Re: AcroRip 8.2.6 [BEST]
Sibyl Piccuillo
Now, I'm seeing photo's of peoples success, some people with fantastic colors, some people with lines in their prints( no i'm not talking about clogged nozzles). As well, Some people complaining about how long it takes for the final print.
1 of these programs is very easily profiled and produces PERFECT colored prints at the same speed as the other, just much higher quality without the lines in the prints, while being the most color accurate.
1 of these programs processes and prints faster than the other two, at the same or better quality ( no lines) a bit harder to profile for colors, to the point some colors are just a shade off when the other is perfect. Still fantastic colors, just not as accurate as the other two.
And my absolute favorite, comparing 2 of these programs at the exact same resolution settings, printing the exact same results to the point you couldn't tell which came from which program, Prints over 4X faster than the other.
I am baffled at the results, shocked. I will also include some ICC profiles( RGB and CMYK) for those that would like to try it, just in-case it helps. I'm profiling the DTF superstore Chinese inks. I have found it really helps, and depending on your setup, you'll only really need to change the ink density to find that sweet spot. Or, If it's 2 out of 3 of these programs, I could just tell you
Basically each rip performs differently in the "resolution" factor. For example, CADlink printing at 1440X720, prints slow as hell for the resolution. For every single print, if you look up close it has lines it, noticeable on darker colors for sure.. No its not me, I'm running a perfect nozzle check, and it's only when I print with cadlink. In 1440x720 mode, the prints take the same amount of time as acrorip in 1440x1440 mode, almost anyway, except in Acro, Your getting double the Color resolution- so no banding and overall better quality transfer.
Ekprint, clearly prints the fastest, without any banding at all. It's the fastest, cutting down print times by at least 50 percent over the other two. the problem with Ekprint is in the color department. The guy who made it doesn't care to help you with it, doesn't make detailed instructions and honestly, I don't feel like cares overall. He's in his 60's now and has been dealing with EKprint since back in 2005-ish. Support over the years has for sure trailed downhill.
I was told With EKprint, You can load a custom color profile, but the image must be in TIFF format and use the custom settings. Doesn't work for me. Ek fails to load, and to top this off, It's a PITA, and doesn't work for me. That's as far as I got, Even loading the profile into the image doesn't work, since EK doesn't have an option to disable it's color management.
AcroRip has a very simple method, Enable/Disable color management. I used an X-rite and made a color profile within minutes on Acro. Very easy. Colors are almost perfect, except for greens. I will later on do spot color's of greens and such to try and make the profile better so Acro has a chance against Cadlink. The rest of the colors I have printed, all look great, almost exact to the calibrated screen. The downfall to Acro to me, Is how long it takes to process.
Acro Prints the same speed as Cadlink, but at twice the resolution. If you print Acro the same ( 1440x720) speed as Cadlink, It literally prints twice as fast( as fast as EK in 1440x1440 mode), with the same up close banding. If I printed them side by side, you probably couldn't tell a difference, as long as the image didn't have greens in it. So your looking at a 50 percent speed increase in production time in comparison, as long as you don't need to achieve bright green colors.
Ekprint prints insanely fast in comparison to the two other programs. The colors are not as good as Acro ( profiled) or Cadlink. Some colors are spot on, while others are shades off. Adjusting the program can achieve good greens, but then that makes other colors off. The built in Color management in EK is the issue. So unless the EK owner decides to make color management better, or allow better profiling for different inks, It's last on my list for color reproduction.
Cadlink mainly focuses on the editing of the images, instead of printing them. I think their print engine could be better( how it makes the printer print), while the software blows both ACRO and EKprint out of the water, the print resolution for the speed is sub-par. Cadlink has this awesome ability to process images in a way to make all the colors pop, and be as accurate as possible, while retaining crisp edges and separations for the most part. My HUGE downfall for cadlink is the resolution it's printing at, and the banding ( now this is small banding), if your 5-8 inches away from the print, you can't see it AT ALL. But up close, you can see it plain as day, depending on the colors. This is a big negative for me, When I'm printing full color images, I want the colors to be good AND the quality.
BUT, If you want the best colors for the sacrifice of speed, and can deal with miniscule banding, Cadlink is the way to go. This banding isn't visible unless you really look, and isn't noticeable on a shirt. However, for slightly less "color pop" I can increase my print speed by 50% by using Acro.
If you are cool with miniscule banding( same as cadlink), and cool with a bit less color accuracy and pop instead, Acro-rip is the way to go, at nearly 4 times the speed of cadlink ( 1440X720). If you don't want the banding, then print in 1440x1440 mode, at the same speed as cadlink, without the banding.
Ekprint- $350 ( for single computer/printer model use) can handle many instances running, so I can print on as many P800's as I want with this one copy. Non-transferable. However, If I switch printer models I have to buy it again.
Acrorip 9.03- dongle free versions are all over the net at 0 cost- I'm not really sure what a genuine version costs, but whatever that is. It Will only run one printer at a time, but works for many different models, and of course can be installed and moved around as you please.
I want to Also mention, From what I have read, Acro-rip 10.3 is not from the same people who made acrorip 9.03. From reading, It looks like a company took AcroRip, modified it and resold it as 10 and is claiming the program. That is why the program looks identical, except it has a few added features. I feel like this program was ripped off by a company( because the original owner didn't claim it, or couldn't) , modifying it a bit, and claiming it is theirs. Even the "new" features pop up windows are different than the original programs. Unless it supports a new printer 9 doesn't, I don't see it worth what they want for 10. No free trials, No video's on how slow it processes, just another " sly" way to take advantage of people. Acro 10 HAS ALREADY been "compromised" and being sold by Chinese sellers for less than half the asking price. Give it a little time, and I'm sure that price will go down as well, unless you just want to spend the $395 for support reasons.
So, I will Use EKprint for my daily printing to save over 50 percent of my time and cost. For premium images, I will use Cadlink, since it does indeed make the colors pop, at nearly the same speed as acro. If this very light banding turns into an issue at any point, I will use Acro instead. If I didn't already own Cadlink, I would be using Acro instead and wouldn't even consider cadlink.
If my printing needs relied on ONLY ONE of these RIPS, It would be EKprint. I can't afford to stand around and watch something take 6-10 minutes to print for slightly better colors. Some people might, but I'd rather turn out 30-35 prints an hour instead of 10.
While cadlinks support is decent, you get a different overwhelmed person each time. Many times, there isn't a solution, unless it's a basic issue with installation, or operation. Many time's I have been told " it is what it is". Many times, All I hear is bragging about the programs features, instead of it's function as a RIP program and how the issue is my fault. Basically, If I have an " advanced" problem and it isn't documented or doesn't work as their "self help" feature claims, your on your own. I will say, they do listen to their customers and I expect this program to get better with time.
Ekprint support used to be amazing, but I'm assuming with a large workload of people, it has been degrading ever since last year. I don't feel the maker has any real interest in making the colors any better, relying on you to figure that out. a small " how-to" or simple ICC profile integration override button would be sufficient to make this the best rip software out there, while also being the most expensive in it's class.
Obviously, Acro 9 has no support, and I don't think it needs it. It's as basic as it gets, and as simple as it gets. I have never ran into one single question, knowing nothing about Acro that I couldn't figure out within a few minutes of looking.
By the way, these print times are based on an Epson P800 DTF printer, Using DTFsuperstore inks, film, and powder. I also made a mistake, Acro is twice as fast as Cadlink, not 4 times as fast for the same quality print.
In my opinion, not a good photo for the test, the test must be done on a test photo, for example ( Hakamada_test_sRGB.tif ) so that everyone can compare with the original and test it at home.
I agree, this is just one of a few I printed. I can test print this file as well though . the different rips also process image quality differently, even if it is a high quality file. This one would definitely show how bad EKprint and acrorip are with greens.
Kothari with Dupont inks are best result for me without any color adjustment. It also have supported profilini devices on its manual and setup wizard. So i think best one is kothari. However they support reseller so if your reseller dont want to spend time on you you are supportless. It is important to have it from a good seller.
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