Every now and then you can see crewmembers carrying paper manuals or notes around. Is this all pre-printed on earth / handwritten or is there actually a printer on the ISS?
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2$\begingroup$ They can always 3d-print their manuals ;) $\endgroup$– SF.Commented May 31, 2016 at 8:36
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1$\begingroup$ You mean like in Braille? :-) $\endgroup$– flawrCommented May 31, 2016 at 9:08
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$\begingroup$ Like printing press dies. extruded or embossed lettering :) $\endgroup$– SF.Commented May 31, 2016 at 9:18
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$\begingroup$ ...or maybe @SF. meant this thing at first but then liked the embosser idea better? $\endgroup$– uhohCommented May 31, 2016 at 9:45
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1$\begingroup$ @uhoh: I meant this. But if you print words alone, the thing would fall apart. Instead, you can print the sheet, leaving the words out. A spray paint stencil would be a more appropriate analogy. $\endgroup$– SF.Commented May 31, 2016 at 10:07
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1 Answer
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Yes, according to Robert Frost , NASA Instructor and Flight Controller, the ISS has a Epson Stylus Color 800 mounted on the aft wall of Destiny.
Epson Stylus Color 800 from 1996
The printer is also visible in the International Space Station Panoramic Tour provided by ESA.
answered May 31, 2016 at 10:15
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1$\begingroup$ I don't actually see a printer inside that red circle. Can you point to it? Screenshot from the 3D interactive walkthrough from photos by record-holding ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti taken in June 2015 look very different. While Robert Frosts's Quora post is dated March 2015, where is that photo from? $\endgroup$– uhohCommented May 31, 2016 at 13:01
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$\begingroup$ @mins. See edit. Also, thanks for the link, great ISS resource. $\endgroup$ Commented May 31, 2016 at 13:15
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$\begingroup$ Looks like they bought a new printer when they cleaned up. It looks like a complete, enclosed paper cassette sticking out of the top, rather than the open tray on the Epson. I wonder if this is now a special zero-G-friendly printer. Can't use gravity feed anymore! $\endgroup$– uhohCommented May 31, 2016 at 13:33
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2$\begingroup$ @uhoh in theory you could spin up the entire station anytime you want to print. $\endgroup$ Commented May 31, 2016 at 13:58
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1$\begingroup$ I can actually imagine an astronaut grabbing the printer, then spinning in the middle of the station, holding the printer in outstretched arms... $\endgroup$– SF.Commented May 31, 2016 at 15:56
