Harlequin Core 13.1.r0 Release Notes
Introduction
Welcome to the first Harlequin Release Notes published directly to our website.
Harlequin 13.1 is the first major release since HQN 13.0. This release consolidates work of HQN 13.0, paying particular attention to output quality and performance of Harlequin VariData (HVD). We also responded to many customer issues that required Core code changes, as you can see in the table below.
Nonetheless there was time for some new developments. Harlequin 13.1 introduces:
- A technology preview for non-PostScript configuration, using JSON.
- Tiling is now compatible with Scalable RIP.
- Improved 16-bit output.
- macOS Big Sur and Apple silicon processor support.
Alerts and guidance
Pantone libraries are now an encrypted layered option
From Harlequin 13.1: Due to new Licensing conditions of the Pantone Libraries of Spot Color books, these are now a layered option.
Following a consultation with OEMs we now only include Pantone Named Color Databases in customizations for OEMs that need them and are licensed to use them.
Pantone Named Color Databases are encrypted and automatically enabled for those OEMs and available as a layered option, which can be requested from GGS Sales.
New features and improvements
Technology preview of non-PostScript JSON configuration of the Harlequin Core
From version 13.1r0, the Harlequin Core SDK (formally HHR) can be configured by using JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) files. While HHR continues to support PostScript configuration files, JSON configuration (config) files provide a more universally accepted and widely supported syntax, which is familiar to many OEMs and thus easier to use.
JSON config files are an alternative to using PostScript config files to configure HHR; they are not intended as replacements. JSON config files that follow the provided config schemas can be used to configure HHR via the -c command-line option, as with the PostScript config files. You can edit the JSON config files using any editor but we highly recommend using a JSON aware editor that is also JSON schema-aware.
For further information see HHR 13.1 JSON configuration, where we provide some easy-to-follow examples.
Tiling with Scalable RIP
We introduced a method of tiling large pages in Harlequin 13.0. Scalable RIP will now interact with this API, allowing explicit and automatic configuration of tiling so that different tiles can be RIPped by multiple Farm RIPs, sharing the available eHVD cache is available in the Scalable RIP.
Improved 16-bit output
ValuesPerComponent in the Extensions manual 10.8.1 has been updated.
16-bit contone outputs values were the range of 0x0 to 0xFF00. That is different to the range expected by our TIFF and PDF back ends which expected the full range to 0xFFFF. Other products also expect the full range. 16-bit contone can be configured by setting ValuesPerComponent to either 65281 or 66536. The output using either of these is the same. This change is about changing the output with 65536 to use the full range of colour values from 0x0 to 0xFFFF.
macOS Big Sur and Apple silicon processor support
macOS Big Sur is now supported. As is running Harlequin Core 13.1 on Apple silicon.
Notes about this release
- The deadline for HMR 13 watermark RIPs is December 31, 2022.
- There are no changes in the supported Windows OS or Linux OS; however, macOS Big Sur is now supported.
- Windows compiler MSVC 2019 version 16.4 or later is required.
Harlequin Core v13.1r0 change details
Please note each change details whether it applies to Core SDK, or Harlequin MultiRIP (including the Core), or both:
| Jira story | Support call(s) | Summary | Applies to: |
|---|---|---|---|
HQN-382244 | HHR #3594 | Account for very small differences in offsets between clip and graphics when using eHVD. Files created by Esko Step and Repeat & Enfocus PDF produced unwanted circular artefacts on the two price labels. | All |
HQN-380932 | RIPing Enfocus PDF results in inappropriate reuse giving incorrect output. | All | |
HQN-381097 | Make Scalable RIP work with large PDF page tiling. | Core SDK | |
HQN-382007 | Upgrade Zint barcode generator to latest version. Upgrade Zint to latest version to pick up their fixes and maintenance. | Core SDK | |
HQN-382287 | Adding support for building and running on Macs with Apple silicon. Adding support for macOS Big Sur and Apple's ARM-based CPUs. HMR is not supported on any Mac platform. | Core SDK | |
HQN-382469 | HHR #3601 | Automatically turn off ContoneMask if the eHVD scan concludes the job is not Variable Data Printing (VDP). | All |
HQN-382884 | HHR #3767 | HVD re-uses page when it shouldn't. Fix a case where HVD gets a number wrong because it's incorrectly reusing it due to duplicated font information. | All |
HQN-382987 | HHR #3780 | Support full-range, 16-bit contone with ValuesPerComponent of 65536. Make 16-bit contone output values the same range expected by our TIFF and PDF back ends, and other products that expect the full range to 0xFFFF. | All |
HQN-383015 | Make Scalable RIP error when incompatible setups are active with tiling (for example, ERROR INFO). Harlequin VariData and in-RIP imposition cannot be used together. | Core SDK | |
HQN-383048 | HHR #3785 | Incorrect Rendering of Green Spot Colorant in RGB Output | |
HQN-383057 | Confusing colorspaces cause assert and crash. Fix a rare crash with a PNG input test suite. | All | |
HQN-383156 | Fix rare crash in unpacking freed colorant information. | All | |
HQN-383292 | Replace behavior of | Core SDK | |
HQN-383186 | JSON config - Support HqnContour in JSON configs. | Core SDK | |
HQN-383222 | PDF 2.0 Report any extensions that a PDF file says it needs. | All | |
HQN-382934 | HHR #3779 | PACKZ File is Slow to RIP. Objects with a 0 alpha and default other transparency settings can be optimized earlier. | All |
HQN-382775 | HHR #3775 | Improve channel handling code for input TIFF data. Improve the processing of extra spot or mask channels in Tiff. | All |
HQN-382703 | Emit blank pages from Scalable RIP when necessary (for example, when using the TIFF back end, rather than sending a placeholder message to the raster manager, informing it that a page was blank). | Core SDK | |
HQN-382681 | Remove offensive terminology from Harlequin - code changes. Where possible, GGS removes removing offensive terminology and replaces it (for example, replaces the term "Slave" with "Worker". This work is ongoing. | All | |
HQN-382658 | HHR #3720 | File with OCG renders incorrectly when ripped with eHVD. A problem reported by a customer as a "Layer Defect" in which the content vanished; it now appears correctly. | Core SDK |
HQN-382502 | PDF 2.0 Implement NoZoom and NoRotate annotation flags. | All | |
HQN-382461 | Correct Bugfix in screening reporting in specific conditions. | All | |
HQN-381852 | Improve Preview/roam colors of N-color images. Some roam colors weren't correct and purple appeared in black. | All | |
HQN-382930 | Remove WinPrint support from HHR. The | Core SDK | |
HQN-383233 | HHR #3864 | HVD gets number wrong. Fix telephone numbers are rendered incorrectly when output using HVD because of CMAP duplication and errors, solved by more rigorous checks of embedded font data. | All |
HQN-383066 | HHR #3828 | Fix crash when timeout happens while waiting for farm RIPs to exit. Fixes a crash with multiple RIPs. | Core SDK |
HQN-383092 | HHR #3842 | Extended shaded fills can have "gaps" in them. | All |
HQN-383161 | HHR #3849 |
Fix an issue when ripping a specific file using the | Core SDK |
HQN-383178 | Make Pantone libraries an encrypted layered option in the RIP. See Alerts and guidance. | All | |
HQN-383193 | HHR #3733 | Move One file we provide was not platform independent; we rectified this issue to avoid problems for OEMs that integrate Linux and Mac cores. | Core SDK |
HQN-383216 | HHR #3831 | Fix: PDF causes configurationerror by getreplacecolorspace on Harlequin 13.0r1, but not on 13.0r0. | Core SDK |
HQN-383217 | HHR #3865 | Fix: CutPrefix custom page feature does not report correct pagesize. | Core SDK |
HQN-383239 | HHR #3845 | Add customer passwords to handshake file. A customer complained that a password file was visible, thus we internalized it in a handshake file. | Core SDK |
HQN-383239 | HHR #3872 | Fix: | Core SDK |
HQN-383271 | HHR #3876 | Fix: Separation Color Named Blue is rendered as Yellow with /OverPrintPreview. | Core SDK |
HQN-383366 | Feature; Port JSON Technical Preview to 13.1r0 branch, see New features and improvements | Core SDK | |
HQN-383499 | Add option for HHR to automatically set About: Restrict the This feature is for position-independent eHVD only. | Core SDK | |
HQN-383557 | Update installers to use InstallAnywhere 2021. This new version enables us to generate installers that run on ARM-based Macs. | All | |
HQN-383726 | When freeing up LDK licenses for a crashed RIP, free the RIP license last. Fix: A timing issue in LDK. | All | |
HQN-380839 | Investigate whether we can take account of which form regions need compositing for transparency supernodes. Enhancements to HVD reuse performance for customer supplied files. | All | |
HQN-381380 | HVD: Retain objects used more than once along the same edge. Enhancements to HVD reuse performance for customer supplied files. | All | |
HQN-381603 | Improve TIFF input. Series of improvements to Tiff input based on extensive testing of a Photoshop test suite, including those containing more than one alpha/mask channel. | All | |
HQN-382127 | HHR #3557 | Extend Ranges in XYZ-D50 and XYZ-D65 colorspaces to avoid clipping and yellowish output from M1 NCDs with some profiles. | All |
HQN-382513 | HHR #3594 | In HVD, optimized PDF causes incorrect output. Nodes were missing from supernode for un-reused label. | All |
HQN-382606 | HHR #3708 | Unreadable RIP result, vector object(s) rendered in "low resolution". Fix to: A kanji character is rendered as low-res blocks. | All |
HQN-382744 | SW #126230 | Bump-up curves not honored with color management. | All |
HQN-382880 | HHR #3694 | HVD: Improvements for handling of empty text boxes and empty pages. | All |
HQN-382889 | HHR #3773 | Vector artefact and assert when RIPing PDF. | All |
HQN-382968 | HHR #126264 | Massive slowdown when using press curve with a min dot. | All |
HQN-383076 | HHR #3763 | Allow OEM to specify that a farm RIP will not be restarted. | Core SDK |
