Printer Companies Launch Alliance to Promote and Simplify Mobile Printing

Canon, HP, Samsung and Xerox have joined forces to form the Mopria Alliance, described as a global non-profit organisation, aims to address customer and industry need for "simple, standardized, brand-agnostic mobile printing" as well as "promote, simplify and increase accessibility" of wireless printing from smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices.

The Alliance will bring together the mobile, software and print industries with the aim of aligning to standards that make printing universally compatible from any mobile device to any printer anywhere; and will focus on breaking down barriers between brands by eliminating the need for users to download multiple print drivers, as well as creating a better, more accessible user experience for mobile printing.

It is the intention of the OEMs to introduce the Mopria brand and use it as a vehicle to educate consumers and businesses on the ease-of-use of mobile printing; and to influence the development and adoption of standards for mobile printing. Furthermore, Mopria will provide software developers with an open environment and tools to incorporate print into mobile applications.

Standardizing mobile printing in turn will enable mobile app developers, along with other industry players, to focus resources on innovation and new features beyond simply maintaining basic print functions.

Source: OEMs launch alliance to promote and simplify mobile printing

Xerox Releases the World's Smallest Width Inkjet Printer

Targeting the data and commercial printing markets, Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. launched 1400 Inkjet Color Continuous Feed Printing System that prints at 100 meters per minute in full-color, duplex (equivalent to 1,312 pages of double-sided, 2-up A4 document). The installations of new system started on in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region on September 13.

The new system employs an inkjet printing system, which enables high-speed printing. Among printers with the equivalent output speed of 100 meters per minute, the width of 1400 Inkjet Color Continuous Feed Printing System is the world smallest, and its body is lightweight by employing robust but light aluminum frame, enabling installation of the device on above-ground floor levels.

Its output quality and data print reliability, which are essential for variable data printing, are equivalent to those of currently available higher model, offering efficient cost performance.

1400 Inkjet Color Continuous Feed Printing System features:
· Smaller footprint realizing the world's smallest width (in its class) of 8,200 millimeters by adopting a mid-infrared heater.
· Enables the device to be installed on above-ground floor levels by employing the light and robust aluminum frame, and distributing the weight load of the two inkjet units to the floor (less than 500 kilograms per square meter).
· The newly-developed controller— a high-speed raster image processor (RIP) accelerator— boosts the data conversion performance for variable printing to ensure the output speed of the printer engine.
· High resolution of 600 x 600 dots per inch and a stability mechanism for paper path—the same as those in business form offset presses—allow clear characters and numbers, beautifully reproduced photographs, and sharp 2-dimension barcodes.
· The easy-to-operate touch panel enables users to intuitively understand the status of the printer, job queues and RIP progresses, maximizing the operation efficiency.

In industries including banking and finance, life insurance, securities and telecom, which need to issue documents such as account statements and invoices to individual customers, there is a growing need for high-volume printing in short lead time as well as for variable printing that personalizes each customer's document, which would encourage consumers to make a purchase decision or boost response rates.

By introducing this new color production printing system, Fuji Xerox has further reinforced its lineup coverage in the high-speed printing market to contribute to customers' business expansion, while providing added value to print material users.

This product will be exhibited at the Japan Graphic Art Show 2013, held at Tokyo Big Sight from October 2 to 5.

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Source: Fuji Xerox Releases Lightweight Full-Color, High-Speed Inkjet Printer With the World's Smallest Width

iPhones and iPads Are Scanners Now

PaperScan, a free app by DocuWare, is now available for turning an iPhone or iPad into a document scanner. DocuWare, a global leader in the field of document management, developed PaperScan to conveniently bring order to paper clutter.

Scanned documents need to be of a high quality for further processing. At the same time, they need to be captured in a small size and familiar format, so that they can be easily printed, integrated into office workflows or shared. Using a smartphone as a scanner is an ideal option for anyone who needs to scan receipts, business cards, or letters, whether in the office, at home or while traveling. DocuWare is now offering PaperScan for this type of mobile use.

Using PaperScan is simple: aim a smartphone or tablet over the paper; the device automatically captures the image, cuts it to size, and creates a perfect PDF file. Thanks to the high scan quality, documents can then be automatically stored using DocuWare's Intelligent Indexing Service.

PaperScan isn't only for use with DocuWare solutions. The high-quality PDF documents generated can also be directly placed in a personal Dropbox folder, sent by email or printed via AirPrint. This means the application possibilities are endless.

For comfort and scan quality, DocuWare developed special algorithms for document recognition and the patents are pending. PaperScan is now available at the Apple store as a free download (search one word: paperscan) for iPhone version 4 and up and iPad. An Android version will follow by year's end.

Source: DocuWare Turns iPhone and iPad into Scanner - Free Mobile Scanning

Letters in the sky -- foam printing

Epson showed off its latest printers at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin printing out floating letters using helium filled foam.
It can print relatively solid 3D shapes from soap foam and fill the bubbles with helium making the objects light enough to be picked by the wind.
Amazing promotional opportunity for a number of brands wanting to generate attention and highly recommended for love letters and other flights of fancy!

Virus alert for Samsung cartridge chips

The Recycler understands that chips fitted to cloned Samsung MLT-D101 cartridges and also supplied to remanufacturers are infecting Samsung printers, and locking out OEM cartridges.

According to two people familiar with the issue, the chips were sourced in Asia and supplied to several companies producing new, non-OEM Samsung MLT-D101 cartridges, as well as to remanufacturers around the world.

An engineer who spoke with The Recycler said that the offending chips infect the printers and lock out OEM cartridges. As a result of the virus infection Samsung has, The Recycler understands, released a series of downloadable firmware updates for printers using the Samsung MLT-D101 cartridge, which restore full functionality to the printer but lock out clone and remanufactured cartridges using the offending chip.

This is the first time Samsung has issued downloadable firmware updates, indicating the serious impact this malicious virus might have on printer users. According to another source, the firmware is not yet available in all regions, but they expect Samsung to increase its IP protection. The Recycler understands that new Samsung printers are being shipped with a more robust firmware version installed.

The impact for remanufactures could be catastrophic if and when printer users and Samsung take action against the chip manufacturers and remanufacturers that have supplied a virus-infected chip on a cartridge. This also reinforces the need for remanufacturers to have a total understanding of the IP issues and the functionality of chips fitted to their remanufactured products.

The Recycler is waiting on a response from Samsung and chip manufacturers before issuing a further update.

Visit www.priceless-inkjet.com for you printer supplies needs.

Source: Virus alert for Samsung cartridge chips

Never Forget -- Patriot Day 2013

New Solution for Copy Shops from HP

Hewlett Packard / HP announced the new HP Designjet Z5400 PostScript ePrinter, expanding the HP Designjet Z-series portfolio with the first multi-roll, large-format ePrinter for copy shops.

The new printer helps customers increase their print offerings to address a wider range of requests without a large capital investment.

Copy shops often fulfill urgent and diverse print requests, so they depend on solutions that can produce a large variety of applications quickly and efficiently without compromising quality. The HP Designjet Z5400 PostScript ePrinter helps copy shops respond to these demands.

The 44-inch device is ideal for printing large-format applications with high image quality, such as posters, photos, canvases, backlit prints, indoor signs, point-of-sale posters, line drawings and maps. The HP ePrinter provides fast delivery of completed print projects with two-roll media and automatic switching features. This increases productivity by reducing time spent changing media as well as downtime in between multiple print jobs.

Copy shop customers expect quick turnaround times and prints with consistent color tones and image quality. The HP Designjet Z5400 PostScript ePrinter features HP Multi-Dimensional Smart Drop Placement Technology, which provides increased levels of color accuracy for reliable operation. Based on automatic drop detection and intelligent masking capabilities, the technology detects then corrects ink placement errors during printing to increase efficiency and reduce waste.

"In this highly competitive industry, the HP Designjet Z5400 PostScript ePrinter enables us to expand our in-house print capabilities with a wide variety of high-quality color applications," said Brandon Harrop, art director, Express Imaging. "We can now complete print jobs faster with the printer’s two-roll media feature and expect to triple our business with a wider variety of print offerings."

Driving business growth with increased efficiency and durability
Copy shops can employ HP Instant Printing PRO to preview, crop and easily print PDF, PostScript, HP-GL/2, TIFF and JPEG files. Additionally, the web-connected HP Designjet Z5400 features automatic software updates, USB flash drive or email printing, as well as a color touch screen and print preview for quick checking of prints.

The HP Designjet Z5400 PostScript ePrinter allows copy shops to produce durable, water-resistant prints that can last up to 200 years. The HP ePrinter uses six HP Photo Inks with three different shades of black to produce quality color and black-and-white images with up to 2,400 x 1,200 dots per inch (dpi).

"Our customers are constantly under competitive pressure to differentiate their print offerings and meet tight deadlines," said Ramon Pastor, vice president and general manager, Large Format Printing, HP. "To help our customers address these needs, HP continues to deliver innovations built to fit the varying demands of graphic professionals."

Large-format portfolio expanded with the customer in mind
With the addition of the HP Designjet Z5400 PostScript ePrinter, HP continues to provide affordable and easy-to-use large-format printing solutions. Designed to deliver high-quality, durable prints with speed, productivity and efficiency, the HP Designjet Z-series printers includes:
· HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer: Ideal for copy shops and print service providers who strive for the highest print quality and maximum speed.
· HP Designjet Z5200 PostScript Printer: With eight inks, this device is suited for copy shops that have a demand for high-quality, graphic print jobs with an affordable solution.
· HP Designjet Z3200 and Z2100 Photo Printers: These two printers, with 12 inks and eight inks, respectively, provide high-impact, long-lasting color prints with a wide color-gamut for pro labs, photography and graphic design professionals.

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Source: HP Expands Designjet Z-Series Portfolio With New Solution for Copy Shops