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When your equipment sells for $1.5M-$2.5M and customers don't like to maintain it properly, you write user and service manuals as CYA.
Software Zen: delete this;
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Gary Wheeler wrote: When your equipment sells for $1.5M-$2.5M
!!!
I thought I remembered that you worked on/built large expensive equipment. 
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Yup. We build commercial inkjet printing systems that print full color, front and back, at up to 17 feet of paper per second.
In other words, we ain't your mama's DeskJet  .
Software Zen: delete this;
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Gary Wheeler wrote: up to 17 feet of paper per second
Truly amazing! That's got to be cool to watch it print.
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I agree, does your company have videos of said machinery in action?
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I was thinking it was even a bit dangerous. That is 11 miles an hour if I did the math right. Might not kill you but could probably do some damage.
Think paper cuts.
Or maybe a new way to decapitate a zombie.
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It made me think about the A-10 Tank Killer (warthog) which is armed with a GAU-8 Avenger - Wikipedia[^]
Here's the quote of projectiles emitted per minute:
from wikipedia: The Avenger's rate of fire was originally selectable, 2,100 rounds per minute (rpm) in the low setting, or 4,200 rpm in the high setting
2,100 per minute is 35 rounds per second!!
I'm not sure how the next round doesn't hit the previous round in the rear. 
It's a crazy fast.
On the printer, seems like the paper would be gone before the ink had time to hit at those speeds too.
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raddevus wrote: I'm not sure how the next round doesn't hit the previous round in the rear
A high-velocity bullet can reach speeds of over 1200 m/sec. If one is firing 4200 bullets/sec, that means that there are about 25 centimeters between bullets.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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If you gave it just the right set of images it would be like a movie.
I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated.
I’m begging you for the benefit of everyone, don’t be STUPID.
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That's such a funny idea...and it's true! Very innovative thinking. 
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Man! Imagine the paper cut you could get at that speed! 
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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OriginalGriff wrote: Imagine the paper cut you could get at that speed!
You put that image in my mind...
Guillotines might be less efficient.
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Indeed. It's running joke about lethal paper cuts. The other joke is "baptism" when the machine dumps ink on you.
Software Zen: delete this;
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Quote: The other joke is "baptism" when the machine dumps ink on you.
That only happens when you are wearing a new suit and / or tie to meet a client ...
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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We actual did that to a corporate guy touring one of the labs. Some tubing on a test stand cut loose and sprayed him with yellow ink.
We bought him a new suit  .
Software Zen: delete this;
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Have heard that in such printer systems, the software is generally the slower component amongst hardware and software; hardware, even though mechanical / electro-mechanical is faster among the two.
Is this true?
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We have dedicated computers and hardware to handle high-speed interactions. Print data for example is sent over fiber optic links from the data source to the printheads.
Our controller application (the part I work on) is a Windows UI application and a group of services, all heavily multithreaded.
Software Zen: delete this;
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Gary Wheeler wrote: inkjet
Gary Wheeler wrote: 17 feet of paper per second
And the home consumer thinks his inkjet printer goes through ink fast...
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We sell ink in 5L "cubies" (think wine box, just cubical), 208L drums, and 1000+L tubs.
Software Zen: delete this;
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LMAO.
I remember years ago someone made the calculation and posted that if ink (the ink-jet cartridge type) sold at linear prices, it would come down to something stupid like $9000 a gallon.
I'm guessing this is not quite the same scale. 
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Having worked on such printers back in the 90's in my hardware maintenance days, often in the middle of the night (one such night with a 102 degree fever), I bet I can make a very good guess which company you work for.
There are no solutions, only trade-offs. - Thomas Sowell
A day can really slip by when you're deliberately avoiding what you're supposed to do.
- Calvin (Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes)
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Gary Wheeler wrote: they could buy an SSD for each and they'd never have to do this again.
Is it that the company will not buy a bigger drive? Or perhaps they just think the company will not?
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I've mentioned this to our hardware wrangler, and nothing's happened. He's not the most motivated guy.
Software Zen: delete this;
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CAPEX (capital expenses) and OPEX (operating expenses) are different budget categories. In many cases, the tax treatment differs, too.
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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I have a similar story -- many moons ago I was brought in as a developer on a 50 developer project. Except the customer didn't have a PC for me yet -- they had exceeded the budget for hardware for that month, so I had to wait.
Each day I was assigned to the PC of a person who was out that day. I had to install the S/W I needed to work in the morning, and before I left, I restored the PC to its original state. We tracked hours by task, so I knew at the end of the month that I spent half of my time setting up and restoring PCs.
At that time a dev PC was $2,000 USD ... my monthly bill rate was $8,000. Double the cost of a PC was spent on setup and restoration.
Yeah, I understand about budgets all too well; it still feels like a foolish way to waste money.
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