Liberal Wastage

I received this mailer from the Liberal Party of Canada in my mail today.


It's a "Special Invitation" to join the Laurier Club for a suggested donation of between $225 and $325.


Inside is a "personal video message" which can be viewed by using the enclosed USB stick.
To my surprise the "personal video message" was identical to the one that could be viewed at the URL listed just below the attached USB stick. So, the Liberal Party marketeers created a very expensive way to communicate a simple URL. Also, because the USB stick does not show up as an attached device on the user's computer desktop - it can't be reused for any other purpose.

What a waste.

You can't do this with a tablet or PC

The GeoBender Hypercube:

Beautiful and amazing. For more information click HERE 

The Drinkable Book

An innovative solution to the problem of securing drinkable water that is unlikely to ever be replaced by an eBook.

For more information visit: http://www.waterislife.com/

A printshop in the Center of the Cosmos - Lewes, England

At the top of the High Street in the bustling market town of Lewes, East Sussex, sits the Tom Paine Printing Press.

Click on images to embiggen
Printer Peter Chasseaud set up his letterpress shop just five years ago after a career in fine art and graphic design.


Now he does short run printing for other artists as well as specialty work for commercial printers.


Rather than carving the images into wooden plates as was originally done for letterpress printing, Peter etches his designs into modern photopolymer plates.

The Tom Paine Printing Press is actually a not-for-profit educational organization. It is based around a working 18th-century-style wooden ‘common press’, as used to print Thomas Paine’s pamphlets and books. Together with the trappings of an 18th century print room, type cases, cabinets, frames and the compositor’s ‘stone’, the shop is an excellent educational resource and tourist attraction. Local writers and artists use the press for the production of their own books, pamphlets, broadsheets and prints. As well, the press is used to instruct students of all ages in the complexities of letterpress technology and the crucial importance of the printed word in disseminating ideas.

If you ever find yourself in the Center of the Cosmos - the town of Lewes, England - take the time to visit Peter at the Tom Paine Printing Press and discover the living craft of printing. The shop's web site can be found by clicking HERE

The Wayback View

A modern newspaper press from the 1940 Green Hornet TV series. For more print in movies videos check out this LINK

Prepress patent troll hearing

A number of printshops have been hit by an extortion letter from an alleged patent troll. The issue was discussed at the "Protecting Small Businesses and Promoting Innovation by Limiting Patent Troll hearing in Washington DC December 17, 2013.

These three short audio files contain the testimony of: Michael Makin, 
President & CEO, 
Printing Industries of America and Dana Rao
, Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Intellectual Property Litigation
, Adobe Systems, Inc. made at that hearing.

NB: My use of a video of an operating Ryobi 754 offset printing press was only in order to embed the audio files in a way that Blogspot would allow me to upload.

The eternal conflict - ink/water balance - the tale of the tones

An AM/XM halftone screen has a builty-in conflicting ink/water balance requirement on press. The highlight dot and quarter tone range from 1-35% requires minimal water and maximum ink in order to prevent those dots from being washed away. The three-quarter tone range from 65-99% requires the opposite - a larger volume of water in order to prevent the shadow dots from filling in and disappearing. On the other hand, the mid-tone range from 35-65% is more of a balance between ink and water.

Halftone dots and the tones range they represent are affected differently by the condition of the ink on press - assuming of course, that the plate, press, and chemistry are set up correctly. Unfortunately, if the press operator attempts to fix tone reproduction in some areas, that built-in difference in ink/water requirement can exaggerate the inherent conflict and cause problems in other parts of the tone range.

1 - 1-35% This tone range is primarily affected by the body/viscosity of the ink. If the body is too soft the highlight area will print too full which may cause the press operator to decrease solid ink density in order to reduce the dot size. Alternatively the fountain solution may over-emulsify this tone range causing poor ink transfer and loss of highlight detail. If the ink body is too heavy the dot may print too sharp causing the press operator to increase the density or blanket pressure.

2 - 35-65% This tone range is primarily affected by the strength (pigment load) of the ink. If the ink is too weak the press operator will increase solid ink density which will cause increased dot gain and result in presswork that appears too full. If the ink is too strong the midtones may print too light. Also, the strength of the ink also impacts how well the inks trap, which in turn affects the color gamut the press should be able to achieve. Varying the strength and stiffness of the ink to achieve good tone reproduction in presswork is a method press operators, who don't have good communication with prepress, often employ. It's almost always better to use tone reproduction curves applied in plate imaging than to modify inks.

3 - 65-95% This tone range is most strongly affected by mechanically induced dot gain or chemistry issues i.e. (poor ink water balance). If the tone range from 1-65% is evenly balanced then excessive gain in the shadow tones is usually caused by running excessive water, too much blanket pressure, and/or mechanical slur.

Paper - from another most unusual and environmentally friendly source

Paper made from poopPlant fibers (typically from trees) are the usual base material used in making pulp for paper production. However those plant fibers don't have to come unprocessed directly from the plant. The fibers can actually be gathered after being processed by certain animals and delivered for paper-making in their poop.

Paper products can be made from the poop of a variety of different fiber-eating herbivores including elephants, cows, horses, moose, pandas, and donkeys. These animals eat lots of vegetation everyday and they are prolific poopers. Since the digestive systems of these animals don’t break down the vegetation very well, their poop contains plenty of fiber even after their meal is consumed. They are basicaly doing the first stage of any paper making process – getting the fibers. Elephants, for example, can eat upwards of 250kg per day of fiber-filled meals with much of that passing through their systems largely intact. It is estimated that one elephant can produce enough poop to make about 115 sheets of paper per day.

From poop to paper

Although the source may be different, the process of making paper is not that different from making it from conventionally acquired fibers.
First, the poop is collected, then rinsed and boiled to a pulp. The solution is then blended or spun to soften and cut the fibers. Other things such as dye and/or other fibrous materials may be added to give the solution the proper consistency.
The slurry is then sifted onto rectangular sieves and allowed to dry. When dry, the thin layer of plant fibers is peeled off the sieve and made into raw sheets and rolls of paper.

Using paper made from poop is a fantastic example of sustainable and recycling practices and solutions to our environmental challenges.