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 History of Hewlett-Packard 
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Had things been different, we would be running plots on a Moseley Designjet 500. In the late 1920’s, Francis L. Moseley, tired of the tedious task of writing down columns of data, plotting graphs and drawing smooth curves, conceived the idea of an x-y recorder using standard size graph paper. The x-y recorder is a device that produces graphical displays of two input variables as they relate to each other. In 1951, the F. L. Moseley Company was formed in a California garage to manufacture the first commercially available models of the x-y recorder, called the Autograf line. For scientists and engineers everywhere, the Moseley x-y recorder meant that the means for automatically recording the relationship between two variables was finally available. The Autograf made it possible to trace them on chart paper automatically, rather than tracing them by hand.
Also in a garage in California, two men, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, decide to start a business. They flip a coin to decide the company's name and the Hewlett-Packard Company is founded on January 1, 1939. With $538 in working capital, they begin part time work in the garage. They roll out HP's first product, the audio oscillator, an instrument used to test sound equipment. The Walt Disney Company orders eight oscillators, which they test sound equipment in theaters that show Fantasia in 1940.
HP experienced tremendous growth in the 40's, prompting a move to Palo Alto, California ... the new Silicon Valley. During wartime, they continue to produce innovative products including entering into the microwave field by developing radar jamming devices for the Navy.
HP continues to grow and develop new products in the 50's. In 1958, they make their first acquisition, the F. L. Moseley Company, marking HP's entrance into the business of plotters.
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Here Comes Football Season!
The only good thing about summer being gone is football season is upon us. No matter what team you love, they are undefeated. I love my team. This is a good time to be a fan.
Many of you know Tony -- the big guy in the van. Tony has been our delivery driver for a couple of years now. I don’t know how he does it, but Tony does the deliveries of two drivers. He is a real man. Well, as you might guess, Tony is too good to stay a delivery driver anymore. He is now our warehouse supervisor. Basically, I promoted him to management and then delegated all the hard stuff to him. SUCKER! We are now auditioning drivers. Stay tuned.
Speaking of auditioning, I am looking for an equipment salesman. I have been handling those chores for a while now, and I’m tired. The equipment side is going great guns, and I just can’t keep up. If you know of someone who can fit in with our motley crew, please send him/her our way.
On a personal note, if you ever get talked into being the Assistant Cubmaster for your 2nd grader, make darn sure the current Cubmaster doesn’t resign!!! At least I look good in a uniform. Wish me luck!
J Christopher Epstein
President
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Living in a Digital World
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As you know, we all live in a Digital World. The Internet, digital video recorders, digital television and cable, digital phones, digital cameras, you get the idea. Trends are constantly evolving in the digital age we live in. Mobile phones are getting smaller, computers are getting faster, and televisions have larger screens with lifelike clarity. Every day new digital products and technologies are introduced to help make our lives easier and more colorful.
Advertising, photo imagining, fine art reproduction and the sign industry have also been moving into the digital age. The birth of the large format digital printing industry has opened lots of different doors. We have the ability to print digital images on many media types. Media for large format digital printers have become more versatile, durable, and capable of displaying higher resolution and last longer under greater environmental stress, than ever before.
Color management has gone from Voodoo Magic to a standard process. Our clients can no longer survive without Color Management in place. The days of trial and error should no longer be tolerated.
Being a supplier of large format digital media, CS2 has had to change with the times. Our customers are constantly asking us to stock new products to keep up with today's ever-changing market. Just a few years ago, inkjet plotters were the only game in town, and media types were limited. Now Solvent, Piezo, UV-Curable, dye sublimation, and flatbed technologies are widespread. Our Color Management program is flourishing.
CAD Supplies is committed to keeping up with the changing technologies. We have currently added foam core, gator board, gator mount, corrugated plastic and PVC to our list of graphic supplies. We have also added a few new solvent and inkjet media products. (Mesh banner, window perf., double sided blockout banner material, printable magnetic, and wall/floor coverings) If there is a need, we have found a solution to keep up with demand. Please feel free to call or email new product suggestions to us, to ensure we stay ahead of the game.
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How Inkjet Plotters Work, Article 4
When you click on a button to print, there is a sequence of events that take place:
Click "OK" to Print.
The software application you are using sends the data to be printed to the plotter driver.
1) The driver translates the data into a format that the plotter can understand and checks to see that the plotter is online and available to print. The driver translates your vector cad file into a raster format.
2) The data is sent by the driver from the computer to the plotter via the connection interface (parallel, USB, etc.).
3) The plotter receives the data from the computer. It stores a certain amount of data in a buffer. The buffer can range from 8MB random access memory (RAM) to 512MB RAM, depending on the model. Buffers are useful because they allow the computer to finish with the printing process quickly, instead of having to wait for the actual page to print. A large buffer can hold a complex document or several basic documents.
4) If the plotter has been idle for a period of time, it will normally go through a short clean cycle to make sure that the print head(s) are clean. Once the clean cycle is complete, the plotter is ready to begin printing.
5) The control circuitry activates the paper feed stepper motor. This engages the rollers, which feeds the paper.
6) Once the paper is fed into the plotter and positioned at the start of the page, the print head stepper motor uses the belt to move the print head assembly across the page. The motor pauses for the merest fraction of a second each time that the print head sprays dots of ink on the page and then moves a tiny bit before stopping again. This stepping happens so fast that it seems like a continuous motion.
7) Multiple dots are made at each stop. It sprays the CMYK colors in precise amounts to make the thousands of colors available.
8) At the end of each complete pass, the paper feed stepper motor advances the paper a fraction of an inch. Depending on the model, the print head is reset to the beginning side of the page, or, in some cases, simply reverses direction and begins to move back across the page as it prints.
9) This process continues until the page is printed. The time it takes to print a page can vary widely from plotter to plotter. It will also vary based on the complexity of the page and size of any images on the page.
10) Once the printing is complete, the print head is parked. The paper feed stepper motor spins the rollers to finish pushing the completed page into the output tray after cutting. Most plotters today use inks that are very fast-drying, so that you can immediately pick up the sheet without smudging it.
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