printer

PDFCreator 1.6.2 Review

Tools for creating PDF documents tend to fall somewhere between do-it-all packages with big names (and price tags to match) and freeware stripped down to the basics. But simple is good, which is why PDF tools that install themselves as print drivers may be our favorite of all. That's how PDFCreator from Pdforge works, though that's not all it does.

PDFCreator's optional server installation mode can act as a network printer, but we chose the standard installation, which includes some optional downloads such as Images2PDF and PDFArchitect, plus some sample files and our choice of language and … Read more

Apple issues Java, printer, iPhoto, and Aperture updates

Apple has issued a few updates for OS X users, including a new version of its in-house Java runtime environment, updated printer drivers, and new versions of iPhoto and Aperture.

The updates improve reliability, security, and compatibility overall, but for iPhoto and Aperture users Apple has specifically addressed the following details:

Photos can now be deleted from My Photo Stream by dragging to the Trash Photos can now be exported from Photo Stream using the Export command in the File menu Raw images manually imported from My Photo Stream are now editable Fixes a bug that could cause manually rotated … Read more

The 404 1,245: Where we print with fire (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- "FireWriter" is a far sexier way to describe an inkjet printer.

- What do gangsters do on the Internet?

- New Brad Paisley, LL Cool J song "Accidental Racist" sparks controversy.

Bathroom break video: Slacktory Supercut: The best fake Web sites from TV shows.… Read more

Printing images with fire

If you have some random bits of wood floating around that you just don't know what to do with, perhaps you could take a leaf out of Lucien Langton's book. The 25-year-old student at the Lausanne University of Art and Design (ECAL) in France has built a functioning printer for wood that uses fire as a medium.

FireWriter consists of a repurposed inkjet printer controlled with Arduino Uno, a calibration module equipped with an optical sensor and fitted with a Dremel torch loaded with a mixture of butane and propane that burns at up to 1200 degrees Celsius.

A black-and-white image has to be fed into Processing software; it then creates a Wiring script that's fed back to the Arduino unit. … Read more

Afinia's powerful, fun-to-use 3D printer

Of the three 3D printers I've used so far, the $1,599 Afinia H-Series H479 is my favorite. That doesn't mean it's perfect, but it's a more precise, and more flexible machine than 3D Systems' first-generation Cube printer, and it's significantly easier to use than the first-generation MakerBot Replicator.

The high price of this printer will remain an issue for many consumers. Post-print cleanup with certain materials can also be a hassle. The fact that you can achieve good prints so easily and so quickly, though, makes the H479 easy to recommend. If you're … Read more

MakerBot to sell limited-edition Adafruit Replicator 2 kit

MakerBot and open-source hardware pioneers Adafruit Industries have partnered to produce a limited edition Adafruit Replicator 2 3D Printer bundle.

For $2,295, buyers get a Replicator 2 -- one of the hottest consumer-grade 3D printers on the market today -- and three of Adafruit's most-popular kits. A Replicator 2 normally sells for $2,200.

The three kits included in the package are Adafruit's MintyBoost V3.0, an open-source hardware charger; a 512MB RAM Raspberry Pi Model B; and a Timesquare do-it-yourself watch kit with a red display matrix. … Read more

Sharp wouldn't sell copier, printer business to Samsung -- report

Samsung and Sharp might have come to an ownership agreement, but the deal doesn't include the Galaxy handset maker gobbling up a key piece of Sharp's business, according to a new report.

In the deal that results in Samsung acquiring a 3 percent stake in Sharp for $111 million, Samsung tried to acquire the printer and copier division. According to a Sharp spokeswoman who spoke to Reuters in an interview published today, her company declined Samsung's offer.

For Sharp, accepting such a deal would have been a catch-22. The company needs to repay a $2.1 billion … Read more

Restrict printer usage in OS X

The default configuration for printers in OS X is relatively basic and offers you options to essentially add or remove a printer and then set some driver-specific features such as the amount of RAM or duplexing details; however, you may wish to have more options for managing access to your printer, such as limiting access to one printer and not another, or requiring a password to print.

The easiest way to administer these options for printers is via network access, where if you share the printer you can limit which users will have access to it over the network. Doing … Read more

3D-printed implant replaces 75 percent of patient's skull

Doctors have already replaced a patient's jaw with a 3D-printed titanium implant, so why not part of a skull? Earlier this week, 75 percent of an American patient's skull was surgically replaced with a custom-made implant produced by a 3D printer from Oxford Performance Materials.

The full name of the implant is the OsteoFab Patient Specific Cranial Device. The implant is made from PEKK biomedical polymer and printed using CAD files developed to fit each person. The world of skulls is not one-size-fits-all. Much like an expensive pair of bespoke shoes, these skull implants are unique to the individual.… Read more