Showing posts with label printing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label printing. Show all posts
We live in a digital age; information
exists virtually and is stored deep within hard drives. It need never come out
of the computer if it wasn’t for our love of printing.
Despite promises of paperless offices,
we still seem to be addicted to printing. Recent studies have shown that the
average office worker prints 10,000 sheets of paper ever year. This is a
startlingly high figure and is equivalent to each person writing several novels
every year! But when you think about it, it’s not hard to see how it all adds
up. With things like Apple's Cloud, Dropbox and smartphones getting smarter, why are we printing reams more than we ever have done before? Read on to find out as here are some of the reasons why we love to print:
A physical sheet of paper vs. a virtual word document
You can’t beat having something real.
Virtual word documents are useful and to be honest, I can’t imagine a world
without spell check, the ‘undo’ button, ‘copy and paste’ and of course
‘delete’. But when it comes to really looking at something or discussing it
with someone else, you want it in paper.
Paper can be shared
It is easier to discuss something,
which you can physically hold, point at and pass to the other person in real
time. While you can easily share documents online, it takes away communication
about areas that could directly relate to a piece of work that need to be
discussed.
Paper is good for thinking
If you want to think about or review
something, it is nice to be able to open an actual folder as opposed to a
virtual folder. This is something that you can keep rather than something that
can’t be dragged into oblivion with the click of a mouse.
Printed means finished
Paper is also good as a physical
outcome to endless tapping away at keyboards. A printed piece of paper comes
with a sense of achievement – it feels more complete this way.
Paper is good for the eyes
Printing gives the eyes a break from
the screen and in that sense it’s good for proof reading. It’s not healthy to
look at glowing screens all day and studies show that your eyes deteriorate
over time with prolonged exposure to computer screens.
Paper crumples…
Paper is associated with learning and
working, but what is so satisfying is that if all goes wrong, it can be
crumpled up and thrown dramatically into the bin. Clicking a mouse really isn’t
the same.
An electronic world
Similar to the rise of ebooks, which
seems to have subsequently brought the demise of bookshops, digital living
threatens the use of paper. It is universally accepted that bookshops are
wonderful places and a good, solid book is unbeatable and yet we still dabble
with electronic reading. Even fans of electronic reading will admit that they
would be sorry to see the day when bookshops are no more.
A virtual future is promised, but can
you imagine an office without paper and without need for a cartridge shop?
It would be very tidy, like a minimalist Ikea catalogue but it would be
soulless and without any evidence that human beings worked there.
There is no need in this day and age to
keep each piece of paper you ever printed and work between mountains of paper.
Computers can store information but paper is essential to discussing, sharing
and reflecting on ideas. Printing paper is no longer a necessity and yet we
still prefer it.
Would you want to live your life
entirely through screens and electricity? Can you imagine a world without
newspapers, leaflets, books, handouts and letters?
Introduction to 3D Printing
The potential held within 3D printing has many people excited, and
it is easy to see why. With the technology still in its formative stage, each
new use hits the headlines, with a Japanese company recently using the tech to
create chocolate treats for Valentine’s Day, shaped like the customer’s face
from a plastic mold. Although uses such as this may be frivolous, the potential
for greater and bigger things is already on the horizon.
3D
Printing Explained
In order to understand the potential of 3D printing, first we must
understand what it exactly is. Put simply, 3D printers download pre-designed
templates and then recreate the item layer-by-layer. While it was previously
restricted to plastics, it is now possible to use metals and biomaterials. This
has opened up a world of possibilities, with innovative ideas continually being
pioneered. One of the ideas that have stirred the imagination is the creation
of artificial organs, ready for transplant.
Organs
for All
Producing these artificial organs in-house as-and-when they are
needed could provide a major advantage over the current system in which the
waiting list can be extremely lengthy – unfortunately too lengthy in some
cases.
One of the major hurdles which must be overcome before 3D printing
becomes commonplace for complex items is the regulatory rules which will govern
it. Such is the complexity of the case that no concrete legislation has yet
been confirmed, as copyright and legal responsibilities have not yet been
determined. When the item being produced is something as complex and vital as
an organ, this gets especially delicate.
Looking
to the Future
When looking at the bigger picture, the potential for replicating
organs for transplant has truly captured the attention of the world and could
revolutionise the healthcare industry. Prototype artificial blood vessels have
already been created, with work ongoing towards producing a viable way to
provide replacement organs for those who are in need. Creating artificial
organs has long been the aim for many in 3D printing, with clusters of stem
cells now being produced to speed up the process. It could be some time before
we see artificial organs being easily and regularly produced in this manner,
but as the advancements continue, the future looks increasingly promising. The
future aim will be to provide organs quickly and easily through the 3D printing
medium, although this could provide tricky under current regulatory rules.
Changes will have to be made in order for this process to become mainstream
once the tech is complete.
Posts
