• Thermal printing – As we mentioned in an earlier blog article, thermal printing uses pressure and heat to melt a small section of a wax ribbon, one color at a time, so that the wax sticks to a different ribbon. Then the image is transferred to the surface of the disc.
• Silk screening – This process uses a woven mesh as an ink-blocking stencil so that different colors of ink can be applied on different areas of the label.
• Image banking – Take advantage of economy of scale with this innovative service. We’ll silk screen your graphics or text onto the surface of a large run of blank CDs. Then we will store them in Image Source’s inventory for on-demand use. As the CDs are burned with your data, specially designed thermal printers add text unique to that run onto each CD, such as part numbers, version information, or titles.

Contact us today for assistance with any software replication project!

The post Disc Labeling Services first appeared on Image Source.

Back up everything on a regular basis. Remembering to back up your data is always a pain in the neck. It’s worth it in the long run, though, since you can never tell when catastrophe will strike. If you have trouble remembering to remind yourself, just schedule reminders in your calendar. Trust us, you will not regret it.

Stop printing so much. It can be hard to get out of the habit of making hard copies of your files. The reality is that by printing everything, you are using up several types of resources – paper, ink, time and space. If you begin to rely on your digital files more, you’ll save yourself money on paper and ink. You’ll also free yourself up to accomplish more of the items on your to do list. With the right data back-up solution, you won’t have to worry about losing your files.

These two simple concepts can radically change the way your office operates. You may find yourself free of a cluttered desk and able to spend more time on what really matters. Contact us today to see how we can assist you!

The post A Couple New Year’s Resolutions Suggestions first appeared on Image Source.

It can take a lot of time. Think about the last time you used a copier machine. It probably took longer than you expected. Even using the document feeder, just one drawer of a filing cabinet can take a lot of time to scan. Don’t forget that it will take longer if the documents have been stapled together or even more inconvenient, bound.  If you’re planning to use in-house resources to get your documents all scanned, make sure to schedule it in intervals so you won’t lose access to documents you need.

Not everything needs to be saved forever. Before scanning everything, sort out what needs to be kept and what doesn’t. You’ll save time spent scanning, decrease the amount of computer memory needed, and make future archive access much more efficient.

You need to back up your digital files. Without creating a back-up of your new computer files, you’re running the risk of losing it all and needing to scan everything again. That’s a bet most people can’t afford to lose, especially if they’ve already disposed of the paper copies. With at least two copies of your data, you’ll be much less likely to lose everything. This is definitely important!

Recycling and shredding is important. Just because you’ve thrown something in the trash definitely does not mean it will never be seen by anyone again. Take precautions and shred any documents containing financial or personal details and any other sensitive information. You don’t know whose hands they might fall into. You don’t need to shred everything so be sure to recycle whatever you don’t shred to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Sometimes your recycling company will also accept the shredded paper. If not, and you really want to make sure nobody sees your discarded paperwork again, burn the shreds in a bonfire or furnace.

You can hire someone to scan your papers for you. Professionals who offer document scanning services, like Image Source, know all the tips and tricks. We will maximize your efficiency and address all of your needs. Give us a call today to find out how we can help you!

The post What to Know About Document Scanning Projects first appeared on Image Source.

Sales. The most obvious of all uses, sales is a big part of almost every company. You can try to collect emails and phone numbers and Facebook fans, but the fact is that you have to connect with the people if you want to gain leads and customers. There are many people who do not use computers and prefer to network the old-fashioned way. Webkeys will simplify the process for these types of individuals when they try to access your website.

Distribution. Much like sales, webkeys can be helpful in directing your audience to the source of your material. Artists who distribute their goods online may see the merit of webkeys as many musicians and visual artists have online portfolios or streaming music. Why not use a webkey to send your audience straight to a portfolio, iTunes or another location for downloads? Fans can spread the word and share the wealth by passing their webkey along to friends.

Client referrals. If your company frequently mails products or literature in mass quantities, consider including a webkey for the recipient to pass on to a friend or family member. You can motivate them by including a small discount or referral bonus for the recipient and friend. Imagine if you gained a new customer for every package you mailed!

Sweepstakes. Issue webkeys to the people who enter your sweepstakes. This group can include existing customers as well as prospects. When the webkey is plugged into the computer, they can find out if they are a winner or not. Hosting the sweepstakes on your website would result in increased traffic to your site, which means more exposure to potential customers. Whether they win or not, you may find yourself with more business.

Exclusive memberships. If you offer a members-only section of your website, you might consider using a webkey for new memberships. All they have to do is plug in your webkey to be taken to the members only section. You could even include a unique code printed on the webkey to ensure that it can only be used to register once.

The possibilities are endless. Webkeys are a modern twist on an old promotional standby. Giving people something physical is a great way to keep your brand in the front of their mind. Contact us today to see what we can do for you!

The post Five Ideas for Webkey Business Applications first appeared on Image Source.

A compact disc is an optical disc that stores data. Originally developed for music recordings, the CD soon found itself being used for data storage, both read-only and rewriteable. CD-ROM stands for Compact Disc – Read Only Memory which means that you can copy or “burn” information onto the disc, but you cannot change it afterwards. CD-Rs (Compact Disc – Rewriteable) provide more flexibility in that you can update documents and delete or save new files to the disc. However, most CDs can only sustain a limited number of rewrites.

CDs are usually made of four layers and are read using a laser. The bottom layer, also known as the shiny side, is a polycarbonate disc layer that uses bumps to encode the data. These bumps are called pits and lands. The second layer is made of a shiny material, often aluminum but in rare cases gold. The purpose of this layer is to reflect the laser through the data back down into a sensor.  The pits and lands change the reflection of the laser, which the computer can detect with a photodiode. CD-Rs use a different type of laser to change the pits and lands on a disc when you rewrite data. Above the shiny layer is a protective layer of lacquer, and finally the top layer is the artwork or label,  screen-printed on the top of the disc.

Contrary to popular belief, the shiny side of the disc is much more durable than the artwork side as the pits are closer to the artwork. That is why you can carefully polish a scratched cd to repair it. Visible scratches on the shiny side are only damaging the polycarbonate that does not hold any data. However, if your disc sustains any damage on the artwork side, it is much more likely that your CD will no longer work.

The post What is a CD? first appeared on Image Source.

ISO9660 – Level 1: The original file CD data format uses a DOS file format of 8 characters followed by a dot and a 3-character extension. The goal of this file system was to enable multiple computer operating systems, including Windows, classic Mac OS, and other Unix-like systems to work with the same files.

ISO9660 – Level 2: This newer extension of the ISO9660 format allows filenames with up to 31 characters. It’s recognized by all major operating systems including Windows, Mac, and Unix.

ISO9660 – Level 3: This update to the file system format allows computers to create non-contiguous files, which means that the data for the document is not stored all in one place but rather in fragments. Making this change resulted in more efficient data storage. Before, new documents were limited in size to the largest available space in memory. With this change, the limit was increased so new documents could be as large as the total amount of available space on the drive.

JOLIET: Based on ISO9660, this file system format was designed to provide file naming with additional options, such as more characters, including spaces, and names up to 256 characters long. You should still include only one dot immediately before the 3-character extension. Helpful for PCs running in languages that use different alphabets, this update runs side-by-side with ISO9660 and Mac formats on many CDs.

HYBRID (PC/Mac): Hybrid discs use MAC HFS format and PC ISO9660 and Joliet on the same CD, allowing the one CD to be played in either a PC or a Mac. The combination of file system formats is what does the trick.

The post What’s the difference between CD data formats? first appeared on Image Source.

What is silk screening?

Silk screening is a type of screen printing. This process is used to make prints on many different kinds of materials and is often used for professional labels. In simple terms, a piece of silk is stretched tightly into a frame. Today, polyester is used more often because it is much cheaper and does the same thing. A design is created on the stretched fabric, much like a photo negative. Then the frame is placed over the object being printed on and ink is rolled or sponged onto the stretched fabric frame. The frame and design act like a stencil and the ink will only affect certain areas. Then the object being printed is left to dry. There are often multiple layers of different colors that get screened into the prints. There are many other techniques using different kinds of materials but this is the basic idea.

What is silk screening commonly used for?

Due to the wide variety of materials that can be screen printed, this technique has many uses. Some artists enjoy using this process at home for their own creative projects. For example you may have heard of Andy Warhol? Silk screening is a fun, easy and inexpensive process and can yield multiple copies of excellent quality pieces. Common items produced both independently and through corporations include anything you can put graphics on. Posters, t-shirts, postcards; you name it!

We offer silk screening services so if you need anything printed call us or contact us online today. We can help you!

The post Silk Screening first appeared on Image Source.

Wondering what documents need shredding? You should definitely shred documents containing the following:

• Account numbers (of any kind!)
• Birthdates
• Passwords or PINs
• Social Security numbers*
• Signatures
• Expired identification
• Credit card offers or applications

*Do not destroy your Social Security card. You only get one!

The information above could be seriously abused if it falls into the wrong hands. Account numbers should not be shared with anyone, whether the account is a bank account, your car insurance policy or something else. Signatures can be copied onto other documents and credit card offers can be filled out and returned without your consent. Anything that will help another individual pretend to be you needs to be destroyed.

Some powerful shredders are also capable of shredding thin objects like old credit cards, expired IDs, CDs and more, although sometimes scissors are a better alternative. It is imperative to chop this kind of stuff up before disposing of it. Leaving items like this in one piece can compromise your security even if you shred every bit of paper that comes your way.

To be on the safe side, you should also consider shredding documents if they contain any of these:

• Names
• Addresses
• Phone numbers
• Email addresses
• Other forms of contact information
• Medical bills
• Private internal company information, such as budgets or customer lists
• Outdated price lists

The less information you provide, the less ammunition identity thieves have. Protect your personal safety and be smart about your document disposal.

Image Source provides document scanning services that eliminate the need for filing cabinets full of paper in your office. We also provide document shredding services because we are committed to protecting your security. If you are transitioning to a paperless office environment, give us a call. We’d love to help.

The post Documents You Should Shred Before Throwing Away first appeared on Image Source.

How does thermal retransfer printing work? Not to be confused with regular thermal printing, a thermal transfer printer works by using pressure and heat to melt a small section of a wax ribbon so that the wax sticks to a different ribbon. One color is applied at a time until the image is complete. The image is then transferred from the second ribbon to the surface of the disc (or whatever object you are printing). Unlike ink jet printer cartridges, the quality of the printed image does not decline when you are close to needing a new ribbon.

This equipment is commonly used to print on plastics that would otherwise be melted by laser printing methods. One widespread use for this type of printer is manufacturing barcodes. Another popular product that makes use of this technology is credit and debit cards. The prints produced do not smear and are waterproof, making them ideal for many types of labels. More advanced thermal retransfer printers are capable of generating near photo-realistic images but can still produce grainy text and graphics, so don’t go overboard with your label design.

If you need labels for your CDs and DVDs, call us today. We can help you by printing the discs for you, or ask about purchasing one of our thermal retransfer printing systems.

The post Thermal Retransfer Printing first appeared on Image Source.

1. VHS
2. VCR
3. CD
4. DVD
5. BD
6. HD
7. DJ

(See bottom of article for answers.)

Some kids these days don’t even know how to use some of these forms of media. Cars don’t often feature cassette players anymore because people use CDs and mp3 players. Likewise, now that everybody uses DVDs, Blu-Rays and online video streaming technology, stores don’t stock as many varieties of VCRs. These are just a few demonstrations of the significant technological changes going on around us.

Did you know that one four-drawer filing cabinet can hold up to 10,000 pages of paper? Did you also know that all those documents can fit on one single CD? Don’t let your company settle for obsolete technology. Stay modern with our help. If you have filing cabinets full of paper documents and you’re looking to take the next step into an increasingly paperless world, take advantage of our Document Scanning services. Our Content Management experts will meet with you to establish your immediate priorities and then propose strategic plans for your long-term needs.

The post Up-To-Date Data Storage first appeared on Image Source.