One of the memories I still have from my college days is how much of a tedious ordeal it sometimes was to print out assignments, papers, forms, etc. My school’s computer labs were almost always at capacity, so finding an empty (and working) computer sometimes turned out to be a cumbersome task. Adding insult to injury, you had to pay (by swiping your student ID card) if you wanted something printed.
This was especially inconvenient when time was of the essence, and even remind me of the additional stress that came when I ran out of funds for printing. It’s not an uncommon practice for institutions like schools, libraries, even offices to have prepaid printers set up, which to me seems just like a money grab.
I sincerely wish this product was around during my college years, because it would have mitigated all these issues. Developed by the Israel-based startup ZUtA Labs, the portable robotic printer can print documents for you on the go. Only four inches in diameter, the ZUtA (which means “small” in Talmudic Aramaic) has ink capacity capable of printing up to 100 pages, and has a battery that lasts up to one hour.
The device is highly compact, easy to use, and is compatible with devices like smartphones, laptops, and tablets. Using a downloadable app, users can print content anywhere they are at timely speeds since it only takes the ZUtA up to a minute to complete a print job.
The ZUtA needs to be aligned in the upper-left hand corner of the paper, during which it’ll print by rolling across the paper in the standard left to right motion. You can print images, words, packaging labels, and tickets. The ZUtA currently prints only in black and white and uses proprietary ink, both of which the startup plans on changing.
Filed Under: M2M (machine to machine)
