Senior essays go from printer to printing press

http://www.yaleherald.com/article.php?Article=5570

BY SARAH FOOTE

After spending hours in the bowels of Beinecke and the stacks of Sterling, most seniors gain a great deal of satisfaction merely by handing their senior essays. Every year, though, some seniors refuse to let their projects go so easily. Determined to see their essays live on, some seniors forge determinedly into the world of publishing, seeking to immortalize their essays in real-world publications and to make them visible to the world outside of Yale.


COURTESY KARISSA ZIMMER
Alan Kennedy-Shaffer, DC ‘06, originally had no plans to publish his senior essay.
Publishing, however, isn’t ordinary for Yale College seniors. Unlike academics, undergraduates do not face the “publish or perish” maxim; few seniors actually embark on their senior essays aiming to publish the finished project. Alan Kennedy-Shaffer, DC ’06, a somewhat infamous former Political Science major, did not intend to publish his essay when first he began to write. Months after turning in his paper, though—and through a combination of hard work and personal investment—the new grad became the author of Denial and Deception: A Study of the Bush Administration’s Rhetorical Case for Invading Iraq.

The fact that so few students publish lends a certain mystique to the process. The very idea of publishing work as an undergraduate seems to imply an impressive intellectual capacity. However, as students who have gone through the process know, published is more about determination and persistence than an extraordinary level of intellectual genius. Getting work published requires serious legwork.

For students like Yood and Kennedy-Shaffer, who are willing to seek out publications for their work, one of the main obstacles to publishing seems to be the nature of the senior essay itself. The awkward length of the senior essay—generally from 25 to 50 pages—makes it difficult to translate into a publication. In their original form, the essays are too long to be published in scholarly journals, but too short to be printed as independent manuscripts. Yale’s own University Press said that they would be unlikely to publish senior essays due to issues with length—like most publishing companies, the Press is generally only interested in full-length manuscripts. No matter which route students take to publication, though, they will need to be willing to commit many more hours of work to their essays to condense or extend them.

The Battle for Color Supremacy WhatTheyThink.com

WhatTheyThink.com - Print's Home Page: "The Battle for Color Supremacy



Commentary by Andrew Tribute

April 10, 2007 -- Three trends show up if one looks at the market figures of digital color printers and presses over the past year. The first is an explosion in sales in what may be termed the “Light” products. These can be classified as color printers that have a performance of between 41 and 60 Letter size pages per minute and which cost less than $100,000. The second is a drop in sales of “Mid-Market” products. These are products with a performance from 41 to 80 pages per minute and which cost under $300,000. The third, “Press” classification of products are ones with a performance in excess of 60 pages per minute and which cost more than $300,000. This area saw an increase in sales. The first “Light” classification is mainly made up of copier printers with an inbuilt scanner. Infotrends reports sales in the USA in 2006 of 26,000 such products, and 60% of these were sold into the office rather than production markets. The leading products in terms of sales in this area of the market come from Ricoh and are sold either by them or their OEM partners. Their 2006 sales have increased on 2005 figures by around 277%."

--
Andrew Tribute, is recognized internationally as one of the world's leading authorities on these subjects.

Attributes' client base comprises a large number of publishers and printers as well as a significant number of industry vendors. In most cases consulting is carried out at high level to assist such organizations in the selection and adoption of technology, or to define ongoing business strategies covering the likely future directions of the markets.

Andrew Tribute is a visiting Professor at University of the Arts London.

Reach Andy via email: tribute@attributes.co.uk.

iPotty Today's FAKE News First, from WTT WHatTheyDon'tThink

Apple has also decided to cash in on a major market -- look for the new iPotty - available at Toys R Us. Said Steve Jobs, "Kids should think different too."

http://members.whattheythink.com/home/dailyapril.cfm

Special Note: All these stories are presented in the true spirit of April Fool's Day. None of these stories are true, nor are they intended to reflect the strategy and intent of any real person or company. Our purpose with the April Fool's Edition is to elicit a smile, and we hope you will enjoy our spoof! We are an Equal Opportunity Offender: Our contributors name many industry companies in their stories, none of which should be taken seriously.

Demand Aggregators, Commerce Networks, a printers feedback

From: Dave Mainwaring http://www.printplanet.com/
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 5:45 AM
To: Data Driven Printing-Publishing, VDP
Subject: [vdp] Demand Aggregators, Commerce Networks

Listening to the 2007 OnDemand show videos on whattheythink.com I am hearing terminology that is new to me. I can understand EFI's new "Print to Win" tag line. However, others vendors interviews are referring to "Demand Aggregators", "Commerce Networks" as ways for printers to increase sales. What are Demand Aggregators, Commerce Networks and how do they fit into your businesses?

What Do You Think about that?
Asks
Uncle Dave Mainwaring
--
A printer's Reply:
Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 10:35:38 -0700
Subject: RE: Demand Aggregators, Commerce Networks

Fundamentally DA's and CN's are e-commerce attempts to make money (in this case) by 'getting in between print buyers and printers.' As such, they "succeed" by ultimately reducing whatever services they e-list to commodities. Think "Priceline" vs. "Hotwire" for hotel rooms. When you think of using these, what are you searching for? Right, lowest price.

And how loyal are you that hotel you once stayed in if they don't have the lowest price next time? Exactly.

Printers interested in serving customers in one-to-one, lasting relationships are generally unimpressed by those actually promoting "commoditization." Aside from fans of dubious IPO's, still fantasizing "mindshare" guarantees profitability, "jargon of the month" doesn't impress. In the case of equipment sellers, it's a means to stimulate sales and leases of their systems/software...by implying they will generate significant business for the equipment one is being encouraged to acquire. Simply having the newest techno-print system doesn't guarantee a lessor's expertise, and savvy print buyers know this...or learn it quickly (the hard way). Those thinking these e-platforms will 'make their sales for them' are in for an unpleasant surprise: what business they may generate is typically going to come from buyers loyal only to the lowest price.

Goes back to a comment I made earlier: these folks (the system manufacturers now also touting DA's & CN's) would do better in the long run (for themselves and the printers they serve) to educate the buying public on the benefits of their technology. If you buy Brand Z...on the proposition they will generate orders for you (Wow - "no cost of sales!"), get a grip. The more equipment they place, the more printers they must list...to the point where being on any given list becomes essentially meaningless. Printers doing well are not foolish enough to rely upon aggregators...but work hard to promote their own companies and capabilities. If something floats over the transom from an aggregator, fine, but it's no kind of "plan" for success in the printing business.

--

From a Posting To: "Data Driven Printing-Publishing,

"Data Driven Publishing, VDP-PLus" is a special interest discussion forum.
This SIG is available 24x7 world wide for on-line discussions concerning
data driven publishing, (also known as : VDP, a catch-all term for any
data-driven document production technique or methodology).

The forum is FREE and a venue for:

Un-biased, real world opinions on VDP software tools from end-users.

Another, less formal (back-channel) venue for technical support from
software and hardware vendors.

Commentary from printing industry pioneers, educators and non-printing
companies adding VDP into their internal document workflows.

Discussion where all parties want to learn, discuss and debate both the
enabling technologies and the
value-creating applications that are based on the technologies.

Discussions cover very broad categories:
"What VDP "is," "how it works," "help!"' - PSP-industry dialogs.
"What VDP does" client-oriented dialogs.

Some members don't care "how;" they just want the "what it does it for me"
information. Others want to know tricks and tips, and the latest updates
and technologies in technical detail. Both are valued members.

Data driven printing is a group of process enabling technologies, nothing
more and nothing less. Generally speaking, VDP enables the "mass
customization" of documents - the ability to use mass production tools and
techniques to produce large or small quantities of documents, each of
which can be unique. DDP enables a diverse range of applications that use
customized documents in some way. The application might be a direct mail
program in which each mail piece contains information that is tailored to
address the specific interests or needs of the individual recipient. Or
it might be an application that produces a customized product brochure
based on information obtained from a prospective customer during a call
center contact. Or it may be a cross media application.

Membership is free to qualified applicants.

What better place to do industry networking.
Details on www.printplanet.com

ITPro: News: Cheaper printing changing publishing, says HP

ITPro: News: Cheaper printing changing publishing, says HP: "Cheaper printing changing publishing, says HP
Posted by Nicole Kobie at 4:52PM, Tuesday 17th April 2007

Digital colour printing processes lowering costs of short-run, on-demand and personalised publishing, HP told the London Book Fair today."

Advances in printer technology means short run colour jobs are no longer prohibitively expensive, HP told attendees of the London Book Fair today.

As digital colour printing gets cheaper, more and more uses are found, such as printing on demand or personalising brochures, said Guy Thompson, HP's product manager of workflow services.

"Generally, in the past, the more you printed, the lower each cost," he said. "Now you print what you need."

While this won't change how the next Harry Potter or Dan Brown novel is produced, it does mean publishers can take more chances on unknown authors or keep older books in print for longer. Before, a long print run meant risking cash up front on printing and expensive warehousing costs, but with digital printing cutting costs books can be printed as they're needed. And, with higher transportation costs, it's often cheaper to print smaller runs locally.

Thompson said if you buy a specialist book from online retailer Amazon odds are, it'll be printed just for you. "Instead of it being on the shelves, they're printing on demand," Thompson said. "They're moving from just a retailer to a printer. It's easier to print than store."

RFID industry ratifies important data-sharing standard - Applications - www.itnews.com.au

RFID industry ratifies important data-sharing standard - Applications - www.itnews.com.au: "Promoters say the new standard set of interfaces for EPC data could potentially have a greater impact than a 2004 standard that led to cheaper and better performing RFID chips..

the ratification yesterday of EPCIS could give a big boost to the RFID industry, by finally giving businesses a standard way to capture and share information collected by radio-frequency identification chips.

EPCIS, or Electronic Product Code Information Services, provides a standard set of interfaces for EPC data. Chris Adcock, president of the standards organization EPCglobal, called Monday's ratification as potentially having more impact than the 2004 release of the UHF Gen2 Passive RFID standard.

Those are big words, since the Gen2 standard led to the development of considerably cheaper and better performing Gen2 RFID chips. Executives from such companies as IBM, Proctor & Gamble, and Wal-Mart are applauding the EPCIS ratification."

FREE WhatTheyThink.com Webinars

WhatTheyThink.com - Print's Home Page: "WhatTheyThink Webinars offer a unique way for printing and publishing professionals to maintain their edge by attending online presentations presented by some of the industry's brightest experts. There you will find the original presentation, audio recording of the live presentation, and a PDF version of the presentation for viewing and/or printing.

To find out more about webinar sponsorship opportunities, please contact Randy Davidson at randy@whattheythink.com."

Hitting Color Series, Dan Remaly

Hitting Color Series: "Hitting Color Series
The Pressroom: Hitting Color, part 5

Apr 5, 2007 1:57 PM, By Dan Remaley
Hitting color - Part 1 in a 5-part series

Mar 5, 2007 2:34 PM, By Dan Remaley

Process control best practices, a five-part series...
Color scanning: Hitting color, part 2

Mar 19, 2007 12:12 PM, By Dan Remaley

Color scanning...
Color proofing: Hitting Color, part 3

Mar 22, 2007 9:31 AM, By Dan Remaley
Film output & platemaking: Hitting Color, part 4

Mar 29, 2007 9:21 AM, By Dan Remaley

Dan Remaley has 30 years’ experience in color lithography. He is senior technical consultant of process control for PIA/GATF. Contact him at (412) 259-1814 or dremaley@piagatf.org."

active RFID technology

Pro AV Magazine: "The RFID tags used in retail are known as passive, simply electronic circuits with no power source, such as a battery. The scanner creates an electromagnetic field that powers the data exchange, effectively pulling information, such as a product code, from the tag. That simplicity makes the tags cheap, as low as 10 cents each, depending on volume.

By comparison, MINI Motorby uses active RFID technology, similar to highway toll-collection systems, such as EZPass. Active RFID tags have a battery, which powers a mini transmitter that sends data to a reader. Active RFID can support connections over hundreds of feet, compared to the few inches or feet a passive RFID system can handle. The battery in the Motorby key fob, for instance, can last three to six years, depending on factors such as how often it uses power to communicate with a billboard."

Printronix Expands Popular Podcast Series on RFID Printing Technology

Printronix Expands Popular Podcast Series on RFID Printing Technology: "Printronix Expands Popular Podcast Series on RFID Printing Technology

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Printronix Inc. (NASDAQ:PTNX), the leading integrated supply-chain printing solutions manufacturer, today added original programming to its popular podcast series on radio frequency identification (RFID) printing technologies.

WHO The series is hosted by Printronix's Andrew Moore, senior
product marketing manager, and includes interviews with
RFID experts from hardware manufacturers, software
publishers, middleware providers and end-user customers of
RFID printing technologies. The newest podcasts include
interviews with George Reynolds of Avery Dennison RFID,
Dwain Farley of Enterprise Information Systems, Martyn
Mallick of Sybase Inc., James Supple of Verisign and Brad
Galles of Wells' Dairy."

RFID Journal - Seminar to Address RFID Legal and Public Policy Issues - RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Technology News & Features

RFID Journal - Seminar to Address RFID Legal and Public Policy Issues - RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Technology News & Features: "Leading legal and policy experts will address privacy, data security, government mandates, patent liabilities and other critical issues.

April 9, 2007—International law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge and U.S. trade group Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) will cosponsor an RFID Legal and Public Policy preconference seminar at RFID Journal LIVE! 2007, being held April 30 to May 2 in Orlando, Fla., at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. During the seminar, leading legal and policy experts will address privacy, data security, government mandates, patent liabilities and other critical issues."