Global Graphics Software
Smart software components for Print OEMs and ISVs

Unrivaled speed

Ensure the highest possible throughput with Harlequin Host Renderer

Harlequin Host Renderer drives the industry’s highest performing digital presses, consuming up to 45 GB of raster data per second!

It contains a host of features designed to optimize data throughput. Speed is a key focus of the Harlequin development team, because a faster RIP enables presses with very high data rates to be driven at engine speed and reduces the bill of materials for a digital front end (DFE) or controller.

That’s because with a faster RIP you can drive high volume devices with fewer RIPs and you require less hardware. You can run on Linux too, as well as Windows, reducing licensing costs.

Independent speed tests carried out by the Rochester Institute of Technology show that Harlequin has plenty of processing power head room over the industry’s highest performing digital presses, delivering pages far in excess of the print devices’ rated speeds.

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Economical

Minimizes the cost of hardware required to reliably achieve engine speed

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Fast

Gives performance boost for maximum throughput on digital devices

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Efficient

Enables more efficient utilization of CPU cores in configurations using a 'farm' of multiple RIPs

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Cost-effective

Enables rapid implementation of cost-effective solutions

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Parallel rendering

Harlequin Parallel Pages interprets and renders in parallel

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Scalable

Expanded support for systems using multiple RIPs on a single or multiple servers

Achieving speed

Our developers optimize the code for high speed, avoiding large amounts of unnecessary processing. Among the techniques for achieving speed are: highly efficient interfaces for RIP configuration, control and tracking; 64-bit processing gaining access to a larger addressable memory space and more efficient data transfers; flexibility in memory management so as to avoid the need for a data copy post-RIP.

Multi-threading

Multi-threading with Harlequin Parallel Pages allows maximum use to be made of both work station and server grade multi-core CPUs ensuring the highest possible throughput. Harlequin uses multiple threads for parallelizable processes such as transparency compositing and rendering, processing multiple bands at the same time on different cores. This means that all of the cores in a processor are working harder for a much larger proportion of time, squeezing out maximum performance.

Variable data

Processing speed is especially important when variable data print jobs are being processed. If every page, label, package or image is different, then it must be processed individually and at engine speed.Harlequin VariData™ identifies intelligently graphics that are used multiple times. (It is not limited to only selecting Forms or Images in PDF files, and will amend the order of graphics on the page to maximise efficiency.)

RIP farms

The Harlequin Scalable RIP is a framework that expands support for systems using multiple RIPs. It is designed to support press vendors in building higher and higher speed digital front ends to drive faster and faster presses. It gives press vendors access to a complete scale of solutions from a single RIP, through multiple RIPs on a single server, up to multiple RIPs across multiple servers.

Tiling for speed

Harlequin Host renderer can split very large pages into tiles automatically, allowing a single page to be processed by multiple RIPs in parallel. Working on tiles also reduces the peak memory usage, enabling huge pages to be processed at full speed without a huge bill of materials for the DFE platform.

Harlequin Host Renderer offers a full range of scalability from a single RIP instance, through multiple RIPs on a single server to multiple RIPs across multiple servers.

By making every RIP faster and by maximizing the utilization of the hardware Harlequin RIPs can reduce the total bill of materials for a DFE by a significant amount.

Working with you

Here at Global Graphics Software we understand how difficult it can be to get started on your digital print journey, and so ourTechnical Services team is ready to offer free expert advice and help.

Dedicated experts in RIP and screening technology, principal software engineers and color scientists, all with decades of real-world experience, are ready to guide you through the process of selecting the right software components and then successfully implementing them into your press.

We pride ourselves on offering a personal, friendly service and work with you to ensure the fastest time to market.

Talk to us about your project

If you need more information about any of our products, technologies or services, get in touch.