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Recently saw continuous feed paper piling out behind the gate agent at an airport, I wouldn't have guessed it was still in use because it'd been years since I s

Recently saw continuous feed paper piling out behind the gate agent at an airport, I wouldn't have guessed it was still in use because it'd been years since I saw any, but now I'm assuming they go through a lot of it

bombcar 4y ago
I've seen it in some places still, it's one way to log things and guarantee that it hasn't been messed with (because you can't replace a piece of paper in the middle of the feed). Thermal printers on a roll serve a similar purpose sometimes, but thermal paper has issues, too.
- joezydeco 4y ago
  It's more about the fact that dot matrix / impact printers can print on duplicate/triplicate paper. There is carbon in the paper that leaves a mark on the layer underneath it. You can't do that with a laser or inkjet printer unless you request multiple copies, and then you can't be sure all copies get made. Carbon forms are still a huge thing in shipping and logistics industries.
  - Gordonjcp 4y ago
    The problem we have with using lasers at work is that they take a few minutes to warm up, and if you're trying to get a fire appliance out the door in under 60 seconds you can't wait for them. And absolutely no-one has time to run out and get a yellow ink cartridge for an inkjet. Fuck you Epson, you used to be cool.
- avidiax 4y ago
  I'd say that we could use blockchain for this, but then where would we print the hash updates?
Gordonjcp 4y ago
We use continuous feed paper - either fan-fold or roll - in the Oki 9-pin dot matrix "turnout printers" in fire stations. There really isn't a replacement for them, so you can still buy them new.
- bombcar 4y ago
  "Time-to-print" on receipt printers can be quite fast, but again, the thermal paper would have an obvious issue if used for thermal events ;) (I love the POS acronym - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMgtywYSknk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMgtywYSknk )

bombcar 4y ago

I've seen it in some places still, it's one way to log things and guarantee that it hasn't been messed with (because you can't replace a piece of paper in the middle of the feed). Thermal printers on a roll serve a similar purpose sometimes, but thermal paper has issues, too.

joezydeco 4y ago
It's more about the fact that dot matrix / impact printers can print on duplicate/triplicate paper. There is carbon in the paper that leaves a mark on the layer underneath it. You can't do that with a laser or inkjet printer unless you request multiple copies, and then you can't be sure all copies get made. Carbon forms are still a huge thing in shipping and logistics industries.
- Gordonjcp 4y ago
  The problem we have with using lasers at work is that they take a few minutes to warm up, and if you're trying to get a fire appliance out the door in under 60 seconds you can't wait for them. And absolutely no-one has time to run out and get a yellow ink cartridge for an inkjet. Fuck you Epson, you used to be cool.
avidiax 4y ago
I'd say that we could use blockchain for this, but then where would we print the hash updates?

Gordonjcp 4y ago

We use continuous feed paper - either fan-fold or roll - in the Oki 9-pin dot matrix "turnout printers" in fire stations. There really isn't a replacement for them, so you can still buy them new.

bombcar 4y ago
"Time-to-print" on receipt printers can be quite fast, but again, the thermal paper would have an obvious issue if used for thermal events ;) (I love the POS acronym - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMgtywYSknk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMgtywYSknk )