The typemachine

The first person to write a book on a typewriter was Mark Twain, though he insisted on calling it a typemachine. The book was Life on the Mississippi.

Espresso Book Machine

For years I've been saying that you can get practically anything from a vending machine: food, hot drinks, cold drinks, toys, DVDs and iPods. Now it is possible to get a book printed for you on the spot by the Espresso Book Machine, invention of the On Demand Books company.

First installed on June 21 2007 at the New York Public Library’s Science, Industry, and Business Library, the machine prints paperback books from PDF files in about seven minutes. It won the Time 2007 Best Invention of the Year and can be found in more libraries and bookshops every month.