ImagePrint v9 and OSX 10.12.xx

[jsiva]

Recently upgraded to Sierra, and today tried to use ImagePrint on my Epson and the dongle authentication would not work.  After some trouble shooting wrote to Colorbyte (ImagePrint) and got the following.  Apparently Version 9 is not supported on Sierra or El Capitan.  I was quite surprised that this is the case since Version 9 is just one version back.  EOL on software products is usually a few releases.  In any case, if anyone is thinking of moving to a newer version of OSX and want to avoid the expensive upgrade to ImagePrint v10, you may be out of luck.  Not impressed for a $900 piece of software aimed at professionals.

"ImagePrint 9  only worked up to OSX 10.10 (Yosemite).  I’m afraid that anything after Yosemite (Sierra or El Capitain) would cause that symptom (no dongle found) and printing to fail due to changes in those versions of the Mac OS that came out after ImagePrint 9 was no longer under development.
 
Since you said you’re on the latest version that sounds like it must be the problem.  If so, you would need to either go back to Yosemite on the Mac, or update to v10 of ImagePrint (which was updated to support Sierra and El Capitan).  If you want to do that, you should contact our sales side with your six digit dongle number and they can give you the pricing and procedures (they’re at 813 963-0241 ext 1, or [email protected].)"

[JeffS]

ImagePrint 10 was well worth the money for me, including practical enhancements like output sharpening.  Expensive, sure, but if prints are the end game (as they are for me), then the cost is relatively small considering all the other costs sunk into camera/lens gear, printer, software, print materials (inks, papers, etc), matting/framing/display tools and materials, etc, etc.  And I find that small-ish investments in the back end of the workflow often produce greater incremental value than in the front end in terms of print quality.

Ironically, one of the best aspects of IP for me is that it avoids all the messes in the Apple/Adobe/Epson chain, particularly when new iterations are introduced.  That is, as long as the user doesn't make any changes him/herself without checking compatibility of important applications.  I learned that the hard way after implementing a new O/S version a few years ago, only to find that it didn't support my NEC SpectraView software.  That won't happen again.  (BTW, I'm still running Mavericks.)

Jeff

[Abdo]

I wonder, what is the real need for software like ImagePrint today?

I've done tests, using them and using PS and LR, there is no improvement in the final quality of the prints.

I think I throw money away.

[roscoetuff]

FWIW, I'm very happy with my copy of ImagePrint. Could I manage without it? Probably. If I had a one-on-one walk-through on Quadrip by someone who knows it and a full set of profiles, I'd probably be fine with the $50 version or equivalent. Yet for the same reason that I'm using LR, PS and C1... rather than Linux free-ware versions, I'm paid up on ImagePrint and will gladly have someone there to answer questions. If I'd been on this for a decade though.... maybe less so. So I can fairly understand your perspective.

[Abdo]

Thanks for your answer.

I would only understand someone paying this value when they have a very high volume of print and need to buffer.

Or if Imagprint really delivers superior quality to the manufacturer's traditional drive.

About 4 years ago I asked this question a lot because I was entering the Fine Art print market and wanted to know the real need for a RIP.

And all the answers I received was that it would not be worth it, because the printing service in Fine Art requires a lot of attention rather than speed.

Sorry for my English.

[JeffS]

I print frequently, but not high volumes, and I wouldn't do without IP.  Much better soft-proofing than LR, saving time and paper/ink.  Better profiles than I could likely get if I spent twice as much on an iPro system, which would then take up lots of time to utilize.  No more fussing with Apple/Adobe/Epson chain screw-ups.  Never have to worry about printer settings or color management issues....makes printing a breeze.  And my print results ARE sometimes better (depending on the image) than I can achieve with LR.

Different strokes.

Jeff