Dupont Digital Waterproofer/Cromalin

Proofer Type | Process Plans | Connectivity | Performance | Usage | Limitations | Resources

Proofer Type

• Class 2 digital contract proofer
• Does both 2-up (15.2" x 22") and 4-up (27.1" x 2.0.4)
• Accepts CT (unscreened) data in the form of a TIFF
• Important Limitation!! Prinergy TIFF files cannot be spooled automatically to the queue of this proofing device, unless the customer has installed Samba on the Dupont RIP box, which is Unix-based. Otherwise, a Macintosh client must be used to copy the files from an NT volume to a Unix volume where hot folders are monitored by the RIP.

Process Plans

N/A

Connectivity

The workstation in front of the Dupont is a Unix-based RIP that accepts TIFF. From Prinergy, you spool at 304.8 dpi TIFF to a folder on a volume that can be seen by a Macintosh. A client program that runs on the Mac can then transfer the files to a hot folder or queue on the AX4 and thus print to the proofing device. There is one site that has installed Samba on the Unix box and has been successfully spooling TIFF files automatically to a hot folder on the Dupont RIP. James Haidos of customer service knows more about the specific site.

In order to enable spot-color recipes on Dupont, you need to abandon the CT TIFF workflow and instead spool unscreened DCS 2.0 to the Dupont RIP. However, there are several conditions that apply to this workflow: One, the customer must be running Prinergy 2.0.4 or higher. Two, the customer must have upgraded the Dupont RIP to version 5.0. Three, the customer must have a reasonably large hard-drive, as the continuous tone DCS file spooled from Prinergy is uncompressed and may grow to a large size (1 GB plus).

A workflow that is less cumbersome than the DCS contone workflow is DCS vector enabled by a level 2 PS JTP but that workflow is currently in beta for Prinergy 2.0.7, due to be released in the fourth quarter of 2001.

Performance

Unknown, but shouldn't be a problem; this is a 304.8 dpi resolution device with a Unix RIP in front of it.

Usage

Ralph Azar connected to a Dupont Waterproofer at “The Iris Group” on the West Coast. The customer saw a proof that was generated from Prinergy and signed-off. There is also a connection made in Houston, Texas (at Wetmore Printing), where the customer is using Hummingbird to spool TIFFs directly to the hot folder on the Unix box.

Limitations

Manual operation is involved in getting TIFFs from Prinergy transferred to the Unix RIP unless you install Hummingbird first.

Resources

• Prinergy and the Politics of Proofing: FAQ for Sales and Service on Incorporating 3rd Party Proofers
• Dupont web site
• Note that you do not need a printer driver, as you are spooling a TIFF file to a folder.