Work Smarter, Not Harder, in the Bindery

One thing is for sure—at Drupa 2012, there will be plenty of fresh ideas in finishing technology.

by  Michael Seidl, Print & Publishing magazine

All of the manufacturers we spoke to confirmed to us that they are hard at work on new or enhanced products. And that’s just as well, because an industry that stands still will go backwards, and that is something none of us wants to see. Particularly when the industry again needs to gather momentum after the difficult years following the financial crisis.

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OS X Mountain Lion: 5 Most Exciting New Features

Apple’s Mountain Lion update to Mac OS X is an affirmation of just how important the cloud and iOS integration has become to anyone who uses a desktop Mac. More than 100 new features have been added to the operating system, and many emphasize Apple’s desire to create a single platform that integrates mobile, social and cloud features across multiple devices.

The message is clear: Whether you’re on a MacBook, iPad or iPhone, you’re working on an Apple product that’s directly linked to other hardware in the same ecosystem. The personal computer is no longer the primary device in your digital life — it’s a node in a larger ecosystem that encompasses the whole Apple family.

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The Kodak Fallout:George Eastman House will have to get along without financial support from the company

Visitors to the George Eastman House in Rochester, N.Y., over the past decade could not help noticing that the museum-in-a-mansion, the world's largest repository for all matters photographic, was struggling to keep up appearances. Everything about the former home of the man who introduced photography for the masses—from the mismatched furniture in the offices, to the sun-bleached curtains in the living room, to the grimly lighted café for visitors—seemed to convey an air of making do with less.

Upkeep and improvements won't be any easier now that the house's longtime benefactor, Eastman Kodak, has sought bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. That everyone associated with the museum in recent years had seen this day coming, as digital technology conquered the photography and film market, has not softened the shock. For the first time since being chartered in 1947, the George Eastman House will have to get along without financial support from the company that has been its foundation.

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The Beauty of the Printed Book

Some things seem to designed to do their jobs perfectly, and the old-fashioned book is one. What else could be quite as efficient at packaging so many thousands of words in a form, which is sufficiently sturdy to protect them, yet so small and light that it can be carried around to be read whenever its owner wishes?

“The Printed Book”, an exhibition running through May 13 at the Special Collections department of the University of Amsterdam, presents a resounding defense of its subject.

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Windows 8 on Tablets: What We Know So Far

Microsoft is ready to lift the lid on Windows 8 at a preview event at the end of the month. The new OS will be available later this year, not only for PCs, but also for tablets, as Microsoft prepares to take on the iPad. Here’s what we know so far about Windows 8 tablets.

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A Two-Pronged Approach: Kodak’s Inkjet Substrate Strategy: free download from @infotrends

The success of the new class of high-speed production color inkjet printers is closely tied to the substrates that can be used on those devices. It is of utmost importance to have a wide range of available papers upon which users can achieve top-level quality. At the same time, the prices of those stocks have to fit the business model of high-volume printers. With Kodak’s top-of-the-line Prosper series, the company has created high-volume products capable of excellent quality levels. To succeed, cost-effective substrates had to be in place. To achieve this goal, Kodak has taken a two-pronged approach. This strategy includes working with paper mills to create affordable inkjet-treated stocks while, at the same time, developing an in-line inkjet treatment solution that allows users to have the greater flexibility to use a stock of their own choice.

In this white paper, we look at the benefits of this strategy and how Kodak has gone about implementing it by building on a foundation of knowledge in substrates, inks, color, and image quality. This white paper is the first of a two-part series. The second white paper will explore substrate strategies for achieving high-quality output on inkjet systems, and particularly how substrates can be leveraged in ways that may go against conventional wisdom.

http://wtr.mn/zaLKCz

Apple to disrupt notebook space with radically redesigned MacBook Pros

While most of its rivals are struggling to match innovations Apple pioneered with its first MacBook Airs over three years ago, the Mac maker this year is hoping to further distance itself from the competition with a pair of radically redesigned professional offerings that will set the tone for the next wave of notebook computing.


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