System Requirements

System Requirements

Our recommendations and minimum system requirements are meant to provide general guidelines for running PrintFactory.

For hardware, we recommend systems that meet or exceed the specifications listed below.

For operating systems, these specifications are the currently approved and tested versions.  Therefore please do not install a new version of operating system if it is not listed as this means it has not been approved and may contain issues which affect the operation of PrintFactory.

For best stability and performance we strongly advise that the computer running the RIP has no third party applications installed on it.

Having third party applications installed might interfere with the RIPs performance and functionality and hinder our ability to troubleshoot and fix problems should they occur.

Admin rights for the logged in user are required to assure full functionality of the software.

If in doubt, please contact support.

πŸ”Ή Minimum Requirements

These are the basic specifications your computer must meet to install and run the software.

Windows
Operating System: Windows 10 (version 1809 or later), Windows 11, or Windows Server 2019
Note: Windows 7 and Server 2016 are supported only up to version 6.5.7
Processor: Intel Core i5
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Storage: 160 GB SSD
System Type: 64-bit

macOS
Operating Systems: macOS 12 (Monterey), 13 (Ventura), 14 (Sonoma), or 15 (Sequoia)
Processor: Apple M1 or Intel Core i5
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Storage: 160 GB SSD

Important for macOS Sequoia (v15):
After installing, you must manually allow the app to access the local network.
Go to System Settings β†’ Privacy & Security β†’ Local Network.
This ensures full communication between the software and your devices.

Legacy Support
macOS Catalina and Big Sur are supported up to version 6.6.12
Version 6.6.12 is not available to new customers using serial numbers above 50000


πŸ”Έ Recommended Requirements

If you plan to run multiple printers or large print jobs, we recommend the following setups.

For Smaller Workloads:
Up to 2 printers with 1 job running at a time on each.

Windows

Operating System: Windows 10, 11, or Server 2019
Processor: Intel Core i7 (2.7 GHz or faster)
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Storage: 500 GB SSD
System Type: 64-bit

macOS
Operating System: macOS 12,13,14,15
Processor: Apple M1,M2,M3 or Intel Core i7 
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Storage: 500 GB SSD


For Medium-Large Workloads:
Up to 2 printers with 2 jobs running at once on each RIP
Or up to 4 printers with 1 job running at once on each RIP

Windows

Operating System: Windows 10, 11, or Server 2019
Processor: Intel Core i7 (12th gen or newer), or AMD Ryzen 7
Memory: 16–32 GB RAM
Storage: 500 GB SSD or nvme m.2

Optional but preferred:

Use two SSDs for best performance:
One for the operating system (128 GB)
One for the print job folder (256 GB)

macOS

Operating System: macOS 12,13,14,15
Recommended: Apple M1 Pro, M2 Pro, or newer
Memory: 16–32 GB RAM
Storage: 500 GB SSD or nvme m.2 

Apple Silicon (M-series) devices are preferred for modern performance and reliability.


Large

PrintFactory supports VMWare vSphere Hypervisor configurations.  Please contact PrintFactory support to discuss individual specifications.

Please bear in mind that any virtualised RIP’s will need to have at least the equivalent specification of virtual hardware shown above available in each VM instance, also note that if the virtual environment is connected to a SAN or NAS via fibre channel controllers enough bandwidth should be made available to support the read/write requirements of the work folder.  This can be mitigated by using a local RAID (0 or 5, though RAID 0 is preferable) or single SSD disk as the working disk(s).

To achieve a successful virtual PrintFactory environment a number of factors need to be considered including specification of VM instance, backbone bandwidth, storage (SAN) I/O bandwidth/latency.

That said if the VM is configured to pool the total resources of the bare metal great performance can be achieved.

Supported web browsers for Job Ticket and Job Nest preview

Following web browsers are supported for Job-Ticket-preview and Job-Nest-info:

  • Google Chrome
  • Mozilla Firefox
  • Microsoft Edge

Spectrophotometer Support

  • Barbieri
    • Spectro LFP
    • Spectro LFP qb
    • Spectro Swing
    • SpectroPad
    • Spectro 50xy
  • X-Rite
    • i1 Pro
    • i1 Pro v2
    • i1 Pro v3
    • i1iO
    • i1iO v2
    • i1iSis (Windows only from V6.6 onwards)
    • i1iSis XL (Windows only from V6.6 onwards)
    • i1iSis v2 (Windows only from V6.6 onwards)
    • i1iSis XL v2 (Windows only from V6.6 onwards)
    • SpectroScan
    • SpectroLino
    • SP62
  • ColorScout A
  • EPSON SpectroProofer (built-in)
    • ILS20 unit
    • ILS30 unit
  • HP DesignJet (built-in)
  • Metis Scanner

    • Related Articles

    • Registering the Queue as a system printer

      PrintFactory queue presented as a printer When you set up a PrintFactory queue, you will at some point have the option Register as a printer. The PrintFactory queue will then appear as a printer: In the list of Printers and Faxes in Control Panel ...

    • Faulting module C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\MSVCP140.dll in Event Viewer

      If an application is crashing and in the Event Viewer on Windows shows: Faulting module path: C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\MSVCP140.dll i Then this means that the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Version is faulty or missing. To resolve, please download ...

    • Troubleshooting – Windows Logs

      When one of the PrintFactory modules has a problem or causes a crash on Windows, you will need to submit a support request. Details about what caused the problem/crash can be seen in the Event Viewer as Windows logs. In order to view/export Windows ...

    • System Load

      A system load window is available to display in the RIP by going to the View menu and selecting System Load: The left hand dial is showing current CPU usage by percentage The right hand dial is showing current system memory (RAM) usage The bottom ...

    • Print from MacOS X to Virtual Printer on Windows

      On Win, create your queue into RIP and make sure you checked “Register as a printer” option into the Layout tab : Go to Windows “Start->Control Panel->Printers and Faxes” and right click on the name of the queue created at step 1. Choose “Sharing…” ...