Strong demand for color laser printers has left many laser parlor managers straining at the bit, since the software and hardware are just beginning to come on stream. Blueprint Services in San Francisco, for instance, recently added a color Postscript printer to its equipment lineup. Desktop publishing is moving beyond the printed page. The emphasis is on presentation graphics as DTP shops add equipment to aid in the production of slides, transparencies, and video. On the forefront of technology, Krishna Copy Center on Kearny Street in San Francisco has had color laser printers for more than a year and plans to expand its services for producing color graphics on slides and transparencies.
Artists are prime beneficiaries of the trend toward color and graphics.
Some DTP shops are exploring niches in music and art. Ink Stone Desktop Publishing began as a graphics supply store and now caters to designers and architects. The gradual increase in computer literacy points to increased demand for computer access. 3D printing involves the use of lasers to draw and harden, layer by layer, a 3D design in a chamber of molten or powdered plastic. The process is similar to the 2-dimensional fixing of toner onto paper in laser printers.