h a l f b a k e r yIt might be better to just get another gerbil.
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Curved Printer
Super-ultra-portable printer for standard sized documents. | |
Logically, the smallest printer you can have for an 8.5x11" sheet of paper is just over 8.5" wide. To overcome this obstacle, simply curve the paper. The (collapsable) paper tray is curved so that paper loads bent (the "hotdog" way) with an inkjet printer head that rides a curved rail above the paper.
Basically curve everything. When it finishes printing the paper flattens back out and you are left with a normal color document that looks like it came from a normal printer. Only it did in fact come from a printer that measured 4x4x6" and you just backpacked it into the middle of the Congo. Also perfect for business travel, college dorms, etc. Wifi and Bluetooth enabled, of course!
Portable Printer
http://cgi.ebay.com...em#ebayphotohosting
[21 Quest, May 26 2009]
Smaller portable printer
http://www.brother-...S25oCFRFWagodtDiz3A
[21 Quest, May 26 2009]
Very tiny
http://reviews.cnet...tag=rb_shell;rb_mtx
[21 Quest, May 26 2009]
Random Movement Printer ([bigsleep]'s wish)
http://www.printdre...om/inside/rmpt.html
[loonquawl, May 27 2009]
[link]
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None of the links I posted are quite what you propose, but you might want to look into them if you're seriously in the market. The last one doesn't even require ink: it uses thermal printing, but you have to use special heat-sensitive paper. The plus side is that the paper comes in rolls, but you have to have a special caddy to feed them because it doesn't have a paper tray, otherwise you have to feed each page manually. Oh, and it's bloody expensive, too. [+] |
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I do feel a need to point out, however, that most printers *do* have curved paper paths. They just don't curve all the way around. The problem is that if you store paper in a curved configuration, everything comes out curved and you have to straighten it later. How does your printer do that? Still, I feel that's a minor annoyance when balanced against the convenience your product would provide. |
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although the printer might be shorter it's still going to be bulky. I think it would be better to focus on the bulkiness and get rid of some of the moving parts instead. For example a full page width print head; then you'd only need a motor to feed the paper through. |
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3rd link is a nice small printer. |
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Strikes me though that all the complicated paper feeding and motors are the culprit. Why not just have a hand-held thing like a board rubber. Just wipe over your paper to print. |
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heheh neat.... but why 4x4x6" ? 8.5/pi isn't even 3" and you only need enough depth for the rollers... say an inch... for that matter you could make a spiral and have an 1x1x1" printer... whatever... [+] |
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The printer size problem was comprehensively solved by the RMP [link] |
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