Class 4 Softswitch – An Essential Technology for Carriers

Class 4 Softswitch technology is rightly considered irreplaceable in the tele-communication industry today. It offers multiple features with high reliability and security with low cost and time saving set up. Read on to learn more and the best way to find one for your business.

Starting a telecom service company providing VoIP and successfully running it requires huge investments and extensive skill and knowledge of the switching, billing and routing services. To top it off, you need to be aware of the market scene too, like any good marketer. In the telecom business, if you are a carrier, you know that your business is constantly on. Therefore, you need high level of competency when it comes to the systems used or the skills of the people you employ.

For an individual or a party who are newly venturing into the telecom industry, starting with a smaller VoIP service or even a large one, outsourcing could be the smartest way to do it. Many carriers adopt this method and are consequently making profits. By outsourcing their switching, billing and routing services, carriers can benefit in many ways. They can avoid the huge investment usually required for building an infrastructure to house their business and all the hardware and other physical components. They also save the investment required for owning or managing VoIP Softswitch and Operations Support System and so on.

In addition, to avoid running into delays while obtaining excessive funds, building infrastructure setup, or recruiting or training a team, carrier or wholesale VoIP operators are going for Next Generation Class 4 Softswitch technology. Softswitch and billing platform providers are also increasingly availing the Class 4 Softswitch feature in their service. Since its coming, the Class 4 Softswitch technology has become irreplaceable in the telecom industry with more carriers demanding it and eventually service providers adopting them.

The Class 4 is noted for its exceptional and integrated capabilities. It is one of the most powerful and robust signaling engine the telecom world has, enabling its clients to provide a quality carrier grade VoIP services. With its high performance, it also simplifies the the network management and monitoring tasks while securing it too. More notable features of this softswitch is its high reliability, scalability, accuracy and more.

If you are looking for a capable service provider, remember that you are handing over a large portion of your business through the outsourcing deal. The efficiency of the service provider becomes pivotal to the success of your business. Therefore, research extensively on every service provider that you consider. Find out if it can get your business up and running in the shortest time. Find out the fee for all the services provided by the company and compare it with others’. Scalability is crucial, the company should be able to provide you multiple scalability options and be able to do it at the quickest. There should also be flexibility with the service plans, in other words the service provider should be able to give you just what your business needs.

Apart from good service, the service provider should also render support services with undivided attention and high caliber. Check up on the history of the company, it credits, success and failure records etc.., to help you choose wisely. While it is important to learn as much as you can about the company providing the class 4 Softswitch services, knowing your own business’ requirement is a must. That knowledge should serve you as a standard while you search and compare various service providers.

The writer is associated with vSwitch, an internationally acclaimed name amongst Softswitch vendors.

How To Select The Best Printer For Your Needs

There are a couple of things you need to first understand before you purchase a printer. They include;

1.Whether it is LaserJet or Inkjet.
Both LaserJet and Inkjet printers have advantages and disadvantages.

Inkjet printers are cheaper to buy than LaserJet printers. They also have very good quality print outs. However, the cost of maintaining an Inkjet printer is very high. Also, Inkjet printers make a lot of noise while printing and are slower than LaserJet printers.

LaserJet printers are expensive when buying but very cheap to maintain. Their print quality is very high and they make less noise when printing. They print faster than Inkjet printers.
2.All-In-One or Print-only.
The next thing you need to consider is whether you just want a print-only device or you need to scan copy fax and print.

Print-only printers are cheaper than All-In-One printers. However, they have limited functionality.

On the other hand, All-In-One printers have scanners, copiers and printers all put in one device. They are a little bit more expensive but very handy especially in an office setting. All-In-One printers also save space as they contain three different devices in one.

Some All-In-One printers have fax. When getting an All-In-One, always confirm if it has fax as not all of them have fax. In most cases All-In-Ones that have fax are more expensive.
3.Print Or Scan Quality.
Various aspects of print and scan qualities can be compared between different models. Print resolution is usually measured in dots per inch (DPI). The higher the number of dots per inch the better the printer.

Inexpensive inkjet models usually generate black-only prints at least as high as 600×600 DPI. Color models, meanwhile usually start as high as 4800×1200. Laser jets, meanwhile, typically produce
1200×1200 DPI or better black-only prints and 1200×600 or better color prints.

Scan quality is measured using both bit-rate and DPI measurements. If scanning is an important feature,
seek an all-in-one device that offers optical scan resolutions of at least 600×1200 DPI and at least a 24-
bit scan rate. Again, higher numbers are better (a scanner that boasts 36- or 48-bit technology will
produce even higher-quality scans).
Be sure to consider the differences between an inline scanner, in which 8.5-inch x 11-inch pages are
easily scanned by passing them through a sheet feeder, and a flat-bed scanner, in which odd-size
documents can be easily scanned just by placing them on the glass. In environments where multiplepage documents will frequently be scanned, ensure you select a model that boasts an automatic feed
tray.
4.Network Capabilities.
The days where parallel cables where used to connect printers to computers are long gone. In fact, most laptops nowadays do not even have parallel ports. Most printers nowadays are connected to computers via USB cables.

Many printers now boast integrated wireless LAN connectivity. Other models feature embedded network interface cards, making it possible to connect printers to a local area network via a
standard wired Ethernet cable, and thereby usable by multiple PCs simultaneously. Still others feature integrated Bluetooth support, which makes it possible for laptop users (among others) with Bluetooth functionality to print wirelessly without the requirement that a local area network even be present.

When reviewing a printer or multifunction device purchase, be sure to consider your organizations needs. If multiple users will need to access the printer or all-in-ones scanning functions, network-equipped models can eliminate the need to purchase multiple units or configure a single PC to host print services for other systems. If many users access the
local area network wirelessly, be sure to consider a printer model that also includes WLAN connectivity.

Fundamentals Of Cast Film Extrusion Technology

Applications of Cast Extrusion

Cast films are used for food and textiles packaging, flower wrapping, as photo album page protectors, as coating substrates in extrusion coating processes or laminated to other materials in the formation of more complex films, among others.

Typically, the cast film process involves the use of coextrusion, which is a simultaneous extrusion of two or more materials from a single die to form a multi-layered film. This is because in many cases the final application of the plastic film demands a performance that cannot be achieved if the film is composed of only one material. For example, in many instances food packaging applications require the use of films with oxygen barrier capabilities.

To meet the requirement a high oxygen barrier material like EVOH is combined with polyolefin materials in a multi-layered structure. Coextruded films typically contain up to seven layers; however, the use of more layers is becoming more common. The number of layers, their position in the coextrudate and their individual thickness are all variables that change depending on the particular application of the film.

Benefits/Limitations of Cast Extrusion

Unlike the blown film process, the cooling of the film with cast extrusion is highly efficient. This allows for higher production line speeds resulting in higher production rates with superior optical properties of the product.

The degree of draw and orientation is significantly lower in the cast film process than in the blown film process. This is the reason why the thickness distribution in the machine cross direction is more uniform with cast processes (with variations that could be as low as 1.5%). However, the film mechanical properties in the machine cross direction are lower when compared to those obtained with the blown film process due to the higher level of orientation that the film experiences in the blown process.

In cast extrusion the edges of the film are trimmed due to dimensional irregularities and/or poor layer distribution. As a result, the process can be negatively affected if the trimmed material cannot be recycled. Recent flat die system technology has minimized this problem by significantly reducing the amount of wasted material in coextrusion processes.This subject will be covered to some extent in a subsequent section.

Basic Concepts of Cast Extrusion

In the cast film extrusion process, the molten polymer travels through a flat die system to adopt its final flat film shape. The die system is formed by the die and feedblock (if the process requires coextrusion) or simply the die, if the process is that of mono-layer extrusion. Figure 1 shows a coextrusion cast film line.

The process starts with the feeding of plastic resins by means of a gravimetric feeding system to one or more extruders. The materials are then melted and mixed by the extruders, filtered and fed to the die system.

Immediately after exiting the die, the molten curtain enters the cooling unit where its temperature is lowered with a water cooled chill roll to freeze the film. The film is then passed downstream where the edges are trimmed, corona treatment is applied (if a fabrication process such as printing or coating is required) and the film is wound into rolls. A description of the main components of a typical cast film line is presented below.

Cast Film Line Components

Gravimetric Feeding System

Gravimetric feeding systems control the amount of material that is fed into the extruders by weight, not volume. The system is more precise than its volumetric counterpart and features a reduced error tolerance in the order of 0.5%. In many cases, the film is fabricated with materials that are blends of a base polymer with one or more secondary components. In state of the art production lines, this blending is carried out inline.

Special care is needed to prevent premature melting of the pellets, especially when materials with low melting temperatures are processed, or when the pellet size is small. Vibration and cooling of the feeding hoppers are options recommended to alleviate this problem. It is also important to ensure that the material being fed carries no moisture that could give rise to the appearance of small bubbles, also known as fish eyes, in the final film. In some cases, drying of the material is required. This may be performed by a separate unit or by a highly sophisticated feeding system with built-in drying capabilities.

Extruder

The main functions of an extruder are to melt the plastics pellets and mix the resulting molten polymer to achieve a homogeneous melt. This is done by conveying the material along a heated barrel with a rotating screw. Commercially used extruder barrels are typically 3 (90 mm) to 6 (150 mm) in diameter. The screws are tailored to the specific characteristics of the extruded materials and process parameters. The length of the screw is heavily influenced by their diameter. Screw length to diameter (L/D) ratios commonly lie in the range of 26:1 to 30:1.

It is critical to ensure that the flow exiting the extruder is well controlled and constant with variations on the screw’s rotational speed not exceeding 1%. A failure to accurately control the screw speed typically results in undesired pulsating flow that can cause periodic changes in film thickness in the machine direction.

The metering section, or final section of the extruder, is designed to guarantee a precise dosing of material from the extruder. In order to achieve the above, the gap between the screw and the barrel is very small. This creates another challenge since it is difficult to maintain a constant gap between the rotating screw and the barrel.

To overcome the above-mentioned potential problems, a melt pump is commonly employed downstream of the extruder. The pump is a positive displacement device that produces a consistent flow regardless of the discharge pressure of the extruder (Figures 2 and 3). The pump alleviates the workload on the extruder by taking on the job of generating pressure. The reduced extruder head pressure translates into energy consumption savings, a drop in the melt temperature and less wear between the barrel and the screw.

In coextrusion lines, the number of extruders depends on the number of different materials being extruded and not necessarily on the number of layers. This is because the existing feedblock technology allows the flow from one extruder to be split into two or more layers in the final coextrudate.

Filtration System

The objective of the filtration system is to prevent downstream passage of melt impurities and/or gels that are formed during the extrusion process. Proper control at this stage is imperative to prevent melt contamination. The most common filters are those containing a metallic mesh. The case hosting the filter media has to be capable of bearing the forces exerted by the polymer flow when subjected to the maximum pressure allowed by the extrusion process.

It is highly recommended to use continuous screen changers, in which the mesh is continuously regenerated, to minimize the replacement time of the screen pack.

Impact of photography on advertising industry

It is really hard to imagine a technology that had more impact on 20th century life than photography. It is truly the most pervasive. Photography changed the way we remember things. It offers spontaneity and has the ability to capture actual events, a slice of reality. Roland Barthes, a preeminent theorist of photography, said that photograph is the “sovereign contingency,” meaning it is dependent on something else happening.
To imagine a social world before photography, we would have to think of a world without picture IDs; without portraits of ordinary people; one without pictures as souvenirs of travel; one without celebrity pictures; one without advertising photographs; one without X-rays or views of outer space; a world without views of foreign and exotic peoples; one without pictures of sports, wars, and disasters; and one in which the great masses of people had no way to visually record the important events of their lives.
Such a world is unbelievable to us now, and we have photography to thank for all these things: visual souvenirs, portraits of common folk as well as the famous, advertising pictures that have created desire in the public and educated them about all the products the new consumer culture has on offer, medical diagnostic tools, incredible views of exotic places and even of outer space, pictures of the worlds news, and most important, pictures of the events and intimate moments of ones own life.

The technology of photography is part chemical, part optical, and dates from 1839. Soon after its simultaneous invention by William Henry Fox Talbot in England and Louis Jacques Mand Daguerre in France, photography was used to document foreign places of interest such as India, the Holy Land, and the American West. It was also used for portraits with photographs taken of kings, statesman, and theater or literary personalities.

Advertising Photography
Even as Kodak was using advertising to create a market for its cameras, films, and papers, the advertising industry itself turned increasingly to photography during the 20th century. Newspapers as well as the great number of popular magazines (especially in the pre-TV era) were the carriers of most of this print advertising.
The purpose of using high resolution images for advertising was and is to create a desire for the new consumer products available to the public, and then, of course, to sell the products. Although drawings and painted illustrations were featured predominantly in ads during the early part of the century, gradually photography took over, and by the end of the 20th century virtually all visual advertising was photographic. Today, in the 21st century, digital photography has introduced the kinds of fantastic effects impossible in straight photography, further enriching the possibilities of advertising photography and especially Indian pictures.

While half-tone reproductions of photographs had been possible since the 1880s, and magazines and newspapers constantly used them in their editorial pages, before World War I advertisers seldom did. The great shift happened in the 1920s and 1930s. By the mid-1930s photographs at least equaled hand-drawn illustrations in print advertising, and have only gained greater dominance since then.
Photography has a great impact on advertising and marketing materials and can make or break your first impression with a potential customer. You know the old saying, A picture says 1000 words? Well that has never been truer than it is today. We are all tech-heads, and we want everything this secondif we have to wait, we become irritated and move on.
Using great photography and high resolution images is a great way to get your message across quickly and say your 1000 words without actually saying any words. It immediately fascinates your audience, and a fascinated audience is more likely to read more of your message.
A concrete impact of photography has been the number of people employed in the industry, particularly after the introduction of 35mm film in the 1920s by the Kodak Company. Photography also meant new employment opportunities as photo reporters and editors, and in photographic agencies and libraries.

Current Web Designs, Iphone And Ipad Advancement Technology

Why Choosing The Right Web Site Design Organization Is able to Maximize Your Sales

The abilities of recent day ecommerce designers are increasing exponentially with new innovation. It’s fairly crucial to get the ideal web page design to your firm. If you’re diligent about searching out the perfect web development company, you’ll keep your website is as good as it can be over the advice of the designer.

Latest technology implies that people are usually not content with simple web design any longer. The site has to be not only very easy to navigate, but it needs to include extra features like use of different media. This implies mobile phone, just like iPhone, together with the likes of apple ipad development.

There are many applications for iPhone and iPad now that are greatly preferred. Individuals who come to your internet site whether from the web or perhaps a portable device like an apple iphone, will assess your business according to your website design and style. That is the reason it is essential to ensure all aspects of your websites are continually made modern.

Although the most of visitors to your site will be from the classical personal computer, there are many innovative possibilities these days. Creating an iPad or iPhone app for your web page is an excellent approach to directly pinpoint the demographic you want to hit. Good web design using an app can certainly make it fun and easy for buyers exploring your web site.

The software for gadgets like apple ipads have grown to be huge on the market. It is really vital that you ensure that the application that is created captures the character of your company. Whether it doesn’t, or if it’s off in any way, it may turn off users who visit it. In contrast, a good starting web page that gives the user reliable information and is professional and well-done gives a good first impression.

Online clients care not only about looks. They also treasure performance. You can create one of the best looking site worldwide, but if it does not function properly, or provide consumer what they desire, they’ll be disappointed and also they’ll move on. Furthermore, it needs to be up-to-date. This is why you will need continuing service for web design even when the internet site is up.

Cyberspace changes at an exceptionally rapid pace. And clients understand this. They will see the general trends in the changing internet as they happen. If you do not keep up with website design, with the current trends and innovations, consumers will notice and may normally go away from your website behind. Those that keep up with current developments in web design, and those that make use of web site designers, will always be up to date.

These will be the individuals on the net who will tend to succeed. The iPad and iPhone trend is a great example of this process.