Spend less money on printer cartridges: 7 useful tips/

Does the following statement sound familiar?
Well great. I need a new inkjet/toner cartridge for my printer. Another waste of money.

Don't worry, you're not the only one. Even as sellers of ink and toner cartridges, we understand that cost is a problem for many. Especially when you print in large quantities, the toner or ink runs out quite unnoticed. But you still need to buy them. So what can you do to save money on ink and toner cartridges?
The first thing you should do is make sure that your supplier is not scamming you. Make sure its prices offer fair market value (our prices are benchmarked against the market every day).

This way you will be a little smarter when making a purchase and when using a new cartridge. The following 7 tips will help you get the most benefit from toner or ink and save money:

1. Buy multi-packs of cartridges.
It doesn't matter whether it's a color set of cartridges or black and white, buying cartridges in sets will be cheaper than buying them individually. Moreover, you can benefit by purchasing a discount for buying in bulk if the supplier has such an option.

2. If you don't need or care about color, buy black ink cartridges.
It all depends on what exactly and how often you print. What is your printer most often used for? Of course, if you are, for example, a marketing agency that prints a lot of leaflets, brochures, etc., then you need color printing. But what if more than 90% of what you type is just emails? Or if you print documents just to take notes on them? Can't you get by with just black ink and toner?
Think about what you are typing. If you can do without color printing, you can save money and limit yourself to black and white printing.

3. Before purchasing a printer, study the lifespan of the cartridges it uses.
When you buy a new printer, there are many things to consider, such as price, printing speed, and the type of printer that will suit all your needs.
Have you ever thought about the cost in the long term? Of course, the printer can be very cheap, but it is worth paying attention to what this printer uses. For example, while one printer may cost RUB 10,000 and another RUB 25,000, the latter may use more efficient cartridges, meaning lower costs in the future. So before you buy a new printer, study the life of the cartridges it uses.

4. Buy compatible cartridges instead of original ones.
Of course, if you buy the cheapest products on the market, you are risking the quality of the goods. But spend a little more on good quality compatible products and you won't even notice the difference between them and the original products. High quality compatible products are manufactured to suit your needs. But unlike original products, they are cheaper.
Just make sure that compatible cartridges are backed by warranty. And contrary to some beliefs, compatible cartridges do not invalidate your original printer's warranty.

Read about our warranty obligations.

5. Stop typing every little thing!
We've talked about this before in the topic about saving printing paper, but it will also help you save ink and toner. Have you printed anything that you didn't really need? For example, an email? Or a sheet of A4 paper containing two lines of text?
If you stop printing unnecessary things, the savings in toner and ink will soon be very noticeable.

6. Choose your font size carefully.
The issue made international news when a fourteen-year-old schoolboy claimed that the US government could save $400 million annually by using Garamond instead of Times New Roman to print official documents.
Although his calculations have not been confirmed by scientists, this boy's point of view is still valid. Certain fonts are thinner and lighter than others, meaning they use less ink and paper.
Again, it all comes down to what exactly you are typing. But until you need a big bold font, might it be better to use a different one? Just experiment and find the font that suits you.

7. Keep in mind that not all of the toner or ink in the cartridge will be used for printing.
Sorry, but you can't do anything about it. Some toner and ink will not even “touch” the paper, but will immediately go to waste. Some amount will be consumed when cleaning the print head. Sometimes, depending on your printer settings, you can control this process, but not always.

Have we missed anything? Do you have any other tips for saving money on cartridges? If yes, then contact us and we will supplement the article with your own ideas.

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As a radical way to save toner in a printer, printers sometimes suggest replacing a cheap printer with an expensive one. When printing on a cheap device, the price of one full-color print on an A4 sheet will be 3-6 times higher. In addition, in expensive models, due to economy, the service life increases.

Two printers

Some practitioners offer a comprehensive solution using two different devices, each with its own task:

• for black and white printing and texts, purchase any laser,
• for images (high-quality color graphics) - an inkjet photo printer with a device that provides a continuous supply of ink with the possibility of refilling (for example, Epson L800).

However, most people reduce ink waste by using the toner saver mode, installing an ink saver program, and following a few simple tips.

Economy mode

The toner consumption reduction mode can be configured from the document by sequentially clicking: File – Print – Properties – Options – Graphics. Next, you need to check the “Enabled” checkbox either in the “Density” field next to the “Light” value or in the “Economy Mode” field. The absence of these or similar fields indicates that this model does not support the ability to print in draft form.

Print settings on most devices are also available through the LCD screen of the printer itself. In this case, the degree of saturation is usually adjusted with the “+” and “-” buttons, and confirmed with the “Ok” or “Menu” buttons.

Some devices have buttons to switch to draft mode. Sometimes reconfiguration occurs programmatically. However, correcting the fill and brightness values ​​in the device's own software is not considered the best option, since this may upset the color balance. To avoid incorrect color rendering, fill values ​​are changed at the stage of creating the ICC profile of a specific material.

It should be borne in mind that “by default” in the factory settings, the economy mode is never set, so after purchasing any printer you need to reconfigure it to your needs.

HP devices, for example, have EconoMode, a feature that allows you to reduce the quality of toner per page. However, the company does not recommend using this function on an ongoing basis, explaining it this way: if the average consumption level is less than 5%, the toner may linger on the mechanical parts of the cartridge, which reduces quality and may lead to the need to install a new cartridge.

In laser printers, toner consumption is reduced by reducing its magnetization, and, accordingly, weak adhesion of toner to the drum, and reducing the number of painted dots per inch. In HP and Samsung models, this economic effect reaches 30-40%.

Programs for lean spending

InkSaver

The program is designed to save ink in inkjet printing devices and extend the life of the cartridge. Compatible with Epson, Canon, HP. The list of models is presented on the official website of the program.

Before the process begins, a window appears asking you about the preferred print quality. You can adjust it very precisely using the sliders, setting one to black and white, the other to color.

In a separate tab, financial benefits are automatically calculated with and without using the program. To do this, you need to manually fill in the fields for the cost of cartridges, the number of their replacements per year, and the program will substitute the current parameters independently, giving the result of savings in rubles.

FinePrint

Multifunctional driver that expands the capabilities of printers when printing brochures, forms, working with “footers”, headers, design (substrates, frames). Can control the independent operation of several preconfigured devices.

One of the main functions is called saving ink and paper, but this happens mainly due to the placement of 2 pages on one side of the sheet and the ability to remove unnecessary illustrations or pages.

priPrinter 6

A virtual printer that allows you to edit a document and save printing history in various formats (including PDF). The user can view, edit text, change page order fields, combine on a sheet, and work with watermarks. There is a function to view the page in 3D. In addition, priPrinter 6 also provides a special mode for reducing ink consumption.

To configure, you need to open the “Effects” tab and select one of ten saving levels in 5 percent “steps” from 5 to 30% and in 10 percent “steps” from 30 to 70%. The optimal range is considered to be 30-40% savings. Due to the fact that the virtual printer leaves clear outlines of letters, brightening dark areas, text is easy to read and uses less ink, which is especially noticeable in large fonts. The transition to the medium mode is also carried out immediately before printing from the quick view panel.

You can also display comparative information on the percentage of ink coverage in standard form and in economy format, indicating the amount of ink saved.

Simple rules

In addition to using the basic functions of the programs, following some simple rules will also help save money:

1. Print what you need. It's not so much about the content, but about the various pictures and banners that can “stick” to the text copied from the Internet. But sometimes the text parts of the document become redundant. For this case, for example, priPrinter provides the following options:

• To remove entire pages from the print list, you need to mark them and press the Del button.
• To exclude parts of the page or individual images, use the Rectangle select tool.
• To remove all images, click on the Remove Graphics button.

1. It is more economical to print once. In order for the result to be satisfactory after this, it is advisable to check the document using a preview. In this case, all flaws can be corrected using the image on the screen. This is especially true for wide tables, where users forget to switch from portrait to landscape when printing.
2. Use high quality ink. If you use ink of questionable quality, defects often arise that have to be corrected by reprinting. For example, sharp step transitions from a light image to a dark one.
3. Efficiently clean print heads. Since volatile solvents are used during the procedure, if the “cleanliness” is too high, the doses dry out each time, which increases the useless consumption of ink.

Electronics manufacturer Cooler Master has a range of hardware products such as keyboards, power supplies, headsets, computer (PC) cases, mice and, of course, coolers. Each of its products has been specifically designed based on community feedback. Including keyboards. Cooler Master even had a Kickstarter project for an analog keyboard with pressure-sensitive keys called the ContolPad. With that said, let's take a closer look at what can make the new Cooler Master SK621 keyboard special for the user.

Keyboard news: Review of Cooler Master SK621 - mechanical wireless keyboard with a separate wired connection option.

The first thing that is noticeable during the review is the ability to conveniently pair the wireless keyboard with three different devices. Connecting your device is as simple as holding the function button and Z, X or C. This feature makes it very easy to switch from using your phone to your computer. Turning on the Cooler Master SK621 keyboard is also easy. Either connect it via a USB Type-C cable, or on the left side activate the very simple switch for wireless mode.

Technical characteristics of the Cooler Master SK621 wireless keyboard:

You can map a wide variety of colors (shades) to any key, customize lighting modes, or customize macros using the Cooler Master software.

When using the SK621 for the first time, it is recommended to connect to your computer via USB Type-C and install the Cooler Master Portal. This will allow you to control the different lighting effects and settings of the wireless keyboard. It is possible to create preset profiles, which makes it easier to switch between profiles when using elements. You can also adjust the lighting effects using the controls, but the above mentioned portal is more user friendly. The wireless keyboard setup is very easy to use and has many combinations. There are options - adjusting the speed, direction and brightness of the keyboard backlight effects.

Macros can also be programmed. It’s also worth adding that all functions such as RGB lighting, macros and controls are also available when using the SK621 via a Bluetooth connection. The wireless keyboard's battery life is also impressive. It may take a couple of full business days before the light turns red, indicating that the battery is low. Charging the SK621 wireless keyboard is also easy. Just connect your keyboard via USB Type-C. The keyboard can still be used as a wired keyboard as long as the cable charges the keyboard's battery.

The keyboard's body is crafted from polished aluminum, making it lightweight, durable, and provides a premium appearance. There's also a nice sleek aluminum edge accent that adds a touch of elegance. The keys are made of plastic and don't have much texture.

Low-profile Cherry MX keys are quiet enough for office use. The key switches are incredibly sensitive and using the Cooler Master SK621 Wireless Keyboard takes some practice. This is because the keys register key presses to within a millimeter or less.

The SK621 keyboard is designed to be compact and quite portable. A nice addition is the velvet bag. It's definitely made for gaming thanks to its Cherry MX keys, but it's easy to use for work.

The Cooler Master SK621 does everything it's designed to do. However, the keys are great for gaming but are too sensitive for typing. Plastic keys are also prone to oil stains on your fingers, so eating while gaming can be difficult. Perhaps if the keys had some kind of oil-resistant coating or more texture, the oil marks wouldn't be as pronounced.

Features of the Cooler Master SK621 wireless keyboard:

Brushed aluminum body design;

Featuring a flat, brushed aluminum keyboard top, floating keycaps, and a slim, minimalist body design.

Colored keyboard backlight (RGB LEDs);

Individually customizable LED key backlighting and surrounding LED ring.

Hybrid wired and wireless;

Connect up to three devices via Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology or wired connection and charge the battery at the same time.

Minimum keyboard layout by 60%;

We can say that this wireless mini keyboard has a unique design for maximum portability.

Easy to use software.

Low profile Cherry MX keys;

The reduced travel distance and actuation point performs with equal durability and accuracy (according to the wireless keyboard manufacturer).

Available controls;

In real time, you can customize keyboard backlighting and macros without the need for software.

Summary of the Cooler Master SK621 wireless keyboard:

Overall, electrical and keyboard maker Cooler Master exceeded all expectations. It's especially impressive because it can make a really interesting wireless keyboard. The SK621 model has a variety of lighting effects and individual settings, has a compact design and a lot of user-friendly functions. Using the SK621 at work and then bringing it home for gaming could make it a favorite wireless keyboard for the price of nearly $200.

ETH Zurich has unveiled details of "Concrete Choreography", an installation that recently opened in Riom, Switzerland. The innovative installation features the first robotically constructed 3D printed concrete stage, consisting of formless columns 3D printed to full height in 2.5 hours. The process is expected to significantly improve the efficiency of concrete structures while achieving the fabrication of complex material components and construction robots.

3D printing news: ETH Zurich creates concrete columns using a special 3D concrete printer.

In Riom, Switzerland, the Origen festival features nine 2.7-meter-high columns. Each column is 3D printed concrete. The new columns were individually designed using custom software and manufactured using a new automated concrete 3D printing process developed by the ETH Zurich team with support from NCCR DFAB.

3D concrete printing like this

MSc Digital Fabrication and Architecture students explore the unique capabilities of multi-layer extrusion printing, demonstrating the potential of computer-aided design and digital fabrication for the future of concrete construction. Perhaps in the construction industry, this process will become more environmentally friendly in the future if they develop new eco-friendly concrete for 3D printing.

Video review of 3D concrete printing: Concrete choreography.

This is how easy and fast 3D concrete printing works.

3D printing of houses and buildings made of concrete is a prospect for construction.

Hollow concrete structures are printed for the strategic use of materials, resulting in a more sustainable approach to specific architecture. Additionally, the calculated material structure and surface textures are an example of the versatility and significant aesthetic potential of 3D concrete printing when used in large-scale structures.

The new review will be about printing on a 3D printer with metal.

It is worth noting that there is technology to carry out 3D printing with metal. This is also a promising direction for construction, but for this, other materials are used (for example, powder), programs and other types of printers (which we will talk about soon).

What color is your mobile phone? Is it black, red, white, gold or blue? Most likely, the back of your phone has some kind of solid color option that you will find in a coloring book for beginners. It has taken too long for most phone manufacturers to realize that phone colors actually matter to consumers, and it is only recently that they have started giving mobile phones not just a rarely used color, but fancy shades like coral red or canary green.

Honor News: With new 3D holographic color phones from Honor, it's possible to add a little new color to life.

It's no surprise that most people don't mind hiding the backs of their phones behind an opaque plastic case. In cases, the user can choose a suitable color for the phone case to give the mobile a little personality. But China's new Honor 20 Pro and Honor 20 series phones are the world's first smartphones with 3D dynamic holographic design, and their reflective appearance could become a new industry standard.

"Always better" is the company's motto. Perhaps this motto suggests that she refuses to follow the industry standard by simply experimenting with layers of paint with each new phone model.

Color 3D holography for the phone case.

In order for the phone body to achieve a shimmering optical illusion, the manufacturer Honor designed its Honor 20 model with a deep layer containing millions of shimmering microscopic prisms, and on top of this a so-called 3D curved glass layer is placed. The combination of these technologies causes the light to "play and dance" on the back of the phone as the user turns it in different directions.

Two colors for the Honor 20 phone can be found under these dynamic layers, Midnight Black and Sapphire Blue. Unlike the newfangled phrases for some phone colors, Honor mobile has color gradients for phones that actually evoke the effect of a shimmering night sky or a shimmering jewel.

While the color options sound exciting, you can go even further with the Chinese Honor 20 Pro phone. This upgraded model features the signature "Triple 3D Mesh" containing three layers. Instead of just painting the back of the phone itself, this time a layer of body color sits between the outer 3D layer and the inner depth layer. According to the phone maker, this makes color shifting effects much more dynamic.

The Honor 20 Pro mobile phone is actively sold in two colors such as Phantom Black and Phantom Blue. Although the names of these phone colors are not so metaphorical, do not think that their rear panels are less dynamic.

Honor's obsession with choosing the right colors may seem overly dramatic, but in the UK, for example, a survey of hundreds of Brits found that forty-nine percent of them consider color when choosing a phone to buy.

Why is a phone with a changing color scheme being sold?

Choosing a mobile phone, as Honor designer Jun-Soo Kim puts it, is “Extending human life.” Essentially, Honor is saying that customer identity cannot be captured in one unchanging color.

The history of the creation of Honor color phones.

The Honor 20 represents a natural evolution of the company's experimentation with dynamic color in phone design. The Honor 8 model started the trend of a 2.5D multi-layer back wall, which creates a 3D lattice effect. Then the Honor 9 version turned into a phone with a curved 3D glass, echoes of which can already be found in the Honor 20 model. Well, last year, the Honor 10 model was equipped with an Aurora rear glass that reflected colors from all sides.

What is the screen like on an Honor phone?

Honor's design innovations don't stop at the color of the phone's body. It's worth paying attention to the placement of the Honor 20's camera. Instead of trimming the screen to make room for the "selfie" camera. The phone maker has cut a 4.5mm hole in the top left corner of the screen, thereby leaving more screen space for the user's needs.

Camera with artificial intelligence or AI camera in your phone.

According to the description of the phone, it is worth noting that on the back of the device, the Honor 20 AI camera has four lenses and is located so as to leave more space for a battery with more memory. But most importantly, the result is a 48-megapixel camera that uses the Kirin 980 AI microchip to take DSLR-quality photos and enhance photos.

Summary of Honor phone color.

Bottom line, phone descriptions, technical compatibility and cutting-edge hardware innovations are what usually attract attention to Chinese Honor phones. But in this case, the technology is almost overshadowed by the uniquely colored body design, which may make some users reluctant to go back to simple 2D phone body colors in the future.

Rumors continue to arise regarding the launch of the Google Pixel 4 mobile phone. A new set of information or predictions comes from a leaked image (3D rendering of colored cases) on the Internet, which is believed to be of the Google Pixel 4. It is not uncommon for users to spy Because of the theme of new products, such images are overlooked. Meanwhile, for some analysts, the new picture helps make a few assumptions about more than just the color of the phone.

A new unofficial image of the Google Pixel 4 is sparking rumors about color options for the mobile phone's body.

While another image of the phone body itself doesn't seem to show more than what was previously discussed online, the model seen in the background of the photo raises eyebrows due to its color. That mobile phone has a shade of purple that the Pixel model didn't have before.

Elsewhere, there have been other leaks of the same Google Pixel 4 with "three phones" (variants) stacked in a row. There are white and black colors, plus the third has a bluish tint, which some call mint green. Would you like to buy a blue phone? Probably the name of the phone colors will still be updated.

Whatever leak about the phone's colors is true or false, it's safe to assume that the new Google Pixel 4 will definitely have an additional color this year. What's even more interesting is that in the image, the physical buttons on the sides of the phones contrast with the color of the body. You can see white, blue and yellow buttons which give the phone a fun look.

For some strange reason, all the images and leaks seen so far have only shown the rear panel of the Google Pixel 4 smartphone. As reported by various sources, Google allegedly shared a render of the phone, and there was also a part where the square camera bump was featured. The dual camera unit was visible.

The leaked photos in question, including an image along with the cases, show the back panel in different colors and the camera module. What do you think is the best phone color?

About the technical characteristics of Google Pixel 4:

Obviously, the idea of ​​a fingerprint scanner is not leaving fans alone. Some people want the phone to either have Face ID to unlock the phone, or an in-display fingerprint scanner, or both.

Some other aspects and specifications, such as the dimensions of the phones and the overall thickness being 8.2 millimeters higher compared to the 7.9 mm seen in the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, can be taken as close to reality.

There is speculation that the Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL versions of the phone may be more like the "Apple iPhone 11" variant that is scheduled to release in a couple of months in the fall. When, exactly? Technology company Google has yet to announce an official release date for the Pixel 4, but various sources are hinting at a late October release for the new phone.

We'll tell you more about this soon, so stay tuned for news about new smartphones from Google.

The robot set a world record for solving a Rubik's Cube. This robot was developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) students Jared Di Carlo and Ben Katz in a student laboratory. For comparison, the fastest human record is held by Australian Felix Zemdegs, who solved the Rubik's Cube in just 4.22 seconds in 2018. By the way, the original size Rubik's Cube has 43 quintillion possible combinations for one solution. Watch the video of the record-breaking robot below.

Robotics news: MIT's nimble Robot solves a Rubik's Cube in a world record time of 0.38 seconds.

Many people have a special place in their hearts for the Rubik's Cube. This is a good workout for the intellect. Many people loved or still love to play with this ingenious toy, and over the years there have been many competitions, challenges and variations to solve the Rubik's Cube.

The popularity of the Rubik's Cube can be attributed to the simplicity of its design combined with the mind-boggling complexity of the puzzle.

New record for solving a Rubik's Cube 3x3x3.

Engineers and hobbyists have been using robots to solve Rubik's Cubes for years. 10 seconds used to be considered a quick assembly, but by today's digital age standards, that's a time that makes you smile.

It was only a matter of time before engineers and roboticists began to tackle the challenge of creating a new robot. Back in 2016, the robot set a new record for solving a Rubik's Cube in 0.637 seconds. But for some enthusiasts, that time wasn't fast enough.

Just recently, two MIT students, Jared Di Carlo (a third-year electrical engineering and computer science student) and Ben Katz (a mechanical engineering graduate student), thought they could build a faster robot that could solve a 3D combination puzzle.

They watched videos of previous robots, and noticed that the robots' motors were not the fastest that could be used to solve the problem. So they thought they could do better with better engines and controls.

How a robot solves a Rubik's Cube

Students installed an electronically controlled motor that powers each face of the Rubik's Cube. Using a pair of web cameras pointed at the cube, special software determines the initial state of each side of the cube (which colors are on which side of the cube at a given time). Then, based on the information received, using existing software for solving the Rubik's Cube, the robot solves the puzzles using an algorithm.

What is the result of the work? Their robot solved a Rubik's Cube in 0.38 seconds! It is safe to say that no person is physically capable of breaking the record for this speed. We can add another achievement to the list of robots surpassing humans.

There is a man who holds the fastest world record for hand assembly, his name is Felix Zemdegs. He was able to solve the Rubik's Cube in 4.22 seconds. The skills and talents that robots are replacing are vast and varied, to say the least. Not to mention that robots can still surprise. Next is a video demonstration of the robot.

Video review of assembling a Rubik's Cube in 0.38 seconds:

Just like that, hardware hackers Ben Katz and Jared Di Carlo broke the previous record for robotically solving a Rubik's Cube. Their robot solved the puzzle 40 percent faster than the previous record.

Details about the record-breaking robot

The robotic device is assembled from motors from the Kollmorgen ServoDisc U9 series, PlayStation Eye cameras (for scanning the cube) and, of course, a Rubik's Cube was needed. According to the robot's creators, "The entire software process takes about 45 milliseconds. Most of the time is spent waiting for the webcam driver and determining the colors on the sides of the Rubik's Cube."

Facebook Inc. Artificial Intelligence Research Group. introduced a new robotics platform called PyRobot. This platform (framework) was developed jointly with researchers from Carnegie Mellon University. PyRobot aims to help AI researchers and students integrate deep learning models built using the PyTorch platform (a machine learning library for the Python programming language) with the robots they create. The basic idea is that they can create their robots more easily by using artificial intelligence skills such as natural language processing.

News from the world of robots with AI (AI): Facebook introduces a platform for robotics PyRobot is an open source framework for controlling robots.

Facebook said it wants to promote long-term robotics research to help develop embedded artificial intelligence systems that can learn more efficiently by interacting with the physical world.

Previously, to stimulate the production of artificial intelligence models, the company introduced PyTorch Hub.

What is PyRobot today

PyRobot is a lightweight, high-level interface that provides hardware-independent APIs for robotic manipulation and navigation. The PyRobot repository also contains a low-level stack for LoCoBot, a low-cost mobile manipulator hardware platform (robot assembly toolkit). Now artificial intelligence and machine learning are becoming more accessible to those new to robotics.

Research supervisor Abinav Gupta and Saurabh Gupta, as a research fellow at Facebook, explained in a blog post that: PyRobot is a lightweight, high-level interface on top of the robot's operating system. It provides a consistent set of hardware-independent middle-level APIs (application programming interfaces) for controlling a variety of robots. PyRobot abstracts away the details of low-level controllers and interprocess communication, so machine learning specialists and others can simply focus on building high-level AI (artificial intelligence) robotics applications.

Facebook's source also says PyRobot has dozens of potential applications, such as helping researchers share data and set benchmarks and build on each other's work. The company solicited proposals from the broader AI research community on how to democratize robotics using LoCoBot and PyRobot, which are hardware specifications and tools for building low-cost robots.

PyRobot works by using APIs to abstract the functions that robots need to use. Perform tasks such as kinematics, path planning, position, speed and torque control for joints, and visual simultaneous localization and mapping. PyRobot comes with a number of pre-trained deep learning models that allow robots to navigate, grasp objects, and more.

This means developers can program their robots using just a few lines of Python code, Facebook says.

Facebook researchers also say that: The cost of hardware and the complexity of specialized software limit the scope of robotics research. With lower barriers to entry, researchers can, for example, build multiple robots that collect data and learn in parallel. Providing a common platform for various equipment. PyRobot will lead to the development of benchmarks in robotics, similar to other areas in AI, and will quantify the pace of progress in AI robotics.

Like Amazon's RoboMaker, PyRobot runs as an interface on top of the robot operating system (ROS), extending the infrastructure. In May, technology company Microsoft released a set of robotics tools with a limited preview, and last year integrated the ROS platform into Windows 10.

The famous analyst and author of Apple smartphone forecasts, Ming-Chi Kuo, can certainly be the most reliable source of leaks and information about Apple products. And today he released a new research report, obtained by Mac Rumors, where he mentions the future of the iPhone and when we can expect Apple to finally switch to 5G (fifth generation mobile communications) smartphones.

Rumors and technology news: Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicts Apple will release 5G iPhone in 2020

Back when Apple was still planning to use Intel modems in its iPhones, there were rumors that the "iPhone 2020" phone model would be the first to receive 5G support. However, the Apple company has since switched from its modem supplier to Qualcomm. For which they had to settle a long patent dispute with an American chip manufacturer, pay at least 4.5 billion dollars and not use Intel modems. Intel may even have shut down its 5G plans after this news.

According to a note by analyst Kuo Ming-Chi, the development of a new version of the iPhone 5G mobile phone is proceeding exactly on schedule. Allegedly, we will see Apple announce the release of the 5G iPhone in 2020. Kuo's note also mentions that both the 5.4-inch iPhone model and the 6.7-inch iPhone model will have a 5G modem. A hint is given of some kind of update to the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max smartphones.

Ming-Chi Kuo also said that all three iPhone models in 2020 will come in multiple colors and feature an OLED screen, as opposed to the LCD screen on the current iPhone XR. However, we'll probably still get an iPhone XR upgrade with an LCD display this year, so if an OLED screen in a mobile is too much of a deal for you, maybe wait a year.

5G iPhone competitors:

Currently our best Android competitors are the following 5G phones:

1) Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G (128 GB memory, 6 GB RAM and battery with fast charging);

2) OPPO Reno 5G (innovative design, affordable price, powerful camera);

3) LG V50 ThinQ (screen 1440 by 3120 pixels, memory expansion up to 1 TB, 4000 mAh battery);

4) OnePlus 7 Pro 5G (frameless AMOLED screen has no notches or holes);

5) ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G (48 megapixel camera, Snapdragon 855 chip).

Global sales of 5G phones.

Global deliveries to stores of mobile phones supporting 5G technology (this is the fifth generation of fast mobile communications) may be higher than market analysts' expectations. It's worth noting that some mobile market observers believe such shipments are likely to reach 150 to 200 million units, or more than a dozen percent of global 5G phone shipments next year.

After many rumors in the cryptocurrency market news. On Tuesday, Facebook unveiled plans for the next year, including the ambitious release of a new digital currency called Libra. It will be managed by an association consisting of corporate investors. Payment companies Visa, Mercado Pago, PayPal, Mastercard and Stripe are partners. Technology companies Uber, eBay, Spotify and Lyft are joining the project. European telecommunications companies Vodafone and Iliad are also involved in the new project. Investors Union Square Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, plus academic, non-profit institutions Womens World Banking and Kiva.

Facebook has unveiled a new project called Calibra, a digital wallet for storing and sending Libra “crypto coins.”

Billions of people are expected to be able to make payments using cryptocurrency from social media giant Facebook through their mobile apps. The social network Facebook plans to officially launch a new cryptocurrency project, Libra, in 2020. Libra is a new type of digital money that is intended for billions of people using mobile applications and the social network.

The popular social network Facebook has more news for the world of cryptocurrency.

That a new digital wallet would be created that would allow Facebook app users to store and exchange cryptocurrency. Facebook is creating a new subsidiary, Calibra.

Why is Facebook betting on a cryptocurrency called Libra? Perhaps the lofty goal of the latest development is to go beyond social networks.

Digital wallets for storing, sending and spending Libra cryptocurrency will be connected to messaging platforms.

Initially, the cryptocurrency will be available in the Facebook Messenger / WhatsApp application, and of course in separate applications for iOS or Android.

Facebook said in a press release that: “Initially, Calibra will make it easy and instant to send Libra at a low cost to virtually anyone with a smartphone.”

It also says that: “Over time, additional services will be offered to businesses and people, such as buying a cup of coffee with a scanned code, paying a bill with the touch of a button, traveling on public transport without having to carry cash.”

Security of the Facebook cryptocurrency wallet.

To improve the security of the new cryptocurrency, it will use similar verification and fraud protection features that are already used by credit cards and banks. Facebook's cryptocurrency service will have user support. And in case someone else gains access to the user account, compensation for lost assets is promised.

Cryptocurrency coins will be stored by users in a digital wallet. But the world of cryptocurrency itself is not always stable! Time will tell if Facebook's own digital money will help people save money by sending and spending it as easily as sending text messages.

The cryptocurrency will be managed by the founding members: Facebook, more than two dozen different organizations and a separate Swiss foundation.

Why Libra?

What does the word Libra mean?

Former PayPal executive David Marcus, who heads the Facebook project, said something like this: "The choice of the name Libra (Libra) was inspired by several reasons, namely the French word for Liberty, the Roman measurement of weight, the astrological sign of justice."

What would you like to know about Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency?

Technology and design news: Insanely beautiful iPhone 11 concept with innovative, colorful, curved screen.

Technology giant Apple will release iPhone 11 this coming September. If all sorts of rumors turn out to be true, then the multimedia phone could have the same design as the last two generations of the phone. Regarding the final design of the iPhone 11, we are ready to accept what Apple designers come up with. But, we can't stop imagining what could be if technology allowed us to create any design for the iPhone 11. And that's exactly what some very talented designers are doing. This time around, there's a beautiful concept for the iPhone 11 that ditches all the buttons in favor of an immersive curved phone screen.

The implementation of such a design results in an iPhone with a beautiful glowing strip that stretches along the entire mobile phone and replaces the physical volume rocker buttons and the power button. Using this design philosophy allows you to get an iPhone with on-screen icons on the side.

While it may be a good looking phone, there is absolutely no chance of the concept becoming a reality. In addition, protecting such a phone with a case seems impossible, since by covering the screen space the case will take away some of its basic functions. Imagine that if a phone like this were accidentally dropped on the ground, the cost of repairing a curved screen would be higher for the user than with a classic screen option.

We hope the new iPhone 11 will have a bright screen under the sun.

The 2019 iPhone 11 lineup is expected to feature three models, just like last year. There will probably be two OLED phones and one with an LCD screen. The iPhone 11 and 11 Max models may have a variety of OLED screens, and also have screen sizes of 5.8 and 6.5 inches, respectively. Perhaps the iPhone 11R model will be equipped with an LCD display to reduce the price to a minimum.

It is also expected that the new versions of the iPhone 11 and 11 Max will have a triple camera configuration, while the iPhone 11R version is expected to be equipped with a dual camera. Essentially, this means that all three mobile phones could come with an additional camera on the back.

The front of the iPhone 11 lineup is expected to remain the same and there will be no difference in the size of the notch. However, recent reports claim that there may be improved face identification that will be able to authenticate a user at some extreme angles.

Video review of the iPhone 11 concept with an innovative, curved screen on the side:

According to the creator of this video, the new bezel-less iPhone 11 could have the following specifications:

6.4-inch full-screen display;
- Hidden front 13MP camera;
- Four cameras, 8K @ 120 FPS;
- New Apple operating system, iOS 13;
- Apple A13 Bionic mobile chip (up to eight times faster than the A12 Bionic chip).

WWDC is Apple's large event for developers. During this event, Apple tells developers and interested visitors about new versions of the MacOS and iOS operating systems, its latest development tools, and the latest proprietary applications and devices. She talks about plans to stimulate further development, about new partnerships with developers and other details that she is working on. It turns out that attending the Apple IT conference WWDC 2019 is an ideal chance to be the first to find out and see what new applications will be available for iOS and MacOS systems and more.

Among the big hassles of modern life, few things irritate consumers more than the high price of printer ink, says Consumer Reports. If you want to see the dark clouds roll in, just tell someone it's time to go to the store, open your wallet and buy a new set of color cartridges.

Of course, this darkness is understandable. It's hard to justify paying so much for the privilege of printing out a grocery store coupon. And while third-party ink cartridges may promise savings, they are often rejected by printers designed to sniff out off-brand bad actors.

For all questions regarding printer maintenance, you can contact the Ukrainian company https://kiev-itservice.com. In addition to refilling and selling cartridges, they also provide repair services for printers and MFPs, reflashing printers, and reflashing chips. Departure is free!

So how can you save on printer ink?

Consumer Reports offers several ideas.
1. Change the font. Your choice of font can make a difference in your ink consumption. When Consumer Reports tested the fonts a few years ago, they achieved 27 percent longer lifespan when using Times New Roman rather than Arial, the standard font in many browsers. Calibri and Century Gothic both also won against Arial. An option called Ecofont is specifically designed to be frugal - it removes enough ink from its characters to remain legible while saving money. But you have to pay for it—lifetime licenses for Ecofont start at $19.99.

2. Print in black and white. What's the point of wasting precious ink on a colorful ad or logo when all you want is a direction to your best friend's summer home? By changing your default settings to black and white (otherwise known as grayscale), you save color cartridges.

3. Separate the material you don't need. Many websites allow you to choose printable versions of their stories, which automatically remove ink-sucking ads and images, leaving you with just the text. If the site you're reading doesn't offer an option like Instapaper, Clean Print, or Friendly Print, you may find it helpful to reformat the story yourself, saving on ink and paper. Some even allow you to skip the printing process altogether and save the article for future reading on your laptop, tablet or smartphone.

4. Update Your Printer. Printers vary slightly in how much ink they use, and this is one of the factors Consumer Reports tests in its lab. Laser printers are known for their low cost per page (about 2 cents typically) and high print speeds.

Inkjet printers are catching up in per page costs, if not speeds. Consider the Epson EcoTank line of printers, which have a novel made on a home printer, without the classic ink cartridge with ink bubbles and reservoir. The bottles cost $12.99 each and you will need four of them. Printers have expensive upfront costs—the Epson Expression ET-2550 costs $299. But the cost per page is tiny, about an order of magnitude lower than some other printers at just $0.003. Do all this math and you'll be saving money after about three years. According to Epson, a row of EcoCase ink vials is equivalent to approximately 20 standard-capacity printer ink cartridges.

5. Use Project Mode. Chances are you rarely use your printer for dissertation projects, wedding invitations, or quarterly earnings reports. As long as the device clearly displays the soup recipe, you are happy. When the end result does not need to be high quality, use the draft mode in your printer settings. This will not only use less ink, but also print faster.

27.01.2012

I think the topic of reducing ink consumption has come up in the minds of many printers and their printing office bosses. To be honest, during my years of working in a printing company, I was almost not interested in this issue, perhaps because the profit margin on printing services in those days was much higher than now, and no one tried to save much on consumables. And there was more than enough work in companies. Nowadays, this issue is becoming increasingly acute due to competition and declining margins for large-format printing.
Recently, having encountered quite often the issue of ink consumption and reducing this parameter, I decided to write a short information article regarding this issue. I would not say that all the tips here are unique, and no one has ever heard of them before. Most of them lie on the surface and many people guess about them or perhaps already use them in their work. To talk about them in detail, I will try to cover each of the points that I will give below.

This version of the article is not final and refers to the first edition. If you have other effective methods that will help reduce ink consumption, and you have already successfully used it, write me a message about it or leave a review on the BLOG. I will definitely include this method in the next edition of the article, where I will indicate the person who shared it with me.

1. Reduce consumption by rearranging color profiles and ink limits
I’m sure it’s no secret that building profiles helps us obtain accurate colors when printing. And the correct ink limit helps to avoid ink overflow on the material. This is precisely where the main focus of this method lies. When we print plates for a spectrophotometer, the device helps us understand how well the result corresponds to its maximum relative to color. And reduces ink consumption if there is too much ink. By using less ink on the material, we get the correct result that we have on file.
Correct color profiling helps you get the desired result without wasting extra ink. There is a curve depending on the amount of ink poured onto the material and the color saturation of the material. You've probably noticed this before, when printing a picture, increasing and increasing the number of passes and saturation, we get a maximum color that does not give us brighter colors. And at the same time we waste more and more ink, which does not give us even brighter colors. Therefore, there is a certain limit above which black does not become blacker, and red does not become redder. Having understood this, you can get very good savings both with solvent and UV printing. (I plan to cover this topic more widely in my next publications.)

2. Reduce the number of cleanings
It is impossible to avoid cleaning; they are necessary for the normal operation of the printer and print head. But their number should be reasonable, and of course this number of reasonable cleanings depends on many factors. The frequency of cleaning directly affects the consumption of your printer, and, accordingly, the cost of printing.
In solvent printers, such cleaning may occur more often than in UV printers, due to the chemical and physical properties of these inks to evaporate even with a very short wait for a print job or even during printing. But even at this time, cleaning should not be carried out every linear meter of printing; if this happens even more often, it means that something is wrong with you. The reasons for such frequent cleaning may be the following:
Incorrect adjustment of tension on the head,
Incorrectly set subtank levels (or negative pressure),
Incorrect room temperature
Ink problem (with different reasons),
Be puzzled by the solution to this issue. Do not put off this issue, seek advice from specialists if you cannot solve the problem yourself. And you will save a lot of milliliters of ink and nerves.

3. Switch to brighter and more saturated inks
I think there is not a single ink manufacturer that would not assure its customers that its ink is bright and saturated (perhaps the brightest). But the reality turns out to be such that, despite the same slogans of sellers, the final result of the print is obtained using ink from different manufacturers with different saturation results. Perhaps the ink you use is not as rich as others. In this case, you won’t be satisfied with words. To understand where the truth is and where the marketing is, go to other printing plants where they print with ink from other brands, read reviews on the Internet, perhaps try other inks yourself, and then you will understand whether you can save money on this method.

4. Unpark the printer correctly (for solvent printers)
This method will not save you tens of percent of ink per day, but it will help you save hundreds of dollars a year. And it won't cost you anything. In the morning, when you start to unpark the printer after a night of “rest,” quite often there is a solvent in the heads to prevent the ink from drying out in the heads. When you have removed the “bath” of solvent from the heads, usually you try to drive the solvent out of the heads using ink, with this method you spend quite a lot of ink, because the ink begins to mix with the solvent, and it takes a lot more liquid for the ink to flow without the mixture with solvent. To avoid wasting ink. Do the following:
Squeeze out all the solvent from the heads with air (using a syringe or other hand-held device),
After you are sure that there is no solvent in your head, blow the air through the tubes several more times,
Now fill your head with ink, and you will see that this has saved you quite a lot of wasted ink.
In the same way, you can “park” the printer every working evening, only doing the operations in reverse order.

5. Use less absorbent material
If you are an experienced printer, you have probably noticed that colors look richer (brighter) on glossy film, and paler on matte film. On a cast banner, intense color requires more passes and, accordingly, ink, but on a glossy laminated banner, two passes are enough for “screaming” saturated colors.
I define such materials by their ability to absorb ink more or less strongly. If you have such an opportunity when working with your clients, choose less absorbent materials (glossy film, laminated banner, blueback, etc.), and your ink consumption will decrease, and the colors will be as “screaming” as possible.

6. Select CMYK without lights
Very often in life we ​​have to choose or compromise. In color you also have to deal with this. By choosing a non-light press, we are giving up the halftones that produce light cyan and light magenta. At the same time, the quality does not drop (if we talk specifically about quality), but many smooth transitions and halftones are a thing of the past. At the same time, when choosing only the CMYK system, we follow the path of reducing ink consumption in the total amount; this step will not be bad from an economic point of view. But this choice must be made by you, after weighing all the pros and cons. (Be sure to compare different samples).

7. Use complementary colors (beyond CMYK)
In the classic CMYK printing system, colors are the primary colors. For quite some time now, the printing industry has been using pantones and additional colors to expand its color gamut. And to be honest, this is a pretty effective way to kill two birds with one stone. If the printer has the ability to work with Orange and Green colors (Hexochrome), then with proper profiling and RIP, we can get up to 90% of Panton table capture. What CMYK doesn't allow. And with this, reduce the overall printer ink consumption.
The colors are more saturated, the total consumption is less. It’s a pity that in our printing business, solutions with such additional colors are too rare!

8. Simplifying client files
I know that some users use this method. By changing the client file, or “cutting off” the linearization during RIP, you can get less saturated and bright colors when printing, but at the same time it’s a good idea to reduce ink consumption. Be careful not to overdo this advice. Everything is good in moderation.

9. Reduce stress on your heads
Each print head is unique in its voltage parameters. The voltage on the head, among other things, determines such a parameter as the volume of the drop. And it works according to the formula: the voltage is HIGHER, the volume of the drop is GREATER.
If the tension on the head is set in such a way that the droplet is squeezed out with a larger diameter than it should in theory, this makes our ink consumption higher. If you have already made an ICC profile, then most likely it will compensate you for the changed parameters. But I would strongly recommend approaching the issue of setting up the printer correctly, both from a theoretical and a practical point of view. If you have a question about this item, do not hesitate to ask me, I will try to answer it in more detail.

10. Reduce the amount of spitting while waiting
While waiting for a new job, the printer, depending on its configuration and ink type. Spit every XX sec. If the printer sits on hold for hours that turn into days and weeks of the year, these "spits" will cost you extra money. I know that many people set the “spitting” parameters with a significant margin than is necessary. I would not do this, I would recommend first contacting the ink manufacturer/supplier to find out the period when the nozzle in the print head dries out. Based on these data, set spitting after the nth number of seconds or fractions of seconds. This will help you save more!

That's probably all!
I think that this article will not be the last; I will continue the series of interesting articles for owners and printers of large format printers.