Megarip was developed by Serendipity Software, the firm behind BlackMagic proofing software.

Ivor Dixon, managing director of Serendipity's UK distributor Positive Focus, said Megarip is being aimed at small design houses or print outlets that need to produce soft proofs prior to printing.

Megarip also has the ability to produce separations for screen print films, which can be printed on an Epson wide-format printer using clear ink-jet films.

Megarip is a PostScript Level 3 RIP, available for Mac OSX and Windows, and is suitable for proofing and poster printing.

Prints can be produced at full print resolution and Megarip allows for pre-set job configurations to be saved.

Jobs can be altered without the need for them being re-ripped, which enables crop-marks or borders to be added if required.

ICC profiles for colour accuracy on screen can also be applied.

Three versions are available: a screenprint version for mono work, a desktop version with colour management and a Megarip Pro for all output sizes.

The latest version of BlackMagic 3, launched at Drupa in May, has now just started shipping (PrintWeek, 27 May).

Story by Andy Scott