Harlequin ScriptWorks

Performance isn't just how fast.It's how forward-thinking. How trouble-free. How fully featured. How finely tuned.At Harlequin, we benchmark our products according to this rigorous standard. And we emerge as the champion, time after time.Introducing ScriptWorks: the world's highest performance RIP Management System.

PostScript^® Compatibility.

ScriptWorks can process files produced by applications compliant with the PostScript LanguageLevel 3 specification, the latest version of the PostScript page description language (PDL).

It supports the full range of new PostScript LanguageLevel 3 operators as well as earlier versions of the language. It also includes additional features found in PostScript 3™ product implementations.

And Beyond.

But ScriptWorks is far more than a PostScript language interpreter and rasterizer. It's a complete RIP Management System that can process a wide variety of file formats, from PostScript, PDF and EPS to TIFF 6 and TIFF/IT-P1. It lets you choose the tools and workflows you want to incorporate in products to meet your customers' needs. And it's available with numerous productivity-enhancing options. You'll find valuable features in ScriptWorks that you won't find anywhere else.

ScriptWorks continues to outpace the industry by offering an exemplary level of RIP performance: reliability, quality, speed, breadth, flexibility and responsiveness.

Reliability.

ScriptWorks performs like a champion - always meeting your expectations. It's so intelligent, so powerful; it can process even those complex "problem" files that send other RIPs into a tailspin. No matter what file formats you deliver to ScriptWorks, it consistently outRIPs the rest.

Quality.

ScriptWorks is specially engineered to let you produce the highest possible image quality from your output devices.

The smoothest gradations. Output 4,096 levels of gray in gradient fills using Harlequin Precision Screening^™ (HPS^™). "Extra grays" can make output from even low-resolution devices appear smoother and more detailed than you ever dreamed possible. Combined with the new smooth shading and patterning capabilities in LanguageLevel 3, ScriptWorks 5 delivers even higher quality than ever before.

Unparalleled precision. Eliminate moiré patterns with ScriptWorks' advanced screening technology. HPS achieves maximum quality while using the least possible memory. It also brings new advances to hard-to-produce highlight and shadow detail.

Harlequin Dispersed Screening^™ (HDS^™), a patented FM (Frequency Modulated) screening system, creates razor-sharp reproductions that you could only dream about with conventional screening methods. Plus, it completely eliminates moirés. HDS and a selection of other screening technology options, including screens to support N-color applications such as HiFi color and photo inks, are available from the Harlequin Screening Library™.

Extraordinary color. Produce color with dead-on accuracy and breathtaking brilliance. With Harlequin ICC Profile Processor(HIPP)^™ , ScriptWorks delivers color matching control with optimal efficiency. HCPS is a suite of color processing options for ScriptWorks. HCPS products use an "in-RIP" color engine and provide ICC profile support, including "device-links," to conform to the latest industry standards. Built-in color process control ensures that each color is not only rendered accurately, but also consistently - whether within a single job or across multiple printings.

Consistent results across platforms. Produce consistent, matching output from different hardware configurations. Consistent cross-platform results are made possible by ScriptWorks' rigorous quality assurance program and by the design of the software itself. ScriptWorks products are built and delivered across the full range of computer platforms.

Speed.

ScriptWorks is the fastest RIP in the industry. Bar none. It derives its speed from Harlequin's unique combination of engineering feats.

Pipeline processing. Process multiple jobs simultaneously. As one file is input, another is interpreted and a third is output. The output device may run at full engine speed, without stopping between pages or jobs.

Memory management. ScriptWorks utilizes memory in the most efficient way possible. In fact, ScriptWorks' memory management tools help it to outpace every other RIP on the market today. The new, advanced memory management architecture implemented in ScriptWorks 5 makes dynamic memory management possible and lays the groundwork for future memory enhancements.

Breadth.

The ScriptWorks RIP Management System not only offers the most features, it offers features strategically chosen to give you the greatest possible competitive advantage.

New features in ScriptWorks 5. ScriptWorks 5 supports all the new PostScript LanguageLevel 3 operators as well as numerous Harlequin-developed extensions. These include:

• PATTERNS AND SMOOTH SHADING. Reduce printing time and boost output quality by rendering gradient fills at the resolution of your target printing system.
• MASKED IMAGES. Print images clipped to a raster mask (layered composite images) more efficiently than ever before. A new operator that accommodates type 3 and 4 images (such as masks) helps to improve performance by eliminating the need for detailed PostScript clipping paths. In addition, ScriptWorks now allows images to be stored as tiles. Tiling breaks an image down into more efficient segments, greatly improving the performance of image processing at all resolutions.
• DEVICEN/N-COLOR SUPPORT. Correctly process and print an arbitrary number of colors from virtually any color system, including CMYK, spot color systems, HiFi and photo inks devices. The implementation of N-color in ScriptWorks extends beyond the PostScript LL3 DeviceN operator. It includes output plugins for color proofers that use more than four inks (such as photo inks) and special N-Color HDS screening sets. Harlequin N-Color is fully integrated with screening, calibration, rendering, raster formats and page buffers, trapping, and separations.
• SPOT COLORS. Screen and calibrate spot colors for each separation, just as you would handle CMYK separations. This capability simplifies management of spot colors from the RIP.
• DEVICE INDEPENDENT COLOR. Improve color control by allowing device- dependent input data to be translated to a neutral color space via an ICC input profile (using the operator "UseCIEColor"). This input data is mapped to a generic color space where it may be translated on output for another output device type. While Harlequin Color Productions Solutions have long made use of device independent color spaces, ScriptWorks 5 adds support for the PostScript LL3 approach.
• IN-RIP TRAPPING. Use the new "settrapparams" operator and interface to describe trap settings for Harlequin's EasyTrap^™ option.
• IDIOM RECOGNITION. Detect older code in a PostScript file and replace it with LanguageLevel 3 code. A new ScriptWorks 5 operator intercepts application-specific PostScript procedures that are bound when defined and replaces them with code that has been optimized for performance.
• EMBEDDED ICC PROFILES. Automatically detect and utilize ICC profiles embedded in EPS or PostScript files when using HCPS.

Classic ScriptWorks features. ScriptWorks' capabilities extend far beyond those of other RIPs - and have for a long, long time. Many time-tested ScriptWorks features are just now beginning to appear in PostScript 3 products. Among these features are:

• RECOMBINE OF PRE-SEPARATED CMYK & SPOT COLOR FILES. (CMYK since 1992; spot colors new in ver. 5.1) Accept pre-separated files, including CMYK and spot colors, and recombine them into a composite file for output to color proofers or for color managed separation through HCPS.
• DIRECT PDF PRINTING. (Since 1997) Boost efficiency by processing and printing Portable Document Format (PDF) files directly - without prior conversion to PostScript.
• EXTRA GRAY LEVELS. (Since 1992) Print more than 4,000 shades of gray for maximum quality at almost any resolution.
• IN-RIP TRAPPING. (Since 1996) Leave trapping concerns to ScriptWorks. It recognizes and processes overprinting and trapping commands in PostScript color composite jobs, including QuarkXPress® commands. You can further streamline workflows and eliminate the need for operator intervention by adding EasyTrap, Harlequin's object-based automatic in-RIP trapping option.
• SUPPORT FOR COMPRESSED FONTS. (Since 1991) Save disk space and downloading time.
• SELECTABLE SEPARATIONS. (Since 1992) Output separations to any PostScript language printing system, even low-end monochrome devices, or soft proof on screen.
• DISPLAY LIST ACCESS. (Since 1996) Write your own applications to customize or add features to ScriptWorks by accessing PostScript objects on the graphic display list. Licenses for Harlequin Display List Technology are available optionally.
• IN-RIP OPI. (Since 1998) Parse OPI commands and use ScriptWorks to locate and substitute high-resolution images.

Complete support for graphics formats. ScriptWorks can produce halftone output, 8-bit grayscale output, 8- and 10-bit run-length encoded (RLE) output, and color contone (continuous tone) output in CMYK and RGB formats. It supports all-raster workflows (to drive raster output devices such as proof printers) and drives contone color printers as well as imagesetters, platesetters and direct imaging presses.

In addition to printing conventionally, ScriptWorks can print raster files to disk. This capability enables you to produce documents in raster formats such as TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) for easy portability to other systems.

Flexibility.

ScriptWorks can drive a wider variety of imaging devices than any other RIP. But that's not all. A single ScriptWorks RIP can drive many different devices under a single user interface. It can handle both proofing and final output.

ScriptWorks deftly adapts to even the most complex workflows. Powerful and flexible, it conforms to your needs - and those of your customers. It offers:

Unlimited file formats.Process virtually any input file format, including PostScript, JPEG, DCS 2, EPS, TIFF 6 and (optionally) TIFF/IT-P1. Input and handle PDF files directly - without prior conversion to PostScript - to heighten efficiency in workflows that require support for multiple input formats.

Extensive font support.ScriptWorks supports all PostScript font types, including Type 0, Type 1, Type 2 (CFF), Type 3, Type 4, Type 32 and Type 42 formats. ScriptWorks comes pre-loaded with 35 standard fonts (your choice of Bitstream or Linotype), plus several system fonts. You can easily load additional fonts into the RIP and extend the font set for your customers. You control which fonts are loaded when ScriptWorks is run. You can remove unwanted fonts at any time.

ScriptWorks' sophisticated font handling capabilities let you quickly and easily download, list and proof fonts using a simple user interface. Fonts are stored on the disk in a compressed format, so you can accommodate more fonts on your server and access them more easily. For example, compressed TrueType fonts consume only 4 to 6K bytes per font ,rather than the 25 to 30K bytes required without compression.

Supported fonts include:

• DEMAND LOADABLE FONTS (DLD1). Save disk space with ScriptWorks' automatic conversion of Type 1 fonts into Harlequin's extremely compact DLD1 font format. DLD1 allows use of more than 1,500 fonts per page. Harlequin offers tools to directly convert Type 1 fonts from standard Mac disks into the DLD1 font format.
• COMPOSITE FONTS. Utilize large or complex fonts such as those for Japanese, Chinese or Korean character sets with support for Type 0 fonts. ScriptWorks fully supports native CID font processing to enhance speed and reliability.
• MORISAWA AND BITSTREAM KANJI FONTS. License these specially digitized Kanji PostScript fonts directly from Morisawa & Company Ltd. or from Bitstream Inc. for incorporation into your ScriptWorks-based products.
• TRUETYPE FONTS. Take advantage of native processing of TrueType® (Type 42) fonts, using a TrueType font rasterizer licensed from Bitstream.
• CFF/TYPE 2 FONTS. Embed fonts in your PDF files using the CFF format in Adobe® Acrobat^™ 3.0. ScriptWorks 5 can directly interpret CFF fonts.

Media management.Keep track of available media on as many as 16 input cassettes and receive a warning when media runs low. You can output to on-demand color printers with cut-sheet paper, accessing multiple input trays and/or an output stacker. ScriptWorks can automatically choose the most media-efficient orientation for each job, or it can let the user dictate page position. It specifies the amount of media fed between separations and pages, and before each cut. And it supports on-line film processors.

Last minute checks and balances.ScriptWorks' "late-binding" approach to workflow management takes productivity to new heights. With late-binding technology, device dependent decisions - about trapping, color management and so on - are postponed until the output device has been designated. You have the flexibility to make these irrevocable or "binding" decisions at the last possible moment. Other last-minute, time-saving features include:

• JOB PREVIEW. Eliminate remakes by quickly RIPing a job and checking for errors on screen before final processing using the ROAM feature. ScriptWorks 5 has the ability to approximate colorimetric output on screen.
• AUTOMATIC RECOVERY. Use ScriptWorks' Throughput Controller to compress and store rasterized jobs to disk before directing them to the output device. Then print additional copies or a new separation film without interpreting the page again.
• OUTPUT CONTROL. Reorder pages, abort printing of selected pages midstream and reprint pages without reinterpreting the original page.

Responsiveness.

Harlequin & RTI continually update the ScriptWorks product.  Our development efforts are precisely aligned with your vision of the perfect RIP. We continually strive to help you deliver the fastest, easiest-to-use imaging systems. We make your systems produce the most spectacular output. We help you get products and systems to market more quickly than you can with any other interpreter.

Easy-to-use interface.Use ScriptWorks more easily with its new graphical user interface, created by Harlequin's in-house team of Human Computer Interface (HCI) experts. A re-designed toolbar makes operations quick and intuitive. And you can tell what ScriptWorks is doing at a glance by checking the status window.