Business Printing Blog

By: John Sollars

Over the past years, technology has been continuously evolving and it has brought about improved graphics, artworks and printing. Newer breakthroughs in technology have also made printing affordable and easy to use.

For photographers too, printing has been made very easy and consultative. More photographers have switched from the old style to the modern enlarged printing with the use of digital inkjet printers.

With the modern use of digital cameras now taking into effect to make perfect digital shots, photographers no longer have to go through the process of scanning of the negatives from the pictures taken This is the one of the main reasons more photographers have switched over to the digital age technology.

Digital image printing is developed in corresponding software such as PhotoShop, CorelDraw and may other types of software. However, among them all, Photoshop is the most commonly used software application to meet the demands of clearer and precise digital prints. In fact, it has now become difficult for photographers to sell the equipment formerly used in the darkroom.

With the growth of printing technology, new issues have also sprung up, such as whether digital printing is really as aesthetic and long lasting. Critics wonder if digital printing can contain the same level of output as that of traditional images. For others, printing in inkjet printers is akin to imitating the original as they are printed with the use of ink, while the traditional method contained natural mixture for photography purposes. Nevertheless, even with the advancement in digital photo printing, a number of people still appreciate the old technique of printing.

In case you’re wondering about when the debate of digital printing over traditional was sparked off, it started with doubts over the long-lasting effect of inkjet prints over emulsion printouts. Critics have questioned if inkjet prints can endure the exposure longer and maintain their quality. However, some have proven that the traditional prints have not lasted as long and have slowly been fading in time as well. This observation strengthens the belief that no image can withstand exposure for a long period of time yet. Given that the developments in digital technology are ever increasing, questions and issues regarding its performance have been lessened for it has played its role well till date.

Inkjet prints have greatly contributed to giving an eventual effect in the uniqueness of images. The technique of inkjet printers involves spraying a number of tiny dots onto the paper, making the image sharper and more defined. This is perhaps a simple example of how the new printing technology has played its part of contributing to creativity and has now defined its own field of artwork.

The acceptance of inkjet prints has been quite unpredictable so far. In some exhibitions and art galleries, inkjet print designs are easily allowed, whereas some follow strict rules against the display of such prints. Alternatively, some designers still prefer the traditional emulsion prints to be part of their artworks. For those who rely on digital printing, the choice is based on practicality and reverting to the traditional technique is not longer financially viable. Digital printing has also made enlarging of prints and images much easier than traditional printing. It has been suggested that in time, when digital printing will continue its rise in the world of technology, many will make the switch over from the traditional method to the digital one.

The use of digital printing requires refinement in art skills, and accuracy and precision should be followed and maintained. To enhance printing abilities, the aid of Photoshop, or similar types of software can prove to be very useful for acquiring spectacular prints.

Cyan And Magenta Explained

Moving on to ink cartridges used in printers, anybody who has purchased these cartridges would know that there is no blue or red ink. Cyan certainly looks blue and magenta definitely looks red — but have you ever wondered why they simply don’t call them blue and red instead of cyan and magenta?

Here’s the explanation — both monitors and printers use different ways to produce colour. While a monitor is a light source, printers are light reflecting. The only common ground between the two is something known as dithering. It is the process of approximating a colour that cannot be displayed with uniformly dispersed dots of other colours.

This technique assigns differing colour values to adjacent pixels, thereby reducing the contrast between dots of different colours or shades and generates a more flowing, natural impression. When viewed from a distance, these colours seem to blend into a single intermediate colour. Dithering is similar to the half toning used in black-and-white publications to achieve shades of grey.

Coming back to the discussion, both monitors and printers use primary colours; however, a monitor uses primary additive colours red, green and blue, while printers use the primary subtractive colours cyan, magenta and yellow. In both cases, the primary colours are dithered to form the entire colour spectrum. Dithering breaks a colour pixel into an array of dots so that each dot is either made up of one of the basic primary colours or intentionally left blank to create white.

Cyan and magenta are in fact old printing terms for blue and red, but since some form of differentiation is needed between the additive and subtractive spectrum, cyan and magenta are here to stay!

By: Kylie Hayes

When custom flags are printed there are a few common techniques in the printing process they are screen printing by machine or hand or by digital imaging printing.

Custom flags are most commonly printed using the screen printing technique whereby a typical flag material such as woven polyester, knitted polyester or nylon us used.

First the artwork is created on a computer for the filming machine, so for example if the flag has 2 colors then there will be 2 films made from the filming machine 1 film for each color.

The film is then treated by light to make the printing plate, again if there were 2 colors in the custom flag design there would be 2 plates made, this technique is much the same as the old way to produce photographs using the negatives from a camera in a dark room.

The printing plate is also known as a halftone.

For the colors CMYK powder is used to make the PMS colors or CMYK colors they are mixed together by a machine such as 20%M, 30%C, 40%Y, 60%K then cataplasm is added and once the colors are mixed evenly they are ready to be used.

The flag material is then placed on a flat bed this can be on a machine for large quantities which is cheaper and quicker or a long flat bed top for small runs this way is by hand and each color is applied separately.

The plate is then screened where the color dye is applied evenly through the open spaces of plate onto the flag fabric below.

If screening by hand on the flat bed top which can be any size in length, the flat bed will have steam inside of it and the temperature is very high so when the screening takes place the first color dye will dry very quickly, then the other colors can be screened.

Printing by machine is different the machine is automatic and prints very quickly all of the colors are printed in about 10-20 seconds because of the machines high pressure and at the end of the printing machine there is an oven, that dries the colors.

There are a total of 3 machines the flags go through:

High temperature machine to fix the color.

A washing machine is use to take out the dirty dye on the surface so the flag is only left with the good color.

The fixture machine is to make the fabric square again, as the washing machine changes the shape of the fabric.

There’s an insight to how custom flags are made and the process they have to go through to end up with a custom flag.

By: Robert Michael

Printing materials can be a real benefit to your business, and it’s not something that everyone realizes. People running a small business realize just how time consuming and expensive it all can be, so printing seems to be at the bottom of the budgeting list, but it shouldn’t be. Using printing in business development can be a great way to gain a wider customer base, and printing can be the first step to any growing business.

Improving your business is something that everyone strives for, and printing can do this from a marketing and advertizing perspective. Flyer printing is a brilliant way to do this at a low cost. Flyer printing is a great way of increasing your customer base and targeting the audience that you want to hit. Flyer printing gets your business message out there, and this type of printing can be done for very little money.

Unlike other types of printing, flyer printing can be of poor quality as it is not something that the customer will want to keep. Using flyer printing amongst targeted audiences can have a real benefit to your business.

Another way to use printing to develop your business is that of post card printing. Post card printing has to be of a higher quality however and it can not be as low cost as flyer printing. If you are considering using post card printing as a way to market your business, think about the effect it will have on your business.

The post card printing will have a direct reflection on your business, so this type of printing has to be to a high quality. This type of printing is something that the customer is going to use afterward, so you want to make sure that what you leave with them is of great printing quality.

The most popular and useful method of printing used in the business world is brochure printing. This type of printing gives business the option of educating the reader as well as creating a wide customer base. Brochure printing, like post card printing needs to be of a high quality. People will look at the printing of the brochure and see it as a direct reflection on your business, so it needs to be of a superb printing quality. This is one printing cost that you can not afford to be cheap with.

Whatever option of printing you use, whether its brochure printing, flyer printing or post card printing, make sure you choose your printing company wisely. The competition for printing business is very competitive so you want to make sure you get the best printing deal for your company, so research is important.

It’s also important to look at the turn around time of the printing company and make sure that it fits in with your schedule. You don’t want to miss an important engagement because you are waiting for your printing! Remembering these basic steps should put you in good stead for finding a great printing company that you can work with again and again.

When you present someone with one of your business cards, you will want it to be a positive reflection of yourself and the way that you conduct business. A polished and professional design that reflects some type of personalization will always be more appealing to the recipient. Therefore, it’s important to note several tips whether you are choosing a business card printing service or creating your own design at home.

< If you are planning to use a business card printing service, check out their volume pricing discounts. Quite often, you will get a better deal per card if you purchase in quantity.

< Always add a business logo, monogram or some other type of personalization to make your business card stand out. This will give your card instant recognition as the recipient flips through his/her rolodex.

< When choosing your business card layout, make sure that the design suits your industry. For instance, a florist may prefer a rose logo while a handyman service would likely choose some type of tool for their design.

< Prior to approving a business card printing project, make sure that all of the details are correct. This includes your name, title, business name and contact information. It’s easy to pay close attention to the design and overlook the most important aspect of a business card, which is the text. This is the information that others will use to contact you, so make sure that it’s accurate and updated.

< Although business cards are small, try avoiding clutter. This means that your information should be typed in a font that is easily readable and not crowded by other words or images. At the same time, the font that you choose should be small enough to fit all of the information on the card while being large enough to read without difficulty.

Although small in size, business cards are one of your most powerful marketing tools. They do not require you to pay expensive advertising rates in a local publication and they never take up too much space. Therefore, these handy little cards are perfect for giving to current or potential clients. It’s important to keep in mind that you will be presenting your card to someone who has also likely received business cards from others, which is why it is so important to choose your business card printing techniques carefully.

Whether you decide to hire a professional printer or opt for designing your own using a computer, consider the thickness of each card and the quality of the paper being used. If you cannot afford a business card printing service or do not have the time to wait for delivery, shop around for a reputable software program that features professional templates and one that is compatible with your computer.

By: Rick Ferguson

In this case study, we will explore why a company needs a Print Management and Advanced Print Spooling solution like OM Plus to manage enterprise printing in their Windows Server Environment. The Windows Spooling System (WSS) is ubiquitous in large-scale Windows Server installations but there are very clear business cases where an advanced print management and spooling solution adds tremendous business value to document driven business processes.

Company – For the purposes of this case study, we have consolidated multiple companies’ Windows printing challenges in order to present a more comprehensive “picture” of the benefits that OM Plus delivers.

Business Problem – Most business processes require some type of output to be initiated and/or considered complete. This output is created by business applications (ERP’s Financial Applications, HR Applications, Payroll Applications, etc.), and includes things like invoices, checks, financial reports, shipping and manufacturing related documents, etc. The output is usually “delivered” to its end destination (most commonly a printer) to initiate and/or complete the business process. Enterprise-based output printing is most often batch oriented and is distinguished from normal desktop printing by the fact that it is mission critical. It is more demanding; time sensitive and business processes can fall apart if the printing is not successfully completed and managed. It is extremely important to the completion of a business process to know that a document has printed. Cash is not collected if invoices don’t print, goods are not shipped if the pick lists don’t print, and vendors don’t get paid if A/P checks don’t print. What is the impact on your business if invoices don’t get sent out even though your application sent them to the printer and assumes they printed?

The key business problem faced in a Windows Server environment is the lack of a robust print management and spooling system that has advanced, post-spooling functionality. The Windows Spooling System (WSS) works fairly well in terms of performing the duties for which it was designed, spooling print jobs and delivering them to a printer. However, advanced, post spooling functionality is virtually non-existent in WSS and this causes business problems. The Windows Spooling System lacks the post-spooling, batch printing tools that are needed to streamline document centric business processes in an “enterprise class” print management environment.

Key Technical Challenge – Unfortunately, none of the Windows Server Operating Systems’ WSS’s have been designed to handle the production delivery of documents across an enterprise or provide advanced “post spooling” document delivery functionality. These shortcomings of WSS impact business processes and add unnecessary support costs. Due to these shortcomings, problems arise with reliable and confirmed document delivery, centralized print management and control across dissimilar systems, document integration with electronic forms, and the supportability of the entire enterprise’s document delivery systems. Documents are lost, not delivered correctly or in a timely fashion and customer satisfaction or business processes suffer.

Additionally, because the Windows Spooling System (WSS) lacks post-spooling tools it cannot provide the following functions that are often necessary to successfully maintain an “enterprise class” print management environment. WSS does not provide:

Confirmation of the print job landing in the output tray-Assuring to the application that a document has been successfully printed

Automatic addition of print specific finishing commands without user intervention-Users can request finishing commands but this is not usually practical in large batch printing

Server level accounting-Who printed what, where and how much around the whole enterprise

Scalability of print infrastructure-After more than 150 print queues WSS scalability is questionable

Load Balancing-WSS can provide overflow load balancing but to get true “round robin” printing where all printers are shared equally, not just when the first one is busy, requires OM Plus

Document re-printing without having to re-create or re-spool the job-Since WSS purges the job after delivery to the printer buffer, there is not an easy way to re-print the job or portions of the job, without re-creating it and re-spooling it

Job priority controls-If a large job is dominating a printer, it is difficult to stop the job and allow others to print, then re-start the large job where it stopped with WSS

Auto fail-over and re-routing of jobs around failed printers-WSS can not automatically re-route a print job around a failed printe

Viewing in WYSIWYG after spooling, prior to printing-If a user wants to view the job without printing it, WSS does not provide a WYSIWYG view. This can be very useful and provide cost savings for jobs that only need to be viewed but not actually printed

The ability to block jobs automatically that are too large, unauthorized, or not to be printed on the mounted form-Business rules can not be set up in WSS so that jobs can be re-directed or put on hold when they are sent to a printer not suited to print the job, i.e. 1000 page report being sent to a desktop printer cannot be stopped, re-routed to a production size printer and then an e-mail sent to the report requester notifying them of the re-routing. With OM Plus this is possible

Re-printing from a specific page after the job has been delivered to the printer buffer-WSS will purge it when it is finished delivering the job to the printer, not when the last page is successfully printed, making it difficult to know exactly what page needs to print next. Critical need in check printing to print the next check correctly after a printer problem

Technical Solution –The technical solution implemented at our customers with these business problems is OM Plus, the Advanced Print Spooling and Print Management solution from Plus Technologies.

At the heart of the OM Plus suite of product solutions is the OM Plus Server. It monitors all system activities and performs the core tasks associated with the delivery of documents such as, job scheduling, queue management, security, job status, printer administration and other system functions. It is constantly aware of all relevant system elements, queues, printers, fax servers, e-mail servers, pagers, web pages, archive systems, e-forms, document types, user authorities, servers, and priorities.

End-to-End Confirmation

OM Plus provides end-to-end confirmation all the way to the final destination. It can even confirm the delivery of a job because it can tell when the paper has landed in the output tray for PJL compliant printers. End-to-end confirmation allows the administrators to locate the problem area when delivery interruptions and failures occur. OM Plus is fully SNMP compliant and can capture data provided by SNMP devices. This allows users to see more detailed information on device status (i.e. the printer is low on toner). OM Plus can even talk directly to web enabled devices to gather detailed status information.

Automated, event based processing

Events such as printer problems can be defined so that OM Plus automatically notifies an administrator via pager or e-mail of the printer problem. Other events such as a printer is busy or the form the job requires is loaded in another printer can trigger automatic re-routing of a print job.

Printer & Print Management

According to industry experts, a typical organization can spend as much as fifteen percent of its total revenue on printing and print management. Organizations that proactively manage their print output can reduce the high costs associated with printing.

OM Plus’ superior print management functionality improves productivity and reduces cost.

OM Plus:

Allows central control and monitoring of the status of printer devices and jobs across the entire organization from a single status screen improving help desk productivity.

Ensures delivery of output to its final destination in the correct format.

Greatly reduce help desk calls.

Maximizes printer availability.

Reduces costs associated with manual bursting and distribution of reports with electronic bursting and bundling of reports (with RD/RB Plus options)

Users can add or remove printers themselves from their own class of printers

Audit and Accounting Logs

The OM Plus accounting log tracks usage data that is required in charge back environments. The audit log assists with troubleshooting and problem resolution. Both are viewable, searchable, exportable and customizable making problem resolution faster.

Document Viewing

The viewer in OM Plus views all text documents and simple PCL. OM Plus will automatically launch additional viewers to view more complex document formats.

Printer Status Monitoring

OM Plus captures a rolling log of PJL statements from the printer. This log allows a user to view the actual status of a printer.

Implementation – On site services including installation, system configuration, testing and user training was delivered by service engineers from Plus Technologies to all of these customers. In all cases, the implementation was completed and in production within two to three weeks of the order.

By: Kelly Liyakasa

Everyone knows how inconvenient it can be to develop your digital photographs at your corner drugstore. Although photo processing has come a long way in terms of speed and convenient, hour-long wait times, there is nothing like popular digital photo printing services.

Online photo printing is a new wave of digital photo sharing, in which images can be digitally transferred to your PC, edited, and then printed at affordable prices. Ever spend $10 on a roll of film that you ended up hating and wondering why you ever took the pictures in the first place? Photo printing online allows consumers to pick and choose which images they truly want and even have them customized in items like frames or t-shirts.

6StarReviews.com notes Snapfish as a great choice in their digital photo printing reviews , as this site offers customers photo printing options like magnets, personalized stationery, gift mugs and coasters. The Internet took the ordinary photograph and re-vamped it into an interactive, customizable entity that can be swapped, emailed or printed and sent straight to your doorstep.

Another noteworthy option in photo printing services is Shutterfly, a popular site that allows customers to order by the print or in bulk, saving money in the long run. Whether you’re the casual photographer who snaps digital photos every once in awhile at family functions or a die-hard photojournalist who makes photography your career, photo printing services give you the flexibility and fun features you need.