BlueCubit’s New Nesting program for mac - ImageNest Review

BlueCubit’s Imagenest program is a new “front end” software designed to more efficiently use paper space for wide format and medium format printers from 17″ and larger through a process known as nesting. Nesting is fitting multiple smaller images onto a single piece of paper (can be a sheet or a set amount of a roll). Therefore this works with both roll paper and sheet paper. This can save a lot of money when printing on larger rolls of expensive material. Nesting is typically a feature only found in high end RIP (Raster Image Processor) software. Best of all, ImageNest works on Apples’ Mac computers. Most RIP software at the professional level is only available for PCs.

Whether you’re using ten image or several hundred, you can rotate, resize, and position any individual image with one click. ImageNest supports many file formats and automatically makes sure files of different resolutions and embedded color profiles are print ready. See the below screen shots for examples of how this program functions.

(Click to Enlarge)

The images are nested in a method that simplifies cutting without using an XY Cutter. This does not minimize wasted paper space quite as much as other RIP programs will, but it simplifies the cutting process using non-automated machines. Each cut going across the width of the paper leaves only one row of images. I don’t believe there is a way to utilize the other nesting method, but I have an early version of this software.

If the number of images will not fit onto the page size you have specified, it will create as many pages of that size as needed. This feature of ImageNest would be very helpful for people who own printers such as the Epson 3800, that does not take roll paper, and would like to batch print multiple images onto large paper sheets such as 17″ x 22″ (say a set of nine 5″x7″s).

The price starts at only $99 for the 13″ wide version, making BlueCubit’s Imagenest a very affordable alternative to other RIPs. The price goes to $599 for the 44″, making it slightly less competitive in that size market. Overall the program has worked great and is highly recommended.

Check out more information and download a demo at BlueCubit’s website - http://www.bluecubit.com.