Back in May we showed you an online application to blow up virtually any image to a wall smothering poster. (see Print big, really BIG). Well the folks at Rasterbator now have competition from BlockPosters. BlockPosters offers a similar service but without the rasterization, which means you get a smoother image.

Blockposter

Addressing software is extremely useful for individuals and companies which handle large volumes of mail, since addressing software also typically includes a database with a large capacity, allowing users to store and reuse addresses. Using addressing software ensures that mailed materials have a uniform look, and it also expedites mailing by validating addresses and postal codes to make sure that they read correctly.

Numerous companies make addressing software for everyone from individuals to large companies. The software usually includes a mailing database, pre-set formatting guides which allow users to enter envelope size to generate envelopes, and a validation aspect which confirms postal codes and makes sure that addresses are formatted properly. This bundled package is often marketed as a kit, assuring purchasers that the software will handle all of the difficult parts of a mailing.

In most cases, addressing software is linked with postal standards and will standardize nomenclature in the way the post office likes to see it. As an example, it will abbreviate sections of an address where needed. It will also ensure that addresses are complete, including number, street, city, state or province, postal code, and so forth. For bulk mailing, addressing software may also offer a sorting option, printing envelopes in batches which can be bundled together for the post office, allowing the user to save on mailing costs.

There are a number of personal uses for addressing software. Individuals, for example, can keep an address book in their addressing software, generating an envelope whenever they need to mail something. The software can also be used for bulk personal mailings, such as holiday cards or announcements for events like weddings, graduations, and new babies. For weddings, addressing software can be very useful, since it can also be used to generate the inner envelopes such as RSVP envelopes which are typically included in a wedding invitation.

If you are considering purchasing of addressing software, you may want to think out your needs. Features such as post code verification, for example, usually cost more, and if you do not think such a feature is necessary, you can save money by eliminating it. Consider limits on the size of the database, available fonts for addressing, and on unusual envelope sizes before purchasing addressing software, to ensure that you get a package which is right for your purposes.

For more information on how RISO's Full-Color Printer will interface with addressing software see RISO's web site at us.riso.com.

Well our old RISO blog is now eight months old. With most corporate blogs folding or withering after about three months, the RISO blog is practically a senior citizen. Not really, of course, because there are many thousands of good blogs that have been around much longer and have much more riveting content.

Our blog readers include RISO current customers, potential customers, employees, sales reps, competitors, and industry observers. With such an audience diversity, it is sometimes difficult to interest everyone equally. So give us some feedback on what you would like to read about in RISO's blog.

One thing I think it needs is more interactivity from our readers, so if you have an opinion, a question, a correction, or an addition to any of our posts, then both RISO and your fellow RISOblog followers would love to hear what you have to say. We could continue with our information dumps if you find them at least semi-useful. It's really your call, so please let us know.

The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences has released studies of several manufacturing businesses pertaining to their respective environmental impacts. One of them is on the printing industry.

Did you know that in the area of VOC (volatile organic compounds), that printing is #11 in producing the most VOCs? This is pretty interesting, when you consider that #10 is the production of rubber (tires and the like).

It’s safe to say that if you have a tire factory in your area, you know about it, and so do the government agencies like the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). Agencies concentrate their efforts to make sure that these manufacturing centers are in compliance with environmental regulations.

But unlike the tire factory, small “Mom and Pop” print service providers are spread out. So, enforcement of these is very challenging for government agencies. This means that when print service providers are audited for compliance, it can be difficult if the print shop is not completely in compliance.

To read the entire article click here

Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer (see photo), delivered the keynote address on the eve of the International Consumer Electronics Show. In his speech he announced that Microsoft will be releasing a "beta" version of Windows 7 on Friday, January 9, 2009 and will be available for download by regular PC users.

Windows 7, a new operating system, could be available for purchase within a year. The OS uses much of the same technology as its predecessor, the much-maligned Vista. The new OS hopes to resolve many of Vista's problems, such as easier peripheral device installation and generating fewer annoying warnings and notifications. Ballmer also said the new OS will boot faster and slow battery drain on laptops.

One can only wonder if Microsoft has given up on Vista.

What are you doing to make changes in your organization to reflect going green? One way to you can start going green is see what you are using to print.

Today more than ever companies are looking for ways to save money when it comes to printing with the rising prices for petroleum and problems with OPEC countries. What better way than having a printer/duplicator that uses soy ink? Today soy ink is used in over 90 percent of America’s daily newspapers which circulate more than fifteen hundred copies per run! In addition, about one quarter of commercial printers in the United States use soy ink. Soy ink is one selling feature green companies are pointing out to their customers.

Here are some key advantages to soy ink. Soy ink is more environmentally friendly because the cultivation of the soybeans uses only 0.5 percent of the total energy necessary to produce the ink. Much of this crop requires no irrigation, limited fixed nutrients and fewer agricultural residues. Soy ink has low levels of VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) which reduces air pollution by minimizing toxic emissions. Studies conducted by Erhan and Bagby showed that pigment cartier in 100 percent soy ink degrades almost twice as completely as ink made from soy oil and petroleum resins and more than four times completely as standard petroleum inks. It is a helpful component in paper recycling, since the soy ink can be removed more easily than regular ink and the waste left from soy ink is not hazardous. This is just a few of the key advantages.

RISO, Inc’s digital duplicators are one great choice to start making your organization green. Did you know that all RISO digital duplicators are eco friendly and use soy ink? They are energy star certified, use 95 percent less energy than photocopiers, 75 percent less power, and do not use heat. Since RISO’s inks are soy based the duplicators are free from ozone emissions, toner particle emissions, silica dust and no greenhouse gas emissions! RISO’s digital duplicators are built to last; they reduce the amount of e-waste that ends up in landfills, and the number of hazardous material that can contaminate the environment. RISO was ranked the “most green” office products company by I.T. Strategies survey. What better way to start or ramp up your organization to going green than having a RISO digital duplicator, that is easy to use, environmental friendly and at low running costs.


To find a complete listing of RISO digital duplicators visit RISO’s website
also to read more on the article excerpts of this blog were taken click here

Have you ever made a 8.5 x 11 flyer, and wanted to make bulletin inserts (half-letter sized) out of it?
The HC5500 using the ComColor Express RIP provides a very easy and quick way of doing it.
Here are the steps for making this work:

1. Open your letter-sized document


2. Click on "file", "print", "properties"


3. In the layout tab, imposition section select: "N-up copy"


4. You'll now see that the "N-up copies per sheet" is defaulted to 2 (this will give you 2 images per sheet). You can experiment with other numbers of images per sheet to do other things than just bulletin inserts.

That's it! Now you will have 2 images side by side, each one is half-letter size.

I hope this helps you communicate more effectively with your audience.

One of the things I get questions about is in reference to "resizing" documents.


Many times, document designers want a fast and easy way to create one document (typically a letter-sized document) and from that, create different sizes of output. You are in luck!


The RISO HC5500 using the ComColor express RIP has this function. Here are the steps in making it work:

1. Open your letter-sized document
2. Click on "file", "print", "properties"
3. Under the "layout" tab, select "Tabloid" in the Output size section.

That's it! Now click OK, and your letter-sized document becomes a centered 11x17 poster ready for display.

It's important to note that nearly any output size can be selected, so experiment. The general rule is to create everything in 8.5 by 11 in your computer program, then feed it to the RIP. That way, you only have to know one way of doing it. The alternative is to learn how to do it in your application software. The downside of creating the document in this way is that many of the pretty pre-made documents in MS Publisher are build around printers that only do 8.5 inch wide paper.

Most of us work in a building of some sort. That building has an impact to the environment.

A recent article in Mailing Systems Technology focuses on 3 main ways to “Green” your mail center:
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle

Here are some interesting facts about how buildings impact our resources in the US:

· 39% of total energy consumption
· 71 % of electricity consumption
· 39% of CO2 emissions
· 30 % of raw materials used
· 30% of waste output
· 12% of potable water consumption

To read the entire article click here

We are now www.risoprinter.com!
But don't be too concerned if you have bookmarks or printed collateral with the old Blogspot URL.

All risoprinter.blogspot.com traffic will automatically be redirected here.
Let us know what you thing of our new address in the comments

As Green as it Gets!

This is what we like to see, a commercial printer, Hadley Printing, sharing their efforts to go green! RISO, a manufacturer of high speed printers and ink, shares their philosophy. Just look at RISO's recent tree planting events! RISO digital duplicators use 95% less enegy than their toner-based counterparts and use soy ink.

To read the full article: http://sections.whattheythink.com/environment/

Visit us at: https://us.riso.com/ learn how our products can help you get as "Green" as it Gets!" too!

The Marketing report, from November 17, 2008 Vol. 17 No. 368, has a Marketers Alert section. One in particular caught my attention here is the information.

As most printers are aware that quality images have a big impact on conversations and customer satisfaction.

But what images should be used, how many and from what angle?

For ideas, check out this great summary at getelastic.com . It shows different ways retailers are using images – which can easily be adapted for use by b2b companies.

For example, some provide multiple views and others use the online Quick Look preview program.

Also check out RISO’s website for our most current information on digital duplicators and Inkjet printer.

Like most print processes you only have a limited selection of inks to use. Full color can be derived from three primary colors, just like a monitor. For monitors, these are Red, Green, and Blue because monitors emit light resulting in an additive color process. Inks, on the other hand, absorb light so printing is a subtractive process. The resulting inks should then be cyan (blue+green or -red), magenta (red+blue or -green), and yellow (red+green or -blue).
Therefore, the colors used in common inkjet printers are not really capable of producing true full spectrum photorealistic quality results since they are red (not magenta), blue (not cyan), and yellow. These are optimized for nice saturated primary colors when used independently.
In addition, the combination of the three primary colors should be capable of being combined to produce black but due to misregistration and the pigments used, this black would be somewhat muddy and brown. Therefore, a separate black ink cartridge is normally used for black printing.

For more information about RISO Full Color Printers see RISO's web site at us.riso.com.

RISO duplicators and inkjet printers do not use fuser rollers. In fact there is no heat required when printing with RISO equipment. RISO printers use up to 95% less energy than conventional office printers and copiers. A recent study was conducted by Buyers Laboratory (BLI), an independent office equipment testing lab, which proved RISO equipment far more efficient than comparable copier/MFP and printer models ranging in speeds from 40 PPM up to 120 PPM.

Got a PDF doc that you need to work with but you've lost the original?
Check out PDF UNdo Online. Just a few clicks and you're done and it's free.

Also check out PDF Online while you're there to get your edit doc back into it's PDF format.

Props to [LifeHacker]

Find a Cause: 7 efforts worth supporting


Most people today when considering purchasing something think about the company they are buying from.

In a little article from The Marketing Report, December 12, 2008 vol.17 No. 369, they listed how companies can set themselves apart from rivals that offer similar products.
In the 2008 Cone Cause Evolution Study, states that decision makers look for and respond to, cause related efforts more than ever.

The percentage of people who said they would switch from one company to another, when price and quality are equal is if the other company is associated with a good cause is 79%.

The issues Americans want companies to address more:

· Education and economic development (80%each)
· Health/disease prevention and creating access to clean water (79% each)
· Environmental protection, disaster relief and fighting hunger (77% each)

RISO, Inc began their efforts to help the environment years ago. Their digital duplicators are energy star compliant, use 95% less energy than photocopiers. RISO’s digital duplicators and inkjet printers do not use heat so they consume a fraction of the energy required to run a heat-intensive device. Further reducing the need for air conditioning and ventilation; this further reduces energy consumption and cost. Also RISO has partnered with the Arbor Day foundation a nonprofit company, to plant 100,000 trees over the next four years.

Please visit our website to read more about our company and how our products are environmentally friendly and are easy to use and inexpensive to use.

GE has created an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) printer.
This printer creates 8 inch sheets that provide illumination when current is applied.



Before you know it, you could be getting your light from the wallpaper or blinds instead of that old desk lamp.