Preparation

1. Download the Ergosoft installation file from the User Portal (Download) to your computer and place it into an easily accessible location.
   Modern browsers will often put the file into Windows’ Download folder by default.
   
2. Take the CodeMeter USB Dongle out of the box and plug it into a USB port on the system where you are installing the Ergosoft RIP.
   If you are using Network Licensing, you may plug it into a different computer that will act as license server.
   
3. Make sure you have the License Activation Ticket at hand. Most likely you will have received this from your Ergosoft RIP vendor or from Ergosoft directly.
   It is a simple hyperlink that looks something like this:
   http://license.ergosoft.net/depot/get.php?id=Z794S-TVUGW-7RFX9-ZPEZL-TJKCK
   
4. A stable Internet connection is required to activate the license.
   
5. Ensure you have at least 500GB space available on the harddisk you intend to install Ergosoft to.
   

Beginning the Installation

Navigate to the location of the installation file and doubleclick it. The setup routine will begin and start preparing the necessary files and launch the setup Wizard.

When the setup window appears, confirm the first one by clicking Next, then Accept the License agreement to proceed with the installation.

In the following window you’ll be asked to select the installation folder. This is where all the default program data will be stored (user specific data such as Print Environments, settings etc. are stored in a separate user data folder that we will choose in a later step). In most cases you can leave this as default, but you may of course choose a custom location by clicking the Browse... button and navigate to your desired installation path.

When you are done, confirm by clicking Next.

In the following dialog, select if you want to install the Hardware Dongle License (requires Codemeter USB Dongle) or the PC-bound version (CmAct). Both versions will require a license code in a later step.

Choose the Start Menu Folder you want to create for the Ergosoft RIP. In most cases you can leave this as default, but you may of course choose a custom location by entering it into the text field or by selecting one from the list.

When you are done, confirm by clicking Next.

The installation Wizard will then begin copying files to your harddrive. This can take several minutes. Do not turn off your system while the installation is in progress.

Towards the end of the process, a prompt will appear asking you to select a path for the User Data folder. This is the folder where all user specific data will be stored such as your settings, Print Environments, profiles etc.

In most cases you can leave this as default. In spceial cases you may choose a custom location by clicking the Browse... button and navigate to your desired installation path.

If you have a previous installation of Ergosoft with settings that you want to take over, make sure to select the same User Data path as before or make use of the Migration Wizard [Link] by toggling "Show data migration options" to On. The data migration option is only available if the selected user data folder does not yet contain user data. If you want to use it, make sure to select an empty folder for your user data.

Confirm with Ok.

Next you will be asked wether the Dongle is plugged into the local computer (the license is bound to this PC) or a different computer in the network distributes the license. 

1. If the Dongle is plugged into the PC (the license is bound the PC) you are working on, select License on this PC - local use.
   
2. If the Dongle is plugged into a different PC (the license is bound another PC), select License on different PC.
   This will bring up the Dongle Server window. Enter the network computername or IP adress of the computer that has the dongle plugged in.
3. If the license is local but needs to be shared over the network, select License on this PC - shared.
   

When you have selected the License location, click Finish to confirm your selection.

If you don’t have a license at this point, the licensing dialog will pop up here. Follow the instructions in the dialog to activate the license ticket. The simplest way is to click the hyperlink you received from your Ergosoft RIP vendor and click the Activate button. This will begin the license transfer to the corresponding license container.

   

Initial Configuration

When starting Ergosoft RIP it is recommended to start it through the Ergosoft ControlCenter as this will also start and configure the necessary utilities. (Shortcut should be on your desktop.) The ControlCenter will launch and also start the necessary background processes. In the Home tab, click the JobComposer Icon to start. 

On first launch, you’ll first be presented with the Print Environment Manager window. This lets you add or import a Print Environment. Print Environments can be thought of as a set of bundled settings and configurations for your printer. They contain the "driver" to run the printer, the print settings such as resolution, passes, as well as the port settings and more.

Click the Add button to set up a new Print Environment.

You’ll be asked if you want to use and existing Queue or create a new one. 

Since we don’t have any Queues in this new installation, select Add Queue and click Next.

From the list, select the printer model that corresponds to your printer.
If you cannot find your specific printer model, make sure that you have a license for this printer.

When you have found your printer, click Next to get to the Port Configuration window.

Select the Port type, press the OK butten, and configure it to connect to your printer.

Determin the Status Monitor Type if there is one listed with the brand name of your printer. If desired, you can also Set the Folder for Spool Files where the RIP will store temporary raster data for Jobs sent to this printer. This should be on a disk that has sufficient space available as raster data can quickly get huge.

   

Click Next and set a name for your new Print Environment and your new Print Queue. The click Finish.

First Printout

Now that we have everything configured, we can start our first print. Import an image into the JobComposers by clicking on the Import button in the Toolbar (File > Import Image...). Browse to an image file, select it and confirm with Open to bring it into your Job.

From here you can make adjustments such as scaling, etc. by selecting the image and using the Properties & Actions pane on the right side of the JobComposer.

Next, lets start our PrintQueue that we configured during the Print Environment setup. Click the PrintQueue Icon in the Toolbar or go to Tools > PrintQueues and select the one we created before.

The PrintQueue window will open. Take a quick look around to familiarize yourself with the layout. To the left you’ll see the waiting list for printouts. On the top left you can see three circles indicating the Queue status - Offline/Manual/Online.

1. Offline: The PrintQueue does not communicate with the printer and any Jobs are placed in the waiting list.
   
2. Start Job manually: The PQ communicates with the printer. Each job needs to be released separately.
   
3. Online: Jobs get sent to the printer automatically in order of priority.
   

Lets set it to Online now by clicking the leftmost circle so it turns green. The PrintQueue is now Online and will send any printdata it receives from the JobComposer directly to the printer.

Go back to the JobComposer window, double-check if your image dimensions and other settings, then click the Print button in the Toolbar or go to File > Print... The Print Options dialog will appear, letting you doublecheck your Print Environment and Media setting one more time.

When you are satisfied, click OK to launch the print job. After a moment, you will see it appear in the PrintQueue where it will display the raster and printing progress. You should also notice the printer firing up as it begins to receive data. Printing should begin shortly and present you with the first of many great printouts from the Ergosoft RIP.