Harlequin® Host Renderer SDK

The Harlequin Host Renderer SDK forms part of a new generation of world-class production printing technology from Global Graphics®. It provides high performance components with which to build RIP farms for digital production presses and other host-based Page Description Language (PDL) rendering solutions, shortening development cycles and accelerating time to market

“Production printing is a long-term strategic focus for Global Graphics. We have honed our digital print solutions against developing industry trends and immediate needs in the field. The result is the Harlequin Host Renderer; a supremely reliable and efficient solution for a wide variety of digital production environments.”

The highly customizable Harlequin Host Renderer SDK is based on Global Graphics’ highly regarded Raster Image Processor (RIP), and can be utilized in building a variety of solutions, including:

  • As a renderer that can be linked or loaded into a Digital Front End (DFE) or controller for printing on premium output devices, such as wide- and grand-format printers and digital production presses
  • For creation of thumbnails and previews for web-to-print and production print workflow solutions
  • As a part of a ink usage estimation system to support inkjet press solutions
  • For pre-production job pre-flight to ensure that jobs will run through a production system correctly.

Implementation options range from a simple rasterization service, providing full frame contone raster, to more sophisticated operation where the RIP performs imposition, watermarking, color management and halftoning and delivers tagged raster for subsequent processing.

Digital production press

Digital production press

Preview, ink usage and pre-flight

pres

Highly configurable RIP core

Highly configurable RIP core

The RIP Core

The Harlequin Host Renderer RIP core features:
  • Native interpreting paths for PostScript®, PDF and XPS. An OEM may choose to take all three Page Description Languages, or any one or two. Native support for all formats within a single RIP greatly simplifies integration of color management, screening etc, reducing engineering cost and time to market. It also ensures efficient and consistent rendering regardless of which PDL is used
  • Infrastructure for an OEM to build a PDF/VT compliant solution around the Harlequin Host Renderer. Harlequin OEMs have been shipping DFEs supporting PDF/VT since Ipex 2010
  • Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) and image file formats such as JPEG and TIFF™ are also supported, enabling implementation of a PPML/GA solution with consistent rendering of all required data elements
  • A highly optimized multi-threaded architecture, to make maximum use of compute horsepower available, and therefore minimize the cost of hardware required to reliably achieve engine speed
  • A flexible memory model which enables low-memory operation while making maximum use of larger amounts, if available
  • Configurable raster output formats, offering a wide variety of color spaces, channel interleaving and bit-depth and including multi-bit screening
  • Extremely flexible control and configuration interfaces, including boilerplate system code that can be amended or replaced by the OEM as required
  • Built-in font rendering, color management and screening that can be replaced with an OEM's own IP or third-party libraries.
  • Cross-platform support enabling porting to any suitable hardware and operating system.

  • Highly configurable RIP core

    The RIP supports a rich, high-level configuration language for all of a client system’s per-job, per-page, per-process and persistent configuration requirements. This includes job control, color management, screening, font handling, imposition, etc.

  • A complete solution for production print

    As part of the Harlequin RIP family the Harlequin Host Renderer SDK brings with it a variety of in-RIP features designed for production print. These include:
    • ColorPro, for accurate color management of all your jobs, in combination with built-in application of calibration tables
    • Screening; a wide range of powerful and tunable halftone technology can be supplied, including multi-bit screens for inkjet presses. An OEM may also install their own screening as encrypted font caches or using an API for programmatic halftone technology
    • TrapPro, a full-featured trapping solution
    • Font emulation, patent-pending technology for when that job just has to be out now, even if required fonts were omitted when the PDF was made
    • Simple imposition, enabling fast and efficient fully automated creation of simple imposition layouts.

  • A complete solution for variable data print

    • PDF Retained Raster, to accelerate printing of variable data jobs that were saved as regular PDF. This is configurable to hold retained rasters within the RIP or to deliver them to OEM technology for reconstruction of final pages, offering both an easy route into high-performance VDP, or maximum throughput for those OEMs who already have aggregation technology
    • Infrastructure for an OEM to build a PDF/VT compliant solution around the Harlequin Host Renderer. Harlequin OEMs have been shipping DFEs supporting PDF/VT since Ipex 2010
    • Ability to render all four graphical formats required for PPML/GA (EPS, PDF, TIFF & JPEG), enabling an OEM to build a complete PPML solution around the Harlequin Host Renderer.

  • Cross-platform

    Global Graphics has a long history of providing cross-platform technology and in the Harlequin Host Renderer SDK cross-platform support is provided through an OS abstraction framework, allowing deployment in host-based solutions on a wide variety of operating systems and hardware.

  • Time to market

    The Harlequin Host Renderer SDK will assist you to deliver your project on time and on budget.

    • Support for multiple page description languages within a single SDK minimizes integration work required to achieve consistent results
    • Inclusion of a boilerplate framework and configuration code allows developers to make rapid progress from day one
    • A wide variety of raster delivery formats mean that the Harlequin Host Renderer can be easily configured to deliver the data you require.

  • Performance

    Global Graphics’ technology is renowned for its high performance and reliability. The Harlequin Host Renderer SDK is built on mature technology: it uses a new iteration of the RIP kernel found at the heart of the Harlequin RIP, with significant expansion and optimization. The Harlequin Host Renderer SDK provides the tools that allow a printer manufacturer or software vendor to engineer competitive differentiation into their solution and achieve superior performance, quality and PDL fidelity.

    The Harlequin Host Renderer is exceptionally fast and efficient so you can achieve rated engine speed with less processing power, with a concomitant reduction in the costs for hardware, operating systems and other associated software.

  • Complementary technology

    The Harlequin Host Renderer SDK addresses your needs for rendering PostScript, PDF and XPS within a larger, server-based system. The same core is available in other forms for other users: the Harlequin Server RIP provides a server-based RIP with a pre-built graphical user interface, and the Harlequin Embedded SDK is designed for use on controller boards within printers.

  • Standards-based

    The Harlequin Host Renderer ensures compliance to a broad array of color- and print-related standards, including PDF/X, PDF/VT, ICC, OpenType etc.

    At the same time, Global Graphics recognizes that some creation applications make non-compliant files, and the Harlequin Host Renderer is also written to be compatible with the output from a wide variety of such tools. The emphasis on both compliance and compatibility results in outstanding output quality across all jobs.

Native interpretation of:

  • PostScript (including EPS)
  • PDF (including ISO 32000-1)
  • XPS
  • TIFF
  • JPEG
  • Processing & validation of PDF/X-1a:2001 & 2003; PDF/X-3:2002 & 2003; PDF/X-4 & 4p 2008 & 2010; PDF/5g & 5pg 2008 & 2010
  • OEM partners can build PDF/VT compliant digital front ends (DFEs) around the Harlequin Host Renderer.

Extensive configuration capabilities, accessible from all PDLs

  • Effectively unlimited resolution, including unequal fast and slow scan
  • Supercell, stochastic (FM) and hybrid screens available, including multi-bit. OEM screening IP installable as screen caches or through an API
  • In-RIP imposition
  • Extensive font substitution and emulation capabilities
  • Internal and external modes to PDF Retained Raster for optimal VDP performance
  • Thread count usage control
  • C API for interfacing between layers and core.

Color

  • Mono, CMYK & spot, RGB, RGBK, sRGB, CMY, K & spot output, support for N-color (inc. HiFi, photoink and custom) or rendered content description
  • Raster depths output: 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 bits
  • Planar, band interleaved, or pixel interleaved output
  • Internal Color Management support, (ICC 4.0) or user defined via CMM API
  • Output of object map data to inform downstream color management or screening processes, etc
  • Multiple calibration curve options.

Cross-platform support through an OS abstraction framework

  • Currently supported on Microsoft Windows and Linux; ask if you have requirements for other operating systems.

Market leading performance