Monthly Archives: October 2011

How to read a micrometer

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Brian Lawler

Printers and prepress people often need to know things like the thickness of a sheet of paper, or the thickness of a blanket. We make calculations for packing, for folding, for the spine of a book, and more, using measurements … Continue reading →

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Cal Poly dedicates a new Konica-Minolta bizhub C8000 digital press

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Brian Lawler

At a dedication ceremony today in the Graphic Communication Department at Cal Poly, Dr. Harvey Levenson, Martin Jones of Konica-Minolta, and Grant Berkefeld of Ultrex Business Systems of San Luis Obispo, California, celebrated the installation of a new Konica-Minolta digital … Continue reading →

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Homage to the semicolon

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Brian Lawler

I was working with a non-profit group last week to print a large poster on my wide-format printer. They had used a “free” font that was downloaded from dafont.com. It is a clever font, and I like the design. But … Continue reading →

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Print is dead! Long live print!

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Brian Lawler

My colleague Ken Macro was on an airplane recently between Minneapolis and Chicago, and found himself sitting next to a man who asked his profession. “I’m a college professor,” Ken told the man; they were at cruising altitude. And, what … Continue reading →

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And the violinist swiped his iPad

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Brian Lawler

I am doing photography this weekend for Festival Mozaic, which is a local musical organization that holds concerts and educational events throughout the year. Scott Yoo, standing, plays violin in a performance/lecture for Festival Mozaic, in San Luis Obispo. Mr. … Continue reading →

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The Lytro plenoptic camera

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Brian Lawler

I bought a Lytro camera today. The device is due to ship in February or March next year, and I am looking forward to getting mine. I ordered the blue one: “My” blue Lytro camera. I will be waiting by … Continue reading →

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Women in command of their printing press

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Brian Lawler

I spent the evening Sunday with the team of talented young women who print the Mustang Daily, Cal Poly’s full-color newspaper. Cal Poly Graphic Communication students Sarah Eckberg, Julia Cross and Emma Goulden stand in front of the newspaper press … Continue reading →

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Another nod to early three-color photography

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Brian Lawler

When Sergeii Prokudin-Gorskii traveled around Russia in the early years of the 20th century, he carried a three-color camera, one which exposed three images onto a monochrome negative plate in rapid succession. The result was color separations on film. My … Continue reading →

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Admiring the most valuable painting in the world

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Brian Lawler

Crowds gather in the gallery on the fourth floor of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City to see Starry Night, Vincent Van Gogh’s masterpiece that hangs there, behind a nearly invisible sheet of glass. It really is … Continue reading →

Posted in Art | 1 Comment

The 1,000,000 square foot pressroom

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Brian Lawler

Last Friday I had an extraordinary tour of the pressroom at Quad Graphics in Saratoga Springs, New York. This is one of the pressrooms at Quad’s Saratoga Springs, NY, plant. In the background are three Goss M1000 presses with 6-page … Continue reading →