Capture One 4.7 introduces a new file format named EIP, or Enhanced Image Package. This new format allows the photographer to combine the settings, LCC file (if applicable), and raw file into one portable file, called an EIP format.
The Problem this Solves
Many photographers are being asked to deliver their clients RAW files. This presents a difficulty because the photographer wants to deliver a file with appropriate adjustments such as color temperature, contrast, saturation, and highlight/shadow recovery. In the case of technical cameras used in architecture and landscape photography the raw file may need to be corrected by an LCC (lens cast correction) in order to be color-correct. In previous versions of Capture One the photographer would have to deliver a raw file, an LCC file, and a settings file to the cliient, who in all likelyhood was not very savvy about Capture One. This was a real difficulty in workflow.
The EIP Solution
EIP is a ZIP file format which wraps a raw file, a settings file, and an LCC (if applicable) into one file. Once in EIP format this file can be moved between folder, between computers, or sent by FTP to another computer by itself. On the destination computer the recipient can simply double click the file and Capture One will launch. The only requirement is that the recipient have Capture One 4.7 or higher on their computer.
What if the Recipient Doesn’t have C1 4.7 or higher? Is this a closed format?
Because EIP is a ZIP file format it is completely open. A user can rename a file called “Photo_1.eip” to “Photo_1.zip” and double click that file to reveal the contained .TIF or .IIQ raw file, which could then be opened in Photoshop CS3 or higher. For the workflow to be improved the recipient will need to have Capture One 4.7 or higher, so clearly the uptake of this new technology will begin primarily with photographers who have consistent business with a particular client. It will also be immediatly useful for photographers who use technical cameras to move files between multiple machines (e.g. a capture laptop and a retouching workstation).
Below is a screen grab showing an “unzipped” EIP file.
How Do I Actually Use EIP?
There are two ways to use the EIP format. First you can shoot or import directly into EIP at the time of capture; select “Pack Phase One images” in [Preferences > General > EIP Packaging]. Alternatively any given Phase One raw file can be pacakaged by right clicking the thumbnail (or control clicking on a Mac) and selecting “Pack as EIP”. Once packaged they can be automatically unpackaged (though within the Capture One workflow there would be no need to do so) by right clicking and selecting “Unpack EIP”.
Extra Bonus
Images wrapped in the EIP format are compatible with OSX’s Quick Look feature which means even computers without Capture One can view a modestly sized preview (rather than the 200ish pixel wide preview present in previous file formats). The Vista equivalent of Quick Look is also supported.
Other Notes
As pointed out by Selsoa on LL, when packing a file as an EIP the settings file normally present in the Capture One > Settings subfolder are moved, not copied, to the packed EIP file. This means there can be no conflict of the settings within the EIP compared to the file in the settings folder.