Green printing technologies versus traditional printing technologies in sheet-fed offset lithography

This experimental study compares green printing technologies (ink and stock) to traditional printing technologies (ink and stock) regarding how they compare in quality. The quality was measured using the print characteristics of gray balance and dot gain. A comparison of the two independent variables (ink and stock) was conducted to determine if a difference exists for the selected characteristics. It has been suggested that the green technologies, despite being more environmentally friendly, are not as high in quality and therefore result in a lower quality printed piece. This research used a four-color test form that was printed using both the green and traditional technologies. The characteristics were measured using an X-rite 528 spectrodensitometer, after which the data were analyzed and conclusions reported. The results of the study suggest that there is no practical significance between the different inks and stocks employed in this study. It was determined however that the best print quality in terms of dot gain (meaning the least amount of dot gain) resulted from the combination of green technologies (ink and paper).Department of TechnologyThesis (M.A.

Graphic Technologies (Printing)

This history for the Graphic Technologies program was written to commemorate DMACC\u27s 50th anniversary celebration during the 2015-16 academic year

Transfer Printing of Photonic Nanostructures to Silicon Integrated Circuits

Optical systems require the integration of technologies fabricated on different materials. We use a transfer printing technique to integrate pre-processed III-V, polymer and silicon membrane devices onto passive optical circuits with nano-metric positional accuracy

Inkjet4Tex: Creative implications of 3D inkjet printing technologies for textiles

This project expands future applied-design capabilities for textiles as a function of inkjet deposition technology. The project investigates 3D inkjet rapid-production tools’ potential, focusing on creative gaps in the developing technology in its application to the textile design process. As such, the research investigates future design possibilities for inkjet printing technology in the creation of 3D textile structures and surfaces. The research “demonstrates how tacit knowledge can be employed, observed and created in a methodical way, with new artefacts playing a role in provoking insights based on tacit understanding”… [with a ] focus on developing and employing tacit insights that would not be revealed in situations where nothing has been changed.” (Rust, 2007) As inkjet textile technology evolves past a rapid prototyping tool into a series of responsive manufacturing techniques for textile products, designers, textile technology developers and soft goods industries will be able to use the results of this research to maximize their creative development. By developing and employing modified 2D/3D textile design processes with the technology future creators will be assisted to conceptualise and manufacture locally, creatively and with more accessible technologies. Keywords: 3D textiles, surface design, technology-driven design process, inkjet printing, fused deposition modelling, novel textile design</p

3D Printed Embedded Force Sensors

Additive Manufacturing and 3D printing has opened the door to an endless amount of opportunities, including recent advances in conductive and resistive circuit printing. Taking advantage of these new technologies, we have designed a 3D printed insole with embedded plantar pressure sensor arrays. The customizable aspect of 3D printing allowed us to uniquely design a multitude of sensors. With the use of a dual extrusion printer we were able to produce a model that printed both the resistive circuit and complete insole simultaneously. These distinctive technologies have given us the capability to capture valuable pressure data from the sole of the foot. Analog signals sent from the pressure sensor arrays are received and processed through an attached multiplexer designed specifically for this application. The signal is then digitized and transmitted over the SPI transfer protocol to a processor and wirelessly communicated, via Bluetooth Low Energy, to a mobile android device to allow the user to easily record and interpret the array\u27s pressure data in real-time. The android device houses a pressure mapping view to show the gradient of force throughout the insole. With the capabilities of this insole we have provided an avenue for physicians and physical therapists to gather quantifiable insight into their patient\u27s progression throughout the rehabilitation process. With more intelligent and personalized data the applications of this technology are countless.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/capstone/1147/thumbnail.jp

Medical 3D printing: methods to standardize terminology and report trends.

BackgroundMedical 3D printing is expanding exponentially, with tremendous potential yet to be realized in nearly all facets of medicine. Unfortunately, multiple informal subdomain-specific isolated terminological 'silos' where disparate terminology is used for similar concepts are also arising as rapidly. It is imperative to formalize the foundational terminology at this early stage to facilitate future knowledge integration, collaborative research, and appropriate reimbursement. The purpose of this work is to develop objective, literature-based consensus-building methodology for the medical 3D printing domain to support expert consensus.ResultsWe first quantitatively survey the temporal, conceptual, and geographic diversity of all existing published applications within medical 3D printing literature and establish the existence of self-isolating research clusters. We then demonstrate an automated objective methodology to aid in establishing a terminological consensus for the field based on objective analysis of the existing literature. The resultant analysis provides a rich overview of the 3D printing literature, including publication statistics and trends globally, chronologically, technologically, and within each major medical discipline. The proposed methodology is used to objectively establish the dominance of the term "3D printing" to represent a collection of technologies that produce physical models in the medical setting. We demonstrate that specific domains do not use this term in line with objective consensus and call for its universal adoption.ConclusionOur methodology can be applied to the entirety of medical 3D printing literature to obtain a complete, validated, and objective set of recommended and synonymous definitions to aid expert bodies in building ontological consensus