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Crayola Dot Matrix Printer

 wax pointillism
  (+20, -3)(+20, -3)
(+20, -3) 		  [vote for,
against]

A combination of common inkjet and thermal wax printers, the Crayola Dot Matrix Printer provides vibrant colors in non-fading (and non-toxic) pigmented wax. No expensive liquid inks to clog the print head or smear under spilled milk. Refills are cheap and in stock at any pharmacy, variety or toy store. The perfect accessory for Baby’s first computer!
—nuclear hobo, Mar 29 2007

(?) solid-ink printer http://www.imaging....rials/solid_ink.cfm
// I'm afraid Tektronix (bought by Xerox a few years ago) had "solid-ink" printers that used wax blocks // - like this one in my office [TheLightsAreOnBut, Apr 03 2007]

edible crayons http://www.iol.co.z...101936B213&set_id=1
[nuclear hobo, May 21 2007]

[link]






       Not getting ho this is an improvement on regular thermal wax printers. They are already vibrant and non-fading.
—DrCurry, Mar 30 2007
   

       Thermal trasfer ribbons are expensive and wasteful, and the width of the ribbon determines the printing width. Solid ink sticks are $25 or more each. The Crayola Dot Matrix Printer would come in large formats (like inkjets) while utilizing $.10 crayons for 'ink'.
—nuclear hobo, Mar 30 2007
   

       I think this would work better as a sort of Fisher-Price plotter.
—wagster, Mar 30 2007
   

       Is the idea to use this as a rather low-resolution printing device?
—supercat, Mar 30 2007
   

       The idea is to combine thermal and inkjet technologies and to fuel it with Crayolas. The crayons would be melted and sprayed to print. Resolution would be determined by the size of the pigment in the crayon, which would determine the size of the waxjet nozzle.
—nuclear hobo, Mar 30 2007
   

       Why melt it? Why not elaborate mechanical arms with many fingers and whole crayons?
—normzone, Mar 30 2007
   

       So it's a Crayola-fuelled cross between a hot glue gun and an inkjet? Like it.
—BunsenHoneydew, Mar 31 2007
   

       As cheap as crayons are, maybe this could double as a sort of wax rapid prototyping machine? Lay down layer upon layer of colored wax until you have a 3-D form. Imagine using this to "print" armies of pre-painted tabletop miniatures! Gamers everywhere could save their hard-earned money for other things like more Mountain Dew and Cheetos. Of course, this could also trigger a rash of pre-school burglaries as crazed gamers desperately search for more crayons to feed their addiction, as well as the economic collapse of their former dealer, The Games Workshop...
—cybervenom, Apr 02 2007
   

       Ye gods I wish I'd thought of this. It's stupid simple, cheap, and expandable. Big waxy polychromatic bun.
—elhigh, Apr 02 2007
   

       Actually the pronunciation is closer to "pwantiy-yist"
—BunsenHoneydew, Apr 02 2007
   

       This doesn't sound too hard to hack up as a DIY proof of concept.
—BunsenHoneydew, Apr 02 2007
   

       s'not often I wish I had two (+)'s to give.   

       I'm afraid Tektronix (bought by Xerox a few years ago) had "solid-ink" printers that used wax blocks (about 1-inch cubes). You dropped them into a loader where they would be melted to apply to the page in different colours. I believe it used a drum to transfer the wax to the page, but assuming the viscosity was correct you could maybe get away with a piezo-electric print head like an inkjet. Speed probably wouldn't be up to much though, as the wax wouldn't cool the head like inkjet ink.   

       The dot-matrix concept is interesting, but to get the resolution you'd need to extrude the wax inside the printer, which would involve heating it to soften it, and then you'd be pretty close to the old Phasers...
—Defiler, Apr 02 2007
   

       Rather than melt the crayons, I like the idea of 'dotting' them on the paper.
—Ling, Apr 02 2007
   

       what [2fries] said !
—batou, Apr 02 2007
   

       I'm thinking that maybe Crayola WaxJet would have been a better title.
—nuclear hobo, Apr 02 2007
   

       Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the waxy stuff used to make crayons is a an amalgam of different materials with different physical properties. This makes them work well for the marketed purpose (shedding material when rubbed against paper, without falling apart in the user's hand) but crayon material would not be suitable for use in a high resolution automated printing aparatus.
—supercat, Apr 02 2007
   

       Oh...sorry, My mistake...I thought you said "Granola Dot Matrix Printer"...Now somehow, that sounded perfectly good to me.
—Blisterbob, Apr 05 2007
   

       Well, it's not granola, but how about edible soy-based crayons? [link]
—nuclear hobo, May 21 2007
   
      
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