 In the Year 1982 
| Do you remember what you were doing in 1982? You probably did not know that early in 1982 a group of 16 individuals started a company that would develop software programs for the growing personal computer field. They pooled their money, combining a total of $59,030, agreeing on a company name, Autodesk. The newly formed company unveiled a CAD program at the Las Vegas trade show COMDEX, AutoCAD-80. This was the original release of AutoCAD! This has to be considered the biggest "hit" of that year! Most people do not realize that Autodesk did not set out to be a CAD company. They started with a list of 14 different programs that most of the founders were working on or developing. Most were system utilities and file-management programs, but it included one program that targeted computerized drafting. This one was a package that Mike Riddle was developing originally called Interact. The initial success of this software package decided the focus of the company. They started shipments to customers in January of 1983 and they sold over 1000 copies of AutoCAD by the end of year at $1000 each (wish it was still only $1000?). Incredible as it sounds, they sold more than 150,000 copies of AutoCAD by 1987, and today, the company is a world leader in design innovation technology with a market value of more than $7 Billion. In the same year, another small group of entrepreneurs became an AutoCAD dealer, with the aim of becoming CAD systems consultants to design professionals. They were located in a small town, Nelson, in a little corner of southeastern British Colombia, Canada. Not exactly a thriving marketplace for a computer software company. So, Lionel Johnson said to Eric Clough, "You know, there should be a newsletter about this thing." And Eric replied, "Why don’t you do it?" Two years later, an actual newsletter was printed on 8.5"x11" paper folded in half, with 16 pages of useful information including the first published AutoCAD wish list and a column of tips named "Hot Tip Harry", thus becoming a major fixture. By 1985, CADalyst grew from a user group newsletter to a glossy magazine with color pages. It’s interesting that they continued to print the table of contents on the cover, like a nineteenth century magazine until the end of 1986. The November/December issue that year included a story about how AutoCAD was used to design the King Kong attraction at Universal Studios, and if you see that issue, it shows the giant ape on the cover, eating the table of contents! Always growing and always having fun, there were numerous April Fools Day articles, totally fictitious, and a Cattle-Lust T-shirt produced as a result of a real phone call inquiring about this "cattle breeders magazine." The magazine has been purchased and purchased again since Eric Johnston sold the company, after stating that the magazine had become too big, going through redesigns almost a dozen times. It still remains true to most of the ideals Johnston envisioned 25 years ago. It is now named Cadalyst, and I thank David Cohn and David Weisberg for the articles in the June 2008 issue, which was their 324th publication, for these stories. Just think what you can do with your "ideas", over the next, say, twenty-five years or so? |
Don't look back, let's go Forward!!! Wow, Doug's article about the start of 1982 brings me back to what I was doing in 1982. That was the year I bought my first album -- Hi Infidelity by REO Speedwagon. Fortunately, my taste got better with my second album -- Back in Black by ACDC. Those were the days. Lately, all the news is about the impending financial crises. I was not too concerned until ALL of the major players started going under. This can't be good. Locally, we are going strong as September was the best supply sales month in our HISTORY. Unfortunately, I am afraid The Wall Street Gang is going to bring us down. It can't be good when the politicians start feeding money to the bankers! My hope is the economics of Texas will remain strong. In Austin, we still have plenty of projects in the works. I say as a group we should tighten our belts and look forward. America has weathered tough times in the past -- we can certainly attest to that (see the 80's!). But here in Central Texas, people have always found a way to survive and prosper on the other side. Hopefully, all the markets will right themselves before too long and we can go back to the business of building great things! J Christopher Epstein
President 
New Products from Roland | Roland has introduced many new that I have to tell you about. Roland has come out with a value cost printer. The new VersaArt series printers was recently introduced for those sign and print for pay companies that don’t need a cutter. The VersaArt models will compete directly against the Mutoh 1614 series printers. For the label industry, Roland has introduced the world's first UV inkjet printer/cutter, the VersaUV LEC-300 with white and clear inks. This printer/cutter allows the end user to produce very high end graphics. Roland has also upgraded to VersaWorks 3.0 for all existing and new Roland users. It utilizes the latest Adobe post-script engine, which means faster processing times. For all of my customers that create bumper stickers, VersaWorks now has a feature that will not only cut the vinyl , it will also allow you to cut through the release liner as well. No more cutting out the bumperstickers by hand. The VersaArt RS series of eco-solvent wide-format printers integrates the latest technologies from Roland’s award-winning VersaCAMM and SOLJET PRO III models. Offered in 54" and 64" 4-color (CMYK) models, the VersaArt is the perfect production tool for both indoor and outdoor graphics including signs, POP/POS materials, banners, posters, vehicle graphics and wraps. It also supports soft signage and fabric applications. VersaArt prints reflect the highest image quality thanks to Roland Intelligent Pass Control™ technology, a unique three-dimensional ink firing system that precisely controls droplet size and placement for exceptionally smooth results every time. Designed for productivity, the VersaArt prints at up to 136.7 sqft./hr. in standard print mode and 230 sqft./hr. in billboard mode on the 64" RS-640. Built to be energy efficient and low maintenance, the VersaArt is Energy Star certified and carries Roland’s new Eco-Label, an ISO 14021 Type II label certifying compliance with a company’s internal environmental standards. The environmentally friendly VersaUV LEC-300 is the world’s first UV inkjet printer/cutter and uses safe, low-heat LED lamps. VersaUV prints CMYK + White + Clear on a wide range of substrates including foils, metallic and synthetic papers, BOPP, PE and PET film for unmatched color, texture and dimension. White ink creates crisp, flawless graphics and text and can be used as an undercoat to enhance the brightness of four-color prints. Clear coat beautifully finishes graphics with luxurious textures and special effects. Choose from hundreds of media options including flexible specialty substrates for outstanding results. VersaWorks RIP software is included for easy setup and operation. 
Faster and more precise than ever before, VersaWorks 3.0 is now available from Roland@NET Online Update service. This newest version of VersaWorks is based on Adobe CPSI engine 3018 and comes complete with the features your customers need to optimize all their Roland equipment. With new VersaWorks 3.0, your customers can now: - Manage up to four Roland devices simultaneously
- Operate any combination of Roland printers, printer/cutters and GX series cutters
- Pair a GX cutter with VersaArt RS printer for print/cut applications
- Create precision perforated cut lines using the new PerfCut* feature
- Take advantage of new single pass white ink print mode (XC-540 and LEC-300 customers)
These new features join a host of proven productivity tools including the Roland Color System for easy, precise spot color matching, the MAX Impact preset for richer color contrast, and Variable Data Printing. Embedded ICC profile support, ink level adjustment tools, software proofing capabilities, advanced cropping, tiling and nesting options and support for Windows 2000/XP and Vista make this the most powerful version of VersaWorks yet. Here are some frequently asked questions about VersaWorks that may be of further interest to you. |
|
