Editing Raster image processor (section)

==Stages of RIP==
# '''Interpretation''': This is the stage where the supported PDLs (page description languages) are translated into a private internal representation of each page. Most RIPs process pages serially, one page at a time, so the current machine state is only for the current page. After a page has been output, the page state is discarded to prepare for the next page.
# '''Rendering''': A process through which the private internal representation is turned into a [[continuous tone|continuous-tone]] bitmap. In practical RIPs, interpretation and rendering are frequently done together. Simple languages were designed to work on minimal hardware, so tend to "directly drive" the renderer.
# '''Screening''': In order to print, the continuous-tone image is converted into a [[halftone]] (pattern of dots). Two screening methods or types are ''amplitude modulation'' (AM) screening and ''stochastic'' or ''frequency modulation'' (FM) screening. In AM screening, dot size varies depending on object density—tonal values; dots are placed in a fixed grid. In FM screening, dot size remains constant and dots are placed in random order to create darker or lighter areas of the image; dot placement is precisely controlled by sophisticated mathematical algorithms.