A raster image processor (RIP) is a component used in a printing system which produces a bitmap. The bitmap is then sent to a printing device for output. The input may be a page description in a high-level page description language such as PostScript, Portable Document Format, XPS or another bitmap of higher or lower resolution than the output device. In the latter case, the RIP applies either smoothing or interpolation algorithms to the input bitmap to generate the output bitmap. The folder of newspaper web offset printing press Printing is a process for production of texts and images, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. ... For the use of the term raster in radio regulation, see frequency raster. ... A page description language is a language that describes the contents of a printed page in a higher level than an actual output bitmap. ... PostScript (PS) is a page description language and programming language used primarily in the electronic and desktop publishing areas. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... An article on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy that complements this article is located elsewhere. ...

Raster image processing is the process and the means of turning vector digital information such as a PostScript file into a high-resolution raster image. In physics and in vector calculus, a spatial vector is a concept characterized by a magnitude, which is a scalar, and a direction (which can be defined in a 3-dimensional space by the Euler angles). ... A digital system is one that uses numbers, especially binary numbers, for input, processing, transmission, storage, or display, rather than a continuous spectrum of values (an analog system) or non-numeric symbols such as letters or icons. ... PostScript (PS) is a page description language and programming language used primarily in the electronic and desktop publishing areas. ... Suppose the smiley face in the top left corner is an RGB bitmap image. ...

Originally (1980s) RIPs were a rack of electronic hardware which received the page description via some interface (eg RS232) and generated a "hardware bitmap output" which was used to enable or disable each pixel on a real-time output device such as an optical film scanner. The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... RS-232 (also referred to as EIA RS-232C or V.24) is a standard for serial binary data interchange between a DTE (Data terminal equipment) and a DCE (Data communication equipment). ... A pixel (pix, 1932 abbreviation of pictures, coined by Variety headline writers + element) is one of the many tiny dots that make up the representation of a picture in a computers memory. ...

Nowadays, a RIP can be implemented either as a software component of an operating system or as a firmware program executed on a microprocessor inside a printer, though for high-end typesetting, standalone hardware RIPs are sometimes used. Ghostscript and GhostPCL are examples of software RIPs. Every PostScript printer contains a RIP in its firmware. Microprocessors, including an Intel 80486DX2 and an Intel 80386 A microprocessor (sometimes abbreviated µP) is a digital electronic component with miniaturized transistors on a single semiconductor integrated circuit (IC). ... Ghostscript is a suite of free software based on an interpreter of the Adobe PostScript and Portable Document Format (PDF) page description languages. ... PostScript (PS) is a page description language and programming language used primarily in the electronic and desktop publishing areas. ... In computing, firmware is software that is embedded in a hardware device. ...

A RIP chip is used in laser printers to communicate raster images to a laser. Chip could refer to: Computing and electronics: Microprocessor Integrated circuit Microchip, which is used interchangeably with integrated circuit. ... A laser printer is a common type of computer printer that produces good quality printing, and is able to produce text and graphics. ... Suppose the smiley face in the top left corner is an RGB bitmap image. ... The range of sizes in which lasers exist is immense, extending from microscopic diode lasers (top) to football field sized neodymium glass lasers (bottom) used for inertial confinement fusion. ...

See also

• Raster graphics
• Vector graphics
• Raster to vector

Suppose the smiley face in the top left corner is an RGB bitmap image. ... Steam Locomotive 7646 as a vector, originally Windows Metafile (converted to GIF for display here). ... Raster to Vector software and hardware technology for converting Raster graphics to Vector graphics is used by a number of fields, most notable in conjunction with CAD and GIS systems. ...

External links

• Let 'er RIP - What you need to know about raster image processing, from About.com