Digital revolution thwarts printing industry

Plumbers and takeaway food chains are far more likely to succeed in 2011 than the average photo printing labs, according to IBIS World's list of the best and worst start-ups, writes ProPrint.

The market research body identified the top five start-up opportunities for next year, with positive forecasts for trades such as landscaping and house building, but bad news for start-ups in the 'image processing and printing' field.

The report says image processing and printing services operators have been struggling for several years due to the digital revolution. Images are far less likely to be printed and are instead displayed online at sites like Facebook and Flickr or with digital photo frames.

The release of the new 4G network from cellular wireless companies will enable radiologists to upload and download images more than 10 times faster than they have been able to in the past, reports Diagnostic Imaging.

While wireless mobile applications for imaging are still a distinct minority, the faster speeds could open the door for preliminary reads or image demonstrations on smartphones and iPads.

Verizon Wireless could be the first out of the gate with its new 4G network, beginning in 38 US markets by the end of the year.

Canon has demonstrated Uniflow 5, the latest version of its document management system that can prevent users from printing or copying documents containing specific words thanks to a clever keyboard-based security system, according to IT Pro.

Uniflow allows printers, scanners, copiers and multifunction devices to be managed centrally. This allows a record to be kept of how many documents have been printed and by whom, for billing purposes.

The company says this is essential for professions that bill clients by the hour or by the amount of work done, such as lawyers and architects.