By Evan Ackerman
We’ve seen book copiers before, but this hulking piece of hardware is a full fledged book creator. Beginning with little more than a digital file and a ream of paper, the Espresso Book Printer is able to create a bound paperback copy of any book in its memory in a matter of minutes. It works via the extraordinarily low-tech method of combining a couple printers with a conveyor belt, some hot glue, and maybe a miter saw. You can find the first commercial version at the New York Public Library’s Science, Industry and Business Library.
So what cardinal rule of libraries does the Espresso book printer break? I’m not talking about printing out copyrighted material (which it’s not really supposed to do). I’m not talking about the fact that it costs 5 cents a page (which goes against the whole principle of libraries). I am, of course, talking about the godawful amount of noise that this thing makes:
[ On Demand Books ] VIA [ Engadget ]
Hmmm… seems so… uhm… perfect? Ya know, when someone says something is “perfect” to me that many times in less than 6 minutes… I start to have my doubts.
Wow! Just when I thought all hope was gone! As an author and new publishing company, I welcome this new product! I hope this system allows for full color bleeds on every page!