The LG Pocket Photo is 4.76 x 2.83 x 0.94 inches in size and will be taking some little packets of photo paper – special fancy photo paper, mind you – that you’ll be able to purchase individually. The final result is not unlike what you’d create with an instant Polaroid camera, with an image rather true to what you had on the screen. And it’s just so cute!

It’s not entirely clear at the moment if you’ll need to be using an LG smartphone or not with this device at the moment, and you are able to work with Bluetooth as well as NFC, but one thing is for sure: you will need the Pocket Photo app. Which doesn’t do anything for you if you’ve not got the printer, of course. The app is also able to do some basic photo editing and generate QR codes that you’ll subsequently be able to print as well.

Note: we started the process here with the LG Optimus G Pro, then found it easier to just transfer the photo we had to the LG Optimus G units they had on display because they’d already had the Pocket Photo app installed. The resulting photo looks fabulous even though it’d been taken with one device, transferred to the other, then printed wirelessly with an instant process.

The printing process this machine uses is Zink – that’s Zero Ink paper technology. The process is a combination of efforts between the LG Pocket Photo and the paper itself, the paper having a layer of dye crystals that change color according to heat generated by the device. The resulting photo is ever-so-slightly warm when you receive it and doesn’t have any ink to smear – it’s instantly ready to be touched, if you like.

This device will be coming to greater Europe in April and will be costing you right around 130 Euro MSRP. At the moment there don’t seem to be any solid final price or release dates released for the device – we’re hoping soon as well!

Have a peek at the Mobile World Congress 2013 tag portal to see more up to the minute news blasts from Barcelona as well as more hands-on action than you can handle!

The two printing heads allow for printing more complex objects, and whereas the Replicator 2 uses PLA filament, the 2X uses ABS filaments. However, the 2X is supposed to run more smoothly, and print in multiple colors, as well as even multiple materials. The 2X will also be able to print at a 100-micron resolution.

The Replicator has a slightly redesigned chassis, and among the updated features of the new design are an aluminum build platform and print area that’s enclosed by plastic windows. The benefit is that the build area retains heat better than the open chassis of past models from the company, allowing for faster and more reliable printing.

MakerBot will begin taking pre-orders for the Replicator 2X on January 11, and the company says it will begin shipping the printer to customers by mid-March. As for the price, you’re looking at something close to what a high-end MacBook Pro would cost — $2,799 to be exact.

Demand for cameras is actually mixed, Canon says, with different parts of its product range either struggling or  flying off shelves. Compact cameras continue to flail, “due to the stagnation of the global economy” it suggests, while interchangeable-lens cameras saw “robust growth in all regions.” However, the EOS Digital Rebel, 5D Mark III, and 60D all encountered lower sales than predicted.

Elsewhere in the product line, inkjet printers declined and laser printer demand leveled off; only multifunction devices were popular, with sales growing in the US and Europe.

Looking ahead, Canon warns that things may not change quickly. Interchangeable-lens cameras, such as its DSLRs, are tipped to slowly grow in demand, but compact cameras will need “high functionality and high added value” in order to draw consumer attention. Multifunction printers will grow steadily, the Company predicts, particularly in Japan and the US.

However, Canon has cut its full-year 2012 outlook predictions and now estimates a 0.7-percent decline in net sales, year-on-year, and a 5.9-percent decline in net income.

The printer is designed to connect wirelessly to your iPhone or other Apple devices and your Android gadgets allowing you to print full-color photographs without having to connect wires. The smartphone or tablet interacts with the printer using a free app that sends photographs through a wireless network in the home or office to the printer. The printer doesn’t use ink cartridges.

The printer uses an integrated and replaceable print cartridge that supports up to 256 gradations and 16.7 million colors. The photos are printed on special paper that has embedded yellow, magenta, and cyan dye crystals that are able to produce vibrant color photographs that are waterproof and resist fingerprints. The photos also promise to resist dust and scratches as well.

The printer measures seven-inches long by six-inches wide by four-inches high and weighs 3 pounds. It also has the older Apple docking connector on the top for directly connecting your device. It supports iOS 3.0 and up as well as Android 2.0 and higher. The printer is expected to ship on October 15 for $219.95. Replacement printer cartridges sell for $24.95.

Although the size is the headline feature, in fact it’s the ease of use that makes the hologram printer particularly special. It produces Lippman holograms, which traditionally would require a darkened room, real models be photographed, and vibration dampers fitted to keep things sufficiently stable.

Pioneer’s system, however, can run from a 3D CAD file, and demands no technical knowledge beyond hitting print. The resultant holograms can measure up to 75.6 x 50.4 mm, not only big enough for a business card but greetings cards, photographs, and more.

Exactly how much the printer will cost – as well as the print media itself – has not been revealed, though we don’t imagine it will come cheap. Still, who among us wouldn’t pay handsomely for the ability to create tiny hologram cards of ourselves recreating the “You’re my only hope!” Princess Leia pose.

The Replicator 2 has a 100-micron layer resolution, which the manufacturer says is a new standard in professional looking models and accurate, lifelike replicas. The printer is also capable of making large objects up to 410 cubic inches in volume. That works means items as large as 11.2-inches long by 6-inches wide by 6.1-inches high can be made.

The new 3-D printer also ships with updated software enabling faster and more consistent printing. The printer is optimized to work with MakerBot PLA filament. This filament is a renewable bioplastic that is the most popular build material used in 3-D printing. The material is popular thanks to its strength and the ability to make large products without the material cracking or warping.

One interesting feature of the Replicator 2 is that you can make multiple models at one time thanks the large build volume. The slicing engine is also up to 20 times faster than previous technology to allow for quicker printing. The Replicator 2 Desktop Printer sells for $2199.

A collapsable bellows-style assembly extends, to sit your iPhone – or, indeed, any other smartphone with a sizable display – on top. At the bottom there’s a manual shutter and the guts of a Polaroid camera: to use it, you load up the Instant Lab app, pick the photo you want a hard copy of, and slide open the shutter.

There’s a signal to indicate when the exposure – powered only by the phone’s own backlight – is ready, and then it’s a case of closing the shutter and pushing the button; the photo itself is spat out the front. The battery is doog for up to 150 shots, and you can use Polaroid 600 and SX 70 film.

Although it seems a bit gimmicky, it’s obviously found appeal with enough Kickstarter backers: they’ve already pushed it past the $250,000 goal by more than $55k, with 25 days left to run. Mass production should start in mid-February 2013, and the retail price will be $299.

[via Technabob]

Those messages are then printed out by the Little Printer, complete with a monochrome version of the image. The app has a number of filters, intended to help people get the clearest final result given the limitations of the printer itself, but don’t be expecting anything up to even Instagram level of clarity.

Still, it’s a neat tweak, and a sign that the Berg team hasn’t stopped evolving the Little Printer even though it’s now up for preorder and nearing shipping stage. The last update we saw was integration with Foursquare, Google, and other sites, extending the number of data sources for printed text messages.

Unfortunately, Berg says it’s “not sure when or if we’ll launch this,” with the only certainty being that it definitely won’t be in version one as the team doesn’t have time to integrate it properly. The Little Printer is up for preorder now, priced at £199 or $259, with shipping expected in mid-October.

The innovations continue with a smaller set of ink cartridges that are able to handle super high page yields at the same time as taking up less space in the machine than with previous units. This unit totes no less than four of the most fabulous next-generation features Brother has to offer:

• Fastest in class print speeds
• Smallest in class footprint
• Low cost printing
• Easy-to-use TouchScreen/TouchPanel display

This line is able to create automatic two-sided (duplex) prints and can print onto 11 x 17-inch paper as well. The Business Smart Series is anchored by the flagship model MFC-J4510DW, which comes in at an estimated street price of $199. This unit specifically will be popping up in office superstores and Best Buy stores across the USA in October of this year.

The MFC-J4510DW Brother Business Smart Series color inkjet all-in-one printer will come with a 3.7-inch Swipe TouchScreen Display plus TouchPanel. It’s also able to connect to the web and print via Google Cloud Print, Brother iPrint&Scan, Wi-Fi Direct, and Cortado Workplace. You’ll be able to hold up to 150 sheets of paper in this device’s paper tray and you’ll have up to 20-page automatic document feeding as well for faxing, copying, or scanning.

BONUS: Brother is the same company that works with Project Runway, the fashion-forward TV series whose recent season winner Anya Ayoung Chee we got the opportunity to speak with this year at CES 2012. Have a peek!

At the time, we didn’t know some of the key details on the Little Printer. The launch date was a very vague “2012″ and pricing wasn’t mentioned. If you found yourself intrigued by the Little Printer, new details are now available. The device is up for preorder right now and will be available in about 60 days.

The retail price is pegged at $259 plus shipping. Since we initially heard about the printer, the BergCloud software that runs the device has been updated to allow you to pull updates to print from additional places. It now supports sites such as foursquare and Google. That means you can print out task lists, location updates, and other messages from friends.

I still think this is a very strange little device. I wonder if it uses standard thermal paper that you can purchase office stores, or if you have to order special paper. If you don’t remember this device from last year, check out the video for a few more details.

[via Engadget]

Manufacturers Lantronix say the Home Edition is optimized for USB printers of the sort most home users will have, rather than the enterprise range the original model catered for. There are no drivers or installations required, only a case of plugging in the printer and waiting a while for it to be automatically recognized.

Although there’s only one USB printer port, the xPrintServer can actually handle up to eight: you’ll need to supply your own USB hub, however. It can also handle up to two network printers and an unlimited number of iOS clients.

The xPrintServer Home Edition is up for pre-order now, priced at $99.95, and is expected to ship in 3-4 weeks. There’s a list of supported printers here.

The new printer is called the Epson Expression Home XP-400 Small-in-One, and it sells for under $100. The printer has a 2.5-inch LCD touch panel screen on the front and integrated memory card slots for printing photos from memory cards without a computer. The printer uses Epson’s DuraBrite Ultra Ink and has integrated Epson Connect, Apple AirPrint, and Google Cloud Print for wireless printing from smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.

The printer is an all-in-one that can print, scan, and copy and measures 15.4 x 20.8 x 11.0 inches. The scanner has a 2400 dpi resolution, and the printer can automatically correct over and underexposed digital photos. Red eye removal is also integrated into the printer and most popular photo sizes can be printed. The printer will launch in June from $99.99 online and in retail stores.

We’ve not had the opportunity to try this all-in-one out with the rest of the mobile phone world like Android and iOS, but Bluetooth is the connection you’ve got here indeed. You can also scan to a PC, print via email, or work with a USB drive or a variety of memory cards to print in your modern mobile world. You’re also able to scan and convert to PDF or JPEG on the fly for instant placement on any of the connected media listed above.

This machine works with a lithium ion battery, again, that you can charge up so you can work without being plugged into the wall at all. This battery is said by HP to be able to keep this machine powered up printing 500 pages – amazing! We’ll have to wait for that test until we’ve got the device on the test bench – for now we can say this: the device looks nice and by all means does appear to do exactly as HP says. This device will be out on the market inside May 2012, check it out!

The Photosmart 5520 e-All-in-One is designed to work in a dorm room or another tight area. The color touchscreen comes with a variety of apps, and wireless printing with HP’s ePrint or direct wireless printing from Apple’s AirPrint for OS X and iOS. Naturally it includes a full photo scanner and borderless photo printer.

The HP LaserJet Pro 400 MFP M425dn is designed for a slightly more business-oriented environment. It’s got a 3.5-nch color touchscreen and a direct USB port for printing from USB drives, scan-to-email and scan-to-network functions and a smart install feature for easy set-up. Speeds of up to 35 pages per minute compliment wireless offerings from HP ePrint, Wireless Direct and Apple AirPrint.

HP’s LaserJet Enterprise 500 color MFP 575 series is a beast of a printer designed specifically for the enterprise, with a massive 8-inch color control screen. It gets all the bells and whistles, including a 50-sheet automatic document feeder, speeds of up to 31 pages per minute and integrated network functions with an encrypted hard drive. The LaserJet Enterprise 500 color MFP 575 starts shipping in June.

The HP Scanjet Enterprise 7000 s2 is a specific scanner designed to work for those who need to scan massive amounts of documents daily. The 7000 can handle 45 scanned pages a minute and up to 90 individual images per minute, and is rates for 3000 pages every day. It comes with a suite of software including ISIS®, TWAIN, Kofax ® VirtualReScan® Pro and IRIS ReadIris PRO OCR. Management comes via a web administrator. The HP Scanjet Enterprise 7000 s2 will start shipping later this month.

The printer concept works with all Apple compatible devices and has the same small size and design as the printer we saw at the beginning of the year. It also prints 3×4-inch photos in less than a minute that are smudge proof. The printer weighs 15-ounces and is powered by lithium-ion battery.

The new concept version uses the same Zink zero ink printing technology. That printer tech uses no ink inside and instead uses a paper with cyan, yellow, and magenta dye crystals embedded inside. This is very much like an advanced version of the old Polaroid cameras we had back in the 80s.

The two new options give users the ability to print a file directly to an Android device and to print the file to local FedEx store location. That means if you’re out and about on business, and you need to print an important document, you can walk into any FedEx office location and print out your document.

To be able to print to the FedEx store, the user doesn’t have to actually be in the store to send the document. They can shoot the document from their smart phone to the FedEx location, then go to the store and enter a retrieval code to get the printed copy. To be able to print to Android, the device needs to be running Android 4.0 and have Chrome for Android installed.

[via ArsTechnica]

“Combining these two entities will rationalize HP’s go-to-market strategy, branding, supply chain and customer support worldwide” HP said of the change. “This will lead to a better customer experience and drive innovation across personal computing and printing. This realignment is expected to provide opportunities for cost savings and accelerate HP’s ability to pursue profitable growth and reinvest in the business.”

That reinvestment could well be throwing good money after bad. Printers haven’t been sexy in years – if, in fact, they were ever sexy – and are generally hulking plastic giveaways intended to get consumers hooked on expensive ink. Post-PC, meanwhile, might be a Steve Jobs buzzword but it’s undoubtedly a sign of the direction the consumer market is going: shifting away from traditional desktops, laptops and netbooks as tablets and oversized smartphones occupy the multimedia, browsing and messaging niches most PCs were used for.

Still, there are potential upsides to the shift. Corporate sniping and mixed management messages were among the factors blamed for the dire handling of webOS and the short-lived TouchPad, with insiders claiming control of the group became a prize to be won rather than a serious challenge to the iPad and Android. There’s no denying, too, that HP’s PC line-up has been underwhelming of late too; the few outliers, such as the Folio 13 ultrabook, are awash in a sea of me-too laptops and desktops.

What HP needs to do next is keep its newly-combined group focused, and Bradley must be ruthless in looking beyond what ostensibly seems like a good idea but, underneath, is poorly thought-through and ill-advised. A good example of that is HP ePrint, the company’s attempt to make inkjet printers relevant to smartphones and tablets like the iPad. Forwarding an emailed document to the printer would produce a hard copy, but HP neglected to add support for even the most basic tweaks, like selective page printing. 300 page PDF? ePrint was all-or-nothing.

We asked HP about the ability to choose an individual page or range of pages back at ePrint’s launch in mid-2010. The company’s reps nodded and said it was a good idea, something they’d definitely look into; then they pretty much left ePrint alone and moved onto The Next Big Thing instead.

Ditching webOS and the TouchPad was similarly short-sighted, with the tablet axed and the platform put out to open-source pasture in the space of a few cash-hemorrhaging months. The lingering impression was that HP had no long-term strategy beyond its “make ‘em cheap and get ‘em out the warehouse” model, that it didn’t have anything in the way of longer-term perspective. If something isn’t immediately successful, bin it and try something completely different: in short, pivot so fast that centrifugal force throws away anything good you’ve developed along with anything bad, and hope that it slips everyone’s attention.

People will inevitably always need printers, at least for the foreseeable future, and businesses – and some subset of regular consumers – will need traditional PCs too. Those mundane markets, though, don’t appear to be what HP is hoping to chase. If the new Printing and Personal Systems Group is to do better than its disparate forebears, HP will need to remember and learn from its mistakes, rather than do as much as possible to forget about them.

The newly merged group will be led by HP’s Tom Bradley. HP figures that the combined groups will help to improve branding, supply chain, and customer support worldwide. HP also figures that combining the two groups will provide cost savings and help HP grow profits. Presumably, some cost savings will come in the ability to shed some redundant workers between the two groups. However, HP mentions no layoffs.

HP says it’s also streamlining other key business functions such as Global Accounts Sells a merging it with the HP Enterprise Group that includes enterprise servers, storage, networking, and technology services. HP also figures of the new structuring will help speed decision-making to increase the productivity and efficiency of the divisions. HP is also unifying some of its marketing functions across multiple business units. The official announcement confirms rumors that were circulating yesterday.

To put it into context, the Vienna team’s printer can create hardened resin layers at a rate of five meters per second. In comparison, earlier 3D nanoscale printers could print at rates measured in millimeters per second. That allows for multiple layers – 100 in the case of the F1 model – to be stacked incredibly quickly, though still with accuracy: the variance from the original CAD file is just ±1µm.

What makes the system so fast is the combination of more precisely controlled mirrors to focus the lasers along with a new type of resin. The latter only hardens when two laser beams combine, and even then only at the very center of the beam, meaning solids can be created “anywhere within the liquid resin rather than on top of the previously created layer only.”

Tiny race cars are impressive but not especially useful, but the Vienna researchers have medical advancements in mind. They’re experimenting with bio-compatible resins, which would allow tiny “scaffolds to which living cells can attach themselves” to be printed, eventually interwoven into the fabric of the body.

[via 3D Printing News]

The first 3D printers could be considered rapid prototype machines which started to be widely available in the late 1980s. They started to work on a real level much earlier than that. Take the short time it’s been between the massive computers popping up in the last 100 years, inside our lifetimes, and the ultra tiny world of nanoprocessors today and you can see that we’re developing now at an absolutely explosive, exponential rate.

One article last week by Christopher Mims on Why 3D Printing Will Go the Way of Virtual Reality you’ll find that his view shows a less optimistic vision for the 3D printing world. While the technology today allows for plastics to be molded to our specifications in little to no time at all, it’s a long push to materials that otherwise need massive heat, time, effort, and other fine features to get the ball rolling. The big mind-over-matter thought comes from Tim Maly then of Quite Babylon who notes the time it’s taken to get from the press to the home press. It all seems reasonable to me.

So what do you think, home citizens? Do you think we’ll be printing up everything from toys to food to our own computers and back again soon? Or is it all in our imagination?

[Image via Wil Wheaton]

According to the notorious file-sharing site, users will soon be distributing CAD (computer aided design) files just as they exchange music and video today. Those files, when loaded into a 3D printer such as MakerBot’s recently launched Replicator, can be used to extrude custom objects.

At the moment, 3D printing is relatively expensive – the Replicator is making headlines as it comes in at under $2,000, for instance – and the cheaper models are limited in what they can create and the materials they work with. As hardware evolves, however, a situation similar to the home printer market is envisaged: low cost devices that can create just about everything we currently buy – albeit perhaps in component form, ready for assembly – from raw ingredients.

TPB has already set up a “physibles” category for downloads, albeit currently sparsely populated, in preparation for what the site reckons will be The Next Big Thing in digital exchanges. Currently most CAD files don’t come with DRM, but that’s expected to change as brands realize they can offer limited edition printable objects

[via Extreme Tech]

What you do is plug the box into the wired network in your home or office. Once connected the device will let your iPhone print to any shared or network printer on the network. The device will work with just about any device on iOS, including iPads and iPhones. The device will be on display at Digital Experience during CES and will start to ship in January.

The device supports over 4,000 different printers, including office stalwarts like Epson, Brother, HP, and a bunch more. The xPrintServer will cost you $149.99. It uses the native iOS print menu needing no app to work, and it needs no printer drivers either.

[via Engadget]

Update: HP has issued us with a statement; you can find it after the cut.

That, in the demo, built enough heat to cause paper to brown and begin to smoke, before a thermal switch came to the rescue. Whether that would always be the case is unclear. [HP says the thermal breaker would automatically kick in, and could not be overcome by malicious firmware.] However, it’s arguably less destructive implementations that could be more worrying, for instance reprograming the printers to send copies of any print jobs they receive to a third-party via their network connection.

In that way, corporate spying could be facilitated, with a business’ own printer hardware sharing their confidential documents. The hacked firmware can be installed by printing a document with the tweak embedded – such as by sending a file attached to an email for someone to print – but some printers can also be used via the internet and so might be open to remote modification.

Once tampered with, no outward indication of the changed status is given, leaving owners unaware of the security implications. The reprograming itself takes just 30 seconds, and PC anti-virus and malware software isn’t set up to scan printer hardware.

HP was made aware of the flaw prior to the researchers going public, though disagrees with some of the conclusions – and the extent of the issue – that the Columbia team have identified. For instance, it claims that digital firmware signing and limits around what can trigger updates mean the chances of a printer being compromised are considerably lower. Still, the nature of embedded systems like those at the heart of a printer and other internet-connected devices mean they’re expected to be increasingly the weak spot of network security.

Update: HP has given us the following statement, which is claims addresses wide-spread “inaccuracies in coverage related to printer security.” Understandably the firm is particularly keen to put any overheating issues into context, though there’s also the promise of a firmware upgrade that will address the loophole the Columbia University researchers have identified.

We’re following up with HP for a list of the impacted printers, as well as a timescale for the firmware update.

HP Statement:

Today there has been sensational and inaccurate reporting regarding a potential security vulnerability with some HP LaserJet printers. No customer has reported unauthorized access. Speculation regarding potential for devices to catch fire due to a firmware change is false.

HP LaserJet printers have a hardware element called a “thermal breaker” that is designed to prevent the fuser from overheating or causing a fire. It cannot be overcome by a firmware change or this proposed vulnerability.

While HP has identified a potential security vulnerability with some HP LaserJet printers, no customer has reported unauthorized access. The specific vulnerability exists for some HP LaserJet devices if placed on a public internet without a firewall. In a private network, some printers may be vulnerable if a malicious effort is made to modify the firmware of the device by a trusted party on the network. In some Linux or Mac environments, it may be possible for a specially formatted corrupt print job to trigger a firmware upgrade.

HP is building a firmware upgrade to mitigate this issue and will be communicating this proactively to customers and partners who may be impacted. In the meantime, HP reiterates its recommendation to follow best practices for securing devices by placing printers behind a firewall and, where possible, disabling remote firmware upload on exposed printers.

HP will continue to educate customers about security risks and the features available to address them, and take proactive steps to maintain the security of devices in the field. HP Imaging and Printing Security Solutions work directly at the device and on the network to protect information at rest and in motion, and to prevent unauthorized access.

Additional information is available at www.hp.com/go/secureprinting.

The idea is that the printer will produce a little newspaper for you to peruse. Naturally, you could just use a tablet or a smartphone to read this content like the rest of us. The device will launch in 2012 as a beta product. Pricing is unknown. It appears that the printer itself is thermal.

The paper appears to be the continuous roll sort. Thermal printing means if you leave printouts in the hot sun or keep it too long you might lose that content. The printer can print text and pixel art as well. What do you think of this thing? Check out the video below.

HP has been wedded to the idea of webOS in printers since the early days of its Palm acquisition, though we’re yet to see the platform actually show up in a paper cruncher. The OS would presumable replacing Android in models similar to the HP eStation C510, shown above, which used Google’s open-source platform – along with a reskin from HP’s own software engineers – on a removable control tablet with social networking integration and other multimedia tools.

The guess is that HP has already been working on its webOS printer line-up, and is keen not to scrap those new models in the pipeline while still washing its hands of webOS responsibility. Also up for grabs are Palm’s patents, themselves potentially a money-spinner in this age of high-profile litigation.

Previous potential buyers cited in earlier leaks include Oracle and Samsung, though most companies publicly named have been quick to distance themselves from rumors.

The 12-color ink system offers a larger color gamut and the printer also has a new Chroma Optimizer for increased black levels. The inks are Lucia pigment inks for increased permanence. That permanence allows prints to be sold or exhibited without worrying they will fade over time. The printer supports 1200ppi input resolution and prints with resolution up to 4800 x 2400 dpi.

The print head is a Canon FINE unit with 12,288 nozzles. The printer also has an OIG system for color reproduction. The printer needs 2 minutes and 55 seconds to print a gallery quality image. The paper tray can handle up to 14-inch wide photo paper and heavy fine art paper. Pricing and availability on the printer is unknown. You can see more about the printer in the video below.

There have also been rumors swirling around that Amazon was looking to buy WebOS from HP. That would seem to indicate that the aim for HP moving forward would be licensing for the OS. I would expect with webOS failing at every turn that the licensees would be few and far between. The HP source also said that webOS would appear next year.

This isn’t the first item we have heard webOS was coming to printers, but it’s just as boring this time around. Do you think WebOS has any chance of succeeding in the printer world? There was no hint of webOS in other products.

[via Pocket-lint]

I would certainly give the man bonus points for originality. The printer is made from wood and a lot of ingenuity along with various bits from old optical drives. The mechanical parts you see were scavenged from the old CD drives and then mounted onto the wood frame of the printer. An Arduino controller is the brains for the printer.

The printer has network connectivity to get the feeds from the web and print them out. I’m not sure exactly what the print ink being used is. I don’t see anything in the build notes about the ink cartridge. The finished product is very odd in an impressive sort of way. Check out the video to see the build process.

[via Make]

Canon has announced that several of its Pixma printer models now support Apple AirPrint for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod models. AirPrint support is now offered on the Pixma MG8220, MG6220, and MG5320 printers. That means you can print anything from photos to email, web pages and documents with no need to mess with drivers or apps.

AirPrint natively allows you to print that sort of document. You will need to update the firmware on the printers to support the new feature though. With the firmware installed, you will be ready to print your documents. The iOS devices need to be running iOS 4.2 or later to print.

The concept is a 3D printer that is designed for kids that would be able to sit on a desk in the home and let the kid design and print anything they want. The guys behind Origo are Joris Peels and Artur Tchoukanov, both are former i.materialise workers. The video below shows the kid designing their 3D object on a tablet device and sending it to the printer.

Origo says that the printer is expected to cost about the price of three Xbox 360 game consoles if they can reach their goal. The printer will also be about the size of three Xbox 360s. The idea is that the printer would be able to recycle the material it uses to make it more green and less costly. This sounds interesting to me.

[via Make]

With consumers and small businesses becoming more connected and mobile, Kodak has produced the Hero printers to meet the demands of this new lifestyle. The Hero printers work with Google Cloud Print as well as Kodak Email Print, allowing users to send documents or photos to the printers from any internet-connected device, including laptops, smartphones, and tablets.

“Google Cloud Print feature lets users print from an app, on any device, to any printer without the need for drivers or a PC connection,” said Google Product Management Director Mike Jazayeri. “The service works with existing printers as well as with a new generation of Google Cloud Print Ready printers, so we’re very excited that Kodak’s new HERO All-in-One Printers support the service.”

There are five models in the series with the top of line being the Kodak Hero 9.1, followed by 7.1, Office Hero 6.1, 5.1, and 3.1. The differences between the models include number of paper trays, paper capacities, size of the color display, and whether the display is touchscreen or requires a separate control panel. Prices start from $99.99 and go up to $249.99.

[via Kodak]

It has integrated Epson Wireless connectivity to allow the user to print directly from their network. The wireless connectivity supports networks up to 802.11n speed. The NX430 also supports cloud printing and it can print email sent from a smartphone as well as photos, documents, and websites. The printer has a 2.5-inch LCD and smart touch panel for selecting and printing photos.

It has separate color ink cartridges and the inks are instant drying to prevent smears and smudges. The ink is also water resistant on all paper types. The printer has tech to correct photos automatically. It can scan with 2400dpi resolution for photos and documents. The print speeds are ISO 6.2ppm in black and 3.2 ppm in color. The printer will ship this month for $99.99.

A design firm from Norway called Skrekkøgle has developed a weird printer that has been modded and can print a photo of your pet using those cremated pet remains. The exact process the company used to turn the ashes into the photo is unknown. I wonder if they didn’t just mix the ashes with some black ink and be done with it.

The designers don’t say how much the printing costs, but you can drop them an email if you want to remember Fido with a print like this. I wonder how long it takes to print a photo of your dog like this. What do you think is this a normal thing for owners that lose a pet or just plain weird?

[via Popphoto]

The special chocolate 3D printer was created with funding from the Research Council UK Cross-Research Council Program – Digital Economy. That a huge name, but what it boils down to is this printer was funded because it would allow someone to upload a digital file and create custom chocolates in whatever shape or design they want. The print medium can be changed as well to support printing in non-edible materials.

The team of researchers was led by Dr. Liang Hao and the experiments used chocolate as the medium because the stuff is cheap. I would bet making chocolate shapes also ensures that the staff on the project comes to work as well. The medium is also green since any leftover can be melted and reused or gobbled up. The process can be adapted to other print materials for making things like custom jewelry and more.

[via Inhabitat]

“This market is in it’s infancy and there is plenty of room for both of us to grow” Kerris insists. “It would be ignorant for us to say that we are going to take it [the market] away from Apple.” Nonetheless, HP is looking to make the most of what advantages the TouchPad and webOS have over the iPad, even if they’re relatively short-lived. “We’re the tablet that when you take it out of the box it doesn’t ask you to connect to something to get started” Kerris highlights, though as of iOS 5 later this year the iPad will no longer demand to be set up via a connection to iTunes.

Challenged with recent reviews of the TouchPad and webOS 3.0, the new version of the software platform HP acquired from Palm a year ago today, and which pointed out a number of shortcomings, Kerris expects OTA updates to answer most of the complaints. “As long as you have a plan, you’ll be fine” he says, though it’s unclear whether he’s referring to a data plan – despite no 3G version of the TouchPad being available yet – or HP’s own roadmap of updates.

“It’s not just about the tablet. It’s about the OS, the ecosystem and connecting devices like phones, printers, tablets and computers together” Richard Kerris, VP of worldwide developer relations, HP

In the end, though, it’s HP’s ambitions for webOS across multiple devices that the exec believes will carve out its niche. Cross-platform support for Synergy profiles – the account webOS uses to pull in email, messaging, calendar, multimedia and other data from multiple services like Gmail, Exchange and Facebook – will be implemented across not just phones and tablets but, as of 2012, HP’s desktop computer range.

The Solar Sinter was completed in the middle of May and then Kayser and his creation headed out into the Sahara desert in the area of Siwa, Egypt to put his creation to the test for two weeks. The concept worked and creates a cool process that can be harnessed for the design and creation of 3D items that people need. The device uses solar energy to turn the sand into a form of glass.

The Solar Sinter uses open source ReplicatorG software, which is a 3D printing program. The finished project is on display at the Royal College of Art graduate exhibit right now. Check out the video below to see the solar Sinter in action.

[via Creative Applications]

And that’s not all, these prints react to backlights! Welcome back to psychedelia! What Kobundo have done is to print images to look rather unassumingly monotone in normal light, while with a backlight shining at them, they appear perfectly bright and colored correctly as they’d normally appear with no special light at all using traditional printing techniques. But how is this single pass accomplished?

In a rather simple way, as it turns out.

By taking out CMYK cartridges not needed for certain prints and replacing them with the special luminous alternate RGB inks, the first step is accomplished. Once this is set up correctly, the folks at Kobundo start up their specially formulated software created specifically for this technique, running the printer all at once for one single dual-image print.

As Keizo Ohashi of Kobundo notes:

“The effect changes according to the material we choose. So in the beginning we have to go by trial and error. Here the yellow Lamborghini turns red. But the colors might be stronger or weaker, and conversely it is difficult to turn a red Lamborghini yellow. This is something people won’t understand until they try it. People who have some experience can understand it, but in the beginning they don’t.”

“We want people to see the accuracy of these colors and once the see it they understand, because “A picture is worth a thousand words”. Rather than people just saying “It glows”, we want people to be more surprised and say “It’s beautiful!”.”

This technique can be seen in the video below, as presented by Diginfo:

Sound like a technique you’d like to try out? Finally, a gift for your weird uncle who lives in a backlight world, only emerging from his den of darkness for more pizza and video games. A delight!

[via Akihabara News]

The 3D printer used in the project was the RepRap 3D printer the maker also used Open SCAD to generate working house keys. To make the keys the user inputs the key code for the lock into a parametric OpenSCAD model. Then the printer will print the key and the key should actually work. I would worry that the 3D printed key might not be strong enough to survive repeated locking and unlocking.

The designer verified that the system worked by printing out keys for a box of locks bought off eBay that had Kwikset KW1 and Schlage SC1 locks inside. Those are apparently the most common locks in use today. The builder offers the files needed to create the keys as well. The only thing that bothers me about this is that it might be something that people could use to gain access to someone’s home without permission.

[via Eclecti]

The GL10 Instant Mobile Printer is on sale now at the Bloomingdale’s 59th St. flagship store in NYC, but will start rollig out to other select Bloomingdale locations by the end of June. It’s already available for pre-orders on Polaroid.com and will be available on HSN.com starting May 27th. It will also hit Costco stores starting June 20th.

This nifty little mobile printer uses Polaroid’s second-generation Zink (zero ink) technology, which is capable of instant 3×4-inch smudge-proof prints. Powered by a rechargeable lithium ion batter, the GL10 can last up to 35 prints and can print via USB or wirelessly over Bluetooth. The printer itself is priced at $169.99 but the print media is priced at $19.99 per pack of 30 sheets.

[via CNET]

The printer has seven different servo controlled motors that move the seven markers up and down to make them contact the wall and write the message. The servos actuate as the user pulls it across the wall and writes the message out in large dots and slashes. The printer is controlled by an Android phone that is attached to an IOIO board.

The control app is an Android offering. When a message comes into the Android phone attached to it, they device is ready to print your message. This is geek tagging at its finest. You can check the manual, automatic printer out below in the video to see just how it works.

[Liatsegal.blogspot via Make]