Craig Crossman is a nationally syndicated newspaper computer columnist with The Miami Herald. His weekly column, in which he does Q&A, commentary and product review, currently appears in hundreds of newspapers coast-to-coast. These include The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Orange County Register, The Hawaiian Advertiser, The San Jose Mercury News and The Press-Enterprise.
Craig has a degree in computer science and is a contributing editor to several computer publications.

As an extension of his nationally syndicated column, Craig has created and hosts an exciting live nationally syndicated THREE hour computer radio talk show called "Craig Crossman's Computer America." Dedicated to all topics of computing, his weekly show broadcasts live from Palm Beach Atlantic College in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Business News Network (BNN).

America Online is now the official telecommunications service for Craig's show. Computer America now has one of the premier forums on America Online, Keyword: Computer America. America Online simulcasts the Computer America show every week.

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Monday, June 22, 1998, in the Washington Post
------------------ Monday, June 1, 1998, in the Miami Herald

Sticking around

Almost as big as the Beanie Baby craze is the photo sticker craze. Around the world, people of all ages seem to love the idea of sticking small color stickers of anything on just about anything you can stick something to.

It started in Japan and worked its way to Germany and England, and now it's happening in the United States. Machines in arcades and shopping malls dispense little stamp-sized images to the sticker-crazed.

But you don't need a machine -- your computer and color inkjet printer can create photo stickers. Micro Format has just released Super Color Photo Stickers.
(StickerPIX software -- for PC and Mac -- is available from XLSOft International for $39.95.)

Included in the (Super Color Photo Sticker) package are eight sticker sheets that each make 64 high-resolution stickers, in sets of four images per sheet. The kit includes three semi-translucent practice sheets you can use until you get the hang of it. Extra sticker sheets are available by the box, enough to make 512 stickers, for $16.

You can make a sticker out of any photo or image you could print on your computer. StickerPIX will reduce the image and place it on each sticker. I printed my face on a set and stuck them on envelopes (the Postal Service even canceled one, but I still had to use a stamp), in my appointment book, and on my letterhead. You're going to have some fun with this one.

Here's paper that will help you keep your secrets

Over the years, I have written about many of the products from Micro Format. Most of their products revolve around a simple item: the sheet of paper. I think what intrigues me most about this company is the number of new, novel and exotic products they have built into an ordinary sheet of paper. In the past, for example, they have come up with paper that changes color when you touch it and a 3D paper that makes anything you type or write appear as if it is floating above the surface. Now, they've done it again with their Copy Secure Paper.

I have seen ghastly orange paper that prevents photocopying. But who wants to have their business documents printed on paper that looks like a Halloween refugee? It used to be that having some color in the letterhead or some other location was a form of protection, but today's quality color copiers have overcome that deterrent. These machines can make a color duplicate that's almost impossible to distinguish from the original -- as most anyone in the Treasury Department can attest.

Copy Secure Paper at first glance appears to be ordinary paper with a pale blue background. Closer inspection reveals tiny lettering at the bottom center that states ``Original document has a blue background'' along with ``ODT Security paper'' in the lower left corner. ODT stands for Optical Deterrent Technology and is quite sophisticated in how it works.

Let's say you have a contract or some other original materials that you want to be distinguishable from a quality copy. After printing it on the Copy Secure Paper, try and make a copy. You will be able to read the photocopy but it will be hard to miss the half inch tall black and white block letters that scream out the words ``UNAUTHORIZED COPY'' over and over again from the top to the bottom of the page!

I'm not exactly sure how Copy Secure Paper does what it does. Holding the paper up to the light reveals nothing. It's just blue paper. I suspect it has something to do with the very fine pattern that forms the bluish tint, but Micro Format won't tell me. In fact, I'm not really sure if I want to know. It's another highly effective technological miracle Micro Format has come up with and maybe we should leave it at that. I tried copying it using everything from a $50,000 copier to my fax machine with the same results. Those magic letters just kept appearing. If you're looking for a novel technological way to prevent unauthorized copying, you have got to check out Copy Secure Paper. Copy Secure Paper comes in packages of 100 sheets that sell for $12.
Micro Format
Wheeling, Ill.
(800)333-0549
or (847) 520-4699

On October 12th, 1997 I had the privilege of visiting with Craig as he brought his special magic to the airways. Craig has a unique infectious sparkle both on and off the air. With the microphone off during one of the news and commercial breaks, Craig beamed as he told us about his new "spinning top" which actually levitates above a specially built base. It's "real levitation" Craig insisted as he vividly described his newest acquisition. There are no hidden strings ... no magic tricks. "It's true levitation." He beamed with delight as he shared the information with us one on one.

Yes indeed, Craig Crossman is a "real person" and one to whom you are instantly drawn. Thanks for inviting me to your show and I look forward to visiting in the future.

(Left to Right)
Tim Goode-My Software Company
Steve Singer-Micro Format
Keith Shaw-Okidata
during their appearance on Computer America October 12, 1997

The incredible shrinking man

No, this isn't a review of the old bizarre sci-fi flick. It's about Micro Format's new bizarre printing material, Super Color Shrink ($16 for a pack of 10 sheets). Billed as the "Incredible Shrinking Picture Material," you insert the completely transparent sheet into your color inkjet printer and print any image. For purposes of the above subtitle, let's print out my picture. When done, place the sheet into a preheated toaster or conventional oven (I'm not kidding) at about 300 degrees. Then sit back as this stuff turns opaque and becomes extremely hard as see your image shrink down to a quarter of its original size.

At this point, I'm sure you're asking yourself just why you would want to do this. I'm glad you asked that question. In fact, I can hear the team over at Micro Format's research and development lab asking themselves that very same question. Here's what they came up with right off the package: "Make jewelry, luggage and key tags, book marks, zipper pulls and more." OK, so I'm now wearing a zipper pull with my shrunken face on it. I'm sure this will make me the life of the party. I can't wait. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Micro Format Wheeling, Ill. (800) 333-0549 or (847) 520-4699

Print Fabric on your Color Ink Jet Printer

The folks at Micro Format's Imagination Gallery have done it again. If you have an ordinary ink jet printer, you can now print on many types of fabric with Fabric Carrier.

This works best with a cotton-based fabric that's up to 8.5 by 11 inches.

A specially treated carrier sheet has diagonal strips of adhesive; you peel off the protective cover one piece at a time. Starting with the top left hand covering, you start to adhere the cloth. You continue to peel the Covering one segment at a time and adhere more of the fabric to the exposed adhesive area. This let's you adjust the fabric as you go, allowing you to remove any wrinkles.

The result: a perfectly aligned and smooth surface that's ready for printing. Insert the carrier sheet into your printer's paper feed and print as you would an ordinary sheet. Removing the cloth from the carrier is easy, thanks to the residue-free adhesive.

This is a fun way to turn your printer into an arts and crafts machine.

Micro Format Imagination Gallery
(800)333-0549 or (847)520-4699

To get their attention, think color

LLooking for an original way to grab the attention of someone with whom you correspond? Perhaps it's the person who's about to read your brochure. Or maybe the executive who will read that all-important marketing proposal you're about to submit.
Of course, they're probably used to the usual eye-grabbing tricks, such as printing on colored paper or using a color printer to highlight your credentials. You need something original.
Of course it's still your credientials or the merit of your proposal that's going to make it all sink or swim.
Micro Format has a clever way to embed heat-sensitive liquid crystals into ordinary stationery. The "Hot Stuff" color-changing paper works with inkjet printers.
You print on Hot Stuff as you would on ordinary letterhead. The paper appears to be regular quality stock. However, wherever your fingers touch, the paper shifts color.
At first I thought I had somehow smeared and faded the page, since the sheet was the green-to-yellow color scheme. But as I watched, the yellow areas quickly returned to the original green. It certainly made an impression --- which is exactly what you want.
Hot Stuff comes in six colors: gray to white, blue to white, teal to yellow, orange to yellow, purple to pink, and green to yellow.
The paper can also reveal hidden text and graphics when touched. This is done by setting a inkjet printer to a shaded or lighter setting, via the printer's print driver or the word processing or graphics application you're using. It usually takes a little experimentation.
With most laser printers, you will have to use gray paper, since most lasers are gray-scale devices. For example, you could print a company logo -- even using the entire page, since it would be invisible. Then, print normally on the same page. When fingers touch the paper, the hidden print becomes visible.
Obviously, this paper isn't just for business. It would be perfect for greeting card programs like Print Shop.
Hot Stuff ($10) comes in 50 sheet packages. The Rainbow Package ($26.95) has 150 sheets, 25 each of six colors.

Micro Format
(800)333-0549 or (847)520-4699

Dying to be noticed?
Try 3-D floating type

How do you make business letters stand out in th sea of paper that floods offices everywhere? How do you make sure your brochure will be noticed? Let's face it, there is all sorts of paper available.

Businesses use everything from fluorescent colors to exotic textures to grab consumers' attention. I thought I'd seen them all -- until I got a look at a new product.

Imagine a seemingly ordinary sheet of paper that can produce a three-dimensional effect. The surface is like any other, but anything that's typed on or printed on it appears to float about a quarter-inch above the surface. That's exactly what happens with Virtual Reality/3-D paper from Micro Format.

A rethinking of an old technology produced Micro's paper.

Remember those out-of-focus 3-D comic books that look as though they're badly printed until you put on a pair of glasses with red and blue cellophane lenses? The glasses make the images appear to be three-dimensional. And although they were popular in the 50's, I still see them reappearing from time to time to amaze yet another generation of comic book readers.

Virtual Paper is printed with a background design of tiny, pale red-and-blue squiggles. At first glance, most people will think this is just some sort of stylized stationery. Anything printed on this pattern can be clearly read with little or no distraction. However, when you put on a pair of those glasses, everything printed on the page will float. It's an eerie effect that grabs your attention.

Micro Format has taken this even further. They couldn't see you having to go through the bother of stuffing every mailed envelope with a pair of glasses, so they developed an envelope that is a pair of glasses.

Included with every pack of Virtual Paper are special business size white envelopes. You address the side with the envelope flap, because the other side is made to work as a pair of 3-D glasses. Simply break the envelope apart along the perforated line and remove the spectacles.

Virtual Paper, if nothing else, is bound to get the customers' attention, even before they open the envelopes. After that, ofcourse, what's printed on the paper must carry the ball.

The 3-D paper is available in three designs: Background, Tri-fold (for brochures), and Drape (looks like a stage with curtains).

I think that Background, with its squiggle lines, produces the best 3-D effect. It has the least objectionable pattern when you're not wearing the glasses.

Each kit sells for $24.95 and included 50 sheets of paper, a pair of 3-D glasses and 25 of the envelope glasses.

Micro Format
(800)333-0549 or (847)520-4699

WORKING LIFE/HIGH TECH

Certificates to go

Included is a 100-sheet pack of laser certificate paper (LA-SERtificate) and a disk containing 10 certificate templates that can be read by most word processor programs.

The templates are Employee of the Month, Award of Achievement, Sales Award, Diploma, Certificate of Completion, First/Second/Third Place Awards, Most Valuable Player, Certificate of Appreciation, and Honorable Mention.

And the nice thing about templates is that you can customize them in just about any way you want, once you have them in the word processor.

DOS, Windows and Macintosh versions are available. For more information call Micro Format at (800)333-0549 or (847)520-4699.

Published Monday, December 27, 1993, in the Miami Herald

Super paper lets printer create a bright new look Paper is paper, right? But would you blow your none with notebook paper? Or write business letters on paper towels? Of course not. We know instinctively that different weights and textures are suited to various applications. The same holds for computer paper. If you think it's all the same, you're being technically naive. Aside from obvious differences in weight, texture and color, the materials used in the paper can drastically alter other characteristics, such as its durability and how it reacts to ink. If a paper is fairly porous or has a high rag content, liquid-based inks will have a tendency to be absorbed and dispersed, giving images a dull washed-out appearance. With this king of paper, use laser printers: They use a dry toner powder that is instantly fused to the paper by light and heat. Most laser printers are still black and white. One of the most popular and inexpensive methods of printing color images with personal computers is the color ink jet printer. These printers spray ink from a moving head. Because the ink is wet, a lot of it can be absorbed and dispersed to form a fuzzy image with blurred edges, One computer paper company has developed a specially formulated paper that corrects the problems associated with liquid-ink printers. Micro Format has come up with an impressive product called Super Color Ink Jet Paper. To see it is to believe it. I took the same color image and printed it once on ordinary paper and again on Super Color paper. You would swear you were looking at the output from two different printers. The ordinary paper's images were dull and faded. The Super Paper images displayed brilliant colors with razor-sharp edges. And the Super Color images were printed using less ink! I had to set my printer's color intensity to the lowest setting. Normal settings caused the images to distort, as if you had turned up the brightness control on your TV too high. Less ink and more color translates into longer-lasting ink cartridges and dollars saved. Only one side of each sheet is specially formulated. The paper displays a small yellow water mark logo on the untreated side for orientation. (In 1995, Micro Format introduced Super Color+ for printing brilliant images on both sides of the sheet.) If you think that your color ink-jet printer is headed for printer heaven, give it a new lease on life with Super Color paper. Everyone will think you bought a new color printer. Super Color+ comes in a 100 sheet pack for $16.00 Micro Format (800)333-0549 or (847)520-4699 www.paper-paper.com -- Imagination Gallery Super Color Ink Jet Paper

Published November 29, 1993 in the Washington Post

Washington Business

Q I use The Print Shop to print banners for our school. My problem is that the continuous form paper I buy has perforations that allow you to seperate the pages into single sheets. With a long banner, the perforations tend to bend and tear easily. This, of course, destroys my banners. I can't find continuous form paper with sprocket holes but without page perforations. Do you know where I might find some?

A What you're looking for is available from Micro Format. It's called Banner Band Pageless Computer Paper. Banner Band is a continuous roll of paper with half-inch margins. Most importantly, it has no cross perforations. In other words, it can't be seperated into pages.

It's great for banners -- or anything else that might require a long, uninterrupted surface. It's perfect for those long spreadsheets with hundreds of columns, sewing patterns, electronic schematic diagrams, family trees, animal pedigree charts and more.

Banner Band comes in a variety of colors and shades including pastels, fluorescents, full-coverage designs such as Lacey Flowers and Celebrate Party Balloons and parchment. Professional Banner Band rolls are 150 feet long and 9-1/2" wide. Banner Wide rolls are 45 feet long and 15 inches wide. Prices vary with colors and sizes.

For more information contact Micro Format/Banner Band at (800)333-0549 or (847)520-4699.