#early 90s black metal level of video resolution

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OLED or QLED: What Is the Future of Flat-Panel Displays?

If you were alive in the 1970s, you probably remember the videotape ��format war” between Sony’s Betamax and JVC’s Video Home System (VHS). Betamax offered slightly higher picture resolution and better audio, but VHS was less expensive and provided longer recording time per tape. It turned out that cost and recording time were more important to consumers than superior quality, so the VHS format won the war.

A similar sort of rivalry is now in play between LG and Samsung. LG is focusing on organic LED (OLED) technology for its large-format display panels. Samsung has abandoned OLED in favor of “quantum” LED (QLED) technology due to the high cost and “burn-in” problems of OLED.

Like the venerable VCR, the first flat-panel LED TV was introduced in the 1970s based on technology that was developed in the early 1960s. The earliest LED displays were monochrome, with the first color models coming on the scene in the late 1980s.

Unlike traditional bulbs that use electricity to burn a metal filament until it’s white-hot, LED bulbs convert electricity into light. However, most “LED” displays are actually liquid crystal displays (LCDs) with LED backlighting. An electric current is passed through a solution of liquid crystals, causing them to align in such a way as to block light or allow it to pass through. The LEDs supply the light, which is typically reflected across the screen from the sides rather than from the back.

OLED displays are called “organic” because they use thin, flat films made from hydrocarbon chains. Because there’s no backlighting, OLED displays produce pure blacks, with a contrast ratio 100 times greater than a good-quality LDC screen. OLED displays have an almost 90-degree viewing angle and can be made from lightweight plastics instead of glass, opening the door to curved and even transparent displays.

This quality comes at a price. OLED panels are expensive to manufacture, and LG has struggled to turn a profit on them. OLEDs require more electricity than LEDs, and the blue pixels to degrade faster than other colors. This affects color balance and causes burn-in. LG added a grid of white OLED material to protect the blue pixels, but it hasn’t solved the problem.

Samsung abandoned OLED technology due to those issues, and focused instead on QLED. QLED displays are LCD panels with an added layer of semiconductor nanocrystals called “quantum dots” that convert blue LED light into red and green light. This makes it possible to generate very vivid hues with a high contrast ratio, and to control the colors of individual pixels without the need for filters. Because they are based on commodity LCD technology, QLED displays are inexpensive to manufacture. They also consume less energy and have a longer operating life than OLED.

Samsung has also introduced MicroLED displays, which use tiny LEDs to create each pixel. MicroLED displays provide the pure black of OLED but use less power and don’t have burn-in problems. Samsung has also announced that it’s developing QD-OLED displays that combine the blue OLED light source with quantum dots.

If your organization is planning to buy flat-panel displays, you may feel as if you’re reliving the videotape format war of the 1970s. Do you invest in OLED displays to get the highest levels of image quality? Or do you go with QLED displays to get excellent quality and a longer lifespan at a cheaper price. The A/V experts at Rahi Systems can help you evaluate these technologies and determine the best solution for each application.

[doxampage]

Custom Printing: A Trip to the Modern Printing Plant

I’ve been attending press inspections at commercial printing plants for almost thirty years. Each time, I learn something new, so even now I get excited when I get a chance to go on a plant tour.

I had lunch this week with a friend of mine who is the CEO of a large, local custom printing company with a number of offices in the local DC Metropolitan area. Before we ate, we went through the new plant he and his company had just acquired (he had bought another commercial printing supplier’s business). I found it to be a most intriguing and educational experience.

What I Saw: An All-Digital Workflow

First of all, I saw relatively few people and a lot of equipment. When I started in the commercial printing field as a graphic designer and photographer, there were many more people in prepress. In the late 1980s and early ‘90s, men and women at light tables manually stripped together large negatives shot from pasted up “mechanicals.” The mechanicals held the type and patches (called windows) for the photos, and negatives for these page elements were combined into the large flats (usually a press form of eight pages for printing one side of a press sheet). Passing bright light through these negatives “burned” printing plates that could then be hung on the cylinders of offset presses.

Today, in this particular printing plant (as well as others across the country), I saw almost no one in this department because all of the manual activities were now performed on computers, and the files were directly output to platesetters. Lasers burned the images of each eight-page side of a press form right onto the plate material with no intermediate film-based step. In fact, my friend’s platesetters didn’t require chemistry to develop the plates; the printing plates could just be washed with water on press, and they would be ready to print.

Where the Most Activity Was

I saw a lot of activity in large format inkjet printing and in laser-based digital printing. Again, relatively few people operated the handful of huge flatbed and roll-fed inkjet presses. One of these was a Mimaki. It printed the large vinyl banners, building wraps, car wraps, and magnets, while another flatbed router cut out the decals, window clings, and any other irregularly shaped, digitally printed jobs. (I knew from experience that other Mimaki equipment could actually inkjet print decals and then cut irregular outlines around the printed material using the same machine.)

The router I saw could also cut thick metal letters for signage with a different cutting tool (a plotting knife was all that was needed for the vinyl, paper, plastic, and other, less rigid substrates). I noted to my friend, the CEO, that I had seen videos of lasers cutting through large format print signage, and we agreed that this seemed to be the wave of the future.

What I took away from my visit to the grand-format inkjet press room was that marketing materials were a large market segment for commercial printing sales within this company. I also saw that items such as magnets could be inexpensively printed on huge sheets of magnetic substrate that could then be easily cut down as needed. These seemed to be very popular, as were the hemmed and grommeted banners made of scrim vinyl. Clearly they could be inexpensively produced by only a few inkjet printing press operators, and these simple products could pack an effective and memorable marketing message.

Digital Flat Sheet Presses

The CEO and I then walked through a room with both a Kodak NexPress and an HP Indigo. (I’ve often written in these PIE Blog articles that I consider the HP Indigo to be a superior digital press, and clearly my friend the CEO would not have otherwise purchased it.) But it was interesting to learn that he could laminate press sheets printed on the NexPress but not press sheets produced on the HP Indigo. It was my understanding that the fuser oil used in the HP Indigo did not readily accept film lamination. I thought this was particularly interesting since I knew of (and worked with) another printer who was in fact successfully laminating Indigo press sheets. Perhaps there are differences in the laminating film used by the two vendors, or maybe there are other factors of which I am unaware. Nevertheless, this piqued my interest.

Other digital presses in this commercial printing plant were more focused on black-only text. These were also laser-based. Interestingly enough, my friend the CEO spoke of the upcoming transition from digital laser printing (also known as xerography or electrophotography) to digital inkjet printing. He noted that both web-fed (roll-fed) presses and cut sheet presses might replace the Indigo and other laser-based custom printing equipment for printed book work as well as large format graphics.

My response was to ask if the quality was there yet, in his opinion. The CEO noted that no, it wasn’t. However, most people could not tell the difference. Others thought “good enough” was good enough, as long as the marketing message came through. For high-end work, such as fashion, food, and automotive advertising, the CEO did say that higher quality (better color fidelity and higher resolution) was needed and that certain digital equipment could provide this.

Marketing Work

At this point I also found it interesting that marketing work was in such high demand. Apparently people still responded to direct mail pieces discovered in their mailbox. With hundreds of emails showing up every day in computer in-boxes, it seems that the handful of paper direct mail pieces in the physical mailbox have a more immediate appeal. They are tactile; real, as opposed to virtual (existing only on the computer screen).

This particular printer also had hybrid presses. He had mounted inkjet heads on offset presses, so it was possible to print variable data (inline, right on the offset presses) directly onto offset printed marketing materials. He also had inline inserting equipment that could collect a number of personalized, digital or hybrid-printed pieces, and insert them into a mailing envelope.

And to speed up the mailing process, the CEO had on-site US Postal Service personnel doing all of the presorting and labeling, as well as bagging, tagging, and paperwork, so the direct mail pieces could ship right from his commercial printing plant.

What I found especially interesting, though, was a room with two roll-fed, laser-based presses. A roll of printing paper went through the first, which printed one side of the paper. Then this roll fed into a second press (the exact same model). The ribbon of custom printing paper turned this way and that (using turning bars, or rollers that could reposition the moving paper at right angles).

When the paper entered the second digital laser press, the opposite side of the roll could be printed. Then the paper was wound up into another roll, a receiving roll that could then be folded, trimmed, and inserted into envelopes. To me this was especially interesting, since I had been used to either cut sheets coming off a sheetfed press or completed and folded press signatures coming off a web press, but not a roll of commercial printing paper at the delivery end of the press.

But apparently this was an efficient way to process all of this direct mail: feeding it from a roll of paper, printing it, winding it into another roll, and then finishing it (all of the sheeting, folding, and trimming steps) from a roll instead of from press sheets.

And all of this was happening on a digital level, so the printed marketing materials I was seeing could be personalized as they traveled through the two presses as a single ribbon of paper.

What You Can Learn from My Experience

Here are some thoughts:

Everything is automated. Some of the equipment needs far fewer operators than before. Other equipment can be operated remotely (with no on-site operators), except for loading and unloading the machines.

Some of the digital presses are being built onto sturdy metal frames. That is, the build quality of offset presses is being introduced into the digital presses.

Marketing is the main focus, at least in this plant. Managing databases of customers and potential customers drives the process. With this in mind, the digital marketing data and the creative art files are fed into offset or digital presses and then sent directly into the USPS mail stream.

Large format printing is also hugely popular. Marketers want to grab your attention by wrapping buildings and vehicles with their imagery and tag lines. This way they get you to see their marketing message first.

Digital inkjet is the coming wave, and it may eclipse digital laser printing.

Acceptable quality for a particular job may not be the highest possible quality. “Good enough” may be good enough. That said, for certain markets (such as fashion, food, and automotive) only perfect color matches and the highest image resolution will do.

Everything is changing at a blinding pace. Printers need to buy the latest equipment to stay competitive, but this equipment often becomes obsolete quickly. What this means is that large printers will get larger, and many smaller printers that can’t keep up will disappear.

The post Custom Printing: A Trip to the Modern Printing Plant appeared first on Printing Industry Blog.

Custom Printing: A Trip to the Modern Printing Plant published first on https://getyourprintingcompanies.tumblr.com/

[barbosaasouza]

Razer Blade Stealth Review: An Undersized Brute

I’ve been using PCs forever. I prefer to work with desktops unless the situation demands otherwise. I have used laptops on and off since they became ubiquitous in the mid-90s, but I’ve never been a big fan of them for several reasons. The compromises required to fit modern computing power into such a portable form factor have always led to products that are expensive and often become tethered to a desk or wall, negating their benefits. I accepted the opportunity to review Razer’s newest ultrabook expecting to find more of the same. After spending a couple of weeks with the Razer Blade Stealth, I believe that laptop computers are finally nearing their full potential.

Unboxing The Stealth

The Blade Stealth comes in a simple, understated cardboard box that was much less gaudy than I expected from my previous experience with Razer products. Included are the laptop and a nice braided power cable with a USB type-C connector and a very slim power brick. The Stealth is a 13.3” laptop with an IGZO-based display. This display technology offers comparable image quality to IPS and VA while reducing power consumption. The Stealth has a reduced-size chiclet keyboard that features RGB backlighting that can be customized by Razer’s Synapse software.

The model I received included the Intel Core i7-8550U processor. This is a Kaby Lake family part that first debuted last fall and has a base clock of 1.8Ghz and can turbo up to 4.0Ghz. This wide range of available clockspeeds allows for enhanced battery life for normal use without sacrificing the raw power needed for tasks like video encoding or rendering. 16GB of DDR4 memory and a 500GB SSD make up the rest of the critical core components of the Stealth. The graphics are handled by the Intel HD 620 IGP that is included with the i7-8550U.

The display features a 3200x1800 panel that gives a good first impression. Out of the box, the Windows DPI scaling is set to 300% for readability, but all objects on the screen remain razor sharp. I found the screen to be a bit oversaturated compared to other displays, but this could be a positive depending on your personal tastes. It makes colors pop and gives game environments a very lush appearance. Rounding out the feature set is the Killer-branded wireless solution, a USB type-C plug (Thunderbolt-ready), HDMI port, and 3.5mm audio jack.

Going Hands On

The first impression I got from the Razer Blade Stealth is that is a solid piece of equipment. It is small, but has heft. I powered on the device and was pleasantly surprised by how fast I was up and running in Windows 10. As best as I can tell, the Stealth comes with a clean installation of Windows and no bloatware, save for Razer’s own Synapse software for configuring the keyboard RGBs. As an owner of multiple Razer mice, I am not a fan of Synapse at all, but I cannot fault its inclusion in this package.

My first impressions of the laptop are that it is incredibly snappy and responsive. The Core i7-8550U may not be as powerful as its enthusiast desktop siblings, but I don’t see how anyone could reasonably argue that it is not up to the task of powering the Stealth through any workload. My past experiences with Intel’s low-power mobile CPUs were less than stellar, but this chip gives you the desktop experience with no apparent compromise. I copied over some h264 videos and let Handbrake loose on some encodes. The speed of the encodes got closer to the level of my desktop i7-7700K than I’d like to admit.

While most of my early interactions with the laptop where while it sat on my desk, I decided to make use of the portability and brought it to my stereo setup to help with recording needle drops from my turntable. The Stealth’s small footprint was just what the doctor ordered and made the process relatively painless compared to the lengthy cable runs I had previously been using to accomplish this same goal. The USB type-C port was also a huge plus for me. Transfers from my mobile phone’s storage were lightning fast and I was able to grab a charge from the laptop at speeds comparable to using an electrical outlet.

Time to Play?

The last big test was to play some games on this thing. Razer informed me that this particular model was not intended for gaming, but the box it came in proudly proclaimed “By Gamers. For Gamers.” and Razer’s product page for the Stealth advertises a range of games that are playable on the Stealth, including Metal Gear Solid V, Project Cars, Tekken 7, Borderlands 2, Rocket League, and more. I felt that it was fair to see what the Stealth could offer if you needed a break from work or felt like joining some friends for a round of Rocket League while you were cooped up in some hotel room.

I installed Steam and downloaded Rocket League and Borderlands 2 (a pair of games that I owned and were specifically mentioned on the Razer website). In my opinion, both of these games need 60fps to be enjoyed, but I can see an argument for playing Borderlands at 30fps. The Stealth was able to give a steady 30fps in Gearbox’s loot shooter when all the settings were lowered, but it was less than ideal. In Rocket League, I feel that the experience is compromised below 60fps, as it makes controlling your rocket car difficult and the twitch adjustments required for success are hard to make. I could not get Rocket League to hit 60fps at any resolution or combination of settings using the integrated Intel 620 GPU.

I should also note that while the Stealth comes with a 3200x1800 screen, I was unable to select any resolution above 1600x900 in games. I’m not sure if it is a driver limitation set by Intel or a choice by Razer to keep the games from running any worse than they already do. I understand why it is the way it is, but it's a shame to have such a high resolution screen and not make full use of it.

That being said, Razer recommends that you purchase its Core v2 module if you have intentions for making your Razer Blade Stealth a legitimate gaming machine. The Core v2 is an external GPU enclosure that has multiple connections and a 500w power supply. It allows you to install a wide range of off the shelf GPUs and connects to the Stealth via the USB type-C Thunderbolt connection. Assuming you installed a beefy GPU like the GTX 1080, gaming on the stealth would be a breeze, even at the 3200x1800 resolution. This expandability comes with a big price tag though, as the Core v2 will set you back $499, plus the cost of the GPU. Going with this type of setup negates many of the portability benefits of buying a laptop, but pairing a dedicated GPU to the Intel Core i7-8550U gives you a gaming experience that offers zero compromises.

Closing Thoughts

Using the Razer Blade Stealth was a bit of a revelation for me. I was not expecting the snappy performance I got from the i7-8550U. It did not matter if I was plugged into the wall or running on the battery, using the Stealth felt like using a high-powered desktop PC. The sharp display made things easy on my eyes. I took advantage of Steam’s in-home streaming service to play some of my more demanding titles (The Hunter: Call of the Wild, Resident Evil 7, and NIOH) out on my back porch. It was the first time I’ve ever had the chance to play stuff like that away from the desk and the image quality was excellent. I wouldn’t recommend it for twitchy games, but the ease of setup and end-user experience was top-notch.

I have to type lots of stuff for work and attempted to do some of that on the Stealth’s RGB keyboard. The condensed size, along with the almost flush-mounted keycaps led to lots of frustration. The problem is easily solvable with a USB keyboard and other users who weren’t born with 35-lb meat claws may fare much better than I did. I tried the 3.5mm audio jack with a few sets of my headphones and found the music listening experience to be adequate and most importantly, noise-free. The jack does not provide sufficient juice for hard to drive headphones, but it was not designed to, so it's no big deal.

The Razer Blade Stealth has its issues, but the one thing about it that I must focus on is battery life. I have never used a laptop that could provide real, usable power for as long as I got on this Stealth. I don’t know what kind of black magic Razer conjured up (or if it was simply a combination of well-chosen parts), but I was shocked every time I checked the battery icon in the taskbar. There was always power to spare, even when I had previously drained other laptops doing the same types of tasks. The USB type-C charger also got me back up to a full charge in no time.

The battery life on this laptop is so good, that I almost feel comfortable in calling it a game changer. I’ve never been able to count on a powerful laptop to offer more than three or four hours of uptime for heavy use and the Razer Blade Stealth still had enough power for me to screw around on Youtube for an hour after I spent the better part of an afternoon encoding videos and testing out games on Steam. This almost makes me feel like laptops are reaching the point where the power/portability compromise no longer has to be made.

I am still a desktop guy, but I have no reservations recommending the Razer Blade Stealth to anyone who needs desktop-class power with a strong battery in a very portable package. If you need gaming performance, Razer has a lineup of laptops that can server that purpose, or you can opt for the pricey Core v2 GPU enclosure. The Stealth is not cheap (the model I tested retails for $1699), but no computing products that offer a top of the line experience ever are. This is a laptop for those serious about getting work done. The lack of bloatware shows that Razer is also committed to this as well.

This review is based on a laptop provided by the manufacturer. The Razer Blade Stealth starts at $1399. The model reveiwed is $1699 as configured. You can pick up one today from Amazon.

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