Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Blueprint shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Blueprint offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Blueprint at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Blueprint? Wrong! If the Blueprint is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Blueprint then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Blueprint? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Blueprint and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Blueprint wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Blueprint then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Blueprint site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Blueprint, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Blueprint, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
A
blueprint is a type of paper-based reproduction usually of a technical drawing documenting an
architecture or an
engineering design. More generally, the term "blueprint" has come to be used to refer to any detailed plan.
Etymology
The term "blueprint" was originally derived from the visual aspects of prints made using the
contact printing process of
cyanotype. It is cyanotype which produces the white lines on blue background which are characteristic of the traditional blueprint.
History
The blueprint process is essentially the
cyanotype process developed by the British astronomer and photographer Sir John Herschel in
1842. The photosensitive compound, a solution of ammonium ferric citrate and potassium ferricyanide, is coated onto paper. Areas of the compound exposed to strong light are converted to insoluble blue ferric ferrocyanide, or Prussian blue. The soluble chemicals are washed off with water leaving a light-stable print.
A similar process was used to produce printing Artist's proofs for
offset printing.
Various base materials have been used for blueprints. Paper was a common choice, but for more durable prints linen was sometimes used, but with time, the linen prints would shrink slightly. To combat this problem, printing on vellum and, later, mylar was implemented.
Use
For almost a century blueprint was the only low cost process available for copying drawings. Once invented no technical development was required, the process was put to widespread use immediately, notably in shipbuilding and manufacture of locomotives and rolling stock for railways.
The coated material ready for use has a shelf life of two days. Every industrial area had one or two small independent suppliers who made blueprint coated materials to order. These suppliers also provided a copying service for small users.
The normal use was to have a wooden frame with a spring loaded back, similar to a picture frame with a glass front. The drawing would be traced in indian ink on tracing paper or tracing cloth. Indoors, coated paper and tracing would be loaded into the frame which was then brought out to sunlight. Exposure time varied from less than a minute to about an hour under an overcast sky. The operator could see the blue image appear through the tracing, when ready the frame was brought indoors. The material was then washed in running water to remove the unexposed coating, then dried. It gave a clearly legible copy of the drawing with a white line and dark blue background. This copy possessed unlimited resistance to light and resistance to water that was as good as the substrate.
The diazo document copying process progressively took over from blueprint during the period 1935 to 1950.
Replacements for blueprints
Traditional blueprints have largely been replaced by more modern, less expensive printing methods and digital displays. In the early 1940s, cyanotype blueprint began to be supplanted by
diazo prints or whiteprints, which have blue lines on a white background; thus these drawings are also called
blue-lines or bluelines. Other comparable dye-based prints are known as blacklines.
Diazo prints remain in use in some applications but in many cases have been replaced by Xerography print processes similar to standard copy machine technology using
toner on bond paper. More recently, designs created using Computer-Aided Design techniques may be transferred as a digital file directly to a
computer printer or
plotter; in some applications paper is avoided altogether and work and analysis is done directly from
digital displays.
As print and display technology has advanced, the traditional term "blueprint" has continued to be used informally to refer to each type of image.
Blueprint companies
Although the industry has converted to the
whiteprinting system, the companies have primarily stayed the same. Among the largest as of 2006 is NRI, a
ReproMAX founding partner, with eight offices in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, and BP Independent Reprographics, which is the result of several mergers and buyouts between Independent Blueprinting, Crown Reproductions, and The Blueprint Company.
With the advent in large, conglomerate, corporate entities, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find the traditional, family-owned blueprint shop. Most small to medium-size "blueprinters" are now owned by much larger corporations like
American Reprographics Company (they alone own over 235 print shops in the US and Canada).
However, there are still some truly independent shops. Among them are University Reprographics in Seattle, and Bill's Blueprint in Everett.
A similar network has been built up as a connection of independent reprographers, as members of
ReproMAX. As a result, ReproMAX has grown to be the largest association of reprographics companies, with over 230 current network partners in North America and Western Europe. The electronic planroom and document management solution for ReproMAX is available as ReproMAX/DFS.
References
See also
External Links
- Trazoide. Dibujo técnico con ejercicios y teoría practica
- The-Blueprints.com - The largest free blueprint / template / 3-view collection on the internet with more than 21500 prints online
- e-spechome.com - The most economical house plans / blueprints on the web.
A
blueprint is a type of paper-based reproduction usually of a
technical drawing documenting an architecture or an
engineering design. More generally, the term "blueprint" has come to be used to refer to any detailed plan.
Etymology
The term "blueprint" was originally derived from the visual aspects of prints made using the contact printing process of cyanotype. It is cyanotype which produces the white lines on blue background which are characteristic of the traditional blueprint.
History
The blueprint process is essentially the cyanotype process developed by the British astronomer and photographer Sir
John Herschel in 1842. The photosensitive compound, a solution of ammonium ferric citrate and potassium ferricyanide, is coated onto paper. Areas of the compound exposed to strong light are converted to insoluble blue ferric ferrocyanide, or Prussian blue. The soluble chemicals are washed off with water leaving a light-stable print.
A similar process was used to produce printing Artist's proofs for
offset printing.
Various base materials have been used for blueprints. Paper was a common choice, but for more durable prints linen was sometimes used, but with time, the linen prints would shrink slightly. To combat this problem, printing on vellum and, later,
mylar was implemented.
Use
For almost a century blueprint was the only low cost process available for copying drawings. Once invented no technical development was required, the process was put to widespread use immediately, notably in shipbuilding and manufacture of locomotives and rolling stock for railways.
The coated material ready for use has a shelf life of two days. Every industrial area had one or two small independent suppliers who made blueprint coated materials to order. These suppliers also provided a copying service for small users.
The normal use was to have a wooden frame with a spring loaded back, similar to a picture frame with a glass front. The drawing would be traced in indian ink on tracing paper or tracing cloth. Indoors, coated paper and tracing would be loaded into the frame which was then brought out to sunlight. Exposure time varied from less than a minute to about an hour under an overcast sky. The operator could see the blue image appear through the tracing, when ready the frame was brought indoors. The material was then washed in running water to remove the unexposed coating, then dried. It gave a clearly legible copy of the drawing with a white line and dark blue background. This copy possessed unlimited resistance to light and resistance to water that was as good as the substrate.
The
diazo document copying process progressively took over from blueprint during the period 1935 to 1950.
Replacements for blueprints
Traditional blueprints have largely been replaced by more modern, less expensive printing methods and digital displays. In the early 1940s, cyanotype blueprint began to be supplanted by
diazo prints or
whiteprints, which have blue lines on a white background; thus these drawings are also called
blue-lines or bluelines. Other comparable dye-based prints are known as
blacklines.
Diazo prints remain in use in some applications but in many cases have been replaced by
Xerography print processes similar to standard copy machine technology using toner on bond paper. More recently, designs created using
Computer-Aided Design techniques may be transferred as a digital file directly to a
computer printer or plotter; in some applications paper is avoided altogether and work and analysis is done directly from digital displays.
As print and display technology has advanced, the traditional term "blueprint" has continued to be used informally to refer to each type of image.
Blueprint companies
Although the industry has converted to the whiteprinting system, the companies have primarily stayed the same. Among the largest as of 2006 is NRI, a
ReproMAX founding partner, with eight offices in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, and BP Independent Reprographics, which is the result of several mergers and buyouts between Independent Blueprinting, Crown Reproductions, and The Blueprint Company.
With the advent in large, conglomerate, corporate entities, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find the traditional, family-owned blueprint shop. Most small to medium-size "blueprinters" are now owned by much larger corporations like
American Reprographics Company (they alone own over 235 print shops in the US and Canada).
However, there are still some truly independent shops. Among them are University Reprographics in
Seattle, and Bill's Blueprint in Everett.
A similar network has been built up as a connection of independent reprographers, as members of ReproMAX. As a result, ReproMAX has grown to be the largest association of reprographics companies, with over 230 current network partners in North America and Western Europe. The electronic planroom and document management solution for ReproMAX is available as ReproMAX/DFS.
References
See also
External Links
- Trazoide. Dibujo técnico con ejercicios y teoría practica
- The-Blueprints.com - The largest free blueprint / template / 3-view collection on the internet with more than 21500 prints online
- e-spechome.com - The most economical house plans / blueprints on the web.
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