30 June 2009 | Uncategorized | kimm

Printers aren’t the most attractive things you can have in your house. People try different ways to hide them all the time with mixed results. But what if the printer was actually a piece of art, or at least something cool you could show off?

Science-fiction fan and environmentally friendly? Consider an entry in a university project at the Victoria University of Wellington School of Design in New Zealand. Students had about four weeks to create a 3D printer that was also green.

Environmental Choice, a future-focussed, government-backed ecolabel which was sponsoring the project, loved the printer “Equinox” which was designed by Emma Bull. It is powered by the sun and uses recycled paint to sculpt objects. It looks like something out of Minority Report, but a lot less temperamental than Tom Cruise.

If you want a green printer that prints in 2D and doesn’t cost thousands of dollars, look at the RITI Coffee Printer. This minimalist printer has a streamlined look, uses old coffee grounds as ink and human motion as power. It would be great to take on vacation. Alas, it isn’t quite a reality, but as one of the finalists in the Green Gadgets Designer Competition, there are hopes that someone will take a leap and put this into production. Plus, it is white and lime green. How can you not love that?

Trying to stay in touch with your inner child? Consider Canon’s Selphy CP770 Hello Kitty Portable Photo Printer. Not only is it pink enough to make Molly Ringwald take notice, but it is also portable with a handle making it easy to take to the prom.

Casio has a printer that has a neat design too. (Yes, THAT Casio.) This one would have been perfect for Bart Simpson in “Radio Bart”, one of my all-time favorite episodes of The Simpsons. If you’ll remember, at the beginning of the episode, Bart gets a label maker from his aunts and uses it to put “Property of Bart Simpson” on everything in the house including the dog. Bart’s label maker looks like a cross between a UFO and a handgun.

Don’t get me wrong. The old label makers have a very retro, astronaut look to them, but the Casio USB Label Printer has its own appeal. The egg-shaped printer is small, easy to put into your laptop bag and has a soothing color scheme. All you have to do is plug it into your USB port and you are ready to go.

Imagine the damage Bart could have done with this little printer. The entire town of Springfield would have been the “Property of Bart Simpson”.

Lastly, you can hide the printer altogether. Yanko Design has come up with a printer that is an end table with a modern look. Designed by Lukas Koh, this printer is perfect for a small study at home or a small office at work especially if you have a minimalist theme going.

So if you are looking for a way to make your messy office have a little bit of flair, consider finding a printer that is more of a conversation piece than an eyesore.