DIY Money Printer Video

Letter Zero.77

Dear friend,

My latest invention is a wireless money printer. Yes, I know it’s a felony, but before I confess my crime, can I take a moment to remind you about my Kickstarter? There are only 10 days left. It would mean the world to me if you support my “Infestation” and help my art surge to the finish line. Please, will you help me?

As I was saying about printing money... It might be easier if you see my contraption in action, so here’s a video of me goofing off with the money printer and explaining how it works: 

Where did this idea come from? You might remember the digital Polaroid camera I hacked together with a Raspberry Pi? I wanted to take another attempt at a camera that printed on receipt paper. There were a couple things that bugged me about my digital Polaroid design:

1. It printed on small paper.
2. The camera was big and awkward

The paper in the Polaroid was the small size you get at the gas station. I wanted the wider size that you get at the grocery store. More width means I can print with more resolution. I spent more time than I care to admit researching wireless receipt printers before I found a model that might work with a Raspberry Pi. To reduce the camera’s size, I attached the lens directly to the Raspberry Pi’s case. The battery is sandwiched between the Raspberry Pi and the receipt printer. To make the camera less awkward to control, I swapped out the Nintendo controllers for a 16-digit keypad.

So where does the money printing part come in? At the same time that I was making the camera I happened to be making giant, 6-foot wide dollar bills. That’s a story for another day, but at some point my camera ideas and the money ideas crossed in my mind. 

Is that a coincidence? Yes and no.

I have a very specific definition of creativity. Creativity is the ability to hold two ideas in your mind at the same time, simulate a collision, and sort through the debris for something new. 

When you are open, ideas build on each other in unexpected ways. With money programmed into my camera, it was only a small mental hop to modify it to swap the president’s face with my own. The mental hop is easy, making the machine do what you imagine is another matter. When it comes to making ideas a reality, patience and determination can be even more valuable than creativity. 

Have I told you how thankful I am that you allow my emails into your inbox each week? Especially when I am in self-promotion mode with my Kickstarter. Thank you. Stay creative.

Your friend,
Ade