By Dan DiGiacomo, Associate Editor, March 6, 2012
After several years of development, Canon took over Manhattan’s Classic Car Club on February 20 to unveil the MREAL System for Mixed Reality (MR), a new imaging solution that merges computer-generated virtual objects with reality in three dimensions. The technology is one of many that demonstrate the company’s wide reach in digital imaging, which goes far beyond cameras and document imaging devices like printers and MFPs. Consistently among the top recipients of US patents, Canon also makes broadcasting equipment, camcorders, and radiography and ophthalmic diagnostic equipment for use in medical fields.
Canon envisions numerous uses for MR technology, including the ability for manufacturers of high-end products, such as automobiles or MFPs, to create and visualize virtual prototypes without the expense of building actual test models. “In today’s competitive markets, companies are constantly looking for solutions that can help them introduce new products to market in a timely and efficient fashion,” said Sam Yoshida, vice president and general manager of marketing for Canon U.S.A.’s Business Imaging Solutions Group. “Canon has a very strong commitment to the augmented reality space, and by leveraging our strong heritage and leadership in optics, we intend to deliver solutions based upon Mixed Reality for use in industries including manufacturing, aerospace and entertainment.”
If you’re a business owner in today’s world, there are many factors to consider when making decisions around the office. Is the decision you’re making good for the company as a whole? Does this decision fit within your overall objectives and mission statement? How does this decision add value to the company? These are all very important vantage points to consider when making a change or an upgrade to different technologies in and around the office. Keeping employees in mind, making sure the decision is cost-effective, and weighing pros and cons also fit somewhere into the decision making matrix.
Document solutions can be a positive approach for businesses looking to increase their level of efficiency in the workplace. Designed to manage growing volumes of information entering and passing through an organization, document solutions can be tailor made to a business depending on its needs. This type of service can be especially useful and helpful to businesses experiencing growth that is hard to manage as well as experienced firms that are seeing higher than projected growth.
One of largest innovations to hit the printing industry in recent years has been the advent of 3D printing technology. 3D printing does exactly what it sounds like it does; it is the process of making a three-dimensional solid object from a digital model. Essentially, it can build a three-dimensional rendering of whatever a computer program tells it to print. This can come in the form of miniature figurines, scale models of cars, or even large objects the size of cars!
If you are in or interested in the printing industry, then you are most likely interested in the future of the industry as a whole. As new technology emerges and becomes more accessible, the power that was once in the hands of large corporations is now in the hands of the skilled individual. This means big changes for the industry as now the regular person has the capabilities that could only be afforded by large corporations of the past. This will ultimately change the game for managed print providers and their customer bases.
As a small, medium, or large business owner, cutting costs associated with running your business may be something you regularly think about. By reducing expenses you will ultimately be able to reap larger profits, making your company and your employees better off. Therefore, it behooves the business owner to find ways to cut expenses around the office so at the end of the fiscal quarter or year it looks better for everyone.
With the amount of paperwork that moves through the legal industry, whether it’s paperwork in a law firm, correctional facility, or courtroom, it’s important to take note of what document management is capable of doing. Not only is it important to keep track of all the information that is moving through the office, it’s important to remember that document security in this industry is key. Since the legal industry relies on documents and electronic information everyday, it’s important that businesses in this industry have a reliable document management strategy in place.