Dumb question...........

[JL Amerson]

Would someone please define "ripping" to me? I've seen it used and it sounds
like it's something just prior to printing but I'm unfamiliar with the term.

 

[mact]

ripping is the process where data in one form is converted to a different
form.

ripping a cd track to mpg, for instance.

a laser printer includes a rip to change the data sent to it to locations
for applying specs of toner.

in prepress-speak, the rip takes in postscript language files, interprets
them, and rewrites them in whatever format the output device wants to see.
commonly this is a 1-bit bitmap format that represents the pattern drawn by
the the laser onto the film or plate.

 

[Budget Print Center]

I think rip stands for "raster image processing" someone please correct me
if I am wrong.

 

[mact]

correct...but the term has become broader in scope since raster image
processor was originated.