Software RIP

Universal software-RIP for Cine III and Cine V Conga is an universal software-RIP for the driving of plotters, slidewriters, elektrostatic printers and photo-printers. To have all the funktions you need in one software was our focus in the development of this software-RIP. More productivity and less complexity by having just one high-end RIP for all your printers saves you time and trouble in the maintanance and makes it a secure investment. Conga is the universal Software RIP for high end users. Whether plotter, printer, slidewriter or color copier, Conga accelerates and optimises the picture output. Conga stays for highest quality and extreme performance while compatible with nearly all picture-file formats. It is able to control several output devices at the same time. Its clear user-interface makes the program easy to handle. A tasklist and preview options give you full control over the print jobs at any time. A row of correction and editing options take care of a comfortable and professional colour management. Developed in Germany, Conga is documented in German and English and is described in detail in users manual and online help.

User interface •  X-Windows/ Motif-user interface •  Drag & Drop Control •  UNIX Shell •  Plug-in Support

Supported Formats •  UNIX •  Mac en DOS via Xinet •  Helios-Ethershare •  NFS

modules: Conga consists of several modules that build upon each other and integrate seamlessly into a uniform user environment. The basis consists of a standard RIP module that controls the administration and processing of the to be outputed picture data. It supports more than 80 picture fileformats of various computer worlds like MAC, DOS and UNIX. The data can be individually manipulated in colour, size and cut and can be sent to a wide range of output devices at the same time. On the basis of this module there is a group of layout and dithering functions that can be implemented beside the device drivers as a software option. Conga’s device drivers – e.g. for Xerox, Versatec and Rastergraphics Electrostateplotter, Encad Novajet and HP Designjet Ink-plotters – use all the device functions to an optimum and therefor allow you a complete remote control operation of all the printer/plotter functions like resolution, film- and papertransport etc. This modular construction allows Conga to be set-up easyly and individually, giving you the ability to adapt to future developments in hardware and the surroundings of your production environment . Simply start off with a basic RIP and add needed modules as you go through your production cycle. Simplefied updates protect it from growing obsolete. Conga uses the high-performance UNIX workstations from Silicon Graphics as its platform. This strong basis enabels us to offer extremely short processing times while at the same times making it possible to also use the workstation i.e. as a fileserver, an OPI-server or as a converting station. Another advantage of the SGI platform: not only does it allow an employment in diverse networks without problems, it also guarantees interoperability with other software solutions and RIPs (i.e. Cyclone) on the same workstation.

workflow: For posters in small editions, inhouse publishing or the demands in large scale digital print, e.g. Citylight and 18/1 posters – Conga is a favourite for reproshops, printshops, advertisement agencies, the fair industry and industrial design studios. Respected companies like Audi, VW, VW-DesignCenter LosAngeles, Carl Zeiss, Publicis MCD or Design Center Europe already rely on Conga with its power potential, its economy and its ergonomic interface with their printed output. Together with the printspooler the standard RIP controls the processing of the picture data for the output. It communicates with the user and the output devices, it protocalls all jobs and makes optimal use of the computer power with its process–control. That way picture data is already being ripped for the output while a printer is working in the background. With the printspooler that controlls the distribution of data to the output devices, the number of copies and the cut of postscript files can subsequently be altered without ripping the file once more. Data that has already been printed are held at hand in the system for a freely defined period of time in order to save time and money should mistakes occur when working on the prints afterward (i.e. cutting or laminating). Conga can not only be used for controlling output devices but as well as a powerful converting station that can for example convert postscript to dithered data for the output on unsupported devices or for further manipulation in paint programs. Of course any dithering formats can also be converted into postscript, thus extending the possibilities of other postscript RIPs. In converting, conga considers the specialities in nearly all picture formats. For example, it sets the colour depth of pictures automatically to the possibilities of the output format. Apart from over 80 standard and special fileformats, user defined formats can also be implemented as a plug–in. In addition to ripping and converting, Conga also offers picture processing tools like scaling, rotating, Gamma-, Chroma-, RGB/CMYK- and sharpness correction. To simplify overview, complete folders can be searched for picture files which are then shown on the desktop as thumbnails. Via drag and drop they can be assigned to multiple output devices and can be worked off in an overnight batch run.

functions: Editing: Conga offers various possibilities of formatting printing data: free scaling, picture rotation, zoom, sharp- and unsharp masking as well as layout functions for plotter output. A preview function with before/after view allows a direct comparison between the original file and the changed version even before the output. Layout: With its layout functions Conga meets all the needs in small and large format digital printing. Smaller images could be placed beside each other or grouped as copies. Also large format images could be printed on several tiles. Specialties like printing various cutting marks and complicated tilings or cut–outs are integrated in Conga. Colour management: Apart from Gamma and Chroma correction Conga contains further functions for the setting of colour and contrast. With an RGB/CMYK colourmixer for example every single colour channel can be controlled for selective colour correction. Here like everywhere the output quality can be controlled by integrated zoom- and comparison functions. Conga contains a densitometric and colormetric measuring device for the calibration of output devices in order to get an optimum colour output. Additionally device colour palettes can be edited by the user. Dithering: Several dithering modules set for the various outputs care for the best possible colour reproduction and truth of the print. Possible procedures for example are ordered dithering, blue noise, FM or screening. For the output on plotters Conga offers stochastic dithering like Space diffusion that generates realistic halftone pictures without steps in the colour blend. Postscript: The module postscript L2 Interpreter (Jaws) makes Conga the fastest post-script RIP in the market. Its software stability, its independence from resolutions and its speed are extremely high. Conga also offers a special additional tool for other printers or RIPs with the stand–alone module FileOut. It reads any file format, scales to your wish and then gives it out as a postscript file in a spool folder.