Fibre Optics, Data Compression, and Telecommunications Technology Issues

During the 1990's the general availability of high bandwidth global and local area networks will increase dramatically. This paper reviews the current state of development of the main global and local communications media and its impact on the graphic arts industry. Some techniques for data reduction to improve the utilization of available communications bandwidths are considered. Some techniques for data reduction to improve the utilization of available communications bandwidths are considered. The impact of open systems, open standards and open product architectures is reviewed. To appreciate the technical innovation reported in this paper anyone unfamiliar with the role of system engineering should read the appendices.