The installation of an Inca printer consists of 2 important steps:
- Copy the currently used IncaDeviceDetails .txt into the RIP installation
- Install and set-up PrintAgent
IncaDeviceDetails
The IncaDeviceDetails.txt is used to define the print modes used for the Inca. The installation contains template files for each model that is copied to <data directory>/Inca Setup/<Inca model name>/<connection>/IncaDeviceDetails.txt at the moment the driver is created in the RIP.
Usually the existing installation (e.g. Wasatch) has a modified print mode list thus an edited IncaDeviceDetails .txt. This one should be copied to our RIP installation overwriting the default file for that model.
The IncaDeviceDetails can be found in the Wasatch directory <Wasatch>/printers/incacomponents/IncaDeviceDetails.txt. In this directory there are also directories per model, but those should be ignored.
If the installation severs multiple models then the IncaDeviceDetails contains all models. For use in our RIP these need to be split, so for each model a separate IncaDeviceDetails is available.
Also common is to use a print mode in the IncaDeviceDetails to mimic a separator. So the name is “Inca **************************”. This print mode can be removed.
The Inca driver looks for specific names of the IncaDeviceDetails files. So don’t change the name, just replace the content.
Content structure
The following information is pure informational and is not required for a successful installation.
The file consists of 3 parts:
- Printer definition
- Print modes
- Print mode details
Printer definition
This section starts with PRINTER_NAME and defines the model and size.
Print modes
This section contains multiple blocks defining the print modes. Those print modes are visible in the RIP. The content is:
DISPLAY_NAME : Name visible in the RIP
DPI_XY : Resolution of the print mode
COLOR_CHANNELS : Number of inks used
LINK_MODE : Reference of print mode details in the next section
PMD_NAME : Reference to the Print Mode Definition on the Inca controller. These PMDs must exist in the PMD path as set in VPP (see later).
Print mode details
This section contain details for configuring the print job and are referenced by the print modes defined in the previous section.
PrintAgent
Some Inca drivers provides 2 ways of delivering files to the Inca printer:
- Network (using PrintAgent )
- Folder
The folder method is the same as other RIPs are using, but suffer from slow access and interrupted connections, especially when the RIP is running on Mac. Another downside of the folder method is setting the proper security rights.
Note: S20, S40, Spyder 320 and Spyder V do not support this method anymore.
A more reliable method is the use the PrintAgent . To prepare the use of the PrintAgent some configuration changes might be needed on the Inca controller.
On the Inca Controller there is an application running named VPP. This application is responsible for scanning the hotfolder and converting the output from the RIP into a job for the printer.
Launch the VPP user interface by clicking the VPP icon in the tray (right bottom of the screen). This will show the following UI:
From the system menu select the option “Settings” to get the following dialog:
Prior to installing PrintAgent it is important to check the input hotfolder “Input Directory”. If this is located on the local computer then this can be used. If not (like shown above) then the “Additional Input/Output” can be configured to make a local hotfolder. Make sure when setting this up to let the “Output Folder” point to the same “Output Folder” as where the standard configuration points to.
When the local hotfolder is determined or set-up the PrintAgent can be installed and during the installation this hotfolder can be set as output folder.
After the installation the Inca driver can connect directly to the IP address of the Inca controller. No restart required.