Print Production Research Articles

Playful Computation

This paper investigates students’ experiences and teachers’ attitudes towards playful computation: an innovative pedagogy that emphasizes playful learning to teach students information and computing technology. A pilot study was conducted at a Californian primary school during the summer, involving 84 students and 5 teachers engaging in creative and playful computing activities such as 3D printing, coding drones, redubbing audio, building computers, and music production. Student surveys, teacher interviews, and classroom observations were collected in mixed-methods research to provide multiple perspectives on the challenges and benefits of implementing the pedagogy. Key findings indicate that playful computation significantly boosted student engagement and enjoyment, even surpassing student expectations. Teachers also expressed surprise at the increase in engagement as well as persistence, attributing this to the intrinsically rewardingnature of playful activities. Playful computation also promoted student self-expression and collaborative learning. However, teachers expressed concerns about the practicality of implementing this pedagogy in standard educational settings due to existing structural constraints of aligning with academic standards. Classroom management and lack of established norms for play in this learning context also limited their lesson plans and implementations. Supporting the existing literature on the benefits of playful learning, this research also suggests the need for further investigation into its role in facilitating flow and non-cognitive traits like grit. Investigating how playful computation impacts students’ testable learning outcomes is also recommended as a necessary research direction to facilitate broader implementation in American classrooms.

Tailoring texture and functionality of vegetable protein meat analogues through 3D printed porous structures

This study presents a comprehensive 3D printing process for plant-based meat alternatives, covering ink formulation, printing, and final product characterization. Traditionally, achieving desired food properties requires extensive exploration of ink components. Here, we demonstrate the potential of manipulating processing parameters instead of ink composition. Two structures were printed, differing only in extrusion temperature. The printed structures exhibited a dimensional accuracy slightly below 100%. We investigated their behavior through simulated food production cycles, including freezing, thawing, dehydration, and rehydration. Rheological measurements revealed that protein denaturation caused a 20% increase in viscosity. Temperature-induced protein denaturation allowed to produce 3D printed samples with a fine porous structure, with pore sizes ranging from 50 to 450 μm. Mechanical characterization showed that a single printing parameter (extrusion temperature) significantly impacts the final product mechanical properties, with an increase of about 50% in the maximum stress for denatured samples after rehydration. This novel approach simplifies 3D-printed protein-based food production, establishing a link between processing parameters and the final product mechanical behavior.

Thermal Weathering of 3D-Printed Lunar Regolith Simulant Composites.

The production of lunar regolith composites is a promising venture, especially when enabled by extrusion-based additive manufacturing techniques such as direct ink write. However, both three-dimensional (3D) printing production and usage of polymer composites containing regolish on the lunar surface are challenges due to harsh environmental conditions such as severe thermal cycling. While thermal degradation in polymer composites under thermal cycling has been studied, there is limited understanding of how polymer properties impact the mechanical performance of lunar regolith composites when both printing and usage are carried out under extreme thermal conditions. Here, we aim to bridge that gap through the creation of composites containing a lunar Highlands regolith simulant suspended in an ultraviolet (UV) curable binder, which were printed at -30 °C and thermally cycled between weekly lunar day (127 °C) and weekly night (-190 °C) temperatures. We validate that thermal stresses cause both physical and chemical degradation since the regolith simulant composites become stiffer, more porous, and show yellowing after exposure to thermal cycling. Moreover, we indicate that chemical degradation mechanisms seem to compete with residual polymerization in certain formulations. We attribute this phenomenon to partial crystallization of monomer species during printing at -30 °C, resulting in low vinyl bond conversion during initial curing. The results presented here shed light on the intricate interplay between thermal stresses, uncured polymer properties, and degradation mechanisms, which can help guide future use cases of regolith composites for lunar infrastructure needs.

Optimizing rheological characterization for extrusion-based additive manufacturing of Zirconia ceramic inks with varied Yttria content stabilization

This study explores the rheological properties of zirconia-based ceramic inks, focusing on TZ-3YSB alongside newer variants such as Zpex, Zpex-4, and Zpex-smile, distinguished by their varying Y2O3 content. Through comprehensive analysis, it was found that these ceramic inks exhibit non-Newtonian behavior, which is notably influenced by the ceramic loading content and particle aggregation. Moreover, the shear-thinning nature observed in these inks proves advantageous, as it enables easier extrusion through smaller nozzles at reduced pressure levels. The implications of these findings are discussed in detail, shedding light on the complex interplay between rheological properties and ceramic ink composition, thus offering valuable insights for optimized three-dimensional printing (3DP) production processes - contributing to strengthening crowns, bridges, and implants, enhancing aesthetics, and ensuring biocompatibility for dental prostheses.

Design of a Robotic 3D Printing System

Abstract Additive manufacturing enables the production of complex shapes with a large degree of freedom compared to conventional manufacturing techniques such as injection molding, thermoforming or pressing. In particular, the creation of moving parts, complex structures and large-scale printing remains underexplored and research is constantly expanding. Due to design limitations related to the construction of currently available printers, 3D printing technology is increasingly being combined with robotics. Using a robot to 3D print products eliminates the need to design complex printer structures, which ultimately should simplify the process of manufacturing large-scale products and shorten the time required for preparation and production. The paper deals with the description of the designed 3D printing system and the procedure of the steps of creating a robotic simulation model with the generation of a control program for the FDM 3D printing process by an industrial robot.

Pengembangan Media Pembelajaran Math Card (Kartu Matematika) Dalam Pembelajaran Matematika Materi Eksponen, SPLDV, Aritmatika

Math Card is a card-based board game that contains questions for mathematics learning media. The purpose of the Math Card is to make it easier and more interesting for students in math lessons to make it more fun. This research uses the ADDIE method, namely analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. At the analysis stage, analysis is carried out related to material needs by following per under the syllabus/curriculum and design needs to get design results that attract the attention of students. At the design stage, the design is carried out according to the needs of the Math Card, namely by designing cards, packaging, guidebooks, and game boards. The development stage is to develop the results of the material and design, namely compiling questions according to the syllabus and printing products. The implementation stage is to conduct trials for grade 10 SMK students in the classroom. The last is the evaluation stage, namely by improving and perfecting the Math Card learning method to be more effective and efficient.

Research on a Multidimensional Digital Printing Image Quality Evaluation Method Based on MLP Neural Network Regression

High-quality printing is a longstanding objective in the printing and replication industry. However, the methods used to evaluate print quality suffer from subjectivity and multidimensionality, relying on personal preferences and subjective perceptions to assess the quality of printed images, which poses significant limitations. To address these issues, a set of evaluation metrics aimed at assessing the quality of digital printing products is proposed to achieve evaluation results consistent with human visual perception. Given the differing imaging principles of pre-press digital images and post-scan images, these images are first preprocessed to standardize them for comparison. Next, features are extracted in both spatial and frequency domains, and similarity metrics are used to quantify the differences in features between pre-press digital images and post-scan images. Finally, a multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network regression model is trained to predict the final objective quality scores. Experimental results on two standard databases demonstrate that this metric exhibits high consistency in both subjective and objective quality evaluation metrics for printed image quality assessment and outperforms other metrics in terms of accuracy.

A systematic approach to the quality assessment of printed products

Quality standards for the technological processes of the production of finished products are used in all countries of the world. Consumers of printing and packaging products are increasingly demanding ISO 9001 quality system certificates from manufacturing companies. It should be noted that international and national standards use different approaches to the standardization of processes and products, and the content of project management. To meet the demands of consumers, which are constantly increasing, quality management should be carried out based on a set of scientifically based principles, which can be divided into system-wide and special. The problem is relevant for modern Ukrainian enterprises, where, on the one hand, they need serious changes in the organizational structure, corporate culture, style and methods of project management; and on the other hand, compliance with the ratio of responsibility for quality between the management system and performers. Evaluation of the quality of printed products at the current stage requires the application of the principles of a systematic approach, based on the principles of which it is possible to build a coherent, logically completed methodological system of quality indicators of a specific type of product. This will also make it possible to justify the problem of choosing certain methods and will give a normative and regulatory character to those indicators that are not reflected in the standards but are important for the practical use of products. To create one or another model of the system, it is first necessary to carry out its verbal and informational description and tuple recording. The components of a verbal informational description usually reflect a description of the external environment, and the system’s connections with it; identification of the relationship between factors, characteristics of the variability of factors; elementary composition of the system, and its parts; description of connections between elements of the system and subsystems; operation of the system, i.e. description of the process of functioning and development of the system. The tuple record of the system model of the quality assessment takes into account the classification characteristics of products, the set of “inputs” and “outputs” of the system; а set of variable parameters and processes. The goals of quality management at each stage of the technological process for each specific type of printed product can be individual. To cover the management of all stages of the life cycle of media or packaging products within the subsystems of the quality system, it is necessary to perform a full set of special (specific) quality management functions. The matrix method or elements of the ISO 9000 series system can be used to form these functions.

Impact of starch amylose and amylopectin on the rheological and 3D printing properties of corn starch

This study evaluated the influence of the amylose and amylopectin on the physicochemical properties and printing performance of corn starch gels. Amylose in starch-based gels enhances their storage modulus and the support performance of printed products by promoting the formation of cross-linked gel structures and crystalline structures. However, the higher amylose content in starch gels makes extrusion difficult, resulting in intermittent extrusion in 3D printing. Despite the increased shear-thinning ability of high-amylose starch, its low water retention capacity leads to water loss and rough printed morphology. Additionally, starch with 72 % amylose content exhibits insufficient adhesive properties for effective layer bonding, negatively impacting structural integrity. While gels with 72 % and 56 % amylose content demonstrate higher viscosity and enhanced mechanical properties, their poor adhesion limits the quality of printed layers. Conversely, waxy starch gel demonstrates continuous extrusion and adhesion but lacks adequate support. The 27 % corn starch gel achieves the highest 3D printing accuracy at 88.12 %, suggesting an optimal amylose-amylopectin ratio for desired ink material performance. These findings enhance our understanding of the relationship between amylose content in starch and 3D printing performance, providing a theoretical basis for the development of starch-based printing products.

Print culture and economic constraints: A quantitative analysis of book prices in eighteenth-century Britain

Who could afford books in the late early-modern period? We explore how prices related to the demand for books in eighteenth-century Britain by analysing extensive bibliographic and socio-economic data based on Bayesian statistics and machine learning. Our results quantify in financial terms the difficulty of buying print products faced by most British households in the eighteenth century, and how this related to the varying levels of supply across price segments. We found no evidence of the well known claim that legislation would have led to lower prices. The inadequate supply and high cost of books make it likely that only higher-income households bought them regularly from the primary market.

UV-curing 3D printing of high-performance, recyclable, biobased photosensitive resin enabled by dual-crosslinking networks

UV-curing 3D printing technologies based on vat photopolymerization have gained increasing interest in rapidly manufacturing high-quality custom-designed objects. However, they are still challenged by the non-renewability of photosensitive resins in future large-scale applications. Herein, a high-performance, recyclable, biobased carboxyl-terminated unsaturated polyester is developed from itaconic acid and bio-diols, which involves the formation of dual-crosslinking networks, i.e., covalent crosslinking of unsaturated double bonds and non-covalent coordination interaction between terminal carboxyl and ZnCl2. Dual-crosslinking networks greatly increase tensile strength from 31 to 43 MPa by 40 %. More importantly, taking advantage of the dynamic reversibility of coordination and thermally-activated transesterification by ZnCl2, the universal problem, i.e. the anisotropic mechanical property in 3D printing caused by printing layers, can be effectively solved, attributed to reversible rearrangement and reassociation between printing layers. Moreover, after the 3D printing products are pulverized into microparticles, the powders can be thermally compressed into new materials with a 70 % recovery in tensile strength. In addition, these powders can also be used as reinforcing fillers to enhance the virgin resin, the optimum tensile strength and elastic modulus further increase to 52 MPa and 1019 MPa by 40 % with 1 wt% dosages. Therefore, this study is a pioneering pathway for the concurrent achievement of good mechanical properties (52 MPa) and high biomass content (96 wt%) for UV-curable 3D printing photosensitive resin.

An investigation of a strengthening polysaccharide interfacial membrane strategy utilizing an anionic polysaccharide-alkaline ligand interfacial assembly for all-liquid printing

The applications of polysaccharides as emulsifiers are limited due to the lack of hydrophobicity. However, traditional hydrophobic modification methods used for polysaccharides are complicated and involve significant mechanical and thermal losses. In this study, soy hull polysaccharide (SHP) and terminally aminopropylated polydimethylsiloxane (NPN) were selected to investigate the feasibility of a simple and green interfacial membrane strengthening strategy based on the interfacial polymerization of anionic polysaccharides and fat-soluble alkaline ligands. Our results show that deprotonated SHP and protonated NPN can be complexed at the water/oil (W/O) interface, reduce interfacial tension, and form a strong membrane structure. Moreover, they can quickly form a membrane at the W/O interface upon the moment of contact to produce stable all-liquid printing products with complex patterns. However, the molecular weight of NPN affects the complexation reaction. Consequently, this study has long-term implications to expanding the areas of application for anionic polysaccharides.

Huge urgency and consummate skill: an interview with Jim Pennington

ABSTRACT Jim Pennington is a printer and small press publisher who trained at London's North-Western Polytechnic and the London College of Printing. Over the course of his long career, he has worked as a print room and production manager first for the British Safety Council (1971–75) then for the anti-poverty charity War on Want (1975–79) and then for the Lithosphere Printing Co-operative (1979–1991), among others. In parallel, Pennington ran Aloes Books, the influential small press he established with the poets Allen Fisher and Dique Miller. Aloes Books has published key works by Kathy Acker, Thomas Pynchon and William Burroughs, among many others.

Einflussfaktoren auf die eigene Anwendung der Sepsis-Kompetenz und ihre Förderung bei Patientinnen und Patienten: Ergebnisse einer Mixed-Methods-Studie mit Gesundheitsfachpersonen

BackgroundSepsis is a life-threatening and relatively common emergency which is often recognized too late or not at all. Therefore, the “SepsisWissen” (SepsisKnowledge) project aimed to bring about changes in health care professionals’ behavior in the area of sepsis prevention and early detection. It addressed the health care professionals themselves (e. g., their own vaccination, hygiene and early detection behavior) and their patient counseling behavior. To promote this behavior, the SepsisWissen campaign included offers such as trainings or print products. The subsequent core question is: From the health professionals’ perspective, which barriers and facilitators affect their own application of sepsis competence and their promotion of their patients’ sepsis competence? MethodsThis paper was based on a cross-sectional mixed-methods study part of “SepsisWissen” witha)semi-structured interviews with 17 providers andb)a quantitative survey among 135 providers.Part a) was analyzed using qualitative oriented content analysis based on Mayring, part b) was analyzed descriptively.The interviewees included physicians, nurses, pharmacists, assistants to physicians and pharmacists and, additionally, one paramedic in the quantitative sample. Some of them had attended “SepsisWissen” trainings. ResultsThe qualitative data analysis identified 41 conducive and hindering factors, which can be assigned to the following eight major topics: 1) syndrome sepsis; 2) predisposing factors for health professionals' own acquisition and application of sepsis competence; 3) enabling factors for health professionals themselves; 4) behavior and lifestyle of patients; 5) reinforcing factors for patients; 6) public health education; 7) political, administrative, and organizational context; 8) environmental factors. In the qualitative and quantitative surveys, the suggestion to improve the sepsis competence of the population and to reduce misinformation, respectively, through public education (e.g., via schools or the media). DiscussionSepsis training for health professionals was considered as a facilitating factor for taking potential sepsis symptoms and patients’ respective statements more seriously. Future training formats should convey more explicitly how health professionals can better communicate their own sepsis knowledge to their patients. They request instruments to support their communication, such as checklists for lay persons. According to the interviews, health workers themselves need recurring external reminders for the topic of sepsis. Organizational and political conditions should be improved. From the health professionals’ point of view, it is essential to offer better reimbursement for prevention and counseling services and to allocate adequate time resources for both. ConclusionHealth professionals could increase their potential to apply and promote sepsis competence if general conditions were optimized. From their perspective, it is most important to relieve them of some of their patient counselling burden by initiating more public education.

Ural satirical magazines of the First Russian revolution (“Gnom”, “Rubin”, “Magnit”)

INTRODUCTION. We analyze a special type of newspaper literature from the beginning 20th century, it is provincial satirical magazines from the time of the First Russian revolution. The purpose of the study is to analyze the editorial activities of Yekaterinburg satirical magazines 1906– 1907.MATERIALS AND METHODS. Based on the comparative historical method, an attempt was made to identify the specifics of provincial satirical magazines in comparison with capital magazines, to understand the specifics of the work of the editor of such a magazine, and the publishing behavior of the authors.RESULT AND DISCUSSION. Provincial magazines more boldly outlined the main themes of satirical magazine poetry and prose of this time. At the same time, they managed to exist for a longer time. Such magazines represent a qualitatively new printing, publishing, and poetry product. They turned out to be in demand by the provincial reader of that time (1906–1907).CONCLUSION. The study of the genre-thematic unity of the satirical magazine can be applied to the study of other Ural satirical magazines.

A vibrating membrane ejector for direct ink writing of printed electronics

Direct ink writing (DIW) represents a technical branch of additive manufacturing technology, particularly suitable for prototyping or small-batch printing production of printed electronic components. However, the existing print heads required for near or sub-100 μm line width are quite sophisticated, limiting the accessibility and application of the DIW method. This paper reports the use of the vibrating membrane ejector (VME) as a new option for the print head of DIW. The structure of the VME-based print head was specially designed for this purpose. Finite element modeling and analysis of the VME’s vibration characteristics were performed to provide insights into the ejection conditions and behaviors. The factors influencing the size of printed structures were identified and analyzed through the printing of a metal–organic complex silver (Ag) ink. After optimizing several operational parameters to limit the spreading effects and suppress the satellite droplets, the DIW printed line width has reached about 100 μm. The effectiveness of the VME-based print head was further demonstrated through the DIW fabrication of interdigitated electrodes and microstrip transmission lines. This highlights the versatility of the VME-based print head as a practical tool for device prototyping and ink development in the field of printed electronics.

Print Imaging Practice

This article discusses the author’s transition from artist to curator and cultural producer of contemporary print exhibitions. By exploring the creative process of three exhibitions, including I AM that I AM (2015) at IMPACT 9 in Hangzhou (China), Out of the Matrix 3.0 (2018) at IMPACT 10 in Santander (Spain), and Out of the Matrix 2.0 (2019) at Hong Kong Open Printshop in Hong Kong (SAR, China), this paper uses personal reflections on the relationship between artistic practice, collaboration, and collective creation in cross-cultural print exhibition works. These research projects provide an opportunity to investigate specific elements of print productions from printmaking practice to collaborative curation.

Disposable indicator card for personal monitoring of solar exposure

Although the Earths atmosphere provides substantial reduction of the incident radiant power in the most harmful spectral ranges, excessive exposure of untrained and/or unprotected human skin to solar radiation can easily result into acute and chronic adverse effects onto human skin. In order to reduce these effects, a simple tool for monitoring the incident radiant dose is proposed. We report on the design, development, lab scale fabrication, calibration and the roll-to-roll printing production of a photosensitive indicator cards intended for personal monitoring of solar exposure to which the user has been subjected. Two types of cards are being discussed. The first one is supposed as high sensitive one with a dose response to 1 and 2 SEDs, the second one is a less sensitive with a dose response to 3 and 4 SEDs. The calibration of the cards was performed with polychromatic simulated solar radiation without determining the spectral response, therefore we refer to the device as indicator card, not dosimeters. Moreover, properties of the photosensitive formulation employed for the fabrication of the indicator are presented alongside with the calibration of the printed indicator to dermatologically relevant values of the received solar exposure dose. Special attention is also paid to the large-scale practical production of such indicators by the roll-to-roll printing technology. Mechanical properties, stability, durability, practical utilisation, and other features are critically assessed.

3D Printing – A Revolution in Modern Healthcare: Recent Achievements & Challenges

Abstract: The pharmaceutical industry grows every year keeping public health as a priority, protection, and economic development. The industry is mostly concentrated on the novel drug development process as well as new methods that can help improve the recovery rate of a condition and improve the quality of patient treatment. Pharmaceutical companies have recently experimented with producing medications using 3D printing to increase their quality and improve user health. Later, in 2015, the companies found success by producing the 3D-printed medication Spritam, which had already received US FDA approval. Over the past few years, the medical device industry has adapted to 3D printing technology and creative companies have used it to produce goods with distinctive content, appearance, and customizability. However, these distinctive capabilities of 3D printing have brought forth new legal difficulties and troubling issues with the regulatory agencies' acceptance of these devices. Customizability and distinctive construction procedures of medical devices printed via 3D printing techniques have difficulties in attaining quality assurance and regulatory criteria for manufacturing. Advancement in 3D printing technology has helped in the production of various innovative medical products along with new structures and constituents. The present review discusses distinctive regulatory problems faced by the USFDA as well as by other regulatory authorities in the case of approval of 3D printing products and measures required to develop regulations for the safety, quality, and effectiveness of 3D printing Devices.

Promoting by Writing. The Role of Publication and Criticism in Shaping Graphic Design

This article attempts to analyse and critically discuss the evolution of graphic design promotion with emphasis on the influence of theory, professional criticism and publications on the development and perception of the discipline. It analyses the history of design from the epoch of mechanised production and invention of typographic print, through the development of theory and practice of typography, to the contemporary discourses and practices of design. Particular attention is paid to key figures and publications, which have had significant influence on the development of graphic design, such as the works of Joseph Moxon, Pierre Simon Fournier, Jan Tschichold, Beatrice Warde, as well as the later periodicals – “Graphis”, “Neue Graphik” and “Projekt”. Moreover, the text presents how the development of design theories and practices have been accompanied by the need for criticism and reflection over the role a applied graphics in the society, as apparent from such manifestos as Ken Garland’s First Things First and the activity of magazines, e.g. “Emigre” and “Eye”. There is emphasis on the meaning of attitudes and areas of designer’s operations, as well as their influence on contemporary design practices. The analysis highlights that the promotion of graphic design is not limited to visual aspects, but also includes a broad cultural, educational and social context, underlying its diversity and complexity. As the results of the analysis demonstrate, the discipline constantly evolves, responding to changeable social and technological needs, which contributes to its dynamic development and adaptation. Keywords: design promotion, history of typography, design criticism, graphic design theory, design practices evolution