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A rant about search engine results for large format laser printers [video]
181–190 of 199 posts
Re: A rant about search engine results for large format laser printers [video]
#182Earlier quoted context omitted.
Canon pages has it in the title "plotters AND printers". Plotter is a pen moving over paper drawing continuous lines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plotter
If it understands a plotter pen-based language like HPGL, I consider it a plotter even if the actual print mechanism is an inkjet. I say this as someone with a Draftmaster II in the spare bedroom...
It's been many years since I've ran plan sets, so my memory is a bit fuzzy, but we would occasionally get old school plot files. The Canon RIP that controlled the plotter would covert them automatically.
Re: A rant about search engine results for large format laser printers [video]
#183Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah ... this rant is kinda more about the author than anything. He's mixing information by constructing a nonsense query. "Large format printing" is at least 18 inches wide, on a roll. He's looking for 11"x17", which is just "a printer". The Google results for the query `11x17 laser printer` are much better. At least for me all the carousel ads on the top, the top (and only) text ad, and the first organic results ar…
It's all advertising lingo. I have certainly seen machines that claim to be 'large format' when the largest they support is 11x17 (or A3). But others that support roll paper with widths > 24". HP sells a number of these under the designjet brand and calls them plotters. While traditional plotters used pens (aka pen plotters), I think a more accurate definition might be something that uses a set of motors to move a pr…
Those definitions seem normal and right to me. I would say that the early plotters I used in the 80s had the pen on one axis and the paper moving on the other axis in both directions (HP 7470, for example).
Re: A rant about search engine results for large format laser printers [video]
#184Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's all advertising lingo. I have certainly seen machines that claim to be 'large format' when the largest they support is 11x17 (or A3). But others that support roll paper with widths > 24". HP sells a number of these under the designjet brand and calls them plotters. While traditional plotters used pens (aka pen plotters), I think a more accurate definition might be something that uses a set of motors to move a pr…
Those definitions seem normal and right to me. I would say that the early plotters I used in the 80s had the pen on one axis and the paper moving on the other axis in both directions (HP 7470, for example).
There are other plotters around that time, roland's for instance, that used a more obvious cartesian model. IE a 'print head' sliding on an x-axis rail, that slides on an y-axis rail. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uECs0F8Txj0, the roland dxy-1200)
Obviously if you use a roll of paper you need to run the paper itself back and forth unless you want to build something as big as a shopbot style table. I think the design for the 'roll-paper' plotters drove the design of much smaller plotters like the 7475a (which also moves the paper on one axis). Perhaps HP had a patent on that 'paper moves on one axis, pen moves on another?
Regardless, both designs were present in the 80s.
Re: A rant about search engine results for large format laser printers [video]
#185To my astonishment, I found that Yandex returns better results than google and bing (and derived from bing DDG).
Re: A rant about search engine results for large format laser printers [video]
#186Part of the problem is the word "laser". Large format laser-driven xerographic printers are somewhat obsolete. A long bar of IC LEDs can be used instead of a laser, which avoids the mechanical problems of scanning a long distance with a rotating mirror. It's still xerography, with powdered toner and heated fusing, but it's not "laser".
The Kyocera KIP series printers are good examples of that technology.
There's a somewhat exotic technology used for sign and panel making - UV-cured inkjet printing. Here's a specialty flatbed printer for very thick (up to 10cm or so) stock. [1] This is often used for large advertising posters, because UV cured inks can survive bright sunlight. Hit hard by UV, the polymer strands crosslink and the liquid ink turns into a hard solid. (It doesn't "dry"; it's not solvent evaporation that's makes this work.)[2] Same concept as dental fillings and stereolithographic 3D printing.
Front Panel Express offers UV-cured inkjet printing on metal as a service. That may be overkill for a prop maker - it's used to make real front panels for heavy use. Front Panel Express preps the blank panels in a plasma furnace before printing for better ink adhesion. After printing, a clear coat can be applied.[3]
So, yes, there's an SEO problem here, but part of the problem is that printing technology has moved on and searching for "laser" is less useful.
(I used to make steampunk props. So I've faced similar problems of surface marking.[4])
[1] https://www.sackel.com/products/sackel-corporation-uv-led-sa...
[2] https://www.piworld.com/article/uv-curable-ink-works/
[3] https://www.frontpanelexpress.com/fpd-doc/en/index.htm?fpd_g...
Re: A rant about search engine results for large format laser printers [video]
#187Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've lost count of the number of times I add 'reddit' to my google search queries.
Sure but most of the time reddit is completely unable to provide a decent answer to any non banal search. And whenever I tried to directly ask something specific in a dedicated subreddit it always ends up in one of the following: - I'm violating one of their moderator rules - wrong subreddit try this one, you try that one and they recommend the first - not enough upvotes for the question to be seen by anyone - short…
I agree it's far from perfect, but I'll happily take the hivemind over SEO spam, especially if I know very little to begin with.
Anything "non banal" and I'm more likely to go read a book or consult a professional. Tradesmen on reddit don't owe me answers for my hard to google DIY question.
It is frustrating navigating the sea of people who want to help but are also just googling, but you get an eye for that after a while.
Re: A rant about search engine results for large format laser printers [video]
#188Earlier quoted context omitted.
Alternative search engine: https://yandex.ru/
You probably wanted to say: https://yandex.com/ Except it doesn't help any single bit because the top result it's exactly the same "smallbiztrends.com" that was mentioned in a rant. Russian Yandex is not any different than Google because their primary income is exactly the same: ads.
I exactly wanted to put the link I gave.
I tried with "laser printer", and the results were simply PERFECT.
Now, this may depend on one's location, but for me (here in Europe) it works perfectly well (and I'm not Russian), I just ignore the site language, since the results are mostly English anyway.
Re: A rant about search engine results for large format laser printers [video]
#189Earlier quoted context omitted.
just trying to go directly to the main manufacturers websites... it's really hard tot find a large format laser printer. So it seems anything talking about large format printer is going to dominate, and any mention of "laser" on those pages is going to do well if you search for laser also. I get lots of hits on the large format page where "laser" is another menu option. I found some on xerox, surprised that didn't ra…
I think the idea is that "laser" should have filtered out the results he was seeing, but it didn't. Furthermore the content on the pages is explicitly lying about the fact that they are laser printers and drowning out the pages that aren't lying. It could just be that Pagerank doesn't work for this type of information organization anymore. It may not be a Google problem but an internet search and Pagerank problem, es…
it works a bit better if you do things like wide format "laser printer"
Re: A rant about search engine results for large format laser printers [video]
#190Earlier quoted context omitted.
It would be verified by a human on Google’s side before something is taken down
I genuinely can't tell if this is sarcasm or real. Of all the companies in the world google will be the last to employ real humans to verify anything. Look online for the shear amount of forum threads full of people disgrunted with the their poor support response and lack of humans in the loop.
I know, my point is that if they just take a small amount of their $50 billon in profit every year and hire a team of actual people to go through this stuff it would probably be a lot cheaper and more effective than constantly tweaking their ranking algorithm