Future of plotting?

[Liamnacuac]

Our company is looking at expanding our printing capabilities, and have to consider color options.
As I start down this path, I want to look at the forest, not just the trail...
What are the predictions for output in five years? Tens years? Are we going to move away from black and white media as we begin producing more and more BIM models, and supply .PDF's in color? Will governments be less demanding of hard copy formats? Will customers require more interactive systems they can view using tablet or smart board type of tools? Are we headed toward systems with "CSI Miami" type of computer systems with OLED windows and heads-up types of display?
As our company gets ready to retire the worn out plotters, I need to be more focused on what types of systems we will be implementing and maybe reconsider the standard plotters and the associated costs, maybe look at shorter life cycles and prepare for an earlier retirement of production processes...
Any ideas and predictions?

[cadtag]

Responses below are are personal opinion, and only applicable to AEC based industries.

Are we going to move away from black and white media as we begin producing more and more BIM models, and supply .PDF's in color?

More BIM models, yes. But that will not obviate the need for construction drawings. And fundamentally, color is not the best choice for hard copy documents being dragged into the field, subject to coffee stains, mud, folding, scribbles, sunlight and the other hazards of life outside the office environment. Add to that that color is inherently a more expensive process than monochrome printing and reproduction. And as a further issue, consider that one in ten people on this planet has some degree of color blindness, typicallly red-green or yellow-blue, and many of them are unaware of their degree oif color blindness. ( hey, when was the last time your vision was tested for color blindness?) This adds up to huge strikes against color as the mode for printing CDs.

Will governments be less demanding of hard copy formats?

No, at least not if they are doing their job. There are zero digital archival methods, and one of the requirements for government involvement in the construction industy is record keeping. Hardcopy is by far the most reliable readily available method for storing documents for the long term. Not perfect, and subject to well known problems, but the closest approximation. Microfiche would be a better choice, but it's not all that common in counties or towns to have the requisite equipment and expertise on hand. Digital formats are a very poor choice for any institution that is expected or required to maintain information for the long run.

And I really don't want to see my tax dollars frittered away on transient toys for the building departments and permit agencies....

Will customers require more interactive systems they can view using tablet or smart board type of tools? Are we headed toward systems with "CSI Miami" type of computer systems with OLED windows and heads-up types of display?

Some will, but that will not change the fundamentals of construction. Until every carpenter is equipped with a bionic chip and terabyte visual access to the web, paper hardcopies will be essential. And frankly, paper is cheap, more durable and much easier to replace than a tablet, contains fewer toxins, and is highly recyclable.

Facility Management and other post-construction activities is where you'll see a real use for tablet and more exotic displays. Especially in campus-type environments.

As our company gets ready to retire the worn out plotters, I need to be more focused on what types of systems we will be implementing and maybe reconsider the standard plotters and the associated costs, maybe look at shorter life cycles and prepare for an earlier retirement of production processes...
Any ideas and predictions?

Vendoirs would love that.... That doesn't mean it's going to be good for your bottom line. Replacing equipment frequently is not sustainable financially, or ethically.

[Liamnacuac]

Great comments, Cadtag, and also reflects my thoughts as well. but, you sometimes need to stick your head out of your burrow, and see what the neighbors are doing.
How can black and white print on paper be replaced? It doesn't get any more basic and cost effective than that. I think the only revolution in print will be some technology producing faster and sharper prints, better recycling of toners,,,not really much else.

[jaberwok]

How can black and white print on paper be replaced? It doesn't get any more basic and cost effective than that.

I'm finding it hard to imagine an A0 Kindle - or how one would carry it.

[Liamnacuac]

I remember when I first learn about OLED, that there was talk of a ROLL UP MONITOR!! Now, if you could take a rolled up sheet of plastic, that was see through, you could take that to a job site, possiblty do over lays with your paper drawings in the field trailer, make changes based on site conditions...
Or, maybe it's more like digital paper? Maybe digital sepia, that is translucent, and yet you can add digital information in sketch form on it..
Future so bright I gotta wear shades

I'm finding it hard to imagine an A0 Kindle - or how one would carry it.

[osnapendp407315]

I like to plot in color for our pipe fitters but I only print out a few sets and they are typically <10 sheets. The first thing the fitters will do is sit down with a black and white set and color the different piping systems. I do this for them without any additional work on anyone's part and the colors match the schematic systems drawings so it is easy to work between the two. It doesn't matter if they are color blind or not as I don't refer to the color of the lines in notes or anywhere else.

I would think when color gets cheaper and a quick to reproduce that a certain segment would embrace color plots for the reason mentioned above and for similar reasons in other disciplines.

[Liamnacuac]

Are companies producing more color renderings to give their customers?
Has anyone seriously looked at other uses for 3d plotting besides prototyping parts? Maybe make pump package mock-ups, or mechanical room mock-ups?