I usually have either a computer, a tablet, or a smartphone in front of me most of the time (sigh). Consequently, I rarely have the need of a lot of printouts. In fact I have even given up physical books and tried to move towards e-books for all of my reading. But there are times when a small printout would be handy, even to someone like myself.
This is where the Little Printer comes into play. The almost retro device, designed by London based BERG, serves as a happy medium between your digital life and the physical world by producing a hard copy. This hard copy can be taken with you and, perhaps most importantly, be shared and posted. The device works in tandem with other software (including an iPhone app) and the cloud to allow you to subscribe to various updates across the web.
The end result is a customized mini-newspaper that you can schedule to be delivered with your morning coffee. Of course you can also print things out on demand, and perhaps send and receive messages and status udates on your Little Printer.
The device is a diminutive ink less thermal printer which hooks up wirelessly to the web. The Little Printer is scheduled to hit the market in 2012, and from what we've seen it could find a niche market. One thing is certain – it is one of the cutest web peripherals to come along in a while.
Hello Little Printer, available 2012 from BERG on Vimeo
Thermal Printer
A thermal printer (or direct thermal printer) produces a printed image by selectively heating coated thermochromic paper, or thermal paper as it is commonly known, when the paper passes over the thermal print head. The coating turns black in the areas where it is heated, producing an image. Two-color direct thermal printers can print both black and an additional color (often red) by applying heat at two different temperatures.
source:wikipedia
