Network Printers Research Articles

Terminal emulation controllers, duplex, communication protocols, multisession networks, up/down-load, copy protection, baud-rate, and windows compatibility: profit measures and product features

This study finds that the most profitable short-term, add-on Terminal Emulator (TE) products are Data-Stream-To-Disk, Multi-Session, and Net-Work Printer capabilities. In the longer term, as fixed costs become avoidable, the same products remain the most profitable, only their rank changes. In the long term Multi-Session is the first, Net-Work Printer is second, and Data-Stream-To-Disk is the last. The selection of appropriate features for TE products can be very difficult for both manufacturers, as well as for end-users. This study describes an interactive microcomputer based Feature Selection System (FSS). The Feature Price Contribution Margin (FPCM) measures to what degree a specific feature meets end-user needs, and measures how profitable they are for the developer and the manufacturer FSS produces a segmented income statement of possible future product lines. It also compares the outcome of integrating and bundling a feature into a product, versus marketing this feature as a separate “add-on” product line to a TE. In such context, it could also be used for litigation support to quantify the damages that result from the absence of a feature to either the vendor or the end-user.

NCSU digitized document transmission project: improving access to agricultural libraries

The NCSU Digitized Document Transmission Project is a collaborative project between North Carolina State University Libraries, the National Agricultural Library and eleven land grant university libraries. The aim of the project is to explore the basic issues and questions involved in developing network‐based document delivery systems for library materials. NCSU Libraries, in partnership with the National Agricultural Library (NAL), is leading the research and demonstration project that is investigating the technical, procedural and administrative issues related to the electronic delivery of digitized research materials via the NSF net/Internet and campus telecommunications networks. Commercially available graphics‐capable, networked desktop computers, scanners and laser printers have been installed in participating institutions' interlibrary loan departments for the direct transmission and receipt of digitized materials. The system allows the digitized research materials to be transmitted directly to the researcher's workstation, whereupon the image can be readily imported into a graphics or wordprocessing program or an ASCII file can be created using an optical character recognition (OCR) program. Printed images are markedly superior to fax transmissions. A distinguishing feature of the system is its ability to import and deliver materials originating in electronic form, such as electronic journal articles or multimedia works.