Release notes for BlackMagic

Version: 2.5.3

Supersedes: V2.5 Patch2

Date: 5th December 2001

Introduction

This document covers the changes since V2.5 Patch 2. Please see previous notes for information on past release. This includes bug fixes and new features. Where new features are added then this document details the operation of those new items and release notes should always be used as supplements to the manual.

Any comments, queries or suggestions should be directed to support@riponce.com

For product information please see the Serendipity Software web site www.serendipity-software.com.au

Upgrade policy

All users that are within the one year warranty since original purchase or purchase of an upgrade are entitled the upgrade free of charge. Any users outside of the warranty period are required to pay for the upgrade and should contact the local dealer. Once purchased the user get a further years warranty. Purchase of additional filters and output drivers does not constitute the same as a software upgrade. If purchasing an output driver for a new printer and the latest software is required, an upgrade will have to be purchased as well.

Download Policy

Only dealers are allowed access to download updates and patches. The dealers must adhere to the upgrade policy. Anyone purchasing an upgrade will be shipped a CD containing the release unless Serendipity Software are advised that the dealer will supplying the CD to the customer. The upgrade on the web site does not contain all items and is only supposed to be used for upgrading an existing installation. Serendipity Software recommends that all new installations be done with a full CD release.

If anyone has any queries regarding the policies please do not hesitate to contact Serendipity Software support by email support@riponce.com

Release highlights

Database Manager - allows you to archive and restore your database easily as well as some other nice little features. See DataBase Manager.

New Postscript RIP - Includes a new PS rip that has a lot of enhancements in the PDF processing.

More control on drivers - for most print drivers you can have more control on the ink limits allowing for easier calibration.

Bug Fixes

Fixed a problem with the RAMpage input filter where some times trapped type was not displayed correctly in BlackMagic if the type was on top of an image.
. Fixed a problem with the SGI release where outputting to anything using the Stochastic and Stochastic II would come out black.
Fixed a problem with the BlackMagic 4up when PCC input filter used. The CT layer was lower res than the 1400dpi limit restriction and therefore would fail to process. It now works providing the CT has it accompanied LW layer. If the CT is sent on it's own, it must be above 1400dpi to work.
Fixed a problem where the server did not update clients after a change to an LUT had been saved. This would only be a problem if more than one client was open at once.
Fixed a problem where printing separated files from Quark or Illustrator to Tiff Image or Scitex CT, process colours would not be pure for Black or Yellow. e.g. instead of 100% yellow we had 99% yellow and 2% cyan and 2% magenta.

New Features and Enhancements

Added a patch to compensate for a problem caused when Celebra 3.3 was upgraded to Celebra 4.2. This would cause the Celebra database not to be converted properly. If the database was not converted properly new jobs would not appear in the RIP monitor.
Added the ability to override ink settings on Epson's, HP's, Roland's and Canon BJ8500 This is a feature in the customise settings and can assist with calibration by giving more control on ink limits. See Override ink settings..
Changed the Scitex input filter to be able to poll a file server instead of having to poll an actual Scitex machine. This is important if files are stored else where on the network.
Added support for RAMpage v8.3 which has a new multiburn feature.
Added more cut types to Epson 10000. These are mostly for Newsprint. This is accessed through the customise area.See New Epson cutter option.
Added support for multiple rolls on the HP 1050/1055 CM which can have up to 3 rolls. This is set in the customise area. See New HP1050/1055CM options.
Added the ability to move jobs to a desired position in the list. This is useful if there are a large amount of jobs in the printers list, the bottom job can be moved to the top of the list very easily. Before you had to drag it to the top of the screen, and then repeat it until the desired position is reached. See Queue Manger Enhancement.
Added a Database manager which can be used to archive and restore databases. This makes it easier for users to make backups and for engineers to support by sending configurations for users to install. See DataBase Manager.
Added 2 new buttons to the front of the launch pad for the JobGenie Editor and the Database manager. See Launch Pad.
Added a print quality feature to the HP large format print driver. This will allow uni or bi directional printing on the HP1050/1055 machines depending on the settings. See New HP1050/1055CM options.
Added the ability to support other languages. For more information on this please contact Serendipity Software
Added a newer version of PS RIP which has more support for PDF files.

New Features in more details

This section describes some of the new features in more detail. It gives examples of use and useful tips. Please note that any new feature that appears in a customise menu of a pagesetup, the printer will have to be re-loaded if you upgrade your BlackMagic from a past version. To do this, choose the pagesetup you want to configure and make a note of the settings in the customise box. Then select another printer from the list of printers available to the left of the customise box and then re-select the other printer again. Now if you select the customise button you will see the new options. You will have to re-enter all the data that you noted down as this will have retrieved the default customise settings.

Launch Pad

DataBase Manager

This new version includes a database manager. This manager has several functions allowing you to manage the database and save and restore part or all of the database. It can allow for the easy sending of databases to dealers or Serendipity Software if requested to look at problems. Below are details of the features and later there will be some tips and suggestions of use.

The picture above shows the DataBase Manager. On the left side of the screen you can see the database that is currently used in your BlackMagic.A database is the items that you create in BlackMagic e.g. the pagesetups, destinations, RIP's, gradation curves etc. that you can select and configure in BlackMagic. Anything you create and save will be shown here.

On the right you see items that have been added to an archive. An archive is a collection of items from the database. The whole database can be archived at once or you can select items to archive. For example, you may just select a Pagesetup, it's associated printer and destination, or all of the gradation curves. From the picture you can see that the archive is based on a tree structure, where each of the dependencies are shown below the tree of the parent. i.e. You do not normally have a Pagesetup without having a Printer and you do not normally have a Printer without having a Destination so they are all shown together. See "Tips and Tricks" below for selection information.

Once you have items displayed in your archive you then have several options.

Remove From Archive - Removes the items selected from the list or archive.
Empty Archive - Removes all items from the list.
Select All - Selects all items on the list.
Select None - de-selects any items selected on the list.
Expand - Expands a tree i.e. shows any dependencies. Clicking on a box with a plus (+) sign in will expand that also.
Collapse - Collapses a tree if it is expanded and selected. Clicking a box with minus (-) in it will also collapse the tree.
Save Archive - Saves all the items in the list to a file. You are given the option to specify location and name. See below.
Load Archive - Loads an archive that has previously been saved. You are presented with a file chooser to locate the file.
Add to database - This will add any items selected to the BlackMagic database.

When you select "Save Archive" you are presented with the following window.

Simply enter the file name and the location you wish to save and press the save button.

Tips and Tricks

There are a couple of tips and short cuts that can be used with the DataBase Manager.

Hold down the control key and use the mouse to do individual item selection. This can be used on both the Database lists and archives.
Hold down the Shift key and use the mouse to do block selection.
On the archive list, double click any item with a dependency to expand the tree (if in collapsed state) and select all dependants. e.g.

Pressing the Home key will select the first item on the list
Pressing the End key will select the last item on the list.
Use the Page Up and Page Down keys to move up and down the lists.
On the archive list, use the left arrow to collapse a tree and the right arrow to expand the tree. Use the Backspace key to move to the parent.

If you are requested to send your database to Serendipity, or your local dealer, you can use this DataBase Manager to create and archive and email it.

Recommendations and Warnings

It is a good idea to make periodic backups of your database. This will make it easier to restore your settings in the event of a system crash. You can install the BlackMagic and then use your database manager to load an archive that you saved recently and add it to your database. In this instance you should empty any existing items in the database prior to adding the saved archive to the database.

Some things to careful of. If you restore selective items from an archive and you do not restore any dependencies, the items you restore will fall to defaults. e.g If you restore a pagesetup only, the printer that it will point to will be the first one in the printers list providing there is one. If there is not, then it will point to nothing and you will get errors in the server if you submitted a job to a pagesetup. The same rules apply to RIP's that may have a job genie attached. If the JobGenie is not restored or re-created, an error will occur.

Queue Manger Enhancement

We have added the ability to promote jobs to any point in the list. This is especially useful if you have a large number of jobs in a printer queue and you need to push one from the bottom to the top.

Simply select the job from the list and press the "Move Jobs" button. This will bring up the following box

Enter the position number of the list that you would like to insert the job, with 1 being the first position and press accept. This will move the job to that position. This will also work with multiple selection of jobs. All items will be moved. Any job that is currently being processed will not be affected.

Override ink settings.

There is a new option in the customise area of most printers which gives the ability to override internal ink settings for each ink supported. This affects the final ink amounts and can aid the calibration process.

This picture shows the customise settings for the Epson 10000. The new check box is called "Override internal Ink Densities". You should select the paper that you are using as this affects the printer in other ways. e.g moving the head closer or further from the paper and vacuum settings, and then you can override the ink settings allowing you to enter the individual ink values as shown. As this is in the customise area you will have to reload the customise values. See New Features in more details.

New Epson cutter option

We have added a couple of new Epson cutter options.

As this is in the customise area you will have to reload the customise values. See New Features in more details.

New HP1050/1055CM options

We have added a couple of new options to the HP large format customise menu for the 1050 and 1055 CM models. As these are in the customise area you will have to reload the customise values. See New Features in more details.. These options are as follows

The following table describes the modes that the printer will run Bi-Directional. All other modes the printer will run in Uni-Directional.

Bi-Directional modes
Paper	Quality	Resolution	Colour Space
Plain Paper - Bond White InkJet Paper Velluym Translucent Bond Nat Tracing Paper Thin Nat Tracing Paper Clear Film	Best	1200	Gray
	Best	600	Gray
	Normal	600	Gray
	Normal	300	Gray
	Fast	300	Gray
Plain Paper - Bond White InkJet Paper	Fast	600	CMYK
Plain Paper - Bond White InkJet Paper	Fast	300	CMYK
Coated Paper Heavy Coated Paper Matte Film	Normal	600	Gray
	Normal	300	Gray
	Fast	300	Gray