#Unplugged: a Text-Fax Machine

In today's world digital connections often contribute to overstimulation, our text-fax printer allows you to feel connected to your loved ones, no matter how far, while staying unplugged. Designed for moments when you might feel too anxious to be on your phone, but too lonely to stay off your phone, this device allows selected text messages to be printed with the push of a button. You can stay unplugged while receiving words of encouragement from a chosen support system.

Circuit

• Adafruit Mini Thermal Printer
• Adafruit Push Button
• Logic Level Shifter
• Breadboard
• Huzzah Board
• Metro Board
• Male Jumper Wires

Form

• Cardboard
• Hot glue gun
• Box cutter or X-Acto

To start off we will start setting up the background software, this includes tracking text messages and deciding what is extracted from the message. We will use IFTTT in order to do this and then send the information to a feed in Arduino IO. This is how we will get information in our code and send it to our microcontrollers. If you don’t have an account for IFTTT and Arduino, make one and then make a feed in Arduino IO named “Text-Fax” (or name by choice— just adjust in your IFTTT action). Next we will make a feed in IFTTT, for this project you will need the premiere version to send texts from your phone to the IFTTT number. This is the action you will make in your command. 

You will want to test your printer before making the circuit and ensure it works. You can use this link to check a thermal printer set up instructions. Also it is recommended to test your button that you will be using for your text-fax machine (You can use the Button example in Arduino Example codes). Here is the basic circuit I set up on my Huzzah Board to test my button. 

Before we print directly to the printer, let’s make sure your texts prints to the serial monitor with just a button push of the button. The circuit diagram is the same as above to make sure the button worked on the Huzzah board, the code to make sure this works is attached. Remember to add your own WiFi and Adafruit IO keys.

There are a couple options here. Your thermal printer requires 5V and to also be plugged in to the wall or another additional 5-10V (check your printers documentation). This means if your Huzzah board runs on 3V, you will need a logic Level Shifter to attach both boards together and/or to attach your thermal printer to your huzzah board. 

In ideal situation, you will be able to attach your printer to the huzzah board along with the button. The printer will need to have the logic level shifter. This is the Circuit Diagram for this, and the code. 

Otherwise you could have your metro board wired with just the Thermal printer, wire the button to just the huzzah board. and then you will have them communicating to each other. 

For the form of the book, cut out rectangles from Cardboard. Depending on your preferences you can customize these dimensions to your choosing. I chose to make a book that’s 7”x3.5”x10” (LxWxH). Mark out where your printer and button will be on the face of the book that will be the spine. Cut these out and test your button and printer in these cut outs. You should now have three pieces, two pieces of the same dimensions (front and back cover) and one that will be connecting the two (spine). 

You can also customize the top of the book for the depth of your storage container on the top I chose to go with a depth of 3 inches from the top. you can change this depending on what you’re planning on storing, index cards are usually 3”x5”, while envelopes can be longer. Once you know you can cut out a rectangle of cardboard and use hot glue to stick it at the desired height.

I also went ahead and added an extra piece of cardboard below my storage to hold one board and the other board goes below it. You can customize the whole interior of this book to be more organized depending on your own preferences.

I used illustrator to design my book sleeve with some branding for #Unplugged, which is what I named my Text-Fax machine. If you used the same dimensions, 7”x3.5”x10” (LxWxH) I used, you can download this illustrator file with the margins showing where the front, back and spine of the book is. Print your book sleeve and wrap it around your book. Cut out a slit for the printer and for the button. This illustrator file has an extra 0.25” on either sides so you can use double sided tape to tape this to the interior ends of the front and back, just like a regular book sleeve. 

Place your letters, memories, and whatever else you may desire in your storage section, plug in your printer and enjoy. The text-fax printer finds its place easily and discretely in your home. Make it stand out with a colourful sleeve or let it blend in with neutral colours. The easy customisation lets you make this project your own!