DEFINE
Our mission is to hybridize a laptop, printer, and scanner into a design that will allow the college student or person on-the-go to print at any given point in time.
COLLABORATION
IDEATE
Brainstorming
Our group had a tough time getting the ball rolling for this module. Everything we thought of had already been invented. Since all the obvious inventions had already been taken we tried to put two unlikely items together to spur our imaginations. We split in to pairs and dropped a pen on a paper full of everyday items (shoes, hangers, cars). If Juan's pen dropped on the word backpack and Mitch's pen dropped on the word GPS then they had to try and create a hybrid of the two items. This produced a few good ideas but nothing that we were completely in love with.
Here is an example of the page we dropped a pen on. We had pooled together our items that we used on a daily basis.
This is still in the brainstorming phase. After awhile we ruled out any inventions involving electronics because all our technology ideas had been futile. After the first day of brainstorming our best idea was a scented rock and a pole with an attached air freshener that would take in bad odors and transform it into good ones (similar to how a tree works). We weren't crazy with this idea but it was the best one we had so far.
Top Ideas
- Friction powered shoe charger
- Table that washes dishes
- Bike powered phone charger
- Solar panel curtains
- fingerprint lock
- collapsable cup
- smelly rocks / poles with air fresheners for amusement parks or crowded cities
Since we still weren't all in with our scented rock and pole idea we decided to take the weekend to keep brainstorming what could help us in our everyday lives. We met back up that Sunday night and talked for over an hour, not producing any worthwhile ideas. We had just called it quits when Ty grabbed his computer off the chair and said, "What if we replaced the CD slot with a printer?" At first this idea did not seem feasible. Could a printer be that small? The idea of this hybrid seemed to make so much sense; we naturally figured it had certainly been invented already. Yet, after scouring the internet and tech resources, we were surprised to find that to the best of our knowledge, a computer/printer in one did not exist. We instantly questioned if it hasn't been invented because it isn't possible? We decided we wanted to challenge this possibility.
Research for iPrint
Is it possible?
Our research showed that it was indeed possible to compress a printer. The printstik uses thermal printing. We considered thermal printing for the iPrint, but found out that the lettering wears off after time and it requires a certain type of paper. So we continued on with our research of other optional printers.
Type of Printer
The printer on the left is a laser printer, the second most common printer today. It requires a drum assembly, however, that we knew could not be compressed enough for the size of our printer. The printer on the right is the inkjet and is the printer we chose for the iPrint. It is the most common printer today. It has a very basic setup: a ribbon cable to move the printhead back and forth, a stabilizer bar, ink cartridges, and a paper feeder.
Cost
We based the cost off of the macbook air 2013 which is $1,000-$1,300.
Printers today can be anywhere from $40-$150.
These two scanners at Office Max ran for about $180 and $400.
Weight/Dimensions
Ventilation
Air ventilation was a key part of our research. Macs already have problems with over-heating so we knew that an attached printer would add to the problem. But with the latest version of the mac they really stressed ventilation and you can see two compressed fans in the upper left and right hand corners.
Empathy
Even though we did a lot of research on the technology of the computer, we still kept focus on our user group. Originally we had our users pegged as people like us, procrastinators. The people who forgot to print a paper or were running late and didn't have time to hunt down a printer. But that's way too narrow. It's not just for procrastinating college kids... its for people on the go. We conducted several interviews and took a poll to see who they thought would use the iPrint the most... this is what we found.
Most Common iPrint Users (poll out of 30 people)
Users
As you can see college students were pegged most likely to use the iPrint. Followed by business people, stay at home parents, high school students, and then others.
The iPrint is a quick, efficient way to print documents, papers, conference ID badges, recipes, you name it. Like we mentioned previously, it's for people who live fast paced lifestyles. Dean Wilson stated that she could use something like this, whether it be while traveling for business or on vacation, she's always busy and on the go. The iPrint will be helpful to many, but may not be for others.
For example, there's an invention out there that makes billions of dollars, but not even half of the world population uses it. Any guesses? It's a tampon. Obviously it's not for everyone... just like our computer isn't for everyone.
This is also similar to one of the other groups invention of the bobby pin holder. Half of our class (the male population) probably thought it was the most ridiculous idea ever. Why would they think it's a good invention? They have no need for it. But out of the three girls sitting next to me, all of them said they thought it was the best idea ever and that they would buy one right now.
Rather than try and feed the masses, we want to focus on a more select group. In class we're told to design for extreme cases, not the average person. The iPrint is for the busy bodies and procrastinators of this world. While some may argue that the iPrint makes it easy for people to be lazy, we disagree. People who are lazy probably aren't going to change their habits. And design isn't about changing people, it's about changing the product to fit the person. People could say that electric can openers are for the lazy. Or escalators. You can certainly walk up stairs on your own. Even alarm clocks were designed with lazy people in mind. If you were a super determined person you probably wouldn't need a snooze button, yet there it is. And I guarantee that everyone has used the snooze button at least once.
The electric can opener, escalator, alarm clock, and iPrint all have something in common. They make life easier. And when it comes down to it, that's what technology and good design in general is all about...making life easier.
Prototype
Making our first prototype.
For our first prototype we used cardboard and spray painted it silver. For the screen we used plexi-glass. The cardboard was hard to fold and didn't look very clean so we decided to try foam core as the main material for our second prototype.
Here's our second prototype. We used foam core and glued the pieces together instead of taping them like the first prototype. This one was also built to scale unlike the other.
We used a plastic material as the screen for this but didn't like how it protruded from the lid of the laptop.
This is our first model of how the printer works. The wooden dowels are the paper feeder and the control circuit is in the upper left corner. We were going to use a ribbon cable to move the print head back and forth but decided we wanted to try something stationary.
Here's our oringinal version of the ink cartridges. We first thought that we would stick them in like a flash drive. But once we learned how a printer worked we knew it would be impossible to transport the ink onto the paper with this type of ink cartridge.
Working on our final prototype.
Test
Our final and best prototype. We used foam core again but curved the edges to make the design appear smaller and more aesthetically appealing. We also carved out the lid so that the screen was flush with the edges and didn't protrude out like the last model. The screen was a plastic material that we spray painted black.
This shows the holes in the back of the laptop for air ventilation.
Here's the final prototype of how the printer works. The green rectangle is the control circuit. You can see a close-up of the ink cartridges and where they lie. To the right of the black ink cartridge is the scanner. The ink cartridges pop out of the computer so you are able to refill them, but the scanner remains stationary. The wooden dowels are the paper feeders.
