zlacker

First, accurate and reliable mechanical manipulation of paper is tricky, to get all kinds of different paper stock to feed reliably without jams and position in the same place.

Second, decent reproduction of e.g. text at decent DPI requires more accuracy in head positioning than what you need for basic 3d printing.

So to me it seems that the big issue is not that a random cheap standard printer would be cheaper, but rather than the home-built version is likely to get worse results than what you can get in store for peanuts.

>>Peteri+(OP)
Big point about OS for me is hackability what if instead of printing ink on paper you want to print fungi spores on jelly.

>>teknop+I4
or names on birthday cakes. cutting guides on wood. UV paint on metal. Jokes on toilet roll :)

thinking there might be mileage in this idea. clearly a mod from a 3D printer design would be where to start. standardise ink delivery / modules for different materials with different characteristics. A standardised printer driver for Linux and other platforms would get a lot or re-us.

>>teknop+Y5
Attaching a ballpoint pen to a 3D printer/CNC machine/laser cutter seems like a good start. It would be low DPI and slow, but fine for drawing and larger text.

>>teknop+Y5
Open source Pen Plotters/ Pick and Place machines all already exist and are common in the Maker world