by [TC]²
A monthly column of technology rambling, rumination and reality
By: Jud Early, Corporate Vice President & CTO, [TC]²
Hello to all,
I know that each of you missed your monthly Technology Corner for August, and No, it didn't get caught in your spam filter. The problem is with the writer. This edition was delayed to allow reporting from the ATME-I show and AATCC conference. The August edition was delayed by having to deal with numerous daily issues which was really intrusive on my writing.
The July column was longer than I had intended, and probably longer than most of you wanted to read. This month I'll try to keep things a bit shorter.
You can scan the topics below, and click on the link if you find any of them interesting.
The Trials and Travails of Web Publishing
Something Free That Works As Promised
Digital Printing As Found At ATME-I
[TC]² Adds Color Measurement to Demo Center
The Trials and Travails of Web Publishing
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It's hard to believe it's been almost two years since we began discussion of the purchase of Techexchange from its founder, Teri Ross . Since January of 2003, we have enjoyed a number of challenges and opportunities.
This column debuted in June of last year, the year of SPAM explosion. Our first challenge was to avoid being caught up in the spam filters and appliances that were being installed to stop e-mails from spammers and malevolent senders. As we worked through how to do so, AOL began rejecting our newsletter as spam, not allowing our readers with AOL mail accounts to have the newsletter delivered. We now have in place a work-around that AOL requires, and which prevents our logo from coming through and makes the AOL version a bit ugly. Better ugly than non-deliverable.
Since its inception, e-mails to Techexchange subscribers had been sent by Teri and later by us through mail service from the site host. For years, there had been no problem. No problem until a black-hat hacker discovered that the mail list, though hidden, could be hijacked, and used to send viruses. A few of our readers were sent e-mails with a virus payload, with the sender shown as Techexchange. Thankfully, only a few people were mad enough to write, or for those who knew that it was not something we would do, to notify us of the problem. That led to the purchase of a bulk mail application, one that we control, and for which no list is ever sent outside our four walls. Another problem resolved.
The Can-Spam Act, signed into law last December by President Bush, has given honest senders cause to touch base with their subscribers, but has really not had the intended effect on the volume of spam. A few moths ago we polled our list and asked for your responses to allow sending our newsletter only to those who wish to receive it. There were a number of people who failed to respond to our invitation to opt in, so we will be sending another simple reminder to those who we have not received a reply. It is our intention to be model citizens of web mail etiquette, complying with the law, but more importantly, not barraging your in-box with unwanted mail. Absent a response the second time around, we will presume that those who have legitimate addresses, but who fail to respond, do not want our publication. If you have already opted-in, and are receiving this, you do not need to do anything more.
For those who visit the site daily, or several times daily, you may have noticed that our home page ads, and the banners that run on the content pages would sometimes be visible, and sometimes, would not be. This spotty performance is unacceptable and we are taking steps to correct the problem. As a result of being the longest running publication devoted to digital printing on the web, after a while, the content in the library grows quite large. Some years ago, as the site grew, the decision was made to separately host the graphics from the content and site structure. This would keep the server space costs lower, due to the lower cost hosting of the images and advertisements. Again, for years the strategy worked. More recently, the web hosting service who hosts the ads has begun to have problems of its own, with servers down, and when restored from backups, old banners were allowed to run. We had planned for almost a year to consolidate the site under a master hosting account on a dedicated server on which we run several web sites. We now are in the process of that consolidation. For now, our paid advertisers will get free advertising. The application that was used to manage the ad spaces was also broken with the host's server crash, and cannot be repaired. We have purchased a new ad management application, and will begin using it as we move the consolidated site to our own server space. Ad expiration dates will be extended by one month, while we bring this latest matter under control.
We plan changes to the Tech Talk Forum too. Stay tuned…
Something Free That Works As Promised
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This is not a paid ad. I want to bring to your attention a newly released web browser that works, is free, and is fast. Beside those attributes, it is more immune to malevolent hacks, and can be customized to a great degree to suit your own tastes and preferences.
Before I name the product, a word of caution is in order. Since I am responsible for the IT management at [TC]², I feel compelled to warn that installing software that is not blessed by your IT administration may put you in bad graces with them, so unless you are your own administrator, please proceed with caution. I would not want my advice to result in a problem for you. The machine you use at home will benefit from this new browser, too.
News reports this week state that more than one million downloads of the Firefox browser by Mozilla have occurred in a one hundred hour period. Use of Microsoft Internet Explorer has slipped 1.8% in just the past month. I downloaded and installed the browser in just minutes. There is an option of moving all of your bookmarks and favorites to Firefox from IE, but I chose not to do so immediately, preferring instead to evaluate performance before committing the browser as my default.
Wow! The page loads are snappy, and with a “new tab” button on the toolbar, (highly customizable), you can open as many separate browser windows as you can keep track of, and by clicking from tab to tab, each web site that you have open under a tab snaps into view. For one who does a good deal of research on the web, this feature alone will make Firefox a great time saver. Of course you could open a number of browser instances with IE, but as I often do this, I notice a slowdown in responsiveness with multiple IE windows open, but such is not evident with Firefox. Stability is good. No crashes so far, and I have abused the browser to see if it will break.
The Firefox Browser with five sites open – see tabs above Techexchange logo
(click image for large version)
For home use, or where you are not using Exchange or Lotus e-mail clients, the Outlook Express mail client may be in use. There is a mail client for Firefox, but as of this time, I have not tested it, so cannot comment or recommend. However, for those who use the Internet Express mail client, and would like to have a calendar like the one in MS Exchange/ Outlook, if you change to Firefox as your browser, a calendar is available under extensions and themes, and it works well. One caution, though, be sure to select the calendar for your particular operating system. Some forum posts indicate that the default download is for Mac, and downloading it may hose a Windows installation.
Live RSS news feeds will populate as many as twenty-six tabs with news stories, each can be accessed with just a click or all can be closed with one click, after confirming that it is really what you want to do. Oh, did I mention that it has a popup blocker? No wonder that MS IE usage is slipping 1.8% a month. Enjoy!
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/index.html
Digital Printing As Found At ATME-I
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Before traveling to Greenville , South Carolina , I had reviewed the exhibitors expected at ATME-I who might have digital printing technology or products on display. I expected to see a number of companies with updated products, allowing a full column on changes that have taken place since ITMA in Birmingham England last year. A quick review of the show guide upon arrival still held promise. Touring the floor, my expectations began to diminish. Stopping at the DuPont booth, where a 2020 machine was printing, I asked about any enhancements or updates since ITMA and was told there were none. Reggianni had a booth, but displayed only a poster of the DReAM machine, and Zimmer displayed the Chromajet machine printing carpet with logo and image graphics. It was Stork who had new technology in the form of a Sapphire print mechanism, with a blanket transport belt fitted where feed rollers normally are positioned, and with a heat bar on the discharge side of the printer to aid in drying the ink before the fabric leaves the belt to be rolled. This was the first public showing of this machine, and there were no performance figures for it, but from a visual review of the mechanics, it seems to be a big improvement. Trident offered a new pigment ink for textile printing. Digifab,(see profile below), had a new high pressure batch steamer. Also on display at Digifab was a new heat press, introduced in May which is available in widths from 44 to 99 inches.
DigiFab Company Profile
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While at ATME-I, I visited with Avedik Ismirlian of DigiFab. This company, founded in 1994, but with years of experience in the industry, now has design studios in both Los Angeles and New York , offering digital printing services for its varied clientele, from samples and strike offs to textile design and complete story boards, they offer a complete digital service bureau.
Software developed by DigiFab includes Raster Image Processors for all popular models of printer, working at the lowest levels of printer control to deliver the highest fidelity of color and replication of target colors. Textile design, repeat patterns and file converter applications are also offered.
Equipment includes the new heat press for sublimation printing up to 99 inches wide, as well as traditional large format printers from Encad, Mimaki, Roland and Epson. A new, high pressure steamer joins the steamers already in the company's lineup, offering small footprint with a vertical chamber, coupled with easy loading with the pivoting chamber. Laminators round out the equipment line.
Pre-treated fabrics are one of the basic products. Both paper backed and unbacked fabrics, as well as custom treating of customer fabrics may be obtained from DigiFab. Inks round out the line. Available in reactive, acid and pigment types, they supply inks for all makes of machine. As Avedik stated, “it is our desire to provide products and services from end to end for those involved in digital printing”. Visit their web site at www.digifab.com
Digital Printing Conference at [TC]² October 26-28
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For those who are now involved in digital printing or the preparation of designs for digital printing, you should plan to attend this event. This is truly a conference of international scope, with presenters from Korea and The Netherlands as well as the US. The link below will take you to the conference information and registration site. I’ll be there, and hope to meet many of our faithful readers there.
link to http://www.tc2.com/conference
[TC]² Adds Color Measurement to Demo Center
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Color Measurement will soon be another updated technology in [TC]²'s demonstration center. Thanks to Associate Member DataColor, a new Spectrophotometer and Tru-view Light Chamber will be installed. Along with the hardware will be software and a structured system of teaching color to visitors to the center. Before it can be managed, it must be measured. Thanks, Karen Gaskins for making this happen.
Despite my earlier promise to keep this month's column short, there is just too much to talk about. I hope you all found something of interest. See you next month.
Jud