How it works
A thermal printer, a tiny WiFi board, a battery and a heart button, tucked into one little dock. Here's what's inside, and how a note gets from a friend's phone onto paper at your place.
What's inside
- The printer
- A pocket thermal printer (X6h). It prints with heat on 57 mm paper: no ink, no cartridges, nearly silent. 384 dots across, so drawings and photos come out crisp in black and white.
- The brain
- A thumbnail-sized Seeed XIAO ESP32-C3 board in the dock. It talks to your WiFi on one side and to the printer over Bluetooth on the other.
- A battery
- A small 1000 mAh battery keeps Texty running when you unplug it for a while. The printer has its own battery too.
- One USB-C cable
- Plug in at the back and both the printer and Texty charge. Any USB phone charger works.
- The heart button
- Tap it after reading a note and the sender sees a ♥. Hold it 2 seconds for a login code, 10 seconds to reset.
How a note travels
Phone to server to your Texty, and onto paper. Usually within a few seconds.
- 1
Your friend writes
On their phone, in the Texty web app. Their phone turns the note into a black-and-white picture exactly as wide as the paper, which is also the preview they see.
- 2
The server holds it
The picture travels encrypted to the Texty server and waits in a queue. During quiet hours, or when your Texty is offline, it simply keeps waiting.
- 3
Your Texty asks
Every few seconds your Texty asks the server: anything for me? It never accepts incoming connections, so nothing from outside can reach it.
- 4
Out it comes
Texty downloads the picture, sends it to the printer over Bluetooth, and reports back. Your friend sees “Printed ✓”, and a ♥ if you press the button.
Want the technical version? The security & privacy page explains what Texty does on your network.
Paper
Texty prints on 57 mm thermal paper rolls up to 30 mm across, the same kind pocket photo printers use. The paper darkens where it's heated, so there's never any ink to buy.
Look for “57 × 30 mm thermal paper” online or in office supply shops. BPA-free rolls are nicer to handle, and there are sticker rolls and coloured paper too. A roll is good for roughly 60–100 notes.
Thermal prints fade slowly in sunlight and heat. Keep your favourite notes in a book, or take a photo of them. We plan to sell packs of ten rolls as well.
Ready in minutes
Plug in, scan the slip it prints, and you're set up. The setup guide shows every step, with pictures.