Roland’s VersaWorks

For years, Roland DGA Corporation has included a RIP or driver with each printer. Users, though, sometimes purchased more full-featured RIPs from third-party manufacturers. VersaWorks’ changes, however, elevate the company’s bundled RIP into a whole new category, enough to warrant a separate review.

System requirements

VersaWorks is available for most Windows flavors. A white paper even purports running it under Vista. (Many applications won’t run under Vista.) You need at least 512MB of RAM, 40GB of free disk space and at least a Pentium 4 with a speed of 2GHz. The printer actually acts as the dongle, so no additional hardware key is needed. Networked clients, including Macs, can print jobs through the RIP.

Specifications

The RIP’s user-friendly interface lets networked-client systems “print” directly to the RIP. Based on the latest true Adobe PostScript Level 3 CPSI RIP engine, the RIP exceeds all expectations with such features as multi-language support and online help.

Once the RIP is installed, you can set up two different print queues for client workstations. When configuring the queues, specify the media type, print quality and any other print-related functions.

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(Queues even accept AppleTalk protocol.) Use a TCP/IP printing method for both Macs and PCs. The user guide configures both the queues and the clients.

Operation and features

VersaWorks’ main display contains three windows. The main window (left) shows the printer and queue status. A row of button icons deals directly with the selected queue or job.

For example, you can choose to suspend processing or immediately RIP a selected job. A preview window (center) displays the image and the job’s pertinent information. The right window, which contains a layout display, can help nest jobs. To activate automatic nesting, select multiple jobs from the queue and click the Nesting icon in the button bar.

You can also “tile” jobs. If you want to print an image wider than your media or printer’s capabilities, you can specify “overlap” for the tiled job.

VersaWorks also handles contour cutting. Use a program like Illustrator or CorelDraw to produce the contours as vectors. Simply name the line color “Contour Cut,” and VersaWorks will handle the job’s print-and-cut functions.

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Faultless spot-color management

VersaWorks has added Roland Color, a simple, yet elegant, matching solution. In lieu of matching systems, like Pantone, Roland’s module will print highly swatch books on certified supplies. Because Roland controls the printers, supplies and inks, it can offer a 100% accurate match for the printer/media combination. The swatches will be printed based on the gamut and capabilities of the printer, media and inks. Color-management knowledge isn’t required.

So, how does it work?

Roland’s library has approximately 1,100 spot colors. When printed, this produces a swatch book specific to the printed media. The customer, for example, can find a logo’s color match. Once the artwork is prepared, select the logo’s color name and print.

Variable data

VersaWorks also supports variable data. You may need to print numerous real-estate signs. Different names and phone numbers will appear on a basic, template graphic. Produce each individual image, using Variable Data, to create a TXT or CSV (Excel) file, which contains the variable information. VersaWorks will merge the data and the design to create each unique graphic. This feature, found in very high-end RIPs, is bundled in Roland’s software.

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Conclusion

Be careful of what you buy. Know that some, third-party, bundled RIPs – PostScript® clones – may be troublesome; that may available drivers run slow; and RIP systems wanting tiling or nesting selections are incomplete.

Because the VersaWorks 2.2 RIP is based on industry standards, its features – uncomplicated, quick, with all the necessary tools – match those found in the high-cost, third-party products. Further, the included Roland Color system satisfies most, if not all, small-shop, color-management problems. The real job-flow (and sales gainer) asset is the variable-data feature.