Monday, March 17, 2014

Selecting The Right Plotter Paper

Believe it or not plotter paper is the only type that can be used with a plotter machine and with certain software. It is a well known necessity to the success of various different design trades.

Plotter paper is a specialty paper that is used with printers that can print vector graphics. They are used with specialty software, primarily by people that design things. Such as architects, engineers and other trades that build things.

It has been used historically by people in the design industry to transfer their drawings to. Before the use of computers became widely available, it was used to hand draw designs.

It comes in many different sizes and textures, there are different weights and specifications that determine what type of machine it will be best used with.

One type that is used is Vellum paper. This is preferred for ink jet printing, because the blueprints are crisp and clear. It comes in a size that is suitable for blueprints at twenty four inches by one hundred and fifty feet. The roll weighs around eighteen pounds. This is a rather expensive because it is such high quality. This type of paper is usually reserved for the final printing of the plans or designs that are going to be shown to the client.

Gloss presentation paper is a form of plotter paper that is also used to display the final product. It is also favored for the clear lines that it produces. This does not work that well with ink jet printing, it is the preferred method for pen plotting, using a pen plotting machine. It is less expensive than Vellum paper.

Bond paper is the most commonly used type because it is less expensive than Vellum. As a matter of fact a good alternative to Vellum is translucent bond paper. This type is very versatile and can be used with both a pen plotter machine and an inkjet printer.

Most plotter paper is sold is rolls, although there is some that is sold in large flat sheets to work with the flat sheet design printers that have increased in popularity since their inception.

There are several types of plotter paper to choose from, each with its own set of benefits and drawbacks. This is meant to be used with laser plotters, which are a fairly common piece of industrial machinery.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Remanufactured Cartridges vs. Compatible Cartridges

Mainly there are 3 types of printer cartridges - OEM, Compatible and Remanufactured. One of the 1st cartridges to hit the market bearing brand names was the OEM ones. They are costly and standardized. But many customers want cartridges which are specially manufactured to meet certain requirements and exceed beyond the OEM ones. These are the compatible ones. They are customized to meet specific client needs and hence are not branded like Exxon, Canon etc. they are manufactured by third parties and not the actual manufacturers. They can either be 100% compatible or less. If the cartridge is 100% compatible, it will be able to function with any kind of printer. This means that 100% compatible cartridge is recognized by any printer and hence will function smoothly.

But if the cartridge is not 100% compatible cartridge, then some printers may not be able to recognize it and functioning might be hampered. That is the main problem with compatible cartridges and faced by many customers. Hence, they are not really the first choice by most people. Compatible cartridges are usually more expensive than either OEM or remanufactured ones. The main difference between compatible and remanufactured is that compatible is made by assembling new parts where as re manufactured is made by using the already serviced parts. Remanufactured cartridges uses already serviced parts but go through a battery of tests which ensures supreme quality! Remanufactured cartridges have a fantastic combination of price and quality. Just because it is cheaper, that does not mean they compromise on quality. Quality is supreme but at affordable prices - which is what is most attractive for all customers!

It is thus, essential to make a prudent choice between different cartridges, printers and toners. Remember they are the life line of your organization. You do not want your work to be hampered. Visit us at macroenter.com for more information and excellent customer service. Our experts will help you make the right decision. You are not alone, we are here for you!

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

The Advantages of Using Polypropylene Vinyl Banners for Marketing Use

Every business wants to give their brand a supreme attention. Your brand recognition is not up to the mark and despite of spending lavishly on the marketing campaign. It is lacking the kind of publicity you want. May be there is just a minor point you are overlooking such as getting an attractive banner done for your products and services. Bingo. Ring the bell – this is it. No matter how efficient and brilliant the banner adverts. Is done, but if the look isn’t appealing it is doomed. People are not going to notice unless you put something worth watching.

Polypropylene vinyl banners are the best when it comes to marketing your brand. The banners prepared from polypropylene film rolls. Banners play a crucial role in building a brand and for the growth of the business. As the advertisement world is highly competitive, it requires a precise marketing strategy to present your brand/products and services. Banners are proved to be a great medium when it comes to reaching audiences.

Contrasting with the early days of marketing businesses and advertising agencies now a day uses polypropylene vinyl banners, as it is known to be the faster attractive means of marketing medium to promote the brand/products and services. In today’s gung ho age, businesses are looking for every opportunity to take hold of the attention of the customers and what could be better than having polypropylene vinyl banners.

The banners made from polypropylene film rolls can be used for outdoor as well as indoor use. The banners can be printed in different sizes depending on the marketing requirements of your brand. Whether you are promoting a special product, you are launching a special services, or just making awareness of people about your products and services the banners made from polypropylene prints effectively and provide a long lasting effect. The banners can be printed on the assortment of sizes if you wish to use in for the places like exhibitions, road shows, school parties, fashion shows, convention show etc.

Today professional printing companies are opting for these kinds of banners as it makes the printing easy and doesn’t take much of a hassle in printing them. Moreover, the banner looks very appealing with the minimalist effort. The primary reason behind its soaring popularity is these banners are durable, flexible and sturdy, hence no matter how bad weather is – it won’t hinder your marketing campaign.

Monday, March 3, 2014

The Advantages of Using Scrim Vinyl Banners for Marketing Use

Banners are known to be the most effective marketing medium no matter which high technology age we reside in. The banners have come a long way from simple paper to high end vinyl made. With the availability of different vinyl banners, people have grown fond of them and have started using as per their business requirements. Amongst a wide range of vinyl banners, scrim vinyl banners are now a day widely used for marketing purpose.

The reason behind their growing popularity of scrim vinyl banners is they are sturdy and flexible. The banners can be designed in various sizes depending on your marketing campaign. Additionally, they are long lasting hence can be reused if required.

The advantages of using scrim vinyl are endless; however, some of the vital ones are listed below:
• The paper is well coated with scrim vinyl layers and it is a block out tear resistant
• It has an extremely smooth surface
• It has a water resistant characteristics and let the high image quality resolution and provides vibrant color reproduction

Scrim vinyl banners are ideal for those marketing campaigns who want to portray some vibrant and creative messages. The black out and adhesive makes it great for printing and allows two sided printing as well. The benefits that your marketing campaign can achieve are plenty, below mentioned are some of them listed that provides an abundance of opportunities to boost the businesses.

Easy To Attract Customers
Scrim vinyl banners are appealing in nature, hence; printing banners on the material makes the job easier to attract the customers. The banners look more creative and vibrant. No matter what you wish to advertise, these banners serve the purpose effectively.

Multiple Uses
The banners made up form scrim vinyl can be used for multiple reasons such as parties, exhibitions, fashion shows, welcome signs, churches, yard signs etc.  These can be re-used as well, helping you save on the banner expenditure.

Durable in Quality
These banners are said to be the most hard-wearing in nature. They are weather and water resistant, hence; stands any harsh climatic conditions. It assures the long time functionality and last for years without any special maintenance.

There are numerous suppliers and manufacturers that provide you scrim vinyl banners at affordable rates. You can choose as per your marketing requirements and get the guaranteed results.  This is a new form of advertising which is surely getting noticed by many.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Pen Plotter, History



Pen plotters print by shifting a pen or other device across the face of a piece of paper. This signifies that plotters are vector graphics apparatus, rather than raster graphics as with other printers. Pen plotters can illustrate multifaceted line art, including text, but do so unhurriedly because of the power-driven movement of the pens. They are time and again incapable of capably creating a solid area of color, but can hatch vicinity by sketching a number of close, standard lines.





Plotters presented the fastest way to economically create very large drawings or color high-resolution vector-based artwork when computer memory was very high-priced and processor power was much regulated, and other kind of printers had restricted graphic output capabilities.




Pen plotters have in essence become outdated, and have been supplanted by large-format inkjet printers and LED toner based printers. Such devices may still comprehend vector languages initially designed for plotter use, since in many uses; they recommend a more economical alternative to raster data.





Hewlett-Packard made its first acquirement in 1958 when it acquired the F Mosley company from California. Mosley made graphics recorders for implements. This industry subsequently became the San Diego Department which made Hewlett-Packard’s pen plotters. In the 70’s, pen plotters were the only way to get high-resolution hardcopy graphics production from computers. The outcome of output from graphics printers normally varied between 70 dots per inch and 100 dots per inch. But, even Hewlett-Packard’s first digital pen plotters could create a line resolution equivalent to 1000 dpi. Until 1987, pen plotters were also the lone cost-effective means of getting color output from computers.





Put side by side to modern color inkjet and laser printers, pen plotters were very time-consuming and unwieldy to use. Users had to frequently worry about a pen running out of ink. If one pen ran dried out at the end of a plot, the total plot had to be re-done. Hewlett-Packard plotters were also restricted to a maximum of 8 dissimilar colors, without having to alter pens in the halfway point of a plot. Lastly, plotters could only illustrate lines and vectors; they couldn't duplicate raster or accurate images. In spite of these limitations, the extreme resolution and color capability of pen plotters made them the color hardcopy output device of choice until the late 80’s. During this time, Hewlett-Packard benefit from a worldwide market share of over 50%.





Plotters were a fine, while not spectacular, dealings for Hewlett-Packard through the end of the 70’s. After that, the business expanded quickly due to 3 factors. 1st, Hewlett-Packard introduced paper-moving plotters to change the old flatbed technology. 2nd, Hewlett-Packard entered the outsized -format plotter business which had beforehand been the domain of companies like Calcomp and Versatec. 3rd, association of Hewlett-Packard pen plotters to non- Hewlett-Packard systems developed dramatically. The link to non- Hewlett-Packard systems was driven by use of business graphics on IBM and well-matched Personal Computers.


 

These commodities were utilized at Hewlett-Packard’s San Diego Branch. Pen plotters were product line 30 for the section until the product lines were split up in 1989.



For more information, please visit: http://www.macroenter.com

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Large-Format Printing: Suggestion and Guidelines

Printing with a large format printers can every now and then be tricky and complex. These guidelines and suggestion should help circumvent some probable problems.

  • Margins. Set aside for the non-printable area in the margins. Limit design space is 41.6 inches on 42-inch paper. Failing to take into account the non-printable area can cause adverse results (uneven, clipping, scaling, and others).

  • Stay away from Long Documents. If not your design center on the need for a sole long document, map your document as a progression of panels. Bigger files take long time to process. Long documents are more expensive to re-print. With panels, only the tricky panels will need to be reprinted. The longest we suggest for a solo panel is 60 inches (by 41.6 inches).

  • Utilize a Scanner to Enlarge. If you have a flatbed scanner, you could widen an image by scanning it. This is perfect for enlarging old photographs or digital pictures that are too low resolution. If you are enlarging a digital pictures, print it out first at the extreme resolution and at the greatest size on first class paper, and then scan it. You now have a higher-resolution picture that you can print outsized than the original.

  • Save PDF files in the PDF/X format. Storing files as PDF for printing assures the picture and font information will be put together within your file. Screening the PDF at 100% may illustrate some likely problems prior to printing such as mislaid or low resolution imagery.

  • Photoshop. It is the most excellent application for editing pictures and performs mostly with pixels. A drawback with pixels is that the pixel based pictures is not to be scaled since all you are doing is enlarging the squares/pixels which lose attribute and clearness. If you are a web designer you will work very closely with Photoshop for numerous elements and graphics. Photoshop should not be used to produce text for print.

  • Optimize Documents. Document size promptly impacts handing out time. Optimizing your document will result in faster printing.

  • File Names. Employ folder names that exclusively identify your document. Adding up your own name, as piece of your folder name, is a fine place to begin.

  • Bring Your File With You. In particular the first few times you print. Bringing your file with you when you come to print will permit us to address any possible trouble right away.

  • Stay Close by For a Quick look. You are expected to pay for documents you request to print. After getting estimation, your document should commence printing, be available to scrutiny the document as it begin so you can call off if it is not printing as intended.

  • The best method to attain a desired result is to go trial and error then improve the process for your own needs.

Allow Plenty of Time. Large format printing takes a lot time Make time for the likelihood of a re-print.


For more information about Large Format Photo Printing, please visit: http://www.macroenter.com

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Large Format Printers

by
large format printersLarge-format printers are by and large accepted to be any printer with a print width between 16″ and 100″. Printers in excess of 100″ mark may be named Super-Wide or Grand format. Large format printers are employed to print streamers, placards and general poster and in some cases may be more cost-effective than short-run process such as screen printing. Large format printers usually use a roll of print material rather than single sheets and may include hot-air dryers to avoid prints from sticking to themselves as they are created.





 

Tools for making Large Format Printers:


  • Aqueous: thermal or Piezo inkjet printers employ an ink identified as aqueous or water-based. The expression water base is a usually acknowledged misnomer. The pigment is assumed in a non-reactive mover solution that is from time to time water and other times an alternative liquid, including soy sourced liquid. Aqueous ink commonly comes in 2 essences, Dye and Ultra Violet. Dye ink is extreme color, low Ultra Violet resistant variety that offers the widest color gamut. Ultra Violet ink is normally duller in color but hold up fading from Ultra Violet rays. In general principle to desktop inkjet printers. Completed prints using dye inks must be plastic-coated to safeguard them if they are to be used in the open air while prints using Ultra Violet inks can be employed outdoors un-laminated for a restricted time. A variety of materials are available, including posters, streamers, metabolized plastic and cloth. Aqueous technology needs that all materials be well coated to take and retain the ink.

  • Solvent: this phrase is used to express any ink that is not water-based. Piezo inkjet printers whose inks employ oil or a petroleum by-product such as acetone as its carrier liquid. Eco-solvent inks more often than not contain glycol esters or glycol ether esters and are time-consuming drying. The time-consuming prints are waterproof. May be used to print straightforward on uncoated vinyl and other medium as well as uneven substrates such as Foam Board and PVC.

  • Dye sublimation: inks are diffused into the unusual print media to create continuous-tone prints of photographic feature.

  • Ultra Violet: Piezo inkjet printers whose inks are Ultra Violet -curable (Dry when cured with Ultra Violet light). The ensuing prints are waterproof, pressed & dazzling. Any medium material can be used in this technology, polymer made medium are the finest. Ceramics, glass, metals, and woods are also employed with printing with this tool.

·        Pen/plotter: a pen or pens are utilized to illustrate on the print substrate. Chiefly used for producing Computer-aided design  drawings. Generally being outmoded by digital technologies such as Solvent, Aqueous, and Ultra Violet.

 

The utmost difference concerning digital printing and traditional methods is that there is no need to swap printing plates in digital printing, while in analog printing the plates are frequently change. This end result in quicker turnaround time and reduce expense when using digital printing, other than typically a loss of some excellent picture detail by most commercial digital printing procedure. The most accepted methods comprise inkjet or laser printers that leave pigment or toner onto a large variety of substrates as well as metal, photo paper, canvas, glass, limestone, paper, and other materials.


For more information about Large Format Photo Printing, please visit: http://www.macroenter.com