Press Ready
From art to a burned screen — start in any browser.
Press Ready separates your artwork into press-ready films right in the browser, then hands off to a free desktop app that lays down dense, registered film positives on your Epson. No plugins. No workstation lock-in. Any device to the press.
Three steps, start to screen
Do the creative work anywhere — the heavy printing is handled for you at the press.
Separate in the browser
Load your art on any device. Spot, index, simulated-process or CMYK — with halftones, registration, underbase and gang layout built in.
Export a Press Ready job
One click bundles every screen, the proof, and all your press settings into a single .prs file — signed and ready to print.
Print film on your Epson
Open the .prs in the free desktop app. It drives your printer directly for maximum ink density and burns a perfect positive.
A full film room, split across the browser and the press
The creative controls live where you work; the printer-critical controls live where the film comes out.
In the browser — Separations
At the press — Film RIP
One pass. No taping two films together.
Thin, washed-out positives are the reason screens under-expose. Press Ready pushes every drop of ink your printer can deliver — fire all tanks at once, or dial in a single dense channel — so the black holds and the screen burns clean the first time.
Works with the gear you already run
The browser side runs anywhere. The film RIP installs on Mac and Windows and drives standard Epson inkjets — no special hardware to buy.
- Any modern browser
- Mac · Windows · Chromebook
- iPad & tablets
- Phone (in a pinch)
- macOS (Apple Silicon & Intel)
- Windows 10 / 11
- Free download
- Auto-detects printers
- EcoTank ET-8550 & A3+
- SureColor T-series — T3270 · T5270 (roll)
- SureColor P-series
- 1430 / 1400 & WorkForce
- Canon inkjets (driver mode)
- CTS / hot folder — 1-bit TIFF
- Sheet & roll film
- Registered PDF & TIFF
Running computer-to-screen? Press Ready exports the exact 1-bit halftone separations your CTS software imports — the same films, straight to your emulsion.
Download the film RIP
Opens your .prs jobs and prints dense film on your Epson — free, on every press computer you own.
Mac build is Apple Silicon (Intel + Windows publishing shortly). Unsigned for now — first launch: Mac right-click → Open; Windows “More info → Run anyway”.
Two supplies that make or break your positives
The software pushes maximum ink — but the ink and the film you load decide how opaque and how sharp the final positive is. Here's what we run and recommend.
Ink — pigment or dye, with UV inhibitors
Standard photo ink is tuned for paper, not blocking UV. Use a black ink built for film so exposures stay crisp and repeatable.
- Pigment or dye-based black formulated for film positives
- UV inhibitors in the ink — blocks exposure light, not just looks dark
- Runs great with Auto ABI and Select Tank for the densest deposit
- Refillable / all-black setups get the flattest, blackest film
Film — waterproof inkjet transparency
Cheap transparency beads up and bleeds. A true waterproof inkjet film holds a razor-sharp halftone dot and dries instantly.
- Waterproof inkjet transparency, matte print side
- 3–4 mil thickness for flat, stable sheets
- Instant-dry coating so dots don't spread
- Sheet or roll to match your printer — 13" to 24"+
Ask us — Arnold Prints stocks film-ready ink and waterproof transparency sized for every printer on the supported list.
The film room is the subscription. The RIP is free.
Separate and export for one flat rate. Add the desktop RIP to print film — the app itself never costs a thing.
Web · Export
- Full browser separation suite
- Halftones, registration, gang layout
- Export films — TIFF, PDF, PNG
- Feed any CTS or imagesetter
Web + RIP
- Everything in Web · Export
- Signed .prs jobs
- Free desktop film RIP — Mac & Windows
- Max-density direct printing + profiles
Good to know
What are the minimum requirements?
Separations (browser): any current browser — Chrome, Safari, Edge or Firefox — on Mac, Windows, Chromebook or tablet, plus an internet connection.
Film RIP (desktop): macOS 11 (Big Sur) or newer on Apple Silicon or Intel, or 64-bit Windows 10 / 11 · ~4 GB RAM · ~300 MB free disk · a supported printer installed with its own driver and connected by USB or network. An internet connection is needed to verify your subscription.
Do I need a special printer?
No. Press Ready drives standard Epson inkjets you can already buy — EcoTank, SureColor and older photo models. For the densest film we recommend film-ready ink and waterproof transparency (see recommended supplies), but the software runs the printer you have.
What is a .prs file?
It's a single Press Ready job — every screen, the on-garment proof, and all your press settings bundled and signed together. You export it from the browser and open it in the free desktop RIP. One file travels from your design device to the press.
Will it work with my computer-to-screen (CTS) unit?
Yes — for the films. Press Ready produces the 1-bit halftone separations a CTS images onto the screen, exported as TIFF or dropped into a hot folder. Direct real-time control depends on whether your unit accepts a watched folder; the separations themselves import into any CTS workflow.
Mac or Windows?
Both. The separation studio runs in any browser on any device, and the desktop film RIP installs natively on macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Windows 10/11.
Why is the RIP free?
Because your subscription is the separation studio. The RIP only opens Press Ready jobs, so we give it away — download it, install it on every press computer you own, no per-seat fees.
Start separating in your browser today.
Seven days free. Export real films in minutes and print dense positives on the Epson already in your shop.
Launch the StudioSupported printers
Epson desktop — direct film
- EcoTank ET-8550 · ET-8500 · ET-15000
- Expression Photo XP-15000
- Stylus Photo 1400 · 1410 · 1500W
- Artisan / SureColor 1430 · 1500
- SureColor P400 · P600 · P700 · P800 · P900
- WorkForce WF-7210 · 7710 · 7720 · 7840
Canon — driver mode
- PIXMA Pro-100 · Pro-200 · iX6820
- imagePROGRAF PRO series
Epson wide format — roll & sheet
- SureColor T3170 · T3170x · T5170
- SureColor T3270 · T5270 · T7270
- SureColor P6000 · P7000 · P8000 · P9000
- Stylus Pro 3880 · 4880 · 7880 · 9880
Also outputs to
- CTS / hot folder — 1-bit TIFF to your imager
- Any inkjet via driver mode (Mac & Windows)
- Registered PDF & TIFF film files
Don't see your exact model? Most Epson inkjets print film through Press Ready — and every printer profile is editable in the app, so you can tune resolution, ink mode and media width to match. For the best positives, pair any printer with pigment or dye ink that includes UV inhibitors and a waterproof inkjet transparency film.