BOOX Story: How Machine Learning Expert Charlie's Idea Turned BOOX Devices into Paperless Printers
Charlie didn’t set out to reinvent printing. As a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and the founder of a company focused on large language model applications, day-to-day execution already demanded more than enough attention. But one ordinary detail in the office kept repeating itself. Stacks of paper, dozens to hundreds of pages at a time, printed mostly out of habit.
The Idea Behind InkPrint
The real spark, however, came from Charlie's daughter Kiki. She saw the amount of paper that her father's office went through on a regular basis and knew that there had to be a better way. Kiki often looked at things from an environmental or economic standpoint, and since she had already been using BOOX ePaper products from when she was young, the solution was simple: instead of printing to paper, why not invent a way to "print" to ePaper?
Credit: Charlie Xing
That question became InkPrint: a free Android app that turns a BOOX device into a way to make "printing" paperless. With the app, you wouldn't even need to connect to the BOOX device, because InkPrint uses Internet Printing Protocol (IPP), so print jobs on the same LAN arrive as PDFs directly on BOOX, ready for review, markup, and signing.
All the user has to do? Hit "print" on their computer like normal. Then they can use their BOOX device to do anything they would do on regular paper using a BOOX stylus.
From “Printing Is a Habit” to Paperless by Default
Traditional printing is most often the most wasteful part of an office job. "However, in most cases, printing is not strictly necessary. It is more of a habit than a real requirement." Charlie explains. Some papers are printed out just to get a signature and then are rescanned to send to a client by email. Why not cut out the middle man?
BOOX allows a document to be reviewed, highlighted, or signed by pen, which maintains the professional and traditional feel, all while making the document easy to share, upload, or store away for future use. Not only is this printing process more environmentally friendly, but it is also more efficient.
Bringing BOOX devices into an office workflow will also mean less time spent on traditional screens, and therefore less eye-strain for employees. Charlie also points out that in the era of AI, documents are more than just words on a page. They can be inputs for intelligent systems and be of greater use when they are easily accessible and searchable. So, by transitioning to digital documents, "organizations can better manage, store, and protect their data."
Turning BOOX Into a Printer (Without Printing Paper)
InkPrint's challenges weren't only technical. Some were behavioral. On the technical side, printing standards vary across platforms, and "it works everywhere" compatibility is always harder than it looks. Looking ahead, the roadmap includes features like automatic translation and layout optimization, tools that could make on-device document review even more powerful, especially in multilingual workflows.
But the biggest friction point may be the most human one:
“People are deeply accustomed to printing on paper,” Charlie says. “Shifting that behavior requires not only seamless convenience but also building trust in the digital workflow.”
InkPrint aims to earn that trust by making paperless printing feel as natural as paper printing…just with a better outcome. Charlie's vision for InkPrint is straightforward: keep it open-source long-term, make it simple to adopt, and help BOOX fit naturally into real business workflows. They hope the community will contribute improvements in compatibility, extend features, and explore new use cases.
Credit: Charlie Xing
Why BOOX Was the Right Target
For Charlie and Kiki, BOOX wasn’t an afterthought, but the reason the idea felt possible. BOOX combines the comfort of ePaper with the flexibility of Android. Our commitment to multiple form factors, along with continued hardware and firmware updates, reflects BOOX’s focus on highlighting ePaper innovations like InkPrint.
BOOX’s stylus support enables natural annotation and signatures, and its Android foundation makes it feel more like a productivity device than a single-purpose reader or a similar device with a walled garden. Charlie also points to the reality of long sessions: ePaper is easier on the eyes, especially for document-heavy review. In professional settings, the portability of devices like the Note Air Series fits the way people move between desks, meetings, and travel.
A Daughter’s Device, a Family Idea, an Open-Source Project
Charlie and his daughter Kiki are both excited to see where this app could go. Kiki is currently a Grade 10 student and uses a BOOX Note Air2 for daily reading and study. She is happy that her idea became a reality and that it could help others reduce waste. She’s even planning to apply this paperless approach in her own upcoming presentations, leading by example.
InkPrint makes it possible to keep the familiar “click print” habit, all while turning those pages into clean, shareable PDFs on a BOOX device instead of waste in a tray. If you want a paperless workflow that still feels natural to review, mark up, and sign, BOOX is the best place to start
