.Net based Vector CMYK Graphics library

Question

We have an application that facilitates a process and the end result is printed pages of advertisements. The current implementation uses GDI+ commands in c# to draw the ads in a design environment, allow visual arrangement of the ads and print the end result to file.

There are a few areas in which our system should be improved:

1. The system is inherently RGB, and a mismatch between RGB and CMYK outpue causes some problems.
2. In GDI+ we lack the support for rich text. our system uses per line formatting which is not ideal.
3. If an input needs formatting beyond what our system offers, we have the option to give predesigned images. Our system is not able to accept vector designs (other than emf, for which there is no good designer with CMYK support, and conversion from other formats to EMF yielded no good results.

We need to improve our graphics subsystem. What good library can we use? Here is our requirements: CMYK, Vector, Rich-Text, Complex script (rtl+ltr), real-time screen display

Thanks.

Answer 1

Well, after reading this post I guess that the lowly WPF seems a good approach: it has full support for rich text, BiDi text, it is fully vector based, it is closely compatible with a printing standard (XPS), and now I know it supports CMYK.

I'll give it a try.

UPDATE: Wpf turned out to be a perfect solution for our problem at hand. We've already used it to create LOB applications, so little experience about its thorough document handling, color space handling, printing, xps ... features that facilitate desktop publishing.