Inkjet printers are amazing things. If, however, you bought one to print page layouts, Adobe Illustrator documents, charts and graphs, you may feel ripped off. An inkjet will print reams of photographs, producing quality images, but when it comes to handling vector graphics, commonly known as Postscript graphics, the inkjet does not perform well. Seeing your document ripped to shreds by banding and jaggies is enough to make you want to tear someone's head off. If your image files are to be published, you may feel really cheated when you find the only way to get a colour proof is to send your files to the print shop or to purchase more expensive equipment. If you buy your own equipment, a fair amount of cash will go toward a Raster Image Processor (RIP). A RIP takes vector graphics and translates them into bit-mapped images that can be output on a printer or image setter without banding and jaggies. DynaLab recently introduced Light Bridge, a software RIP that incorporates basic colour management and is designed to work on relatively low-end printers such as the Epson Stylus Pro XL. RIPing a file and then making a proof that approximates what you will get on a printing press is usually a cash-consuming task. A good proofer will set you back about $100,000. Add in the cost of a RIP and you can see why there is a niche for proofing systems for the masses. Light Bridge runs as a standalone application, rather than being accessed through a print driver. EPS files must first be saved to disk and then opened in the Light Bridge software. Opening files can be done manually or by saving them to a watch folder. Any file dropped into this user-designated folder will automatically be opened, RIPed and printed. Once RIPed, pages can be saved as TIFF files, which can then be sent to a service bureau for output without the hassles encountered with EPS files, such as missing fonts. On the Macintosh, files can be printed indirectly from within an application by using the LaserWriter 8 driver and setting it up to save print jobs as a Postscript file, rather than sending them to the printer. This may sound like a roundabout way of doing things, but most software RIPs have indirect methods of printing from within an application. The software supports the HP DesignJet 755cm and 750C Plus, the Encad NovaJet II, II, IV, Pro 36 and Pro 50 and the Epson Stylus Pro XL or XL plus. A software test on an Epson Stylus Pro resulted in no problems other than being limited to A4 paper. RIP speeds were a little slower than Epson's RIP software, but not enough to bother users. The real difference between images printed with or without the RIP is seen in the colour of the output. There is real black in the Light Bridge's output. The built-in colour management adds black to neutral tones to accurately imitate colour for commercial printers. Another obvious change is in the dot pattern laid down by the printer, which is a bit rougher than Epson's and helps cut image details. Both the colour and overall image quality are what is expected from a press. The colour management is a little minimalist for some tastes. There is no user control over output colours so you are stuck with the generic SWOP colour setup that Light Bridge gives you. With a $7,800 price tag, look at alternatives such as a cheaper RIP and a colour management system like ColorSynergy. If a more generic colour match works for you, Light Bridge is a respectable RIP that can provide reasonable and inexpensive pre-press proofs. SCORE CARD Product: Dynalab Light Bridge printer utility software Price: $7,800 Pros: Lets you print document page proofs cheaply on your inkjet printer. Cons: Not a printer driver; limited options