In times of instant messaging, a small analog printer makes it way into the light, connecting people. It is meant to hang in a shared apartment, an office, or wherever you like and when a message arrives, it is meant to be seen by whoever sees it. No private hidden message, no hiding behind a smartphone screen and writing with one specific friend, no constant alert status, waiting for the next message.
LittleBigPrinter — the fax machine for millennials.
Send a message here → Messenger
If you like this project, please also check out my other project → FlipDot Communicator
I refactored this project from an Raspberry Pi to an ESP32, as this is more lightweight code and runs more stable.
What is needed to build the case and wall mount:
- 230 ✕ 160 mm, 3 mm thick acrylic glass. You can find the laser file here:
00_case/laser.dxf - 12 M3✕10 mm screws (+ 2-3 additional ones for cutting threads)
- 4 M3 nuts
- 4 aluminium tubes, Ø5 mm (inside ~ Ø2.5mm to cut in a M3 thread)
- A three core cable for power supply
| ESP32 | Components |
|---|---|
| Vin | Power Supply + |
| GND | Power Supply - |
| 5V | LED Matrix + |
| GND | LED Matrix - |
| GPIO 21 | LED Matrix D |
| GPIO 22 | LED Matrix C |
| GND | Printer Serial GND |
| GPIO 19 | Printer Tx |
| GPIO 18 | Printer Rx |
The software for the ESP32 is built using the Arduino IDE. You can find all the files here → LittleBigPrinter-Software/
You will need to install these libraries for the code to work:
Next, open the .ino file. Add your credentials to the credentials.h file. The placeholders are these ones:
#define FIREBASE_HOST "YOUR_FIREBASE_PROJECT.firebaseio.com"
#define FIREBASE_AUTH "YOUR_FIREBASE_DATABASE_SECRET"
#define WIFI_SSID "YOUR_WIFI_SSID"
#define WIFI_PASSWORD "YOUR_WIFI_PASSWORD"If you are not sure where to find the Firebase credentials, this stackoverflow question will help you.
Finally flash it onto the board. Now you should be all set up!
- Implement multi printer usage (per IDs within the database)
- Add a buzzer to acoustically inform about new messages
- Add a RGB LED and button (or something completely different) to change the paper color entry