sell our own RIP so I have to be cautious as to what I'm saying. I don't want you to think I'm trying to make a sale.

From what I've seen with the Ghostscript programs they do cover quite a few printers. With it being open source, it can get confusing.

Most people that I've talked with decide to end up paying for a RIP to simplify things. Although I will say that when people get it running, they don't seem to have problems. There are some limitations compared to a paid program but overall I think people are satisfied with it.

I personally don't know much about the program. I imagine I should install it and actually see the differences, but so far, this has been my understanding.

Good Luck.""
__________________
Screener's Choice (Jerid Hill)
http://www.screenerschoice.com

Thank you.
I hope more can reply.
I dont want to take money from anyones mouth. just want people to know what is out there and if its the right thing for them.


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

MBrhythm said:


> I dont want to take money from anyones mouth. just want people to know what is out there and if its the right thing for them.


This is why I was trying to choose my words cautiously! I'm glad I did now that I see you copied and pasted what I wrote you.  

But seriously, as for taking money from someone like myself with this type of free program, I've found that if I am more helpful to people, even if they don't buy from me, they do learn something and word of mouth goes a long way. This is why I don't mind telling people about other programs. I've tried many open source programs and almost all of them are good to play around with but in a production environment, the full blown apps are the way to go.

For a RIP, it's supposed to be running in the background with as little interaction as possible, and as least confusing as possible. This is why when given the opportunity for a paid RIP or a free one, quite a few people I talk to decide to go with the paid. (Since time is money)

Just my .02


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

I believe people use them as they are free and are trying to save money. I have 2 rips all paid for and heave not had any issues what so ever. RTI, & FastRIP. I used to use Wasatch a couple years ago.

Good Call on choosing your words Jerid


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## MBrhythm (Mar 1, 2007)

I hope I didnt make you angry by posting your email.  I just hope that this forum is used to pass on all information. I think that if there is something for free and it is possible to use then people should know about it. 
I fully understand that you want to sell your product. If your product is good than Im sure people wil buy it. Thats why I posted this thread to find out more about the two free software.

Thank you 
MB


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

MBrhythm said:


> I hope I didnt make you angry by posting your email.  I just hope that this forum is used to pass on all information. I think that if there is something for free and it is possible to use then people should know about it.
> I fully understand that you want to sell your product. If your product is good than Im sure people wil buy it. Thats why I posted this thread to find out more about the two free software.
> 
> Thank you
> MB


Nope, not angry in the slightest. I have no problem with what you did.....


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## MBrhythm (Mar 1, 2007)

JeridHill said:


> Nope, not angry in the slightest. I have no problem with what you did.....


Thanks Jerid. I always look forward to read your reply.


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## MBrhythm (Mar 1, 2007)

Is anyone using GhostView & GhostScript RIP?


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## RichardGreaves (Nov 7, 2006)

MBrhythm said:


> Is anyone using GhostView & GhostScript RIP?
> 
> What can you tell the T-shirt world about these 2 FREE softwares?
> What printers do they work on best?
> ...



The cheapest is rarely the best thing. If GIMP were the best, nobody would buy Photoshop. 

GhostScript is a command line program. In Windows, you would start the program and you will be presented with a window with a *command line prompt*, just like the old days of DOS.

You enter a complicated command line, like: 
gs -dSAFER -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -sDEVICE=pgmraw -r150 \-dTextAlphaBits=4 -sOutputFile='paper-%00d.pgm' paper.ps

There are many inkjet drivers for HP printers, but they don't make very opaque screen making positives. You will have to invoke your own EPSON drivers.

It's FREE. Download and install it.
SourceForge.net: Files



Or......

Ulano Edition PowerRIP from iProof $495, FastRIP from Fresener $595 or SoftRIP from Wasatch $595 work practically invisibally after you install and make 4 or 5 default decisions.


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## ftembroidery (Nov 25, 2006)

There are MANY users of GhostScript/GhostView in the screen printing industry, myself included. All the PowerRip, FastRip, etc. programs work ONLY with Epson printers. This is because Epson uses a PiezioElectric printhead. Other printers use a different method that requires different language (instructions) to print PostScript files. 

It is true that many screen printers use Epson printers and that combined with a RIP that is somewhat (arguable) reasonably priced makes for convenience. However, I've seen too many screen printers complaining about clogging/failing printheads, and paper feed wheels/rollers (daisy wheels) messing up their positives and seen all the pictures of plastic wire tie strips inserted strategically to prevent built-in problems. I won't buy an Epson.

HP and Canon are viable alternatives in the inkjet market. They don't have postscript except on the really REALLY large format printers (ie. HP Designjet5500). Those of us that use HP and Canon also use GhostScript and GhostView not because it's free and we're trying to save a buck. If saving a buck was what it is all about, I would have bought an HP for half the price of my Canon. We use Ghost because the other RIPS are in the thousands of dollars, and Ghost works just fine with MANY satisfied long-time users. 

You don't do ANYTHING thru GhostScript. It runs in the background. You comunicate/command thru GhostView.


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## RichardGreaves (Nov 7, 2006)

ftembroidery said:


> HP and Canon are viable alternatives in the inkjet market. They don't have postscript except on the really REALLY large format printers (ie. HP Designjet5500). Those of us that use HP and Canon also use GhostScript and GhostView not because it's free and we're trying to save a buck.
> 
> If saving a buck was what it is all about, I would have bought an HP for half the price of my Canon.
> 
> ...




I was very interested in what you had to say. I have long wanted to try to increase the ink deposit on HP and Canon printers, especially the HP2800 Inkjet because it actually has Postscript 3 emulation and 96Mb of RAM to speed up processing.

Which version of GhostView are you using. The one that I've seen from the GNU open source site is also command line.


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