Lots of teachers are heading back to school this week. To help them out, RISO has created an online resource that can help them learn more about their RISO digital duplicator. But RISO’s “Back to School” Key Operator Videos aren't just for teachers - they can help anyone who needs a little reminder or overview on using their RISO digital duplicator.

This set of videos offers detailed demonstrations that cover the basic operation of the RZ, RN, and CR series duplicators, as well as instructions for solving a few of the most common problems encountered by users. These videos can be easily accessed through four websites:

One site is the RISO website, which is at http://us.riso.com/keyop

Also visit Google Video at www.google.com; click on “Video” and enter key words “RISO duplicator,” “RISO RZ,” “RISO CR,” or “RISO RN”

Or you can go to www.youtube.com; click on “Video” and enter the following key words: “RISO digital duplicator,” “RISO RZ,” “RISO RN,” or “RISO CR”

Finally, there is TeacherTube at www.teachertube.com; click on “New Videos” and enter key words “RISO digital duplicator,” “RISO RZ,” “RISO RN,” or “RISO CR”

For the second year in a row, RISO is putting its printing power to work in an effort to find missing children across America. In both 2007 and 2008, RISO printed more than 50,000 full color posters with photos and information about missing children. Posters are put up in communities across America by teams participating in the The Insurance Office of America FIREBALL RUN Transcontinental Rally. The nine-day event covers 3,500 miles from Orlando to Los Angeles. RISO’s poster donation benefits the Child Rescue Network, the official charity of the event that is being called the “Race to Recover America’s Missing Children.”

Last year, sixty-five teams participated in the rally. Each one was assigned a different missing child, whose image and information were affixed to the vehicle, creating a highly visible “rolling milk carton” along the course. An important part of the teams’ responsibility was to distribute as many posters as possible along the journey from Orlando to Los Angeles, raising visibility and awareness of these children at every opportunity. According to the Child Rescue Network, on the average day 91 children are reported missing every single hour. One in six missing children is rescued as a result of someone recognizing them from a picture or poster.

"We are proud to put the power of our printing technology behind efforts to help recover these children,” said David Murphy, Vice President of Marketing for RISO, Inc. “The ability to hand out 50,000 posters along the 3,500 miles of the rally is phenomenal. We are very hopeful that we can help bring some missing children home because of this effort.

"RISO’s donation means a great deal to us, and enables us to use our resources in funding other aspects of protecting children and rescuing America’s missing,” said Jeff Griesemer, President and CEO, Child Rescue Network, Inc. The posters are printed in full color on RISO’s high speed HC5500 ComColor™ Printer. Murphy estimates that it took less than seven hours to produce all 50,000 pieces. The Child Rescue Network, Inc. (CRN) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization dedicated to protecting children. Through private donations and corporate sponsorships, CRN offers a variety of free community outreach programs and family advocacy services.

In a move to reduce operating expenses, Citibank issued a memo to its employees announcing a new corporate policy for its employees: Don't waste money on color copying! Released in today's news wire and picked up by CNN and others, the Citibank memo stated that color photocopiers will be removed from some of its office locations and their use will be limited to client presentations.

That news may surprise some, but probably not RISO HC5500 customers. You see, the current market price for toner-based color copiers and MFPs is about five to eight cents per copy. Compare that to RISO's HC5500 cost per page of about three cents or less! That is about the same as the black & white operating cost of many desktop laser printers.

We praise Citibank for its smarts in recognizing the high cost of toner-based color copiers. Now someone should tell them about how they can still have color and save money with RISO's high-speed full-color inkjet printer/MFPs.


For the full article on Citibank's cost-cutting policies, click here.

In the conventional copier/MFP, the toner is adhered to the paper and fused with a high-temperature roller called a fuser roller.

The conventional fuser consumes about 60% of the total power consumption when the copier is in the ready mode. This is because a certain amount of electricity is consumed to keep the fuser warm in ready mode; if it was not warm the copier would have to reheat the fuser every time you wanted to print or copy and this would take a long time.
Kudos to Konica Minolta, they have launched a new technology with their bizhub C550. Induction Heating (IH) Fusing technology (link below). This new technology is supposed to reduce power consumption in printing and standby modes and could reduce energy costs over conventional MFPs while being more environmentally friendly. Konica Minolta's C550 specification sheet states that power consumption is “less than 2,000 watts”. If you compare that to RISO's HC at 800 watts and our Digital Duplicators at an average of 345 watts (while printing), you realize that although this is a great breakthrough for MFPs, it still cannot compare to the energy savings realized by RISO's printers.

We know that messages printed in color are noticed and remembered more than those printed in black and white. But did you know that invoices printed in color actually get paid faster? In fact, a study by Loyola College in Maryland found that color invoices are paid 30 percent faster than black-and-white bills. More here.

Of course, the benefits of faster payments can be huge for an organization: increase in cash flow, increases in order frequency, and a potential improvement in vendor-customer relations.

Patti Drinville is president of a company called The PLD Group, which processes, prints and mails billing statements for small to midsize businesses. Drinville says the number-one complaint businesses receive about invoices and statements is that the customer doesn't understand what the document says, which results in people asking for clarification rather than sending in money. More here.

An InfoTrends survey shows that 47% of respondents say that they use color in transaction printing (invoices, bills, statements, etc.). I wonder if the only 53% are wondering if the check is still in the mail?

Did you know that you can insert a watermark into your document on ANY program? You can if you have the HC5500 and use the HC3R RIP. A watermark is a very light, (almost faint) image that you design on a piece of letterhead, or other document. Some application software can do it, but if it does, it may be very difficult to use.

Here's how you do it:

1. Select Printer Driver HC3R 5000
2. Select Properties
3. Select Watermark
4. Select “All pages” in the Specify the pages drop down window.
5. Select any choice in the menu in the Watermark choices, or make a new one yourself.
6. Drag and drop it on thumbnail where you want it.
7. Click OK
8. Press OK on Main Settings Tab
9. Print

Good Printing,

In this, the final post on paper characteristics, we will discuss the final 2 characteristics, Opacity and Caliper, and briefly look at Specialty papers.

Opacity.

Opacity is a measure of how well a material prevents light from passing through it. Standard 20# copier paper is somewhat translucent, while heavier papers are more opaque. The higher the opacity, the less that printed text and images will bleed through to the other side. This is especially important for double-sided printing. Inkjet photo papers have a relatively high opacity (94-97 usually) compared to ordinary inkjet or laser papers so bleed-through is less of a problem.

Caliper.

Photo papers are heavier and thicker than typical multi-purpose papers. This thickness, known as caliper, is necessary to accommodate the greater ink coverage typically found in photos. Typical inkjet paper caliper may be anywhere from a thin 4.3 mil to a thick 10.4 mil paper. Photo paper is usually 7 to 10 mils.

Specialty Papers for Printing Projects
1. Bright White Paper - for important documents, business correspondence
2. Recycled or Copier Paper - the least expensive choice for everyday printing needs
3. Card Stock - heavier paper stock for greeting cards, business cards, brochures, marketing materials, name badges, invitations
4. Envelopes - for business and personal correspondence, greeting cards
5. Photo Paper - matte, glossy, photo professional
6. CD Labels - print professional-looking labels for your CDs
7. Shipping Labels - standard sizes

Summary.

So which inkjet paper is the right paper for the job? Actually, all of the above: you probably need to keep more than one type of inkjet paper on hand, because the one you use will depend on the type of project you're working on.

The factors discussed in this series of blogs are the most important to consider when choosing paper for your projects. Be sure to use the right paper for your printer. When choosing copier paper, weight and brightness are most important. For inkjet and laser printers look at opacity and finish. If you will be printing images or creating publications, choose a heavier weight paper with extra brightness. To review a list of recommended papers for the RISO HC5500 Printer click here.

Hello,

Did you know that your RISO EZ590 digital duplicator can be customized just for you?

It's called "Direct Access" and it allows you to control what functions are most important to you, and lets you have your own view when you log into your user account.

Essentially, on the RISO EZ590, there are 4 blank spaces at the bottom of the screen (LCD panel). You can program them specifically for you. Pick up to 4 functions and make them your "radio" buttons.

Here's how:

Note: to use “My Direct Access”, you must first have the EZ590 User management function turned on. To do this, see the workshop called: “User Management for the EZ590 Workshops”

One of the many benefits of the touch screen on the EZ590 is that each user can have their own custom buttons that will appear at the bottom of their touch screen. These buttons allow for easy access to the features found in the functions and selections section and are customizable for EACH user.

Each user, (including the administrator), can have their own direct access buttons (these are similar to “radio buttons”). For this exercise we will be adding direct access buttons to make the administrator’s work easier, by adding the “one touch buttons” reports to their log in screen.

On the touch screen, Log on as administrator (for this exercise “1234” then “start” (green key)
Select “My Direct Access”
Select Frame 1
Select “ID Counter Report”
Select “OK”
Select Frame 2
Select “Counter Report”
Select “OK”
Select “OK”
Select the “Basic” Tab

You will see that the ID Counter Report and the Counter Report are now on the log in screen. Note: this is only the log in screen of the administrator, NOT for each user. To change the log in screen for each user, use the same steps after logging in as that user.

Best Regards,

For more than a decade people have envisioned a "paperless society". The driving force behind this idea is the notion that the consumption of paper negatively impacts the environment. While there is certainly validity to this claim, the alternative means for communicating to mass audiences, i.e., via electronic media, has its own environmental impact that needs to be weighed.

The July 7 issue of Printing News tackles the question "Is E-Media Greener Than Print?" And their findings are surprising. They first cite a study from IZT - Institute for Futures Studies and Technology Assessment based in Berlin, Germany - that states the power needed to generate, transmit and view electronic media, particularly e-newspapers, has a much greater impact on the environment than conventional print. IZT backs their research up with research out of Sweden. Citing another article from PrintWeek, "E-reader takes eco crown but print is still greener than online", they highlight how Swedish researchers claim that, "based on the carbon footprint generated by the servers, storage devices, and other computer equipment required to execute, host, protect, and back-up on-line media programs, the environmental impact of one year of consumption of a printed newspaper is less than the impact of reading news online for more than 30 minutes a day". They report that consuming 30 minutes of printed news per day created approximately 28kg of CO2 per year per reader, for online news that figure rose to 35kg of CO2 per year per reader. The most eco-friendly method for receiving news was through newly introduced E-readers that use reflective versus backlit technology, and other factors.

To read the entire Printing News article click here

To read the entire PrintWeek article click here

To learn more about RISO's green initiatives and our eco-friendly printers click here

I speak to people all the time that have the wrong idea about quality of their printed pieces. When they ask me: "How can I get better quality out of my RISO digital duplicator", they usually assume that I'm going to tell them to put more ink on the page, and thus, produce a better quality piece. Many times, it's just the opposite.

All prints made with ink are subject to a property called "dot gain". This means when your ink image goes on the page, the ink has a tendency to "gain", or simply get bigger.

Think of it this way, when you put a magic marker on a Kleenex, the image dot of ink gets bigger as you allow the ink to soak in. So, in essence, when you put down a lot of ink, that ink spreads and makes your image bigger, and too much ink=a messy, fuzzy image. You'll especially notice it in small, very fine lines (they aren't so fine anymore). The more porous or soft the finish on your paper is, the more the dot gain.

So, here is the key: Lay down less ink.

If you are scanning or if you are printing to your connected digital duplicator, select "Light" scanning or "ink save mode". Directly on the panel, select the lightest density setting, this won't make your scan too light, but it will lessen the pressure on the ink roller and thus, lay down less ink.

So, save yourself some money, lessen the ink drying time, and increase your quality by using LESS ink.

What is a Cover Sheet: It is a pre-printed document used as a cover. It is loaded in either the Cover Sheet Tray (on the top of the optional finisher) or in whichever tray has been selected as the interposer (tray 1 or tray 2).

The tray to be used is selected under the finishing tab of the IS700C print driver. However, if the user/administrator does not access the Configuration Menu (Menu 4 on the HC5500 LCD) and set submenu 11 (Cover Sheet Tray) to match the type of paper being used for the base document a Paper Size Mismatch error message will appear on the LCD.

Did you know that you can blow up your document to POSTER size? Well, you can if your have a RISO 5500 with the HC3R RIP. You can make it either 4 or 9 panels, up to 11X17 paper. That means, that you can make a multi-sectioned poster up to 33 X 51 inches. This can be trimmed and placed on a wall, or wherever you want.

Here's how you do it:

1. Select and open your document
2. Select Printer Driver HC3R 5000
3. Select Properties
4. Select Layout Tab
5. Select “Pagination”
6. Select Poster Print
7. Select 4 or 9 Pages under Pages per sheet
8. Click OK – Poster Print Details will appear
9. Check the box for Print Registry Guides
10. Check Print and make sure all the areas are grayed out
11. Click OK
12. Go to main driver window and print out

That's it.

Good Printing

The major push these days is to “go green” no matter what industry you’re in. Going green is not a new concept to RISO, Inc. RISO’s technology is safe for the environment. There are no ozone emissions, or noxious fumes such as toner particle emissions, silica dust and other air pollutants produced. Our digital duplicators are ENERGY STAR compliant, and meet RoHS directive standards, while RISO Kagaku is ISO 14001 certified.

Disposal of supplies is never a problem, as our machines are built to last reducing materials found in landfills and hazardous materials and it’s really power conscious. When operating, it consumes less power than three light bulbs, or as little as 2 amps of electrical current when producing copies. Purchasing soy based ink and 75% recycled paper is also an option.

In a recent article, “School Leaders Get Advice on “Green” Computing” published in eSchoolNews there is now a growing concern on how to cut back not only on electrical usage, but also Information Technology energy usage, and eWaste created from scrapping computers. In the article Karen Greenwood Henke is quoted for her insight on energy saving idea about energy efficient light bulbs. Henke said, “switching a single light bulb to an energy-efficient bulb can save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, and if every family in the United States made the switch, carbon dioxide output would be reduced by more than 90 billion pound.”

It is predicted that Information Technology (IT) energy usage “will double in the next four years and there are some easy thing in the world of IT that we can do to attach this problem” according to Andrew Verdesca, marketing manager of energy-efficient technologies and services for IBM. IBM is offering programs to help schools systems, corporations and other enterprises design more energy efficient data centers and reduce energy consumption.

Verdesca later states that, “eWaste can’t be ignored--- 1 billion computers will become potential scrap by 2010, and only 45 percent of U.S. companies have eco-friendly disposal plans.” What he proposes in this article is that school systems, corporations and other enterprises determine which operating systems consume the most energy, and then determine which of these can be place on idle when not in use. In one instance a school district consolidated from 11 servers to two hard boxes and all computers were shut down at a specified time each day. “Many solutions have very little or no cost and require behavior changes, so your district can start doing things in a slightly different way,” he said.

eWaste and energy consumption are huge issues in our current economy. For more information on this article and how to go green click here

For more information on this article and other Education articles register eSchoolnews click here