Solutions to errors » Printers


 Currently Browsing Printers Errors
Switch your Company to a Completely Paperless Document Workflow – Without Changing the Workflow!

A Paperless Printer for Your Company

Switch your company to a completely paperless document workflow – without changing the workflow!

Paperless workflow and electronic documents are becoming more and more popular over the years due to considerable savings, and ease and speed of use. Recent government legislations in many countries already gave electronic documents the same legal recognition as their hard copies. Electronic workflow is environment-friendly, fast and accessible, and requires no physical storage to keep tons of paperwork for the legally required period of time.

However, there is one important drawback in switching to an electronic workflow completely. Most office employees are accustomed to printing important mail for archival. Training them to enter the documents into an electronic archival system requires a lot of time and effort, and is prone to errors, especially in the beginning. There’s nothing simpler than printing a letter or an invoice and putting it into a bin. Changing that workflow would be an unwanted adventure for any office manager.

Fortunately, there is a way to switch to the electronic workflow and eliminate paper out of your daily routine – without actually changing the workflow of office employees!

This is not just possible, but extremely easy. Serial Printer Logger (manufactured by http://www.aggsoft.com) is a software-only solution that does not require any additional training of your office employees, and does not introduce the slightest change into their daily routine. The simple and affordable (just $60 for an Enterprise edition!) software captures all data sent to up to 255 serial printers and stores printed matter into RTF or PDF files instead of wasting paper and ink. All office employees will be seamlessly adopting the electronic document workflow from now on!

Serial Printer Logger installed on a single computer replaces up to 255 dot-matrix printers in your office. With electronic workflow empowered by Serial Printer Logger you can easily set up a centralized storage for all electronic documents in your organization with easy search and retrieval.

Clean up your desk space by getting rid of the now useless bulk! Enhance the office environment and enjoy reduced noise levels, no paper-jams and instant printing speed with Serial Printer Logger. Forget about hunting for more paper or waiting for ink replacement. Make better use of those storage compartments stacked up with useless paper. Change your document workflow forever without actually changing your workflow at all!

Get your free evaluation version of Serial Printer Logger at: http://www.aggsoft.com/serial-printer-logger.htm

Art Gerasimov is cofounder of AGG Software (http://www.aggsoft.com). The company specializes in data acquisition and monitoring software for RS232, USB, Ethernet, serial ports and offers ready-to-use software solutions.

Avoid These Mistakes When Refilling Inkjet Cartridges

Why bother going through the effort and mess of refilling inkjet cartridges with inkjet printer refill kits when you can just buy a brand new cartridge? Well for one, it costs a whole lot cheaper. Buying new cartridges are ridiculously expensive, what’s more used cartridges get binned, which means more waste.

Inkjet printer refills seem to get a mixed bag of opinions, while some people swear by them; others refuse to use them at gunpoint. The reoccurring problems that some of these anti-printer refill kit user’s claim are that they cause printer failure, clogging of the nozzles, leakages, not to mention poor print quality and short life spans.

The answer to this two sided argument is that in most cases where the results of printing have been poor, the user has failed to follow the instructions carefully on the printer refill kit manual. We all do it, whether it’s setting up a DVD player, a flat-pack desk or tuning a brand new television; we all like to think that we can just do it without the manual. Hours of tinkering later, we admit defeat and turn to the manual, realizing that the job could have taken a lot less longer. Worse still we mess it up beyond repair, beyond help of the manual.

A common error in refilling inkjet cartridges is covering the air holes. With some models air is required to enter the vents to fill the void when ink is being dispensed. If the hole is sealed then the printer cartridge will fail to work properly and cause undesired results.

If you fail to read the manual you may also mistakenly push the needle far back into the cartridge. When the ink is pumped in, air pressure is created, this prevents air from escaping and ink entering. The outcome is a messy cartridge and a wasted printer refill kit.

Avoid leaving the job of refilling the inkjet cartridge until it’s almost fresh out of ink. This can spell real disaster. In most cases the ink will gel and require several cycles of cleaning to get the inkjet head clean and ready to use. This reduces efficiency, meaning you’ll waste more ink.

Another mistake to avoid is over soaking your cartridge in water when cleaning the jets. This will cause your ink to run and produce inconsistency when printing. You may see a faded effect in your color printing and reduced quality.

In reality refilling inkjet cartridges is easy when you follow the manual, however most of us prefer to do things our way before we resort to the obvious. So next time you get yourself a printer refill kit read the manual first!

Timing machines on the watch maker’s table

Elma Watch Master is a testing machine that can be used for testing of quartz and mechanical watches. The testing station has many features including mechanical beat rate indicator, quartz pulse rate indicator, quartz circuit tester, motor tester, electrical resistance indicator and power supply checking. The tester has a movement clamp with a special design, electrical probes, mirrored observation platform and a beat rate measuring bed. The Elma Watch Matic mechanical watch testing station is specially meant for mechanical watches. The testing machine measures and displays rate deviation, amplitude and beat error. It supports many measuring modes for Swiss made escapements, coaxial escapements, AP escapements and a mode with specific amplitude filter where only the rate is measured. The machine is equipped with a speaker to test acoustics and it can be connected to a PC, printer or GPS receiver to allow the numeric results to be stored or printed.

The MTG 1000 TYMC multifunction timegrapher is a compact model which is used to measure beat number, beat rate, neat error and amplitude of the balance wheel. It is a very useful machine in watch service. It can produce an acoustic simulation of the watch beat. It has a microprocessor with a LCD display to display the beat rate and beat error and amplitude. It also has a microphone and the machine begins to measure immediately after a watch is put on the microphone. There are many models available in the multi function timegrapher, each with its own unique features.

The MTG 3000 timegrapher supports an automatic 6 position testing and can be connected to a microphone and a printer. It is very widely used across the world in professional watch repair shops. It comes with a high resolution display and supports display modes like horizontal and vertical – pushing and pulling modes. It can store up to 2048 beats. A watch can be tested for a programmed time in the 6 positions.

The 4000A model has a high resolution colour display, the new TYAPS signal processor and a highly stable TCXO time base. This machine has automatic adjusting of the input signal level, ato detection or manual selection of beat number, microphone rotatable in 6 positions, measuring of beat rate, beat error and amplitude and many more functions. The 4000B model is a double channel model which is used in final QC of watch manufacturing. With this model, it is possible to measure two watches having same beat rate simultaneously and show results on the display. The machine has 2 microphones rotatable in 6 positions and performs functions like the 4000A model. The MTG-500 model timegrapher is a compact and economical timing machine with all the basic testing facilities like measuring the beat rate and amplitude.

Watch timing machines

A watch is used for telling the time and once a watch has been assembled or repaired, it has to be tested thoroughly to ensure that it tells the time accurately. Watch testing machines exist for the testing of watches.

The Elma Watch Master Quartz / Mechanical watch testing machine is a testing station suited for both quartz and mechanical watches. It is used to precisely measure various functions and has been designed with state of the art analytical technology. The station has a mechanical beat rate indicator, quartz pulse rate indicator, circuit tester, motor tester, electrical resistance indicator, measurement facility for consumption and train interruptions and identifier for power supply problems. In short, it is a complete testing solution for watches and proves to be invaluable addition to a watch work shop. The Elma testing station also has some useful associated testing equipment like a movement clamp, electrical probes, a mirrored observation bed and a beat rate measuring bed.

One of the most popular mechanical watch testing stations is the Elma Watch Matic 3. It is professionally designed and provides information needed for fine tuning the functioning of any mechanical watch. Measurements are provided for rate deviation, amplitude and beat error. There is a large LCD screen to display the above measurements. This machine has measuring modes like a standard mode for watches having Swiss made escapements, a mode for coaxial escapements, a mode for AP escapements and a mode with specific amplitude filtering in which only the rate measurement is carried out.

There is MTG 1000 Multifunction timegrapher to provide a compact model for watch testing. It can measure the amplitude of the balance wheel, beat number and rate, beat error and amplitude. This timegrapher is ideal for professionals as well as hobby users as it is very simple to use. There are three buttons for adjusting the settings intuitively, with a menu line on top of the display. It comes with a microphone in front of which the watch can be placed to transmit the watch beats. This timegrapher has a microprocessor that can be controlled with the LCD display set up, a graphic and numeric display of measurements like beat rate and error, a numeric display for amplitude measures and a microphone that can rotate into 6 positions. There are many variants in this model like the MTG 3000, MTG 400A, MTG 500 and MTG 5000. They have similar features with some specific extra features to suit various requirements. There is an entry level model which is compact, has basic features to measure beat number of the movement, beat rate and error and it comes at a low cost. It operates with direct current and it can be used with a battery also. Thermo printers are available which can be connected to timegraphers to print out measurements. The printer includes power cable, connection cable to the timegrapher and 3 rolls of spare paper.

How to provide Computer Support At your Own

Not only you, but most of the home computer users can think about no other ways than calling a computer support professional even for the most common errors. Change your mind a little and think one step ahead. Gone are the days when you had to nag around your computer repair vendors and find a solution against huge expenses no matter how simple the error actually is. Now it has become quite easy for you to restore PC performance and give it a new lease of life not rushing for a tech support professional. All can be done just from your home comfort. You still may be wondering how!

It is nothing but the boon of technological advancement. Just make sure your system is running and network connection is there. Online computer support services are always ready to provide you instant and expert assistance anytime you need it. So, don’t worry if you are at the middle of your project, or facing difficulties at the mid of night; just get online and find your solution instantly from online computer support technicians. Such tech support guys are pretty expert in their field and cordial enough to listen about a technical error from a non-technical person like you, well like me even.

Online computer support has become quite popular recently and a number of companies are cropping up with lucrative servicing packages. Well, let’s know about the service charges and possible expenses. Online computer support companies provide technical assistance for amazingly lowest charges. So, as a client you just need to shell out a little amount for any technical assistance you want.

Most of the computer technical issues can be resolved through online support. Added to that, some of the computer support professionals provide computer peripheral assistance like support to scanner, printer, digital camera, MP3 player etc. But of course if your system is not running or you don’t have a network connection, then remote tech support is not an option for you. In that case you can still get remote assistance by calling their customer care, they will provide assisting support over phone in a most interactive manner.

One of the greatest advantage to this service process is you can learn to deal with basic computer errors at your own and can fix similar in future not calling a tech support professional. Most of these computer support services provide flexible scheme to discontinue the business relation anytime you want to. In spite of all the advantages, you need to be utmost careful while hiring a service provider for your system support for you are going to trust your personal settings and data on them. It is wise to judge the credentials of the company you are going to hire, which may help you get a secured assistance and efficient support for your issues. One of the most important things is, the technicians work from a centralized location so that they can reach customers residing around the glob.  So from now on, think about getting online support before going for a physical assistance.

James Madison is a technological enthusiast who translates computer jargon and processes in common terminology for the laymen. His numerous articles on common computer issues and troubleshooting processes reflect his knowledge on Computer technology, computers support and Network support.

Tips to Make Your Photo Print Outs Last Longer

When you take photo print outs, you will feel fulfilled as it is the culmination of the whole process of digital photography and this feeling of satisfaction will definitely go up a notch if you know that these printouts are long lasting and you can enjoy them for a long time to come. Herein, we have tried to offer you various tips, through which you will be able to get the best results from your printing machine.

The Choice of Your Printer

The choice of the printer will greatly dictate whether your photo print outs will last longer or not. With regards to the mss market, there are two common types of photo printers available for your needs. These are dye sublimation printers and ink-jet printers. Dye sublimation printers use a fusing process where layers of film are fused onto a special paper.

On the other hand, inkjet printers are much cheaper, from the cost perspective, from all angles. Modern inkjet printers use sophisticated pigment technology for printing photos that are more water-resistant than their earlier versions. Inkjet printers specially configured for photo print outs offer six or more colors to provide superior color gradation as well as matching.

Glossy Prints

The paper that you use also contributes to the longevity of the print outs. There are a number of paper types that you can choose from, if you are looking at photo quality papers. However, it’s advisable that, if you are looking for superior quality photo print outs that you go for, glossy paper and printer ink cartridges that too preferably from the printer manufacturer only. The reason being that such papers are configured to work best with the inks to offer users the benefit of better quality print outs as well as print outs that are long lasting in nature.

Printer Maintenance

You might have the best printer money can buy, but if it is not maintained properly then do not expect good quality or long lasting photo print outs. It’s important that you take care of your printer like any other electronic appliance and see to it that it is properly maintained at all times. Inkjet printers are prone to clogging, and hence you must use it regularly to prevent the ink from clogging the print head. If clogging does occur, you must run the printer utility software for the cleaning of the print head.

This is just a small cross section of tips that will help you produce photo print outs that last longer. There are many more that will ensure that you get the best results. Other considerations that you might take care of are using a good digital camera, touching up the pictures, and using the method of trial and error as you will never get it right the first time. So keep these tips in mind for long lasting photo print outs.

John C. Arkin, the contributor of Printer Ink Cartridges Articles. More information on the subject is at Tips to make your Photo Print Outs Last Longer, and related resources can be found at Canon Ink Cartridges.

Page Yield / Cartridge Yield

Page yield is the number of pages that you can print with a printer cartridge. It is also known as cartridge yield. Many cartridge manufacturers use the terms “standard yield” or “high yield” to describe their printer cartridge but each cartridge should have a page yield value. It is the number of pages a cartridge can print under normal condition. Page yield is one of the factors you should consider when purchasing a printer cartridge because it gives you an estimate of the cost per page for a given cartridge.

Page yield is affected by many factors and the result is highly variable depending on the testing methods. In the past, different cartridge manufacturers used different testing standards to measure page yield so the consumers were comparing “apples to oranges” sometimes. A standardized method is thus necessary for a meaningful comparison. In recent years, ISO (International Organization for Standardization) has established reliable and standard methods to test page yield / cartridge yield. These standards allow the consumers to compare “apples to apples” in an objective way.

ISO has established two standard testing methods, ISO/IEC 24711 and ISO/IEC 19752 for measuring the page yield of inkjet cartridges and monochrome toner cartridges respectively. In both methods, the printer cartridges are tested using default setting on plain paper. Standard test documents representing approximately 5% coverage are printed almost continuously with normal breaks for adding paper. The printing job stops when the cartridge reaches its end of life, which is indicated by a signal that the ink or toner has been depleted. To reduce the error due to individual printer variations, a total of 9 cartridges are tested on 3 different printers (i.e. 3 cartridges per printer) and the average yield is measured. The tests are done under controlled environmental conditions with temperature and humidity similar to ambient conditions in homes and offices.

Although an ISO standard has not been established for photo printer cartridges and laser toner cartridges, major printer manufacturers use robust methods similar to ISO standard in their testing. Their goal is to provide reliable page yield / cartridge yield value for the consumers so you can make an informed decision when purchasing a printer or printer cartridge.

As you can see, page yield testing is conducted under strict standard conditions. If you are shopping for printers or discount printer supplies, don’t just look at the price of the printer or the printer cartridge, compare the page yield as well and estimate the cost per page of different types of cartridges. This should give you a better picture if you are getting a real bargain.

And finally, please note that the number of pages you can print with a printer cartridge depends on the content or image you print, printer settings, paper size, paper type, frequency of use, the interval between printing jobs, and environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. The page yield value should be used as a reference only. If you are going to print a lot of photos or graphic works, or you print in the highest resolution each time, you may print fewer pages than expected.

Kwan H Lo owns an online review site which promotes discount ink / toner cartridges such as Dell printer cartridges and Samsung toner cartridges.
How to Find Your One-stop-shop Card Printing Equipment

Plastic Card Ireland’s Printer is one of the in-demand simple machinery for making ID cards, security cards, photo ID, gift card, fund raiser card, discount card, privilege card, business card, advertisement card and school ID card. It is necessary to find reasonable place where to buy a good plastic card printer. Actually, Ireland has the biggest production and manufactured high process plastic card printers. This country is the most direct client in selling largest numbers of plastic card printer because their service boosts genuine pride in work. All facilities are monitored in progress from the moment of purchase up to shipment. All products, relatively the plastic card printers are high guaranteed quality known worldwide. Here are the pointers in finding a one-stop-shop plastic printer for your personal or business purpose:

1.    Find a shop with less expensive cost of plastic card printers with high quality duration. Some plastic card printers are affordable but the specifications are in low accessible. Better choose a printer with change-card-design-system to access an immediate change of design.

2.    Look for a shop with plastic card printer that prints card immediately. This will not only benefit your work but you can have an abundance orders from your client as soon as you finish the orders in less time.

3.    Make sure the plastic card printer has an accurate quality control on your plastic cards with no mistakes. Plastic card should have a creative colorful graphic with high color precision in no errors system while you make the card’s information. Waste of plastic card is waste of time and money especially if you have it as your business.

4.    Be appropriate to buy plastic card printers with color control maintenance for easy color printing changes.

5.    The best plastic card printer offers an easy to use operation. Don’t hesitate to ask your favorite printer shop the proper way to handle your plastic card printer only to be sure correct set up in your computer. The plastic card printer usually process just like your normal copier printer.

6.    Plastic Cards Ireland printers are packaged with affordable plastic card. It is important to find a low-cost per plastic cards because it is the subject of your business. If you find an expensive plastic card, the less profit you are going to gain.

7.    Find a plastic card printer with more available modern features such as graphical innovative designs, thermal numbering, and text encoding and perfectly engineered printing equipments.

8.    Have a plastic card printer that produces a larger number of complete color cards that assures the high quality edge to edge image printing details. Printers with easy loading and unloading placement are also necessary.

9.    Make sure your plastic cards are with built-in LCD and flexible in Ethernet connectivity.

10.    The store itself must have the qualities of providing full support and repair service for their customer upon the warranty program.

11.    Look for plastic card printer providers that have an enough experience to handle customer’s satisfaction.

12.    The store you must prefer should offer complete services regardless of the product they sell.

13.    The printer provider must have a trustworthy competent team that works to meet the client’s need.

14.    Observe the ISO9001 certification on your favorite shop. This will serve a valued proof of their competency.

Patrick John, Freelance Web Content Article Writer for three years.

Rapid Prototyping in Architecture

It is not too farfetched to predict that in the future a complete building will be built from a computer. Similar technology has already begun to be used by the industrial design and manufacturing industries. One of the best-known and oldest technologies is called Stereo Lithography, because it involves a laser beam moving through a vat of ultraviolet-sensitive liquid polymer, which follows the contour of a digital 3D model. The beam strikes on a layer of ultraviolet-sensitive liquid polymer, and then the thin layer is solidified. The laser will keep repeating the same process from the bottom to the top of the 3D model. A temporary framing support for the model is required, because the process is from the bottom up. Stereo Lithography machines are manufactured by 3D Systems Inc., and they are also known as Stereo Lithography Apparatuses (SLA). The final model usually requires a little bit of sanding, and it is inappropriate for an office setting because this process produces toxic fumes. The following is a list of processes that may assist the automation of the building industry. These existing technologies can immediately assist the building industry; however they do require some modification to suit individual building types. It should be noted that these manufacturing processes are crucial to the development of building automation. Computers can produce precise results, while manual labor is imprecise. The direct digital manufacturing process can reduce errors and make digital building components affordable. The original prototype is always costly, but the cost can be reduced to a bare minimum by using rapid prototyping processes.

Rapid prototyping (RP) is a digital modeling process, which is a real physical model of a component (in prototype form) that is entirely created directly from a 3D CAD drawing. RP systems generate quick prototypes by constructing an additive and layer-by-layer process that is driven by 3D CAD data. RP is also known as desktop manufacturing or free-form fabrication. RP machines require STL data files, which are generated by the CAD system. An STL file is a data file format designed specifically for rapid prototyping machines. Any rapid prototyping system can use the STL file from any type of 3D CAD system that outputs the STL data. RP machines operate quite differently than typical CNC machines. RP machines are subtractive in nature, because they join together liquid, powder and sheet materials to form complex forms. Using layer-by-layer technology, RP systems fabricate plastic, wood, ceramic or metal objects based on several cross-sections from a 3D CAD model.

RP cannot be mistaken by rapid manufacturing (RM) or rapid tooling (RT); however, all the above mentioned processes involve 3D CAD files. RM is a rapid manufacturing process. RM is an ultimate process that manufactures parts directly from a computer. The benefits of any rapid processes are that fewer steps are required to achieve the final result and that

The original prototype is always costly, but the cost can be reduced they are much faster than the traditional methods. According to Wohlers, some companies are beginning to use rapid prototyping technologies to manufacture finished parts. Most of these applications are geared to small quantities of parts, because there are still some technical difficulties for RM in reaching the production capacity of injection molding, die-casting, or sheet metal stamping at the time of this publication. These technical difficulties are: inferior surface finishes to production molded parts; inadequate dimensional accuracy and repeatability; durability and cooling efficiency; small limited part sizes; and the time and expense associated with removing excess resin and performing post curing operations. “These applications are proving that rapid prototyping can be suitable for production in terms of speed, material properties, accuracy, and surface finish. Moreover, rapid prototyping of mechanical CAD designs is well established and will continue to grow. Soon many other applications will follow suit. Indeed, organizations will rely on the technology for sculpture, architecture, mold flow analysis, molecular modeling, forensic analysis for solving crimes, and a variety of uses yet to be conceived.”1

RAPID PROTOTYPING
Stereo Lithography Apparatus (SLA) – This is the oldest (discovered in the late 1980s) and most common technology. It involves a laser beam moving through a vat of ultraviolet-sensitive liquid polymer which follows the contour of the digital 3D model. The beam strikes on a layer of ultraviolet-sensitive liquid polymer, and then the thin layer is solidified. The laser will keep repeating the same process from the bottom to the top of the 3D model. A temporary framing support for the model is required, because the process is from the bottom up. Stereo Lithography machines are manufactured by 3D Systems Inc. The final model usually requires a little bit of sanding, and it is inappropriate for an office setting because this process produces toxic fumes. SLA is simple, fast and accurate.

Idea Applications

* Prototype or Presentation Model a quick, fast, and concise process for conveying the design intent. SLA is inappropriate for creating the final form, because the end result is highly fragile.
Object 3D printing – this process uses ink-jet technology with photo polymer resins. The ink-jet like head drops fine deposits of resin while a UV lamp cures these droplets immediately. Object 3D printing is also a layer-by-layer process. Objects created by 3D printers are highly detailed and accurate. No sanding is required, because the object is cleaned with a low-pressure water jet in the process.

* Appropriate for architectural model

* Form and fit analysis

* Concept and presentation models

* Sales and marketing samples

* Tooling patterns

Z Corporation’s 3D printer – The Z Corporation’s 3D printer works by creating physical 3D models directly from digital data, layer by layer. A part can be printed at the rate of 25mm (1″) vertical per hour. It is fast, versatile and simple comparing to other similar systems, allowing architects/engineers to produce a range of concept models and functional test parts quickly and inexpensively. The system is ideal for an office environment or educational institution, providing product developer’s easy access to a 3D Printer. “A 3D CAD file is imported into the proprietary system software. The software slices the file into thin cross sectional slices, which are fed to the 3D Printer. The 3D Printer creates the model one layer at a time by spreading a layer of powder and ink-jet printing a binder in the cross-section of the part. The process is repeated until every layer is printed and the part is complete and ready to be removed.”2

Idea Applications

* Ideal for conceptual models, architecture models, and functional testing prototypes

* Require Z-bond solution to make the component stronger.

* Can be used to make strong, high-definition parts and is the material of choice for printing color parts.

* Can be used to quickly fabricate parts that can be dipped in wax to produce investment casting patterns.

* Can be used to create sand casting molds for non-ferrous metals.

* Has been optimized for infiltration with Z-Snap epoxy to create
parts with plastic-like

 

When the search for a rapid tooling solution begins, it is common to use traditional tooling techniques as the benchmark. The goal becomes the replication of all the quality of a cut tool while slashing the delivery time and expense. With these standards, the options become limited. These imposed limitations can make it best to seek out a tool shop that is extremely fast and efficient at building cut tools in aluminum or steel. In the evaluation of projects, Accelerated Technologies often finds that a machined tool is a far superior solution.
Under the original, narrow definition, rapid tooling has limitations in many areas. These include:

* Tool life

* Accuracy

* Surface finish

* Resin selection

* Tool configuration

* Cycle time

* Part size

Each available rapid tooling solution presents limitations in at least two of these areas. When the strengths and weaknesses of the processes are presented, many elect to use traditional methods that may require more time. It certainly will be a dream comes true if technology brings down cost of buildings. Shopping for a designer house will be one of the choices open to everyone, not the privilege of a few. A 10 to 15 year recycling time for a house will be appropriate, because the recycling cost will be lower than the renovation cost.

Fast prototyping cannot replace our current building practice, but at least it will help to construct a mock-up to improve the design. It is a known fact that a full-size building mock-up is necessary to eliminate errors and the need for future design modifications. Fast prototyping can accelerate the mock-up process, bring down the cost, and speed up the final construction time.

Full-size building component prototypes are not yet in production, because they require detailed connections and some modifications. It is not hard to imagine, that in the near future an entire house will be manufactured by an LOM machine or other RP processes directly. Such a notion is exciting and will revolutionize the building industry. Rapid tooling is a powerful process that can definitely make the building process faster, cheaper, and better.  If you find this article interesting, and want to find out more about how emerging technologies change the field of architecture.  Please go to Amazon.com or barnsandnoble.com to check out Mr. Chang’s new book- Making of Digital Forms: A Study in Emerging Technologies in Architecture.

Footnotes
1) Wohlers, Terry, Computer Graphics World, November, 2001

2) ZPrinter 310 Plus Brochure, www.zcorp.com, March, 2008

 

Mi Tsung Chang is currently teaching at the City College of New York School of Architecture, Urban Design and Landscape Architecture, where he teaches courses in architecture technology, theory and CAD. Professor Chang received his bachelor of architecture degree, master of architecture degree from Pratt Institute, and a doctor of philosophy degree in architecture from the Union Institute. He is the principal of Hypnos Design. Chang currently lives in New York City.

Are You Geared Up For Online Printing?

Are you prepared for online printing? If you are not sure, then you should learn a thing or two from what this article has to say. An online printing company is a bit different from the traditional printing companies you might have been dealing with. Since online printing is done without actual direct contact, there are many things to prepare precisely so that you do not waste time. File formats/settings must be correct and errors solved early or you may face a lot of difficulty.

So, if you want to be prepared for online printing, here are a couple tips.

Be ready with your printing options and choices.

The first thing to prepare once you are finished with your design for online printing is your printing options and choices. From the paper stock you want, the inks, the dimensions, cuttings, perforations, folds, bindings etc, all these options must be decided upon. Your choices must be final before you go to your online printer. This should prevent confusion and delays in the printing process itself. The worse thing that can happen is you cancel the printing halfway through the job because you didn’t like your choice of paper. So be decisive and prepare your choices.

Keep to standard settings and templates as much as possible.

Also, as much as possible, you should keep to standard settings and templates with printing. This should at least make the printing process a little easier since your dimensions are standard. The printing machines will have an easier time producing your printed materials, and cutting and folding should be quick and easy since, no readjustments are needed.

Proofread and check everything three times before finalizing your designs.

Another thing that is particularly important in online printing is proof reading. Most online printers will offer electronic proof reading of your documents but little else. Unless you pay them for extra services, you will have to proof read your prints yourself.

No errors in grammar, spelling, layouts and images should be present once you send your files to the online printer. Your images must be in high resolution format and the color settings should be in the proper CMYK mode for printing. The borders should be straight and all design elements should be aligned properly. Have it reviewed it three times if possible by different people to check all these elements. This saves you from printing an error hundreds of times only to discover it later.

Produce your designs in different file formats.

Another thing to prepare when it comes to online printing is your file format. Not all file formats are good for printing, and some are better than others. That is why to be prepared with online printing, it is best to save them in different file formats. Besides saving them in your document format such as an Adobe Photoshop document or Corel draw, you should also save your designs in JPG and BMP to have some backup images ready. This at least gives the online printer a contingency plan in printing just in case your other documents cannot be read.

If you follow these tips, your online printing should go on fairly well with little trouble. You do not have to worry too much.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit: Online Printing Company

Lynne Saarte is a writer that hails from Texas. She has been in the Internet business for some years now, specializing in Internet marketing and online strategies.

Page 1 of 2012345»...Last »