New Machine Prints Books On Demand for $3
Imagine this: You need a copy of 'The Great Gatsby' for a class. You've gone to three book stores and you've found 'The Beautiful and Damned' and 'The Last Tycoon,' but no 'Gatsby.' Thats when you notice an Espresso Book Machine. You wander over, scroll through a list of available titles, and "Ah Ha!" ... 'Gatsby.' Fifteen minutes later you have a perfect copy of 'The Great Gatsby' printed up and in your hands.
This isn't how it works just yet, but such a scenario is not far off. One of these Espresso Book Machines has been set up in the Midtown branch of the New York Public Library (NYPL) as a demonstration of the technology. Developed by Jason Epstein and Dane Neller, the machines have also shown up at the bookstore of the World Bank, in Washington D.C., and at the Bibliotheca in Alexandria, Egypt.
This machine would be particularly useful for rare books, out-of-print titles and limited-run novels. Since the machine is made from primarily off-the-shelf parts, it is relatively inexpensive (estimates are in the $20,000 range). Books cost about $3 to print on the machine.
From The New York Times
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