r/printers • u/aac1dd • 17h ago

Discussion Self Paying Printer

Hi good people, I want to make a self paying printing setup of my own (you can call it a printing vending machine). For that, I'm considering printers with high input capacity but at a low budget the maximum input capacity I found of most of the printers are 100 pages which is not enough. So, can you suggest me what to do? Paper feeders look also expensive. What about photocopiers?

Looking for you suggestions. And if there's someone who made this kind of thing, kindly please respond, I might need your help.

Thanks.

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10

u/oddsnsodds Print Technician 17h ago

Libraries and copy shops have had these for years. And the primary reason they are floor-standing monsters is that they have multiple paper feeders that can hold many reams of paper.

Xerox and Canon make many models.

The modern versions connect to the internet and take contactless payments.

1

u/The_Klumsy 15h ago

i remember being an intern and at a copyshop they had the big boy one it swallowed 3 boxes (500pagesx5 i think) of a4 and one of A3. not to mention stuff like automatic stapling or binding. was a neat experience.

3

u/Future_Elephant_9294 16h ago

If you want a pre-built system t will cost thousands. If you want to do it yourself, someone will figure out how to get free printing within a month.

1

u/oddsnsodds Print Technician 15h ago

They will definitely do their best to try to get free printing. I set my printers' internal firewalls to only allow packets from our print server.

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u/Normal_Structure_336 16h ago

The hard part is the payment and unattended operation, not just the printer. Consider a coin/card reader, a simple print server, job preview, automatic file deletion, and a way to recover from paper jams. Start with a staffed pilot using a durable monochrome laser printer before building a full vending machine.

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u/SirTwitchALot 16h ago

I actually helped design a printing kiosk system for my university back in 2000. There are tons of printers that can hold multiple reams of paper. You just have to look to office systems, not home units. Obviously you'll want laser as well, since any kind of inkjet system combined with the general public is going to result in clogs and constant maintenance.

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u/fap-on-fap-off 14h ago

Your not going to find what your want in a budget model. You may be better off buying a good refurb of a more extensive novel that's a few years old.

1

u/MCLMelonFarmer 12h ago

You're looking for a product like the Fiery PrintMe M600 terminal

https://www.fiery.com/products/mobile-printing/m600-station/

Just type into your favorite AI "list products similar to Fiery PrintMe self-service printing kiosk".

1

u/Medium_Good886 12h ago

Espresso Book Machine - they've been around for 15 years or more.

1

u/WilliamNearToronto 9h ago

This is already a thing. Print/copy shops, Staples, and similar have systems that do this. Up front cost is big unless you’re leasing. But if you’re leasing, that’s a multi year commitment.

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u/Appropriate_Many_367 9h ago

Hi there are already a lot of those programs like ysoft paper cut printsol print in the city the ting is you need access to the sdk files and that they don't just give out as you won't be able to communicate with the printer otherwise unless someone here has those files then you will be able to do it