Whitepapers

Introduction
There is no question that we live in times of dramatic change, and the Graphic Arts industry has faced its share of this change. In many ways, our industry has changed forever. For those who understand the implications of these changes and respond proactively, the future is bright.

Underlying success for any graphic arts service provider is the need to work within the context of an efficient, digital workflow, a workflow that must extend from the customer through final product delivery, invoice and payment, and which must span multiple technologies provided by multiple vendors.

This white paper will discuss the trends that are impacting graphic arts businesses and the changing needs of buyers of print and related services. And it will paint a picture of the successful graphic arts service provider, the technologies being deployed, and what these companies are doing to meet today’s challenges while preparing for tomorrow.

An Analog World No More
Much of the market shift the graphic arts industry is experiencing is due to a rapid migration to digital. Conventional analog production processes—from proofing to platemaking, from prepress to finishing—are rapidly being replaced by digital solutions. Film is giving way to computer-to-plate solutions. Offset presses are becoming more automated and in many cases, volumes are migrating from offset presses to digital printing devices.

While these changes have presented challenges, they have also presented significant opportunities. Many savvy graphic arts service providers have been quick to take advantage of these opportunities—and reap the rewards. By incorporating digital workflows and digital equipment into their operations, they have achieved new levels of efficiency and productivity, and they have been able to offer new services—and new levels of service—to their customers. continue reading...

Introduction
Protecting our planet is certainly a shared responsibility. As individuals, and as employees of corporations and government agencies, we are all concerned about the impact our daily lives have on the environment. At home, we recycle. We plant trees. We conserve water. But in the office, it seems to be more complicated and unclear. But is it? Does it have to be? What role do Information Technology (IT) departments play in supporting an organization’s overall sustainability practice? And with all of these questions considered, what is the probable pay-back on IT projects that are launched from an eco-friendly point of view?

As energy resources become more expensive over time, as economic challenges persist, and as other costs continue to increase, the pressure to rein in expenses across an organization takes on renewed urgency. At the same time, organizations are being expected to operate responsibly. These considerations weigh heavily on product and stock purchase decisions. While server virtualization and replacement of inefficient data center cooling systems projects are growing increasingly popular, these efforts require significant capital outlays, implementation of complex and expensive software, and modernization of aging refrigeration equipment.

There is a far easier path to achieving immediate sustainability recognition and financial savings with the huge added benefit of simultaneously raising productivity: simply printing less.

Reducing the need for printed output (including print, copy and fax) is good for the environment and it is good business. Lexmark has helped organizations around the globe reduce costs and give back to the environment by optimizing the effective use of output. A basic strategy starts by finding ways to simply print less. Slashing paper consumption means using less toner, fewer cartridges and less electricity. Reduced printing demand, in turn, leads to lower maintenance costs and a reduction in the number of output devices that need to be deployed. continue reading...

Overview

HP Web Jetadmin has the ability to discover non-HP printers connected to the network via non-HP print server devices. By supporting third party printers, HP offers a network printer management solution that drives an additional step further toward the “one-stop-shopping” concept that LAN administrators desire. LAN administrators will now be able to discover and manage printers offered by all major printer vendors from a single software interface.

Discovery

During discovery of devices, HP Web Jetadmin uses SNMP queries to gather information from the printer and print server device. If HP Web Jetadmin concludes that the device is a peripheral such as a printer, plotter, multi-function device, etc., it will display it in the list of discovered devices. In order for HP Web Jetadmin to conclude that a device is a peripheral, the device must be able to answer a set of basic questions.

A MIB (Management Information Base) is a set of objects that defines the types of SNMP queries that can be asked of a device. For example, the Standard Printer MIB (RFC 1759) is a generic set of objects to which most peripherals should be able to provide answers when queried. The Standard Printer MIB consists of objects that describe functionality and capabilities of the printer uch as page counts, media types, etc. Other common MIBs include MIB-II (RFC 1213) and the Host Resources MIB (RFC 1514).

Devices must be able to answer queries defined in these common MIBs in order for HP Web Jetadmin to discover the devices. Otherwise, there is not enough information pertaining to the device to warrant displaying it in the list of discovered devices. HP Web Jetadmin focuses on printer management, and it would be increasingly difficult to distinguish devices as printers unless they can answer a standard set of questions such as those defined in the Standard Printer MIB. continue reading...

IN THIS WHITEPAPER

In this IDC white paper, sponsored by Toshiba, IDC explores the opportunity for solid state drives (SSDs); specifically, the advantages multilevel cell (MLC) NAND-based SSDs bring to the market, the market segments most likely to benefit from MLC SSDs, and the opportunity for MLC NAND-based SSDs.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

The computing market is a large, well-established market, but it is by no means static. The way people use their PCs today is different from the way they used them just a few years ago. As this market matured, PCs evolved to suit a wider array of usage models, as evidenced by a number of different dynamics:

• The shift to portable PCs from desktop PCs
• The enormous rise in digital content that touches both our personal lives and our professional lives on a daily basis
• The newer forms of devices, such as ultramobile PCs (UMPCs) or ultra-low-cost PCs (ULCPCs).

Storage and storage requirements are not immune to these dynamics and are evolving as well. Hard disk drive (HDD) technology is over 50 years old and has been a key enabling factor in the rise and success of the computing market through its ability to provide high capacities, good performance, and reliable storage at low prices. However, storage requirements are changing, and it is difficult for one storage technology to satisfy every use scenario related to storage. As markets change, system OEMs insert other requirements into the decision matrix when choosing a storage solution. Price and storage capacity have long been the main requirements of any storage solution; however, form factor, reliability, performance, energy efficiency, and environmental metrics increasingly are becoming more important characteristics in the decision process.

Enter SSDs into the marketplace. An SSD is built using semiconductor memory, typically NAND flash memory, to store data rather than a spinning magnetic platter that is used in a traditional HDD. As a result, SSDs offer a number of advantages over other storage solutions: continue reading...

• Performance. With no mechanical armature to move, SSDs have virtually no latency time and can provide very fast access to the data stored. As shown in Figure 1, the difference in access times between typical SSD and HDD solutions is rather large and translates into faster performance in certain applications and functions.
• Reliability. Specifications of SSDs on the market indicate that they provide a high mean time between failure (MTBF) and have a low probability of mechanisms that cause an entire SSD to fail. Intuitively, this thesis would seem to be true; however, this metric has yet to be validated in the market with years of historical experience and field data.