TAVCO Construction Technology Blog

Guest post by Mark Senior, PointFuse

One positive outcome of the Coronavirus pandemic is that it has forced the AEC industry to take a long hard look at its relationship with digital tools. As construction sites closed across the country, firms up and down the AEC supply chain looked for new ways to keep work moving – with some turning to digital tools for the very first time.

Over the past several years, the insurance industry has collectively suffered financial loss. Premiums paid by the insured have not been substantial enough to drive profitability. The insurance industry refers to this as a ‘hard market.’

Unfortunately, when insurers experience losses, the policy holders are the ones who ultimately pay the price in the form of higher premiums. While all consumers and business ventures are subject to increases, the construction industry has certainly seen a huge increase in insurance costs.

The fact is that you now pay more and get less coverage to insure your construction operations. This impacts overall project cost and cuts into profits. Luckily, new emerging technologies, like Smartvid.io are helping AEC companies build a defense against rising construction insurance rates.

In 1597 Sir Francis Bacon declared that "knowledge is power."  Back then, the known world was a lot smaller, and he was only armed with a handful of books.

Today, anyone with an internet connection can get a mountain of knowledge, with a single mouse click.

This is easily showcased by the amazing amount of geographical information instantly available through Google Maps or Google Earth.

Both of these applications operate as web-based conglomerations of data sourced from both data and images, sourced from satellite imagery, aerial photography, and GIS. 

But, if you need a way to actually print this data in the form of GIS maps, aerials, or images, you need a printer that is fully capable of handling the task. 

Wouldn't it be great to have accurate, as-built information at the start of a new construction project or renovation? Good news, you can. And, it is much easier than you think.

It’s no secret that government (city, county, state, and federal) agencies do not run like well-oiled machines. Likewise, many people would rather take a beating than make the trip to a local government office to take care of business. But, why does this continue to be such a problem?

In pre-COVID-19 times, old school pen and paper workflow in largely to blame. This system is classically inefficient and could certainly use a refresh to simply things to get stuff done faster. Take for instance the activity of submitting building permits.

In this case, a powerful and easy to use PDF solution would be game changer. Check out how Bluebeam Revu software is improving the ways agencies handle their final plan submittals.

Bluebeam® Revu® 20 is the latest iteration of the popular PDF workflow software for AEC construction professionals. It gives you the smart tools that you need to keep your team in sync – communicating and collaborating better to get your jobs done right, on time, and on budget.

Chances are if you work in construction, you have probably heard of Bluebeam® Revu®. Although it is now a construction industry standard, there are plenty of people who just don’t know what it is or what it does.

Bluebeam Revu is a software application that allows users to markup, takeoff, organize, and collaborate with PDF files like never before. Here's how. 

Leave it to Canon to raise the bar when it comes to producing new ultra-high quality wide-format printers.

And the new breed doesn’t disappoint. In fact, the new Canon PRO Series is turning heads with a multitude of new technologies that are completely different from anything else in the competitive field.

Although designed for professional photography and other digital artwork, there are plenty of situations where one of these photo printers would fit nicely.

See 9 reasons why the Canon PRO 2100, 4100, and 6100 printers will exceed your expectations.

Construction documents are full of data, today more than ever. Often contractors or other project partners need to quickly search a set of plans to identify specific, important information.

Unfortunately, manually reviewing a set of printed plans is laborious, tedious, and invites mistakes. Luckily, there is a faster and more accurate way - the Search Tool in Blubeam Revu. For those who use it, Bluebeam's Search Tool is a game-changer for working with construction plans.

Plotter Technology Comparison – Toner vs Inkjet

The comparison between which wide-format plotter technology is better, toner or ink jet, has been questioned within AEC companies for years.

Historically, this has been relatively easy to examine. The cost of ink jet printing is higher, but the price of the toner-based equipment was more expensive than their ink jet counterparts.

In the past, the break-even point was when the printing output reached 2,000 square feet per month. However, the playing field has changed.

Ink prices have dropped, ink jet systems have gotten faster with the introduction of new single-pass ink jet systems. So, how do the two plotter technologies compare now? 

Do you want your large format prints to really pop, be durable, and resist fading?

To achieve the best results, the obvious solution is to make sure to use the right print media for the specific desired result. For instance, use photo paper for a large photo image, vinyl for banners, etc. But, one often overlooked aspect to printing the perfect image is found the ink itself.

In fact, the secret to printing awesome large format photos or graphics has just as much to do with the quality of the ink as the print material. This is why Canon has spent so much time researching and developing the best technologies for word class prints. Check out how Canon has elevated the playing field with their LUCIA ink sets for Canon large format printers.