Paper – A Printer You Actually Want
Paper is a machine that can print, scan and copy in a pleasant way. It communicates its function, provides clear feedback and uses physical controls to operate the key functions with ease. It flips the typical flatbed printer/scanner on its side, sucking in paper not from a large stack, but from a single roll that’s cut a slice at a time, therefore it‘s compact, space-saving and mobile. It features one switch to "scan" or "copy", clear LEDs to indicate ink levels, and a handle on top so you can pick it up on a whim. Paper does also exist in the virtual space and can be operated by an app or a website. Thus, it brings together the analog and the digital world and transfers visual content from the one into the other. The result is an entirely new form.
What do we feel, when we think of a printer? It doesn't feel good, does it? Printers are the epitome of an annoying product that doesn't work well, needs a lot of maintenance, swallows costly ink and looks like a complicated, unpleasant machine, made by technologists for technologists.
Paper was part of my diploma thesis Interacting With Things and explores how today‘s machines can be used intuitively. I wanted to design a printer that is functional, intelligent, and beautiful. I was inspired by the contemporary aesthetics of the web and apps, but also by the Olivetti Valentine Typewriter and the 1998 iMac.
The design process started with the goal to transform the printer. Therefore I had to start from scratch and rethink the whole product. I came up with the idea to print from an upright roll when I was at home, looking at my printer while brushing my teeth. The next day, I started sketching ideas and shapes.
After sketching I built a first model out of cardboard, and then a second and a third, using a roll of bounty as „paper“. The next step was to make an animation of drawings, where one could see how the paper runs through the printer.
The animation was an important step, because it helped me to explain the concept to people. It was a way to visualise my idea.
The hard part was the user interface. To design a user interface means to prototype a lot. I used arduino and the visual design language vvvv to put inputs and outputs together and create a look & feel for the printer. The final result was a design model with the most important parts of the interface inside, leds, knobs and a switch. The model is made of 3D printed parts, wood, an Arduino and a lot of jumper wires and LEDs.
Interesting, were you able to make a working prototype?