printer
Latest
Chrome OS is ready to use printers without the cloud
Despite decades of attempts to straighten out the connections between printers and computers, it's a situation that always (at least for me) seems to have an extra complication. On Chrome OS, ever since launch it has by default relied on Google Cloud Print and compatible printers to get the job done, but now that version 59 has reached the Stable release channel, it's a little easier to use. That's because it has a new ability for "Native Printing," which basically means that it can connect directly to compatible printers on your network, without the need for any cloud connection at all. Some manufacturers and third parties have been getting around the cloud print requirement with extensions like this one, but now support is built in and available to everyone.
The best laser printer
By Ben Keough and Liam McCabe This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. After nearly 250 hours of research and testing over the past few years, we've found that the best choice for an affordable laser printer right now is the Brother HL-L2340DW. Among the dozens of laser printers we've looked at, the L2340DW is one of the most economical and least frustrating models you can buy.
'Archer' mobile game asks you to break out your printer
By their very nature, most augmented reality games are at least a little bit futuristic. The creators of Archer, however, are embracing the past... in more ways than one. FXX's Archer, P.I. mobile game will have you pointing your Android or iOS device at your TV, Facebook and even billboards to scan for clues to a hidden story inside Archer: Dreamland, the film noir-inspired eighth season for the animated series. If you want to claim your rewards and unlock every mystery, though, you'll also have to print and assemble physical objects based on what you see in the show. That's right -- if you've welcomed the paperless future with open arms, you won't get everything the story has to offer.
Scenes from Epson's 'Digital Couture' show at New York Fashion Week
Since 2015, Epson has been giving up-and-coming designers an opportunity to show clothes made with digital printers at New York Fashion Week. This year was no exception. With the Digital Couture Project, the company is trying to push its line of textile printers as an alternative to handmade and heat-based prints, two of the most traditional fabric-design methods. These SureColor machines, which range from $8,500 to $26,000, can print on garments made from cotton, linen, nylon, polyester, silk or wool, letting designers choose from a wide range of materials when working on a collection.
Samsung Galaxy owners can print from their phone with ease
If you own a Galaxy smartphone or tablet, Samsung is about to make it easier for you to print pictures, documents and other files from it. Today, the company announced that its Print Service app for Android now supports the Mopria Print Library, letting you pair your mobile device to over 88 million printers without any extra drivers, apps or similar software. This means you don't have to worry about what brand your host printer is, saving you the headache of having to search for specific tools from different manufacturers.
Xerox shows off a machine that can print on any 3D object
Xerox's new printer works on almost any object -- even if it doesn't have a flat surface. Instead of being able to print on paper, it can print on helmets, bottle caps, water bottles, and anything else made of plastic, metals, ceramics and glass. You just stick whatever you want to mark in there and let the machine do its job. Since the printer sprays ink using nozzles half the width of human hair at around a quarter inch away, it doesn't matter if the object is smooth, rough, curved or flat.
Ancient Windows printer flaw exposes you to malware
Security holes don't always originate in relatively recent bugs... sometimes, they can stem from code written in an entirely different era. Researchers at Vectra Networks have discovered a roughly 20-year-old flaw in Windows Print Spooler (which oversees the printing process) that lets attackers slip malware on to a PC. As the spooler doesn't verify that a printer's drivers are legitimate when you plug the hardware in, it's possible for attackers to install maliciously-coded drivers thorough either the internet or the printer itself. The exploit can not only infect numerous computers if it's shared on a network, but keep infecting as computers discover the peripheral.
The best tech and apps for your home office
By The Wirecutter Staff This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. Read the full article here. You don't need the thinnest, lightest, or most elegantly designed items for your home office. You want reliable, comfortable, efficient tools—but it doesn't hurt if they look nice, too. That's why a team of three experienced remote workers spent more than 150 hours researching and testing new gear and apps, and picking the most office-friendly items from The Wirecutter's guides, to give you a selection of tools that we're sure will earn a place in your workspace.
Xerox adds instant translator feature to some of its printers
Look, we all know Xerox doesn't make the most exciting products, but its new Easy Translator Service is pretty cool. So long as you have one of its ConnectKey-enabled multifunction printers, you don't even have to type out the text you want to translate. Just scan the original document, and the machine will instantly print it out in the language you choose among the 40 37 available.
Samsung printers automatically re-order ink with Amazon Dash
Amazon didn't stop at handy buttons for its Dash re-ordering tech. Back in January, the company announced a collection of devices that leverage the system to automatically order supplies when you're running low. That lineup includes a number of printers from Brother that take care of ink refills when levels begin to disappear. Amazon has now added four Samsung printers to the fold, tapping Dash Replenishment to make sure you're able to continue putting ink to paper as needed.
Build your own action figures with the new ThingMaker 3D printer
The original ThingMaker was all about making little rubbery monsters. However, the new ThingMaker unveiled at Toy Fair this week can make whatever you can imagine in its app -- no metal molds necessary.
Amazon Dash is ready to refill your printer or washing machine
Amazon has been hyping up devices with built-in Dash refill ordering, and the first wave of those devices is finally here. As of today, you can use the Dash Replenishment Service to top up the ink or toner on compatible Brother printers. If you're willing to wait until the end of January, the option will also be available for both a General Electric washing machine and a Gmate blood glucose monitor. Whichever device you get, the only real requirement is that you turn on the service -- Amazon will automatically order resupplies whenever your device is running low.
Tiny microscope lets you see the smallest-ever inkjet prints
No, that's not an up-close look at a monitor. That's the world's tiniest color inkjet image made large, and you may not need it blown up to see it in the future -- if you're willing to lay down some cash. In a hybrid of scientific discovery and publicity stunt, Scrona and ETH Zurich have used nano-sized quantum dots to print a clown fish picture measuring just 0.000014 square inches across, setting a Guinness World Record for the smallest color inkjet image to date. You need a good microscope just to see it, in fact... and conveniently, Scrona is working on just that.
3D printing hair is as easy as using a hot glue gun
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have devised an ingenious method for creating lifelike hair fibers the only requires a common, inexpensive fused deposition modeling (FDM) printer. The technique is surprisingly simple: the printer squeezes out a small dollop of molten plastic and then pulls away, stretching the material into a long strand -- much like the sticky strings that hot glue guns leave behind.
Epson's new printers ease refill woes with ink tanks
We've all been there. It's late, and you have a final project or presentation due first thing in the morning. You've been awake for days and you've finally finished. Only when you go to print, there's no ink. Epson's latest printers offer a simple solution that should go a long way to remedying the issue: they hold more ink. The company's line of EcoTank all-in-one printers house so-called Supertanks instead of individual cartridges that are refilled with bottles of ink. What's more, each of the five models has a reservoir that holds the equivalent of around 20 sets of traditional cartridges (depending on the model, of course) and two support WiFi printing via a mobile device.
Bricasso 'printer' makes mosaic art out of Lego tiles
If you fancy playing with Lego blocks and you're not familiar with Jason Allemann, take a few minutes to browse his work. He's one set of hands behind JK Brickworks, a site that posts rather unique builds with the plastic bits, including gravity-powered walking animals. For his latest project, Allemann built Bricasso: a device that scans an image and then "prints" a mosaic of it using 1x1 tiles. What's more, it's constructed entirely out of Lego parts. Bricasso uses a Mindstorms EV3 color sensor to scan the source photo -- which has to be pixelated from the jump -- and saves the data needed to complete the finished piece.
Game Boy camera gun prints when you shoot
If you had a spare Game Boy Camera and the printer to match, what would you do with them? If you're media artist Dmitry Morozov, you'd make a one-of-a-kind firearm. His GBG-8 gun uses Nintendo's photographic peripherals and an Arduino board to shoot photos (almost literally) and print them on the spot -- effectively, it's a low-resolution Polaroid cam with a trigger. We can't imagine that this would go down well with security officials, but it could be a blast if you want to capture 8-bit memories with more flair than the original Game Boy gear allows. Let's just hope that Morozov offers some instructions so that his picture pistol is easy to reproduce at home.
Someone please put Netflix on Samsung's Android printers
We don't live in an age of products; we live in an age of platforms, which means that even dumb objects like printers need their own app stores. This is why Samsung is now offering a development kit for people to craft applications for its range of Android-running multifunction printers. The idea, as far as the company's David SW Song is concerned, is to let people do "productive work" while they wait for their documents. Suggestions include building apps to correct errors in documents without having to walk back to your PC, or automatically request fresh toner when levels are low. Of course, we're just hoping that someone sneakily ports Netflix so that we can binge on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt while pretending to solve a PC Load Letter issue.
A Polaroid-style phone case can print selfies in under a minute
The allure of instant photo printing may have passed for most folks, despite some semblance of Polaroid hanging around, but a French startup is looking to rekindle the habit. The company is working on Prynt: a phone case that packs a compact printer inside a frame that resembles a point-and-shoot camera. Right now, prototypes are capable of putting ink to paper for physical copies in just under a minute; however, final models will reduce that time to under 30 seconds. The shell also houses 10-30 sheets of paper for individual prints, and thanks to a companion app, outputs can be used to view captured videos with bit of augmented reality magic. There's a physical connection to your phone too, so you won't have to rely on Bluetooth or WiFi to send flies along. Of course, Prynt has a long way to go, but a Kickstarter is planned for early next year where the first units will be available for $99.
Europe's space agency is also sending a 3D printer to the ISS
The ISS will soon serve as home to not one, but two 3D printers, courtesy of the European Space Agency. It's a small cube that measures 10 inches on all sides, and it's slated to reach orbit in the first half of 2015 to coincide with Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti's ISS expedition. The device, called Portable On-Board Printer or POP3D, was developed by Italy's ASI space agency to require very little power while creating objects through a heat-based process -- a technology different from what NASA's device uses. Aboard the ISS, it will be printing out biodegradable plastic components (it's unclear what those parts will be at this point), which will then be sent back to Earth for comparison against similar ones printed on the ground.
