A pocket-sized printer you can take anywhere

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This mini Roomba-like printer will make paper trays and feeders a thing of the past.

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Think printing is boring? Tedious? Annoying? You may want to check those thoughts at the door after seeing this pocket-sized printer from a team of young Makers. After making its Kickstarter debut last year, Jerusalem-based ZUta Labs is ready to begin production on its revolutionary little gadget, aptly dubbed the Pocket Printer. The way we put ink to paper is about to change!

The teardrop-shaped device is not a typical tabletop inkjet — or even a miniaturized version of one for that matter. Rather, Pocket Printer is an untethered robot comparable in size to a CD case — just 10.2cm in diameter — that features a set of omni wheels and a printer cartridge tethered to an [Atmel based] Arduino board. Once placed down, the device begins to run along the paper, using its aforementioned wheels and a high-res optical sensor to move around, distributing ink wherever it’s needed. For multi-paged documents, simply pick up the printer and place it onto the the next blank sheet of paper.

The company hopes that the nifty device will appeal to architects, designers, engineers and others alike, offering an affordable alternative to the big and expansive wide format printers currently in use in those fields. Or, those needing a last-minute print as they wait for their Starbucks latte or needing to complete form before your next class, you’re in luck! However, it’s imperative to note that the Pocket Printer isn’t a suitable option for those in a rush — especially as it only prints 1.2 pages per minute.

Having recently finished an incredibly successful crowdfunding campaign — which garnered over $511,000 — ZUtA Labs is accepting pre-orders from non-Kickstarter backers, and is in the process of working on creating an even smaller device with faster, higher quality output.

“I had this idea in my head for some time. We presented it to some professors at our institute, and to the institute’s management… We passed three committees, and got the initial funding. We used that money to hire an electrical engineer, one of the institute’s top students, and started rolling out as a company. What makes it an even ‘smarter’ idea is that the device can connect via Bluetooth to any device,” explained ZUta co-founder Tuvia Elbaum.

Since it doesn’t require any special drivers, ZUtA can be be accessed from any PC or mobile device, either by using the traditional print function or its app. It will work with paper of all sizes and is capable of printing approximately 400 sheets of paper on a standard, replaceable ink cartridge. The printer will also be able to last for up to an hour on a full battery and can be recharged via a USB cable.

As the company puts it, “It’s the little things that matter.” We (especially our tinyAVR line) couldn’t agree more! For those who may not have had a chance to see the device up close at CES 2015, you can head on over to the company’s official website here. The team, who was recently honored with a CES Best of Innovation Award, is hoping to have the Pocket Printer shipped by September 2015. You can now pre-order your handheld printer for just $199.