“We’re trying to make it easy for customers to do business with us… providing customers with choice as far as how they want to acquire our software,” said Onyx president and CEO Kevin Murphy.
Onyx Go comes in two flavours; entry-level Go Lite for single wide-format printer operations and Go Plus for multiple engine set ups, with both using Onyx’s tried and tested user interfaces, including its range of 14 languages.
Go Lite can drive one printer and features two Adobe PDF Print Engine (APPE) RIPs for multiple file-handling, one Job Editor to edit and prepare files before printing and unlimited roll-to-roll cutter support.
Go Plus can drive two printers and features four APPE RIPs for processing multiple files, Job Editor, unlimited roll-to-roll cutter support and a raft of extra production and colour management features.
Additional production tools with Go Plus include Bleed and Grommets for finishing, Swatch Books for colour matching, and custom ink configurations and support for white-ink jobs.
While Plus’s extra colour management tools feature ICC profiling, Media Manager customisable profiles, and DeviceLink+ to synchronise colour across devices.
Director of product marketing Matt Crawford said he believed Go Plus was among the fastest, and the most full-featured subscription RIP product available on the market, but at a value point that makes it attractive to a wide range of users looking to step up from "print adjust, print adjust" to full automation.
“Our engineering team has done an amazing job at having what I believe is the fastest RIP in this segment, that really doesn’t mean [users] have to invest in crazy technology… we’re using standard Windows 10 boxes, with maybe a little more RAM and we’re still seeing some of the most productive software on the market.”
While Onyx Go officially launched today (10 February), it was soft launched last December with certain dealers and customers to enable the company to fine-tune its webstore, to give access its circa 400-strong global network of dealers and distributors so that their customers can access and be supported via their usual, local channels.
Pricing for the two iterations is $49.95 (£35.50) pcm for Lite and $99.95 pcm for Plus, with customers able to switch between the two or, if growth dictates, to its high-end, fixed license Thrive workflow.
Onyx products are available in the UK via exclusive master reseller Art Systems and its network of distributors.
Last November, Onyx released version 21 of its wide-format software portfolio, which includes its Thrive workflow and range of RIP products, with the launch part of the developer’s strategy of a perpetual two-year R&D cycle to ensure users have access to the latest technology.
“Customers that sign up with us don’t expect a stagnant product, they expect it to continue to develop and evolve, that’s what they’re paying for,” said Murphy.
According to Crawford continual improvement is part of Onyx’s DNA and he believed this would be one of the key attractions of the subscription model of the two Go products, cost-effective access to the latest Onyx technology.
“I think this release cycle shows that we have been looking forward to this, because with the subscription then continuous development is expected and we’ve been updating our processes to help us to be able to do so as we go,” he stated.
“As we listened to the market and our OEM customers it was clear it was time to bring a subscription model to the market.
“The unique aspect to us now is the full portfolio, so you can grow with us over time from a one printer operation all the way to an industrial installation ripping thousands of files a minute.”
