Technologies To Improve Pharmacy Workflow

The CognitiveTPG CRx Thermal Label printer is now officially certified to work with Cost Effective Computers' (CEC) QuickSCRIP Pharmacy System software. Combining the CRx with CEC's pharmacy management solution with keyboard-driven data entry translates into improved fulfillment workflow for the pharmacist and technicians.
By converting to a thermal printing solution, pharmacies will recognize significant time and cost savings from the expense of inks and toners and the downtime caused by labels jams and maintenance issues. "The cost of migrating to the thermal printer will pay for itself in a very short time. In fact some of the independent pharmacies printing less than 10,000 labels per month recognized a savings in one month's time," said Roman Dziaba, CognitiveTPG Product Manager.
CEC has seen the migration of prescription label printing solutions from dot matrix, to laser, and now thermal. While the majority of independent pharmacies still use laser printing for prescription labeling, more and more of them are adopting a thermal solution. CEC's flagship product, QuickSCRIP, is the prescription management system of choice for over 380 independent pharmacies, and Shaun Campbell, Office Manager for CEC, reports: "In the two years we have been supporting the thermal printers, I think we have seen only one hardware issue… and that was easily diagnosed and fixed. Maintenance issues with laser printers are far more frequent." Continued Shaun: "Supporting the CognitiveTPG CRx printer is a dream, and pharmacies like the fact that the printer is the size of a shoe box." Roughly a third of the size of most laser printers, the CognitivieTPG CRx thermal label printer takes up less real estate in an already crowded workspace.

Oce Arizona 360 XT Printer Wins SGIA Product of the Year Award

The Oce Arizona 360 XT printer was given the Product of the Year Award in the Flatbed Rigid White Ink UV (<$200K MSRP) category, continuing a tradition of being honored with this award every year since the Oce Arizona Series product line has been shipping. The award was presented at the Specialty Graphic & Imaging Association's (SGIA) annual convention and exposition held October 19-21 in New Orleans.
The Product of the Year Awards compare output from competing devices using a common test file designed by SGIA. The prints are reviewed by a panel of judges, each with a background and expertise in digital printing and imaging. The judges look for color appeal, detail and tonality, and the output is also judged on how closely it matches the test print.
The entry image was processed using ONYX ProductionHouse version X10 Oce Edition RIP software. ONYX Graphics software utilizes ONYX color science and a proprietary color engine designed to specifically address color and profiling issues unique to large format inkjet printing. The results are better neutral, saturated and dark colors, and consistent color fidelity
The Oce Arizona Series UV flatbed printers have been consistently honored by the SGIA organization. In 2006, the year of the original Oce Arizona 250 GT printer's introduction, it won the Vision Award, which is given to an exhibiting manufacturer whose new product has the best chance of positively impacting the digital imaging industry. The decision was based on the product's relevance to the market, potential industry influence and prospective value to the product's end users.
In 2007, the Oce Arizona 250 GT printer was awarded the Product of the Year Award in the Output Device Rigid Substrate UV category. In 2008, the Oce Arizona 350 GT printer was given the Product of the Year Award Honorable Mention in the UV Cured Rigid category. In 2009, the Oce Arizona 350 XT printer received the Product of the Year Award for the Rigid Substrate UV >$200K MSRP category, and the Oce Arizona 350 GT printer was honored with the Product of the Year Award in the Rigid Substrate UV <$200K MSRP category. In 2010, the Oce Arizona 550 XT printer was awarded the Product of the Year Award in the Flatbed Rigid Substrate UV (>$200K MSRP) and Flatbed Rigid White Ink UV (>$200K MSRP) categories.

Contract Screen Printers American Printhouse

Contract Screen Printer, American Printhouse recently added a new high volume print-machine to increase it's daily print potential to just over 15,000 units per day. Sam Akkad, owner of APH said the new equipment was necessary to keep pace with it's wholesale retailers and high demand clients such as the History Channel, Orange County Choppers, Urban Outfitters and Hot Topic.
With 22 full time employees (most screen printers carry a staff of 5 to 7) the Printhouse is the only screen printer in Arizona that can design, print, tag, fold, bag and drop-ship tens of thousands of custom printed apparel pieces a week.
Akkad adds that "the ability to meet the demand of our clients was very important to us and we are proud that so many corporations and high profile company's put their trust in APH's capability to deliver "shelf-ready" products virtually anywhere in the world, on time and on budget.
"Our presses and equipment are state of the art and we use the best inks available, on high quality garments, to ensure our prints do not crack or chip and with the right care and washing, should last the life of the garment."
"Everything we do is in-house" says manager Rick Weber, "with a creative design department to bring client ideas to life, the latest print technology, a stringent quality control process and a location only a few miles from a major international airport, we guarantee no matter how large an order, our shirts will be printed on time, on budget, as designed and then shipped wherever in the world they are needed.

Performance-Driven Canon DR-M140 Document Scanner can process up to 6000 scanned documents

Canon U.S.A. introduced the latest addition to its award-winning imageFORMULA lineup, the Canon DR-M140 Document Scanner. The performance-driven DR-M140 scanner can process up to 6,000 scanned documents per day. The scanner maintains speeds up to 40 pages-per-minute1 /80 images per minute in all modes, including color, and holds up to 50 sheets in the Automatic Document Feeder.

Campus printing creates jam for students

Whether it be a research paper, coupons or class notes, printing costs can add up, but students have many options when it comes to printing on- and off-campus. OSU (Ohio State University) libraries currently offer purchase printing, with one black and white page costing 9 cents and color printing costing 25 cents per page. Pages must be purchased with money on a student's BuckID. WiredOut, a campus technology store, offers students deals on printers, the most popular being the Hewlett Packard HP Deskjet 3054 , an all-in-one printer, selling for $50. The product currently sells for $79.99 at Staples.

Canon's new printer delayed by Thailand floods

Canon's new professional printer will be delayed because of floods in Thailand, where the main body of the printer is manufactured. The PIXMA PRO-1 was unveiled this week, and is the world's first A3+ printer to use 12 separate inks. Canon revealed that the problems at the Thailand factory would cause delays in the launch of the printer at the Canon Pro Solutions show, taking place this week in Islington, London.

Lexmark profit misses, sees Q4 rev down

Printer maker Lexmark International Inc posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit, hurt by a decline in cheaper inkjet printer sales, and it forecast a drop in fourth-quarter revenue. The company, whose shares fell 6 percent in early trading, forecasted fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.15 to $1.25 per share, with revenue falling 4 percent to 6 percent. Based on 2010 revenue of $1.10 billion, that would yield a 2011 forecast of $1.04 billion to $1.06 billion.

Printer-turned-vendor joins HP Scitex as BDM

Former digital print shop owner Phillip Burns has joined HP to help the vendor sell its Scitex range after stints at DES and Agfa. Burns had spent more than two years in a sales role at DES, which distributes EFI's wide-format range, after selling his business Full Impact to Brite Solutions almost six years ago. He takes on a newly created business development role at HP. "The experience of owning my own business and investing in technology, combined with my involvement in helping other companies to buy equipment has given me a strong empathy to the purchasing decision of users," he said.

DIY 3D printers to save hermit crabs

DIY 3D printer outfit Makerbot Industries has unveiled an initiative called Project Shellter which aims to harness the efforts of the community of 3D printer owners into designing and printing new homes for hermit crabs. "Hermit crabs don’t make their own shells. They scavenge their homes. And now, hermit crabs are facing a housing shortage as the worldwide shell supply is decreasing," said Makerbot founder Bre Pettis.

3D Printing: What you need to know

They're not your granddad's daisy wheel printer, or your mom's dot matrix. In fact, they bear little resemblance to today's document or photo printers, which can only print in boring old two dimensions. They can build objects from scratch—or rather, from a CAD or 3D scanner file—out of a variety of materials. They're gaining traction: You may have seen 3D printing demonstrated on the Colbert Report or other shows, and they filled a large pavilion at Maker Faire. Though still mostly found on shop floors or in design studios, and in the hands of hobbyists, they'll soon be coming to homes near you (if not your own), to be found on workbenches, in rec rooms, even in the kitchen.

Apple Releases Canon, FujiXerox Printer Drivers

Looking to print a few flyers for your garage sale, or maybe print a few things for your upcoming Halloween party? If you use a Canon or FujiXerox printer, you probably should use one of the new drivers released by Apple on Thursday. Canon Printer Drivers v2.7 for OS X installs the latest software for Canon printers and scanners. The 324.08MB download requires Mac OS X 10.6.1 or later. Apple provides a list of supported devices.

Oce North America Introduces the Oce ColorWave 600 Poster Printer

Oce, a Canon Group Company and an international leader in digital document management and printing for professionals, announced that the Oce ColorWave 600 Poster Printer is now available in the United States. This system produces short-term, retail-quality, brilliant color prints at production speeds. The Oce ColorWave 600 Poster Printer is on display in the Oce booth #1519 at the Specialty Graphic & Imaging Association's (SGIA) annual convention and exposition held October 19-21 in New Orleans.
Designed for cost-effective, high production poster printing, the Oce ColorWave 600 Poster Printer uses patented Oce CrystalPoint maging technology to produce instantly dry, water-resistant prints that are cut-to-size and ready for immediate use. Up to six rolls of media from 11 to 42 inches wide can be loaded into the printer at one time, so the system is ready to produce posters of varying widths or media types, eliminating the need to change media between jobs and the need to manually trim standard sized jobs.
Shifting the production of posters from traditional inkjet printers to the Oce ColorWave 600 Poster Printer reduces labor per print and media costs. Operators can be freed up for other tasks, since the system can run unattended at full production speed and, with the roll-to-sheet feature, no manual trimming is required for standard sized jobs. The Oce ColorWave 600 Poster Printer reduces media costs as well. It delivers high quality prints on a range of media from inexpensive uncoated bond paper to specialty media.
Ideal for short-run or quick-turnaround poster printing
Digital print providers, retailers and offset printers can use this system to increase throughput and reduce production costs for quick-turnaround posters and event materials.
For the digital print provider, the Oce ColorWave 600 Poster Printer can help meet clients' tight deadlines, while delivering consistently exceptional output. It prints at production speeds up to 926 square feet per hour of roll-to-sheet output with no post-print finishing required for standard-sized jobs. It also features collated set printing, so a print provider can print and deliver an entire campaign -- including banners, posters and flyers -- in a single business day.

LINKYO Corporation Launches Private Label Toner Cartridges

Longtime computer accessories retailer, SuperMediaStore.com, will draw from its lengthy experience to provide low cost, high quality alternatives for costly printer supplies. Available at SuperMediaStore.com and other major retail channels, new printer toner cartridges bearing the LINKYO brand name are making their way into the market, with the first wave offering compatibility with specific Brother toner cartridge models. Competing directly against toner cartridges from well-known printer makers, LINKYO branded toner represents a lower-cost alternative while matching the quality of LINKYO's much larger competitors. With the move coming amid a time of economic uncertainty, LINKYO is betting customers will jump at the chance to save money on a product infamous for its high price while receiving the reliability and quality the company is known for.
With LINKYO's long history as a retailer of printer supplies manufactured by other companies, the decision to sell LINKYO branded toner cartridges makes perfect sense. Years of experience in dealing with customer concerns and issues has provided the company with valuable insight into what qualifies as high-quality toner. The company plans to incorporate everything they have learned from their nine years in the industry to provide a privately labeled product embodying what shoppers seek in a reliable toner cartridge.

Acrobat isn't your only option: free PDF tools

Adobe's PDF format has long since become a standard for viewing the text files and pictures ubiquitous to modern computing. A free version of Adobe's Acrobat Reader makes sure just about anyone can view such files. But if you want to create a PDF or edit one in any meaningful way, then you need up upgrade to the professional version of Acrobat, which costs about 400 euros (534 dollars) and will serve all your PDF needs.
But there is hope for people who don't need so much firepower or would like to spend less money, in the form of multiple free alternatives that cover most basic needs.

Earn eco-friendly cash through proper printer cartridge disposal

A green-minded company has devised an environmental-friendly method to dispose of and resell used printer cartridges for its customers. According to Cycon Plus Technology - one of the international exhibitors for the upcoming TechXpo 2011 - hundreds of thousands of printer cartridges are dumped into landfills every day. "As well as taking up room in our already-limited landfill sites, it can take up to 1.5 litres of oil to produce a new laser toner cartridge from scratch and a discarded used toner cartridge can take over 1,000 years to decompose!"

Kornit Digital to Showcase its New Kornit Storm II Printer at the SGIA 2011 Event

Kornit Digital announced that it will showcase its new Kornit Storm II industrial Direct-To-Garment printer at the SGIA event to be held in New Orleans, October 19-21 2011. Sarel Ashkenazi, VP Marketing & Business Development at Kornit Digital, said, "We at Kornit Digital are constantly seeking new developments that will help our customers reach their business goals. The Kornit Storm is the industry trailblazer with a proven track record. It is the world's best seller with an install base of over 400 printers worldwide. Following the market's demand, we added some inventions to the Storm II which make it even more exciting and fast." Kornit's Storm II is built with an advanced fully automated system, designed for single operation and allows full control on design and resolution for each layer by improved capabilities for printing on various media types.
Mr. Ashkenazi continued, "By advancing to industrial bulk ink system and multi-function capabilities, Kornit now allows its users to dramatically improve their printing speed and increase their efficiency and profitability."
Like other Kornit models, the Kornit Storm II includes Kornit's PreT, an integrated automatic, pre-treatment system. The PreT system eliminates the need for a secondary operation or outsourcing, and allows capital savings on equipment, labor, space & other operational utilities.

HP printer chief sees bright future for printing in the digital age

Walking up to what’s probably the world’s biggest inkjet printer, Vyomesh Joshi begins to reel off statistics, such as each of these bus-sized printers can produce 30 million pages per month and consume barrels of ink. But perhaps the most-impressive statistic linked to Hewlett-Packard’s Digital Web Press — which targets book publishers, newspapers and other large commercial print houses — is the number 40. That’s how many of these giant printers — which cost $2 million to $5 million each — that HP has sold worldwide since they became commercially available about two years ago.

Lexmark extends colour workgroup product line with new MFPs

Lexmark Australia and New Zealand have introduced two new colour laser multifunction products (MFPs) powered with intelligent, productivity-enhancing solutions to streamline paper-intensive business processes. Targeted to the rapidly growing mid-size workgroup segment, these intuitive MFPs exhibit a wide array of features and functions, adding to Lexmark's impressive portfolio of leading-edge hardware and innovative software and solutions.
The Lexmark X548de and X548dte colour laser MFPs deliver the high performance, wide-ranging capabilities, time-saving solutions and advanced security features representative of more costly devices in the market – but with a smaller footprint and at an affordable price point.
Accentuated by a sophisticated, 7-inch colour touch screen, the Lexmark X548 colour laser MFP family comes standard with pre-loaded applications and can easily be customised with tailored workflows based on unique business needs. A step up from the Lexmark X548de base model, the Lexmark X548dte adds a hard disk toenable extra functionality, as well as a 650-sheet Duo Drawer for additional media handling capabilities.
The Lexmark X548 colour laser MFP family is also included in the exclusive Lexmark Rewards program [1]. This program rewards customers with free genuine Lexmark toner and imaging kits for sending their empty cartridges back to Lexmark for recycling or remanufacturing.

UK Technology firm expands into the north

Coventry based firm Business By Technology has bought Oakham Business Systems Ltd for an undisclosed sum. The Torrington Avenue firm, which is the UK’s largest sole line supplier of Konica Minolta equipment such as network printers, acquired the Preston-based business this week. And BBT is further expanding its presence in the north west with the opening of a sales office at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays, Salford – the new home of the BBC and ITV in the north.

EFI Fiery-Enabled Printers Support Printing From iOS 5

EFI announced that EFI Fiery-driven printers from companies such as Canon, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Ricoh and Xerox will immediately support printing from Apple iPads and iPhones featuring the recently announced iOS 5. The direct mobile printing feature of EFI Fiery controllers provides employees, customers and visitors with printing capabilities to remain productive while using their favorite Apple mobile devices.
The Fiery direct mobile printing feature allows users to directly print with a wireless connection through the native print feature from Apple iPads and iPhones. Most new Fiery Driven enterprise printers incorporate this standard feature, and it is available as a free upgrade to many existing printers. iPad and iPhone users do not need to install an app or printer driver on their devices. Employees can print while moving around to different departments, conference rooms and other locations in the company on the secure wireless network. Visitors can print using their Apple device on a guest network.

Fax-Quality Freight Document Scanning

Eleos Technologies today announced the addition of automatic image enhancement to Drive Axle, the cloud-based mobile scanning solution that enables truck drivers to scan, send, and store freight documents with their iPhone and Android smartphones. Documents are now automatically enhanced for readability before being transmitted to the recipient. After Drive Axle’s automatic image enhancement has been applied, the document has a bright background with sharply contrasting text.
Drive Axle's new automatic image enhancement eradicates dirty-looking images that are commonly produced when a paper document is scanned with a smartphone. Truck drivers can now send document images that appear crisp and professional.
Drive Axle users report that documents scanned from their smartphones now often have the quality seen from a fax machine. The quality of some enhanced images has been compared to that obtained from in-cab scanners. Bills of lading, proofs of delivery, fuel receipts, and driver logs can now be scanned and transmitted with the confidence that they will arrive looking legible and professional.
Survance notes that freight documents often receive considerable abuse before they can be transmitted. "The freight environment is rough and tumble, usually in industrial, outdoor settings, and freight documents sometimes look as if they’ve been through the wash and around the block a few times, with plenty of creases and wrinkles."
Abused documents usually don’t fare well in fax machines and in-cab scanners – especially if they’re lightweight and flimsy to start. Since scanning with a smart phone involves no rollers or other moving parts, drivers can easily scan those rumpled sheets and - with the help of Drive Axle’s image enhancement - quickly produce a crisp image that won’t cause the accounting department to go screaming into the night.
Drive Axle is a mobile document capture solution that enables trucking companies to improve cash flow through quicker retrieval of delivery documents. Documents are received from drivers within minutes of delivery, which facilitates same-day billing. Truck drivers save time and avoid driving unpaid miles to find fax machines or truck stop scanners.
The Drive Axle service is offered for $29/mo with a 30-day free trial and no additional per-document fees. There is no limit on the number of scanned documents. The mobile app is available for download in the iPhone App Store and the Android Market.

Konica on course for Growth

At the Konica Minolta European Leadership Conference 2011 in Munich last Friday over 1,200 customers and partners gained a qualified insight into the concepts and future of the traditional brand for Business Solutions. The Group is focused on an expansion strategy with growth to be achieved through consistent positioning as a comprehensive solution provider in the B2B sector. The pan-European approach is as follows: Expansion of the business segments Optimized Print Services, Production Printing, and Solutions and intensification of partnerships.
For Ken Osuga, President of Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe, the Groups' path and objective, at the European Leadership Conference 2011 in Munich, are clear: "Konica Minolta is targeting company growth in Europe. We will obtain the required productivity and value creation by continuing to pursue the external and internal transformation to a solutions provider. The key levers for this are the expansion of the business segments Optimized Print Services and Production Printing and the extension of Services and Solutions."
The event slogan - "T(w)ogether for Tomorrow" - refers to a further business principle: Strategic cooperation and distribution partners play a central role in implementing the business model. "More complex IT structures and flexible working processes always require new combinations of system technology, software and applications. Apart from internal solutions and software, we also require specific partner know-how in order
to react precisely to the individual requirements of various different projects," says Osuga.
The Group is currently targeting strong growth in the area of Production Printing. Konica Minolta Europe is well positioned in this area. The new flagship in Professional Production Printing, the bizhub PRESS C8000 has proven to be a bestseller.
Optimized Print Services (OPS) is also expanding and offering its services throughout Europe. Launched in 2010, the segment has rapidly become a trend-setting tool for comprehensive external print and document services in B2B business. This also has consequences in the area of hardware: Numerous OPS projects clearly demonstrated an additional demand for A4 systems in the black-and-white segment. Konica Minolta
will react to this demand with new systems.

Canon seeing no sales downturn

Canon has so far seen no downturn in sales sparked by the European financial crisis, but cannot predict its effect on the year-end shopping season, the company's chief financial officer told Reuters on Wednesday. "We had a global meeting last week, involving the sales heads from America, Europe and Asia," Toshizo Tanaka said in an interview at the company's Tokyo head office. "At that point, there were no pessimistic comments."

Commetrex Demonstrates Fax Capability at ITEXPO West

Think fax technology is dead? Think again – even with the technology advancements in telecommunications, a number of companies continue to use fax technology in their business. While the analog fax seems to be going the way of the rotary telephone, all IP deployments have opened up a whole new world of fax capabilities. Some of these innovations were on hand at ITEXPO West in Austin, TX.

HP, Condé Nast Team Up to Offer Content Piped to Printers

Forget tablets—Hewlett-Packard clearly has—could the future of putting content in front of eyeballs be all about paper and ink? Roughly two months after killing off its webOS-based TouchPad tablet, HP on Wednesday touted a new partnership with Condé Nast "to explore a new digital content distribution medium that merges rich content and digital-to-print service" called HP Instant Ink. The collaboration kicks off with a pilot subscription service that delivers replacement ink to HP printer owners in their homes or workplaces while another linked service pipes Condé Nast-branded digital content to be printed out on said Web-connected printers.

GreenPrint Software Seeks the Most Efficient Printer for the Job

GreenPrint Technologies has launched a public beta version of its GreenPrint Advisor software, which is designed to help users redirect print jobs to the most cost-effective and efficient printer. GreenPrint Advisor  categorizes all printers in a corporate environment as either “red,” “yellow,” or “green,” based on the printer’s cost and efficiency attributes. When a user prints to a red or yellow printer, and a green printer is available, Advisor pops up with a message highlighting the undesirability of the selected printer and the savings possible if the job is transferred to the green printer. The user can then move the print job with a single click, creating substantial savings, GreenPrint says.

TransAct Technologies Unveils New BANKjet Printers

TransAct Technologies Incorporated announced the unveiling of two new BANKjet printers at the BAI Retail Delivery 2011 in Chicago. Both printers will utilize thermal printing technology, which will enable banks to print deposit receipts at the teller station for their customers with the check image on the receipt, thus enhancing the experience for bank customers.
BANKjet T380 -- Printing at 12 Inches per Second, Second to None -- At 12 ips, the BANKjet T380 is the fastest text and graphics teller-station printer in the industry. The extra large, four-inch drop-in paper roll maximizes uptime and allows for more prints between paper roll changes. The T380 has an ergonomic, space-saving internal power supply keeping the teller station free of clutter. It comes with a USB interface standard, plus an optional choice of second interface for connection to existing bank teller station platforms.
BANKjet T480 -- Stacking Bank Receipts -- The BANKjet T480 is the first teller-station printer in the industry to print and stack multi-check deposit receipts -- complete with the image of the check. Instead of a receipt that could easily run anywhere from 12 to 24 inches long, the T480 prints multiple receipts and neatly stacks them on the printer for easy handling by the bank teller operator. An extra large paper roll capacity allows for either a 4, 6 or 7.5 inch roll, which maximizes uptime and means more check image receipts between paper changes. The T480 has a space-saving internal power supply minimizing clutter at the teller station while using a standard USB 2.0 connection for convenience.

Laser printers shipments fall off in Q2 2011, but inkjets soar

The laser printer market fell short of forecasts in Q2 2011, according to analyst firm, IDC. But the rest of the printer market grew. The overall A/NZ printer market recorded a 10 per cent year-on-year and 5 per cent sequential growth in Q2 2011. However, the number of overall shipments hit 760,000; a decrease from an expected 780,000. IDC expects this number to drop further in the third quarter estimating an 11 per cent dip sequentially due to a seasonal slowdown in the printer market.

Think laser printers are too costly?

If you never print color, the laser suddenly is a viable alternative to inkjets. While the entry-level machines in both types cost about the same, the crunch comes when buying inkjet cartridges. Here the laser shines, merrily churning out piles of printouts at about a third the cost of inkjets. Big pluses: Unlike with inkjets, laser cartridges have fallen with printer prices, further cementing their value.

High Definition Color Printer With White Toner to be Introduced for Under $10,000 at the 2011 SGIA Expo

OKI Data Americas announced that the new OKI pro920WT digital color printer will debut at the upcoming 2011 SGIA Expo taking place October 19-21, 2011 in New Orleans, LA. The pro920WT is a tabloid/A3 digital color printer with high-quality, full-color capabilities plus white toner for graphics, signage and textile transfers.
The OKI pro920WT operates at 31 ppm color/36 ppm mono, and employs High Definition (HD) Color printing technology with up to 1200 x 600 dpi resolution to deliver clear, sharp text and graphics whether on ordinary paper, transfer or transparent media. The pro920WT supplements OKI's proColor Series -- a line of high impact digital color printers that serves the graphic arts, production, specialty printing and imaging technologies industries. The OKI proColor Series delivers professional, production-quality color output and color accuracy powered by embedded EFI Fiery and PANTONE support on select models.
"OKI is excited to offer SGIA Expo attendees the first look at the pro920WT and demonstrate its unique color and transfer printing capabilities," said Rich Egert, General Manager of the Strategic Technology Provider Business Group for OKI Data Americas. "The OKI pro920WT is the first and only printer that includes white toner to enter the market at this price-point. There is no other white toner-based product in the world that delivers something as unique and as innovative as does the pro920WT."
Graphics One has been selected as an authorized reseller of the OKI pro920WT, and will serve as national distribution partner for the product throughout the US -- supplementing the company's line of product offerings within the direct-to-garment and dye sublimation markets.
According to Dan Barefoot, President of Graphics One, "The OKI pro920WT is the optimal solution for those requiring industrial high speed transfer capabilities. With lower-cost textile transfer media, including light and dark substrates, combined with lower costs per copy, this product is perfect for our distribution channel."

Printer Makers Look To Service Model For Growth

Printing companies, facing stalling growth in traditional hardware and supplies sales, are increasingly competing for contracts to overhaul the way their customers deal with printing. Competition has intensified among Xerox Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co.  and others in providing so-called managed print services, in which they handle all of a customer's printing needs--from the machines and ink to consulting on reducing costs--typically over the course of a three- to five-year contract. The business is set to grow 11% to $9.4 billion this year, according to market researcher International Data Corp.

Bacteria harnessed as nature’s 3D printer

3D printing has clearly gotten far more affordable these days thanks to the advancement in technology, but that doesn’t mean such printers are dirt cheap as the inkjets that you see lurking on store shelves all over the place. Folks over at IDEO are currently working hand-in-hand with scientists in order to find a way to have E. coli bacteria form objects, such as a coffee cup, whenever it is exposed to light. Hmmm, E. coli does not sound like the kind of bacteria that I would like my lips to cozy up to, but if this is nature’s best bet at 3D printing, I am willing to give it a chance (after increasing my insurance premium, of course).

Printer Supplies Northwest Sees Major Surge in Business

Printer Supplies Northwest, a premium replacement supplier of ink and toner cartridges, has recently seen a dramatic surge in customers in 2011. According to the printer supply experts, the upsurge in new clients is due to businesses seeking ways to cut costs and remain solvent without compromising quality.
The recent increase in customers for the supplier is not only due to the savings but equally to the 100 percent unconditional guarantee that ensures products meet or exceed the OEM performance specifications. “All of our components are 100 percent compatible with the original product and are manufactured at primary factories under ISO 9000, 9002, 14001 and STMC Specification Guidelines for Certified Facilities,” said a Printer Supplies Northwest specialist. Consequently, our business customers know their machines will work like the day they were new.”

Canon, Oracle to Develop Document Processing Technology

Canon will work with Oracle to integrate its business copiers and printers with the software giant's database and server products. As a first step in the partnership, Canon subsidiary IT Solutions will sell a new platform that easily links products like Canon's imageRunner Advance copiers with Oracle's database, WebLogic and other offerings, the two companies said Monday. The new platform will go on sale from January in Japan and in the first half of the year in the U.S. and Europe.

3-D adds new dimension to printing

A 3-D printer allows parts to be built using software, to see how they look and feel. "It is better to have a tangible piece in your hands," said Peter Russell, 19, a sophomore electrical engineering major from Portland, Ore. Unlike standard 2-D printing, 3-D technology allows an object to be duplicated by stacking materials, usually a polymer, into a real-life model. The printer is of high quality and can even produce color.
Before this technology, manufacturing was done differently. "Traditionally, prototypes had to be made by hand," said mechanical engineering professor Danner Friend.

Toner Warehouse becomes a Fuji Xerox Printers authorised distributor

Fuji Xerox Printers today announced the appointment of Toner Warehouse as an authorised consumables distributor in Australia. Toner Warehouse is a specialist in the distribution of IT consumables and will distribute Fuji Xerox Printers consumables to its wide range of resellers including independent retailers, office products suppliers and stationery suppliers.
David Borg, general manager of Fuji Xerox Printers, Australia and New Zealand said, “The Fuji Xerox Printers business has achieved more than 40% growth in recent years. The addition of Toner Warehouse to our authorised distributor program ensures we are well positioned to support our ever-increasing network of resellers across the country.
“We have enjoyed a strong relationship with Toner Warehouse for many years and are confident that this appointment will enhance what is an already successful formula,” he continues.
As an authorised distributor Toner Warehouse will be part of Fuji Xerox Printer’s Channel 1st partner program.  The program provides rebates, training and online tools to resellers who advocate the use of a complete Fuji Xerox printing system including the use of genuine branded ink and consumables

3D printers - our Star Trek replicators?

In Star Trek, humans could fill almost any need with machines called replicators that could produce almost any object (or food and drink) asked of them. Today, the nearest technology we have to that sci-fi vision are 3D printers, computer-controlled machines capable of building almost anything - blood vessels, a small plane, even other 3D printers. Nick Heath of silicon.com takes a look at the most outlandish objects that are emerging from 3D printers. Plus, SmartPlanet has chipped in with some cool ideas that could become mainstream in just a few years,

PDF Reader Updates to Offer Total Solution for Mobile Reading on iPhone

Kdan Mobile has released PDF Reader - (File Scanner, File Viewer, File Storage) 3.8, a major update to its powerful mobile reading application on iPhone and iPod Touch. Top-ranked in the Utilities category of App Stores throughout the world, the app has already proven itself to be the ultimate mobile reading solution for iOS devices. To further enhance users' mobile reading experience, PDF Reader 3.8 is now equipped with a brand new user interface and optimized annotation tools. The new version also comes with features of PDF form filling, air play, support to RAR, ePub, CBR, CBZ files, and additional cloud storage options such as FTP download and GoogleDocs online editing.
The biggest strengths of PDF Reader, as pointed out by various reviewers and users, are fast file rendering speed and easy navigation interface. Both strengths enable users to scroll through pages effortlessly when viewing all major types of files. Furthermore, PDF Reader offers a way to transfer files easily and a handy built-in scanner, improving work efficiency of users from all walks of life. For students, PDF Reader makes it less of a hassle to take notes and work on team assignments. For sales or contractors, PDF Reader supports PDF signature and PDF form filling that give users greater convenience.
Kdan Mobile also revealed its future plan to release an enterprise version for its much-praised PDF Reader series. "More and more businesses are adopting the iPhone and the iPad to fulfill professional needs, and it's our responsibility to provide an ideal mobile working environment for users in that community," said Wen-Wei Lin, CTO of Kdan Mobile. According to Mr. Lin, PDF Reader for Enterprise will be built on the original app with support to various professional functions catering to suit specific business needs.

Protective Overcoat for Thermal Printheads makes thermal printheads six times more resistant to corrosion

Kyocera announced its new KC-50 Series protective overcoat for thermal printheads — an innovation that improves corrosion resistance by six times while offering increased energy efficiency and higher print quality. Many flat-type thermal printheads manufactured by Kyocera will soon be available with the KC-50 Series protective overcoat.

Foxit Releases PDF Software Development Kit Upgrade

Foxit Corporation, a provider of solutions for reading, editing, creating, organizing, and securing PDF documents, announced the release of PDF SDK DLL 3.1. This release will enable businesses to provide authorized personnel with online access to secure PDF content via a safe conduit. Historically, enterprises, publishers of electronic content, and developers of digital rights management (DRM) solutions have wanted to increase the security of their confidential PDF content by means of their own encryption methods. As a result, many of these organizations have leveraged non-Foxit PDF solutions and have invested their time and energy into developing, building, deploying and supporting their own customized versions of DRM. Recently, however, these companies have found that their customized DRM solutions will no longer be supported by their PDF technology of choice and are being forced to quickly find an alternative or risk losing out on their investment. Fortunately, Foxit has stepped up to fill the gap by providing a standout alternative, delivered through its leading PDF technology that the industry already knows and trusts. For companies looking to integrate and customize a true "plug and play" and trusted PDF technology into their applications, the Foxit PDF SDK DLL is a single assembly reference for their PDF needs. Packaged in a dynamic library without any dependencies on third-party components, the PDF SDK DLL provides a PDF environment whereby developers have deep control over modules. Fine grain control enables PDF developers to highly customize their PDF implementation to add value and differentiate their offerings. What's more, the new Security Module allows developers to

Hack a Label Printer into a Twitter Hashtag Ticker

Software developer and maker John Riney hacked a thermal label printer into accepting standard receipt paper rolls and then wrote code to create an app that checks Twitter every 30 seconds and will print out any tweets that have a particular hashtag. This modern interpretation of a ticker tape was inspired by how the author was alerted to the recent east coast earthquake by tweets before it appeared on any other online or broadcast news source.

Canon goes national with inkjet recycling program

Canon U.S.A. has teamed up with FedEx Office to support nationwide collection of inkjet cartridges for recycling. The collaborative effort by Canon, FedEx Office, Sims Recycling Solutions and Close the Loop is focused on collecting empty PIXMA inkjet cartridges. After being collected in one of more than 1,600 FedEx Office locations, the cartridges will be processed by Sims Recycling (in one of 13 sites) and then passed on to Close the Loop for material recovery. For example, the Close the Loop organization recovers inkjet plastics for felt-tip pens and markers. It can also use the recycled inks for industrial coloring agents.

Xerox unveils new range of A4 print devices in color printers

Xerox India, a part of Xerox Corporation, launched a new range of entry level to mid segment A4 print devices in color to help small and medium businesses (SMBs) create professional-looking documents in house without busting budgets, that deliver high-quality color in a compact package. This new range of printers from Xerox comes in a small form factor and offering simplicity and dependability especially when office space is at a premium for individual users and small work teams.