The Art of Solar Printing
It’s here in concept and I simply love it! The Tanning Printer is a solar powered printer that doesn’t use cartridges. Instead it uses the process of sun-tanning the paper! You got that right sir…sun tan! It seems outlandish right now, but trust me the idea is worth exploring… the design is here, it looks neat and sleek; now let the engineers figure it out!
Designers: Hosung Jung, Junsang Kim, Seungin Lee & Yonggu Do


















50 Comments »
ddoggang says
so hot!!
Ray says
Isn’t this just like all those other thermal paper, ink-less printers?
ale says
In the “Did you know?” it requires 1 ton of ink or 1 ton of water?
John says
You’d think they do a bit of grammar work before publishing this, it’s dew not due.
michael konieczny says
Or is it doo?
Jimmy C says
Hmm… i see burnt paper in the future. Not too well thought out. Nice try though! Maybe you should use something else…
MikeW says
Tanning only works because we have melanin (the body’s ink) under the skin. At some point you have to induce a chemical change to make an image appear.
So essentially you are suggesting the use of thermal paper, and printers like that have been around in fax machines for 20 years or so.
Justin says
magnificent!!
Jason Wang says
With all due respect, these faux-science/forced environmentalism concepts are now a dime a dozen. Truth is, we’ve had thermal printers for ages, and this concept is nothing more than $20 ideas. Seriously, how effective is a white solar panel going to be? They’re dark to absorb light. A white panel will just reflect most of it. Maybe it will solve “pullulation”, but in the real world, this is pure fiction.
jack says
Sounds great. Now, tell us a little about the chemicals and crap used to produce the photosensitive paper. yeah. “Green” like a Prius, huh? LOL.
Frank says
Sweet. Now I can print my resume on a Burger King receipt!
Codrin says
great idea, when will be available a product like this for people to buy, any price ?
jsj says
cool!!
Eliz says
Great product!!
(Dew, not due. Blade of grass, not leaf.)
Patrick says
raindrop on leaf photo…the word is “DEW”, not “due.” Just trying to help with learning your english
Trang says
It’s so cool! Just wonder if it ever produced yet???
Haydar says
Are these idiots who comment “GREAT!!! IS IT PRODUCED?!? WHERE CAN I BUY IT?!?” real or is it some kind of joke? I’m getting bored of this.
Fuzzy Stone says
As a portable solution for non-archival printing, it’s not such a bad idea.
Depending on the spectra the photocells are sensitive to, a white surface behind the cells could act as a reflector.
The devil’s in the details, for sure.
Mary @ Green Global Travel says
Great idea. Looking forward to seeing it implemented and on the shelves.
Bo says
Thermal paper is used all over Germany for train tickets and the like, becaue a bit of electricity is cheaper than having someone replacing ink cartridges everywhere.
The concept is directed towards office documents…
Have you ever left a bit of thermal paper lying on the desk, where the sunlight reaches?
It turns black.
So much for important documents.
cv says
i see burnt hands and fingers of small children
IAMTHELAB says
I love this, especially the portability of it.
Lior says
I have a hard time understanding the following:
a. Where does it sit? Near the window so it would get sunlight?
b. So it only works in sunny areas, in the summer, between 7am to 7pm?
c. How do I connect it to my computer? wifi/bluetooth/usb? If it’s with wifi, does it have enough energy to communicate? If it’s through usb, can’t it simply get its power from the pc? (and if it’s so low on energy that it can operate on sunlight, than it will require just a tiny tiny amount of power that I can otherwise save by lowering the screens brightness?)
d. If it’s portable, is that the best shape and style to carry in my bag and use outside?
e. As other people asked – have you researched the process of manufacturing thermal paper? Is it still environmentally friendly after you did?
f. Do you make sure it doesn’t start burning the paper?
Other than that, clever idea.
Office Kitten says
Interesting idea, but would it really work? It would certainly be great for the environment but I can’t see it being a) cheap, or b) probable.
However, here’s hoping we’re wrong! I’d love to see it in the shops.
Barcode Printer Repair says
Wow, that’s what I was looking for, what a data! existing here at this webpage, thanks admin of this website.
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