We have been following advances in “3D Printing” for several years now. According to Wikipedia 3D Printing is “a form of additive manufacturing technology where a three dimensional object is created by successive layers of material”. Applications for our customers would include design visualization, prototyping and model making. Starting from a 3D CAD file you send your file to the 3D printer the same way you send your 2D CAD file to a plotter. The benefits of the 3D “print” include saving time and money on design/product development and marketing/communicating designs to clients. We just learned HP has begun marketing a “Designjet 3D” printer in Europe. Being HP Designjet dealers we look forward to being able to represent this product soon in the United States, possibly offering 3D printing as a service. We will keep you informed of any developments. Until then there are several printers being sold right now in the U.S., just google “3D Printing” to get more details.

Surfing the web for blog ideas I came across an interesting web site about using color in construction documents (www.colorforconstruction.com). Although it focuses on construction documents the information presented is relevant for any graphical communication. Here are some highlights on the benefits of the use of color. These were taken from the Xerox Corporation web site.

Color reduces search time by as much as 80%.

Color reduces errors by 80%.

Information can be located 70% faster if it’s
in color.

Document sorting improves by 15% when highlight
color is used.

Highlight color improves search time by 39%
compared to using different fonts.

Color increases comprehension by as much
as 73%.

Color increases learning and retention by 78%.

Sources
Studies
Loyola College, Maryland, U.S.A.,
by Ellen Hoadley, Ph.D.,
Laurette Simmons, Ph.D.,
and Faith Gilroy, Ph.D.
Case & Company,
Management Consultants
Bureau of Advertising, Color
in Newspaper Advertising
Maritz Motivation, Inc.,
Southern Illinois

Sounds great so why isn’t color more widely used in large format documents? The most common objection is cost. While it is more expensive for color prints the cost has been coming down due to reductions in the cost of color printers and supplies. You also must consider the cost of printing documents is almost always less than 1% of the total project cost and how much can be saved by reducing errors and the greater efficiencies gained by the use of color. A harder objection is how people with color blindness will be affected by the use of color. Not being color blind it’s hard for me give an intelligent response however since color is already in use in many aspects of the work place there might be ways to adapt. Please send any comments that may enlighten us on this.

Depending on your purpose there is a wide range of inkjet media available and the storage and handling requirements will vary. For black line drawings and basic color renderings, Oce recommends printing in a dust and dirt free environment with temperatures between 60 to 85 degrees F and 30% to 70% humidity. Keep your paper stored in the original packaging until ready to use and reseal open paper if you won’t be using it for awhile. For higher quality prints using display graphics media the guide lines are more stringent. In our Estore under specific products we either list the manufacture’s recommendations on storage and printing conditions or have a link to the manufacturer’s web site.

Summer heat and humidity has arrived and can affect the performance of your wide format printer. Today’s media, more natural, can absorb moisture on humid days even in air conditioned offices causing voids and light images. Optimum conditions are 68 to 76 degrees F and a relative humidity of 35 to 55 percent. Storing your paper wrapped and in an office environment is helpful. Once unwrapped and in the printer, some printers have built in dehumidifiers to help condition the paper but on summer’s worst days printing can be affected. Enjoy the summer weather; winter is only six months away. In the meantime be conscious of how you store your wide format media. Keep it sealed and stored in optimum conditions when possible.

Defining Reprographics

The reprographic industry is a relatively small industry with approximately 3000 firms in the United States. It is comprised of entrepreneurial businesses serving predominately the large- and wide-format reproduction needs of the architectural, engineering, manufacturing, retail, and advertising industries. Average sales volume is about $1.5 million and average employee counts are 20-25 people.

Large-format reproductions are produced with a variety of technologies dependent, in part, on the application of the final product and quantity needed. Examples of typical reproduction methods include: diazo (blueline), electrostatic (xerographic), photographic, laser, and ink jet.

Reproductions can be made from the same size or smaller/larger hard copy originals. Prints can also be computer generated from CADD (computer aided design and drafting) files or from a growing variety of desktop publishing and design software packages.

In addition to addressing the large-format reproduction needs of their customers, reprographers frequently sell reprographic equipment and consumable supplies. Other business services such as mounting and lamination, quick copying, microfilming, scanning and facility management are also provided.

Typical items produced by reprographers include architectural/engineering blueprints and renderings, indoor and outdoor signage, maps, billboards, backlit displays, trade show graphics, legal and medical exhibits, etc.

Rapids Reproductions is now on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Any other place we need to be?

We now have a computer in our lobby/showroom that customers may use to access our online catalog and any online plan-room for the downloading of drawings. We also have a drafting table and conference room with phone and data connections for our customers convenience. With these new additions along with our free Wi-Fi you may think of our new facility as an extension of your own office.

It may take awhile but someday we may be selling E-paper not bond paper.

From epapercentral.com

Large E-Paper Displays

SDC’s can also be combined to produce large format displays. The Citizen Bendable Clock is such an application. Equally noteworthy as its wide surface area is the “bendability” of the clock, another important advantage of the technology.

At the EXPO 2005, in Aichi Japan, Toppan Printing exhibited a large wall-sized newspaper that made use of E Ink technology. The wall-sized newspaper was actually an application of LCD (liquid crystal display), which displayed the colored photos, and electronic paper, which was responsible for displaying the text. Perhaps future e-paper applications would be similar to this; combining various technological solutions to solve a single problem.

In about a month we will have the entire Alvin line of products available to browse, look at and order online. The same printed catalog we have been giving out for years will now be incorporated into our web site for your convenience. The cost savings from eliminating hard copy catalogs (although they will still be available) will be passed on by discounting all items ordered thru the online Alvin catalog by at least 10%. When it is up and running just click on the “Estore” button and look for the Alvin logo to access it.

On October 5th 2009 our Cedar Rapids Headquarters will move to 6015 Huntington Court N.E. just off Council St. next to the northeast side Post Office, not far from Blairs Ferry Rd. and close to I380. The new facility will be more modern with 2 loading docks, more space (18,000 sq. ft.) and everyone will be on one level. Along with the move we are getting a new phone system and data network which will seamlessly connect Cedar Rapids to all our branch offices. We are even installing WiFi for our customers waiting for prints or using our conference room. Our plan-room and our other online services are already moved to an off-site data center for security and disaster recovery. All these moves will make us more efficient and better able to expand our products and services. See you there after October 5th.