Charles,
> On Aug 26, 2025, at 4:13 PM, Charles Armstrong <carmstrong at cusa.canon.com> wrote:
>> Hi Mike,
>> Thanks for the update. My sponsor provided some feedback regarding the proposed new media types for medicine bags.
> He agrees that having more options is a good thing and appreciates the PWG's efforts.
> However, he raises a concern that some end-users, such as hospital staff, may be resistant to changing their current workflows to use the new paper types.
...
So right now they are comfortable co-opting another media type to use for this media and don't think that users, if presented with a "medicine bag" media type, would be resistant to choosing that media type on a printer that supports it? I understand resistance to change and/or concern about confusing existing users, but in this case I don't think it would be a stretch to say that the current state of affairs is confusing ("use the heavyweight media type") and adding a media type corresponding to the media being used ("use the medicine bag media type") is *less* confusing and requires less training.
Regardless, if the current heavyweight media type works in your printers I'm sure it will continue to work in the future, even for an updated firmware with the "medicine bag" media type. The request was to support this kind of media and to convey the orientation of that media to the Client - that requires a media type or some more invasive console UI to differentiate real "heavyweight" media from this new media, unless you want all heavyweight media to be reported as directional to the Client...
> Regarding your request for suppliers, he has provided some Japanese resources for "薬袋" (yakutai), which are medicine bags.
> He notes that these vendors often do not have English websites, but they are a good starting point to understand the product requirements.
>https://www.ddc.co.jp/yakutai/product/>https://kinshi.co.jp/product/package/
I noticed that both of these vendors offer both blank and pre-printed versions, but it doesn't look like they specialize with different coatings or materials. That would reduce the list to just:
sleeve
sleeve-preprinted
Since both a blank and preprinted sleeve will be directional (based on the location of the opening), we *could* get away with a single media type ("sleeve") assuming that there are not use cases for having both on hand in the same printer (for different kinds of sleeves). And vendor/site types can always be added to differentiate between different preprinted content (if that was a thing).
> He also provided some cultural context, noting that since one-third of the Japanese population is over 65, medicine bags have become one of the most frequently used printed materials in Japan.
I don't doubt that which is why I have no qualms about adding media types for them.
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Michael Sweet