What do you think your inkjet printer can create? Pages of black text? OK. Documents with color graphics? All right. Photos of you having fun in backyard? Absolutely! Anything else? You surely feel puzzled, however an inkjet printer can do a lot more. And there are people who know what this ‘more’ is.

A UK start-up, Polymertronics, develops a method that combines organic semiconductor fabrication technology with ultra-violet (UV) curing techniques. Simply put, this means there is a way to print electronics on a variety on media including vinyl, plastics, glass and metal. In particular, using this method one can create embedded light emitting diodes (OLEDS) and touch sensitive panels. The crucial thing about the technique is that it implies using existing printing equipment. This automatically creates a sales market for Polymertronics products and makes them (products) more cost effective.

Printed electronics sounds exiting, but hey, what do you think of printed bones?

Researchers at the Tissue Engineering Department at the University of Tokyo Hospital have already performed several implantations of artificial bones in male and female patients, ranging in age from 10 to 54. The artificial bones were simply printed using 3-D inkjet printers. Actually, here is what that “simply” means.

Artificial bone is created in several steps. First, a 3D computer model of the bone is created using the patient’s X-ray and computed tomography scan data. Then, the 3-D model is sliced into tons of layers, and the data is sent to special 3D inkjet printer. The printer work similarly to regular inkjet printer, but it does not produce simply one layer of ink droplets on paper. Instead, it creates multiple layers by applying water-based polymer adhesive onto special powder, which then hardens. Repeatedly printing layers on top of one another, printer creates a replica of desired bone or its part, see photo (taken from www.pinktentacle.com).

Artificial bones are strong, light and porous; when implanted into body, they easily integrate with surrounding bones and get replaced by them over time as the natural bones regenerate. The researchers expect this technology to be commercially available by 2010. However, the printed bones are not yet strong enough to substitute weight-bearing bones, so don’t burst into carelessly breaking your arms and legs

We are back in town! Two weeks of complete isolation from computer world have left me feeling hungry for news. Let’s see what has been going on in printing industry.

Canon announced two new models: imageCLASS MF4270 and PIXMA mini320. Canon imageCLASS MF4270 is a network-ready multifunction laser printer with a built-in duplex unit, designed for small and home offices. Apart from regular printing, the duplex print applies to incoming faxes and copying documents.

Canon imageCLASS MF4270 can print and copy at speed of up to 21 pages-per-minute (ppm) at up to 1200 x 600 dpi resolution. Fax unit feature 8 one-touch speed dial numbers, 100 coded speed dial numbers and 256-page memory capacity. The printer uses Canon Single Cartridge System, which means toner and drum are combined together in one unit.

Canon PIXMA mini320 is another compact photo printer “to bring to life those images captured at important moments”. According to Canon, this is the first compact photo printer in the brand’s model range to print images up to 5×7 inches. PIXMA mini320 feature 2.5” color LCD screen with wide viewing angles, and the Easy-Scroll Wheel interface. The printer uses Canon’s ChromaLife100 system that provides 100-year-lifespan of pictures printed with genuine inks.

Hewlett Packard respondes with introduction on a new multifunction inkjet printer. HP Photosmart C5283 All-in-One combines printer, scanner and copier in one unit, so it can scan, copy and print black-and-white and color images. Bundled HP software allows printing web pages without cut-off edges. Photosmart C5283 support print directly onto CDs/DVDs, and from most common flash cards. The printer is fueled with 6 color HP Vivera Inks in separate cartridges.

HP keeps on exploiting the idea of the Web being a storage for documents for printing. Now is the time for mobile phones to come into play. Having been developing for several months, one of HP laboratories gave birth to a new service named Cloudprint. This software makes it possible to share, store and print documents using a mobile phone.

Here is how it works. Users first “print” their documents to a HP server connected to the Internet. The system assigns them a code, and transmits that code via SMS back to user. Later, using the SMS, it is possible to retrieve the documents by entering the user’s phone number and the code on the Cloudprint Web site. The documents can then be retrieved in PDF format, ready to be printed at a nearby printer. The service will include a directory service that will show the location of publicly available printers on Google Maps.

Next is Epson reporting. The Japanese company launched three new printers ranging in features and prices. The first one is Epson CX9400Fax, a multifunctional printer that also copies, scans and faxes. The device features built-in 33.6 Kbps fax modem and 30-page document feeder. The Epson CX8400 can print borderless 4×6 images in 26 seconds and monochrome documents at the speed of 32 ppm. The basic model, CX7400, produces black text pages at 28 ppm and 4×6 borderless color prints in 27 seconds.

And now Epson presents something really interesting – world’s fastest laser-quality printer! Epson C120 is the fastest laser-quality document ink jet printer around. It can print as fast as 37 ppm for black and 20 ppm for color, obviously, in fastest (draft) mode. Epson claims that this performance makes the C120 leader among ink jet printers under $160 in terms of black and white printing, while offering about twice the speed of printers in the sub-$100 segment.

Priced for only $90, Epson C120 may seem a cheap purchase. However, beware of ink costs. Black ink cartridges for the C120 are currently selling for about $20, while a color cartridge is about $38. Black and color cartridges are rated to print 250 and 350 pages accordingly, and you can count on spending at least $200 on ink for every 1000 pages. These are the cost comparable to owning an economical color laser printer, so think it over before buying the printer.

We are not afraid of “laser” in laser printers, because it is highly unlikely one would get burnt with it. Yet, laser printer is the device that may be a source of “phantom menace”.

A group of Australian scientists revealed that office laser printers could be causing as much danger to the lung as cigarettes do. It is all a matter of ultra-fine particles contained in printer toner. Lidia Morawska, a professor from Queensland University of Technology and one of the study heads, comments on the discovery:

Ultra-fine particles are of most concern because they can penetrate deep into the lungs where they can pose a significant health threat. These particles are tiny like cigarette smoke particles and, when deep inside the lung, they do the same amount of damage. The health effects from inhaling ultra-fine particles depend on particle composition, but the results can range from respiratory irritation to more severe illness such as cardiovascular problems or cancer.

The study was conducted in a typical six-story office building and showed that level of particulates in the office was lower than outdoors during off hours. However, during business hours level of particulates rapidly rose up to 500%. Sitting in an office like this is like being outdoors by a busy road.Further investigation narrowed possible sources of excessive particulates emission to laser printers. Having figured out the source of menace, the scientists monitored 62 laser printers including, for most part, HPs with a small number of Canon, Ricoh, and Toshiba printer. The monitoring produced these results: 37 laser printers didn’t emit a thing, 17 printers had high level of emission, while the rest of printers stuck in between the two groups. Yet, no clear pattern was found of how emission level relates with different machine makes, models, etc.

However, it was determined that larger amount of pages printed, as well as density of text and graphics on the page, increases the particulates emission level, since more toner is used. The age of the laser toner cartridge affects both amount of hazardous particles produced and their average size. The older toner cartridge is, the fewer particles it emits. This makes it sensible to use remanufactured toner cartridges for your laser printer and to ventilate your office well during business hours.