Introduction
to RIPpingIntroduction
to RIPpingRaster Image Processing, or RIPping, refers to the conversion of a PostScript file to a high-resolution bitmap, a necessary process in typographic-quality printing. In high-end printing, RIPping is performed by the PostScript interpreter that resides in a laser printer or filmsetter.
Here you can access four brief documents that introduce you to RIPping, in order to get a document from a Macintosh to a commercial printer:
Submitting raw PostScript to a print shop
Preparing to RIP on a DocuTech
You might also want to take a look at Demystifying Service Bureaus, Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV, all by Judy Litt.
I wrote this document in later 1997. Since then, Acrobat PDF has become the format of choice for submitting jobs to a commercial printer. However, perhaps surprisingly, they're slow to innovate: You may find that your printer is not confident in handling PDF. If so, hand off PostScript, created as I described above, or find a printer that is familiar with PDF.