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If I wanted to do something similar, what is the cheapest type of printers I should be looking at? Dot matrix does seem awesome for the vibes, but I could be happy with something else as well. Any recommendations? I do like the idea of buying something old.
> Additionally, since this is an experimental project, I wanted to remain super cheap for this data, free if at all possible. There's also NewsCatcher which is free for open source side projects: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejrsj4a1ZQkIasiKCt...
OP, are you sure that your printer has a serial port? That would be somewhat unusual I think, back in the day when I used many dot matrix printers, they all had parallel (Centronics) ports. The same model printer in the one eBay listing I found (sold, maybe bought by you?) also has a parallel port, clearly visible in a photo of its backside.
The link he provided to the adapter is a parallel to USB adapter even though he has it called a serial one.
til you can still easily buy continuously feedable paper for dot matrix printers on amazon - was wondering if that was a scarce resource for a project like this! kudos!
Until very recently, dot matrix printers were still common in doctors' offices in Germany (for reasons), and the sound they make always gives me huge wave of nostalgia, even bigger than hearing a fax/modem emitting its handshake sound.
I periodically run into them in places that still use multipart forms (e.g. manufacturing, shippping/logistics).
I did something similar with a receipt printer. a thermal usb receipt printer is like $75 dollars and easily controlled by python. Super easy to print out images and QR codes. and the autocut functionality makes it easy to segment messages. Additionally the receipt printer is nice because you can activate the bell inside as an additional "notification" and has an extra control for a cash drawer that I am thinking of…
Please share some of your code, I would like to see and get a feel for some personal ideas.
I wonder how long before these pages fade. Could be good for archival purposes.
Why can’t people just simply exercise self control