An Australian Startup is Crowdfunding a Portable Smartphone Printer

As much as we like to pretend we are all digital natives who will soon have our consciousness transferred into a gel-like neural network and live forever on the I N T E R N E T, the truth is that underneath it allwe're just tactile creatures who can't help but cry at sunsets. There’s nothing we like more than having something we can hold in our hands – and the people behind the droPrinter know exactly how we feel.

Developed in Melbourne(!) by Zhenxun Yu, the droPrinter is one of the first portable, wireless smartphone printers available on the market – and despite being new to the scene, it isn’t as prohibitively expensive as you’d imagine. Like all cool things these days, the production of the droPrinter is being funded via Kickstarter and has already raised $43,967 – nearly three times its initial target – since launching on July 7 (see, people really love tangible old-school paper).

The device clocks in at a tiny 10cm wide by 2.5cm deep and is operated via an Android or iOS app.  With a 120 hour battery life you can print out literal reams of information: anonymous love notes, shopping lists, lists of baby names, wanted posters or maybe just miles and miles of emoticons – the world is now your oyster. It can even be used as a mobile power pack to charge your phone.

Best of all, the droPrinter is affordable. The printer is expected to retail for $99, but for a pledge of $80 or more you can reserve yourself a printer (with an expected shipping date of March 2016) and one roll of paper. Further proof that the droPrinter folk aren’t trying to steal your hard-won Simoleans is that the device takes standard thermal paper, which can be purchased cheaply in office supply stores or online.

For more information, check out the droPrinter Kickstarter.