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Printer patents portend driver-free future
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published two patents in the past week that suggest Apple is trying to eliminate the much-loathed printer driver. As first noted by ConceivablyTech, the two patents each describe a way for your Mac to get the necessary driver information from the printer itself or from the cloud, without the need to install any software on the computer itself. The first patent, aptly titled "Walk-up Printing without Drivers," describes how the printer itself could basically contains the driver and the computer would then read that driver wirelessly, which would enable one to print to it. The second patent, titled "Data Formats to Support Driverless Printing, " describes a method in which a user's print job data would be sent to the cloud in the background after the user clicks "print" on his computer. The cloud then encodes that print job with the proper data format for the desired printer and returns the information to the computer, which then passes it on to the printer. It may sound convoluted, but the cloud method all happens in the background in a matter of seconds. Getting the right printer driver has been a bane for computer users since the '80s and with the rise of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, getting the correct driver on a mobile device could be even more bothersome. As Apple's patents suggest, storing the printer driver in the printer itself or in the cloud would be a way to ensure virtually any device can print to any printer.
Visualized: Objet's 3D printer breathes plastic life into Hollywood creatures, layer by layer
It ain't easy being plastic, you know? Objet -- the 3D printing house that aimed to replace your office's all-in-one Epson back in July -- brought a few of its snazziest pieces here to SIGGRAPH, and we popped by to have a gander. Targeting the animation-inspired crowd that showed up here in Vancouver, the company brought along some Hollywood examples of how its multi-material Objet260 Connex helped movie makers craft prototype creatures before they were inserted into the storyline. Thor's Destroyer and Avatar's Na'vi were both on hand, as well as the two critters shown above. The hothead on the right was crafted in around 18 hours (and subsequently painted), while the cool cat on the left was built in three fewer. Wildly enough, that fellow required no painting whatsoever; so long as you're cool with shades of grey, you can program your object to be colored from the outset. Oh, and as for his cost? Around $80 for the materials -- slightly more for the printer itself. %Gallery-130291%
MIT researchers revolutionize solar cell printing, fold the power of the sun into your everyday home (video)
Wouldn't it be neat if you could power a few gadgets around the house with some tastefully chosen, solar cell-embedded curtains? Alright, so this MIT-pioneered tech's not quite that advanced yet, but it's destined to have a Martha Stewart Living future. By eschewing liquids and high temperatures for gentler vapors kept below 120 degrees Celsius, researchers were able to cheaply print an array of photovoltaic cells on "ordinary untreated paper, cloth or plastic." And here's some additional food for thought -- the vapor-deposition process used to create these cells is the same as the one that puts that "silvery lining in your bag of potato chips" -- science, it's everywhere. Despite the tech's home furnishing friendly approach, this breakthrough printing technique can't be done with your everyday inkjet, but it will make the cost of solar energy installations a bit cozier. Its flexible durability aside, the cells currently operate at only one percent efficiency -- so you might want to buy those drapes in bulk to see a real bottom line kickback. Foldable paper video demonstration after the break.
HP adds AirPrint support to more printers
In what it calls a significant expansion of its support for Apple's AirPrint feature, HP has added AirPrint support to eight more of its LaserJet models. AirPrint enables iOS device users running iOS 4.2 or later to wirelessly print documents, photos and other media using printers that support the standard without the cumbersome setup or search for printer drivers that's traditionally been a major stumbling block to printing. By downloading and installing a firmware update from HP, the following printer models will gain full support for AirPrint functions: HP LaserJet P1102w Printer HP LaserJet P1606dn Printer HP LaserJet Pro CP1025nw Color Printer HP LaserJet Pro M1212nf MFP HP LaserJet Pro M1213nf MFP HP LaserJet Pro M1214nfh MFP HP LaserJet Pro M1216nfh MFP HP LaserJet Pro M1217nfw MFP These eight models are in addition to another five LaserJet models which already support AirPrint: HP LaserJet Pro CM1415fn Color MFP HP LaserJet Pro CM1415fnw Color MFP HP LaserJet Pro CP1525n Color Printer HP LaserJet Pro CP1525nw Color Printer HP Color LaserJet Pro M1536dnf MFP
Metamaterial printing method inches us closer to invisibility cloaks
In theory, metamaterials are all kinds of awesome -- they can boost antenna strength, focus lasers, and create invisibility cloaks. But, they've been limited to day dreams lab experiments because producing the light-interfering materials in any practical quantity has been difficult and time consuming. John Rogers, a professor at the University of Illinois has figured out a way to print a layered, nano-scale mesh that bends near-infrared light in much larger amounts than previously possible. The new method, based around a plastic stamp, has been used to create sheets of metamaterial measuring a few square inches, but Rogers is confident he can scale it up to several feet. Who knows, by the time the second installment of The Deathly Hallows hits theaters in July you could get the best Harry Potter costume -- one that lets you sneak in without shelling out $13. [Thanks, Plum G.]
Vienna University of Technology builds a 3D printer, 3D prints the key to our hearts
We've all spent a good portion of the past few years imagining what we'll do as soon as we get our hands on our very own 3D printer. Of course, if you're of the particularly crafty, Make Magazine-subscribing sort, you've probably already built a few of your own. For those who don't know a soldering iron from a freshly-burned hole in their hand, however, it's been a matter of waiting for the technology to come down in size and price. A machine designed by professors at the Vienna University of Technology still has a ways to go on the roughly €1,200 (about $1,700) price, but it weigh in at a bit over three pounds, and that's not for your run-of-the-mill extruder -- this breadbox-sized machine uses lasers to harden plastics, allegedly with enough precision to produce medical parts. Looks like picking out the perfect gift for your professor friends in Vienna just got a lot harder.
Android-based Cellular printer writes text messages on your wall (your real-life one)
Ever wish you could write on people's walls in real life? Behold the Cellular Wall Printer, a collection of felt markers that receives messages via Facebook, Twitter, and SMS, and then transcribes them across any flat surface. Here's how it works: seven individually controlled servo motors push the felt pens up and down to leave dots and dashes in their wake. The contraption is manually operated, and Liat Segal, the inventor, adds that there's a timing system to ensure the printer transcribes neatly, even if you are in motion. Most interesting, perhaps, is the fact that the rig is controlled by an Android application, and uses an IOIO board to connect the electronic components to an Android device. (Our resident mobile expert Myriam Joire is pretty sure we're looking at a skinned Nexus One.) Check out a whimsical video demonstration after the break, with a couple more at the source link.
Shapeways Glazed Ceramics make 3D printed objects you can eat off of
We've seen them spit out fancy glass vases and tiny white strandbeests, and now the 3D thingy makers are pumping out cutesy salt and pepper shakers. Those hyper-glossy white rabbits pictured above are some of the first spawns of Glazed Ceramics, the newly minted food-safe material available from Shapeways. Glazed Ceramics are fired in an oven or kiln like traditional ceramics and are then coated with a lead-free non-toxic gloss -- the result is food-safe, recyclable, and heat resistant up to 1000 degrees Celsius. The new material is now available to Shapeways designers and will be until August 12th, at which point the company will decide whether its worth keeping around. For now you can sate your appetite for 3D printed shiny white dishes by clicking the source link below.
Strandbeests birthed from 3D printer pop out ready to walk (video)
While designer Theo Jansen's dreams of a race of independently multiplying Strandbeests is more than just a little bit out there, it seems he has found a way to streamline production of the rather fascinating self-propelled creatures. In language that is unique to Jansen's relationship with the things, he explains the impact of 3D printing on the Strandbeest production process as such: "Strandbeests have found a way to multiply by injecting their digital DNA directly into the Shapeways system." The 3D printed versions of his strolling mechanisms, known as Animaris Geneticus Parvus, are now available in the Shapeways store, and require zero post-printing assembly. Check out the video after the break for more of Jansen's eyebrow-lifting take on reality.
Printopia updated with customised settings and security
I've been a big fan of Printopia since it first came out. It allows you to print from an iOS device to any printer on a wireless network or directly connected to a Mac. After Apple's half-hearted AirPrint feature was launched, people were pretty upset to learn that it worked on only a handful of HP printers. Printopia fixed that with an app that sits in your system preference window, and gets you printing to just about any printer you have. The app requires a Wi-Fi network for connectivity. The new version adds password security, unlimited virtual printers, and some new customization options giving users full access to printer settings, like page size, paper tray and color settings. It retains the print to Mac function which sends a JPEG or PDF to your Mac, and also allows you to send JPEG and PDFs to Dropbox or Evernote. I've used the original version since it came out and it has been flawless. Current owners can get the update for free by clicking on Printopia in System Preferences, new users will pay US$19.95 and anyone can try a 7 day free trial.
HP enables Google Cloud Print on ePrint printers right out of the box
Man, remember when transferring data to your printer required a big fat cable and physical proximity to your ink spitter? Thankfully, we live in more refined times now and HP and Google have hooked up to deliver the first printers with driverless Cloud Print support, making the whole thing that extra bit easier. HP ePrint printers were already sophisticated enough to receive instructions via email and now they're casting aside the need for a connected PC to talk to Google's Cloud Print service as well. All you need is your machine's @hpeprint.com email address and then you're away, zipping pictures and text from your smartphone, tablet or laptop to the HP paper decorator. It's all seamless and wireless and probably feels like the future when you're doing it. We'd tell you, but we stopped printing stuff in 2004.
Fabricate Yourself Kinect hack turns you into a 3D puzzle piece
We've been whittling our likeness into bars of soap for decades, but lucky for us someone's come up with a far easier way to render our flawless good looks in miniature. Following in a long line of inventive Kinect hacks, the folks at Interactive Fabrication have produced a program called Fabricate Yourself that enlists the machine to capture images of users and convert them into 3D printable files. The hack, which was presented at Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction Conference in January, results in tiny 3D models that resemble Han Solo trapped in carbonite and sport jigsaw edges that can be used to make a grid of small, but accurate renderings. Fabricate Yourself is still in its infancy, and the resulting models are relatively short on detail, but we're no less excited by the possibilities -- just think of all the things we could monogram in the time it takes to produce one soapy statuette. Video after the jump.
EFI adds AirPrint to corporate copiers and printers
AirPrint is wonderful for those of us who can use it to print to home printers, but until now, the technology has been useless for most corporate copier / printers. That's all set to change now that EFI is providing support for AirPrint to its signature Fiery print servers. The PrintMe Connect software enables direct wireless printing from any iOS 4.2 mobile device. The software is free to download, and it works for printing to any Fiery-driven printer. According to EFI, "It is a software application that runs as a proxy on a Windows system to enable AirPrint printing for Fiery-driven printers with System 8/8e or later software version." AppleInsider notes that PrintMe Connect expands AirPrint to work with large format, high end and multifunction printers in the enterprise, and that there are more than 250,000 printers in corporate offices that will benefit from this free update. Up to this point, only HP has announced printers that are officially supported by AirPrint, so it's exciting to see that the iOS printing standard is now making it to the big leagues with EFI. Do you work in an office where your print jobs are routed through a Fiery print server? Let us know if your corporation allows you to use PrintMe Connect for printing from your iOS device. [via AppleInsider]
Google launches cloud printing for iOS devices
Google announced that it is rolling out Cloud Print support for mobile document and mobile Gmail users. Announced in April 2010, Cloud Print lets you print from any device, OS or browser without having to install custom software or proprietary drivers. The idea is simple. You open a Google document on your iOS device, select print, and the document is sent to your printer over the internet. The feature is compatible with devices running iOS 3.0 or higher. While this new service shows promise, there is one catch for Mac users. To set up the Cloud Print system, you need to connect your printer to Google Cloud Print. Currently, this configuration step can only be done on a Windows PC. Google confirmed that it is working on a solution for Mac and Linux users and promised that it would be available soon. Apple is also working on AirPrint, a similar wireless printing service that will let you print a document from your iOS device. AirPrint is slightly limited as it requires the iOS device and the printer to be connected to the same wireless network. There are also third-party solutions like Printopia and Print Sharing that enable wireless printing for iOS and Mac users. [Via MacRumors]
Google brings Cloud Print service to mobile Google Docs, Gmail
You'll still need to have that Windows PC acting as an intermediary, but folks looking to use Google's Cloud Print service now at least have considerably more devices at their disposal to print documents from. Following up its roll-out to Chrome OS netbooks last month, Google has now announced that it's begun rolling the service out to its mobile Google Docs and Gmail sites, which you'll be able to use to print documents from most mobile devices that supports HTML5 -- those running Android 2.1+ or iOS 3+, for instance. What's more, while you will still need that Windows PC connected to your printer for the time being, Google now notes that both Mac and Linux support are "coming soon."
3D printed concert flute rapidly prototypes sound (video)
The world's first store for 3D printed goods just opened in Brussels, and while we imagine they've already got a fair selection of prototyped merchandise to choose, might we suggest they invest in a few production runs of this fabulous new flute? Amit Zoran of the MIT Media Lab -- yes, the same soul who helped dream up a 3D food printer early this year -- has now printed a fully-functional concert flute with a minimum of human intervention. Directing an Objet Connex500 3D printer (which can handle multiple materials at the same time) to spit out his CAD design, dollop by tiny dollop, in a single 15-hour run, he merely had to wash off support material, add springs, and assemble four printed pieces to finish the instrument up. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, of course, so how does it sound? Find out for yourself in the video below.
Epson and Thinxstream making PrintJinni wireless printing app available for free
No doubt sensing a little heat from Apple's own AirPrint, Epson and Thinxstream have now announced that their PrintJinni wireless printing app for iOS devices will soon be available completely free of charge -- a permanent price drop, mind you, not simply a holiday promotion. Unfortunately, you can't grab it for free just yet, as it will still demand the regular $6.99 until the App Store processes the price change, which is apparently expected to happen before the end of the month. Head on past the break for the complete press release.
Google Cloud Print is ready to spool in beta, if you have a Windows PC handy
Google blew the lid off of Chrome OS yesterday in a big way, and one of its key features is now ready to roll. Cloud Print was unveiled back in April, a method to enable Google mobile devices to print via nebulous networking, and it's now here -- with some caveats. The biggest being that right now the only host for a non Cloud Print-compatible printer (basically all but this one) is a Windows PC running Chrome 9.0.597.1 or greater. Set up the service through there and the browser will host your good 'ol printer to your Chrome OS device. Don't have a Chrome OS device? You will. Eventually more printers will support this natively, eliminating the middleman, and we're sure printing support will be coming to Android down the road too. When? In due time, fair reader. In due time.
U.S. government hits snag printing new $100 bills, prints old ones instead
The U.S. Treasury Department may have been eager to open the doors to its money printing factory back in July to show off its brand new $100 bills, but it looks to be a decidedly different story today. As CNBC reports, all of the added security measures have apparently been harder to print than expected, and have resulted in a creasing problem that has left some bills with a blank portion on the face. The real problem, however, is that it's not clear how many bills have the flaw, which has forced the department to "quarantine" some 1.1 billion bills until they can be sorted -- one person familiar with the matter says as many as 30 percent were affected at the height of the problem. As you might expect, that accounts for a pretty big chunk of the bills intended for circulation, which has forced the fed to print some more of the older $100 bills that still feature Bush Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson's signature in the meantime.
AirPrint for less: Deals on HP printers for Cyber Monday
Given the options for getting AirPrint working with your existing gear, it's probably not necessary to run out and get a brand-new printer just to enable output from your iOS 4.2-enabled iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. If you actually need a new printer, however, it's worth considering whether one of HP's AirPrint-ready models is suited to your printing lifestyle. For Cyber Monday, HP is offering instant rebates on all the Photosmart inkjets that are qualified for AirPrint use. While HP's press materials indicate that all of the company's ePrint-capable printers will eventually work with AirPrint, only about 10 printers are ready for iPad printing out of the box or with currently shipping firmware (full list here). Of those, almost all of these are discounted for Cyber Monday, ranging from US$30 off the budget Photosmart D110a (for a total cost of $70) up to $50 off the C510a and $100 off the A910n. All models include free standard shipping for the sale event. Chances are, if you've got an educational or EPP (employee purchase program) discount, you'll be able to shave a few more dollars off these prices. Our colleague Laura Heller at WalletPop suggests checking price aggregator sites like Fatwallet.com or Dealnews to verify that you're getting the best deal, and make sure that your local office equipment chain (OfficeMax, Staples, etc.) won't beat the price.
