Posts in Printers
Samsung showcases world's fastest laser printers
Leonard Goh | May 12, 2008These printers are not targeted at the usual home users but geared more toward corporations and enterprise.
The MultiXpress 6555N is a digital mono laser MFP capable of churning out 53 pages per minute (ppm). It comes with an 80GB built-in harddisk for storing files that are sent over the network. The A4-MFP also sports a 7-inch color touchscreen for accessing the menus. The 6555N succeeds the 6345N which prints at 43ppm.
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New way to save energy: Disappearing ink
Michael Kanellos | May 01, 2008
Think of it as the future of today's paper.
The Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and parent company Xerox are experimenting with a type of paper and a complimentary printer that would produce documents that fade away after 16 to 24 hours. A restaurant, for instance, could print its daily specials on a piece of paper, attach the pieces of paper to menus, and then collect the sheets of then-blank paper in the morning to run through the printer again.
This piece of paper is blank, but about
eight hours ago it said, 'Reusable Paper.
Xerox Parc Inside Innovation at Xerox'
in block purple letters.
(Credit: Michael Kanellos/CNET Networks)
Users don't have to wait for the paper to fade either. By running it through the special printer made for this paper, the printer will erase the old image before putting the new one on.
The paper and printer could hit the market in a few years.
The same sheets of paper can be run through the printer hundreds of time, according to tests conducted by Xerox, said Eric Shrader, area manager, energy systems, device hardware laboratory at Xerox. Typically, the paper isn't reusable only when it gets damaged or crumpled.
The idea is to cut the amount of energy consumed in making paper and printing. Like refurbished PC makers have noted, reusing an item consumes a lot less power than making a new one, or even recycling one.
It takes about 204,000 joules to make a sheet of paper, Shrader said. That's about the same amount of power required to run a 60-watt light bulb for an hour, he added. Recycling that same sheet of paper takes about 114,000 joules.
Printing a conventional 8x11.5 sheet of paper takes about 2,000 joules, he said.
Reusable paper takes a lot less effort. It only takes 1,000 joules to print an image on one of Xerox's reusable sheets of paper, and that's if you use the printer to erase the image. If you let the image fade naturally, it only takes about 100 joules to print. It takes energy to produce the special paper, but the energy consumed in recycling fades out.
"Being able to reuse paper is a big energy win," Shrader said.
Energy has become a major focus of research at PARC over the last three years. The lab, which Xerox opened in the '70s, helped create the PC, inkjet printing, and Ethernet networking. Xerox, however, didn't commercialize a lot of these inventions successfully; instead, companies like Apple borrowed liberally from the lab to great effect. PARC now functions relatively independently, coming up with inventions to license to others.
Not every document is right for reusable paper. Presentations and legal contracts probably need to be printed on something more permanent. But lunch menus, daily work summaries, and memos from meetings can all potentially take advantage of this. Xerox says that 44.5 percent of documents are printed for one-time use and 25 percent of all documents printed get recycled the same day. (Lyra Research estimates that 15.2 trillion pages get printed worldwide a year, a figure that will grow 30 percent over the next 10 years.)
"Think of the Google map you printed to get here," Shrader said. "Thirty years ago, we said the future was paperless."
The paper and the printer will be a little bit more expensive than their conventional counterparts. The photosensitive molecule embedded in the paper is proprietary.
While the paper shown in the photo is yellow with purple ink that appeared later, Xerox has produced white paper and can come up with a variety of ink colors. The company, however, has used yellow paper as an example so that focus groups know what sheets to reuse and which to recycle.
Via CNET Crave
Lexmark's new All-in-One lineup
Leonard Goh | Apr 29, 2008
Lexmark X6575
The X4650 is part of the Home and Student line of printers that Lexmark released earlier this year. It boasts Wi-Fi connectivity for wireless and network printing and, according to its Web site, the installation process is fuss-free and should be complete within 10 minutes. The X4650 can print, copy, scan and output pictures directly from flash media or PictBridge.
The X6575 is targeted at professionals and business users. It also has Wi-Fi which we think is great so everyone can print from it without the messy cables. It is fitted with an auto document feeder that can hold up to 25 pages for multiple-page copying or faxing.
Lexmark X2650
According to its specifications, the X2650 looks like an AIO for students. Stripped of the slots for memory cards and PictBridge function, this printer houses the bare essentials of what is required for an AIO--copy and scan on top of printing, which is what a student may be using the most.
As of press time, Lexmark Singapore could not confirm the pricing and availability of these models in Asia Pacific, but we're keeping an eye out for you. Check back here for more updates.
Painless tattoos the inkjet way
Juniper Foo | Apr 07, 2008
Considering the amount of airtime, not to mention ink and skin, devoted to the art of tattooing--from Miami Ink to LA Ink, to Tattoo Wars-- it's no surprise to come across this Inkjet Tattoo Paper. Nothing like starting them young. Though even geriatrics can get to look like tough, old meanies without having to squeal like a girl under a needle that's jabbing you like a Singer machine gone berserk. After all, this is water-based and non-toxic (try selling that to the Goths), and washes off with some soap and water.
Comes cheap, too, if you consider that it's only US$5 per single A4-sized Inkjet Tattoo Paper, compared to the real McCoy. All you need for some body art is a design or digital image on your PC, printing this out onto the Tattoo Paper, and applying the adhesive side to your skin with a wet sponge.
Of course, if you want to keep the tattoo on a bit longer, you might have to forego showering for a couple of weeks. Though make sure it's your body of work, and not the BO, that's knocking your admirers off their feet.
Check out Makezine for some fab fake tattoos.
A printer that sits on your notebook lid
Leonard Goh | Mar 05, 2008
While the image of a printer has always been a beige and bulky contraception that takes up too much space on the desk, designer Hung Chih Wang wants to change that by introducing Trak.
His mobile printer fits comfortably on the back of the screen of a notebook and is powered by USB, so there are no messy power cables looping around. The printer head is detachable, and zips along a track on the printer itself to get the job done.
The pictures on the Web show black-and-white printouts, but we hope a color version will come out soon. With a detachable printhead, this shouldn't be a difficult task.
While it seems that this is still in development, we can see Trak going a long way as an indispensable companion for road warriors who need to get work done while on the road.
Via Yanko Design
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