A Fresh Look at Printing, the SWYP September 22, 2011 16:52 by Mike Derges

Could it be that printers may soon get a makeover? This awesome design from a team at Artefact suggests it could be possible!

The "See What You Print", or SWYP, is a prototype design. Tasked with the mission of “innovating printers” the group looked at the reasons why printer designs seem to have stagnated and made an effort to bring them into the 21st century.

The group took a step back and, after eliminating a few odd ideas such as a Zoomba printer (Google it!) and a home hub that spat out your favourite snaps, they ended up with the SWYP.

The design principle for the project was radical simplicity and, if it works as intended, that’s exactly what it will provide along with a bundle of elegant features:

A touch screen with a multi-touch interface will allow simple and intuitive scaling and manipulation of images. Even cooler, the screen will have a fade away function to allow the user to see through it onto an augmented view of remaining ink and paper details.

The device will be able to connect wirelessly to networks to get documents, or even pull a photo directly off a Facebook or twitter account. The impressive wireless technology in the SWYP should also allow it to connect to wireless enabled cameras, in addition to a direct input from a USB device.

The principle of simplicity even extends to the paper tray, normally an awkward assortment of bits of plastic. The SWYP has had it re-envisioned as a piece of stiff cloth, creased so it folds over the lower end of the printer when it's not in use. That allows the paper tray to also act as the power switch for the printer, further removing clutter.

If you’re interested you can find out more about the SWYP and Arefact at their website here. Check out the user video of it, it blew my mind at 58 seconds in. As always let us know what you think in the comments.