the ‘see what you print’ (‘SWYP’) printer concept by artefact group all images © doug evans

simplicity and intuitive navigation are behind the design of the ‘see what you print’ (‘SWYP’) touchscreen printer concept by jonas buck, fernd van engelen, and tucker spofford of seattle-based design consultants artefact group.

a simple paper tray folds onto the top of the printer for storage when not in use; the action of stowing it away or pulling it out likewise serves at the on/off switch.

a customizable start screen offers options such as ‘scan page’, ‘scan stack [of multiple pages]’, ‘scan to photoshop’, or one-click navigation to photographs stored on the user’s photo networks, ranging from wirelessly connected cameras and computers to picasa, facebook, and flickr. an image can be printed by dragging it onto the active print area, where margins, scaling, cropping, and colour conditions all automatically calibrated to the printer settings can be previewed and edited. the screen responds to intuitive gestures like rotating or pulling and pinching for size manipulation, and multiple photos can be composited into the active area and then printed with a single click.  the device also permits basic image editing. selecting the ink icon at the top of the screen reveals the inside of the printer, including information about the ink level and currently inserted paper type.

video demo of the ‘SWYP’ concept

artefact: see what you print touchscreen printer concept - 2 view of the device with paper tray and scanning panel open

artefact: see what you print touchscreen printer concept - 3 view from side

artefact: see what you print touchscreen printer concept - 4 profile view

artefact: see what you print touchscreen printer concept - 5 device with paper tray closed

artefact: see what you print touchscreen printer concept - 6 view of navigation screen

artefact: see what you print touchscreen printer concept - 7 image editing and print preview

artefact: see what you print touchscreen printer concept - 8 intuitive gesture commands are used to set margins and crop images for printing

artefact: see what you print touchscreen printer concept - 9 unfolding the paper tray serves to turn on the printer

artefact: see what you print touchscreen printer concept - 10 replacing ink cartridges

artefact: see what you print touchscreen printer concept - 11 the device offers intuitive one-click viewing of information such as ink levels and paper type

artefact: see what you print touchscreen printer concept - 12 detail view of construction

via dvice

— artefact: see what you print touchscreen printer concept - 13

design-aerobics 2011: TECH GADGETS course september 15 – november 15, 2011 as more and more technological objects find their way into everyday life

designboom will hold an online design course on the theme of ‘tech-gadgets’. we’ll look at the most significant designs yet and ponder what might be around the corner. to see a lesson sample and information on how to enroll click here. classes have only recently begun, and all lessons are available for viewing throughout the duration of the course to enrolled participants.