Paper Dispenser For Oddly-Sized Paper?

June 1, 2007 7:28 PM

Looking for a special dispenser for oddly-sized pieces of paper, any ideas?

Hey guys, asking this on behalf of my mom, who is a bank teller.

One of the things they have to do for every transaction is print 3 different types of receipts. This involves picking up one of the papers from a stack, and putting it in a special printer that actually prints the receipt. They have to do this 3 times; once for each thing they have to print.

Not only is this time-consuming, but the papers apparently stick together, making it difficult to grab just one. While the best solution would be for the bank to purchase printers with built-in feed trays, this doesn't seem to be a possiblity, at least in the near future. So we want to solve the problem from the other end, and make the papers easier to dispense.

I thought that there must be something on the market that can dispense oddly shaped pieces of paper, one at a time. It needs to be something that's easily loaded with paper, and it needs to release the blank receipts quickly and only one at a time. The paper is not a roll, but is instead individual slips of paper.

Any ideas here? Something must exist. Failing that, how would I go about making such a device? Thanks in advance.

posted by DMan to shopping (5 comments total)

Not sure if they have what you need, but McMaster-Carr is pretty much the first place to look for odd industrial things. This may be too office-centric, but their site is definitely worth a look.
posted by mosk at 7:39 PM on June 1, 2007 [1 favorite]

Does she "fan" the new stack before using it? This places air between each sheet masking it easier to grab just one.

It seems like one of those rubber finger tip things from any office supply would work.
posted by JujuB at 8:24 PM on June 1, 2007

Another thing she can do is use lemon to wet her fingers...the liquid from lemon dries fast and she doesn't have to worry about her finger getting dirty(or too much anyway). She can just cut the lemon or lime in half and use the fruit side to wet her fingers.

Another thing is to fold one corner so it sticks up and then she can grab each piece individually. You can also do this after the stack has been fanned out.

Hope this helps.
posted by icollectpurses at 11:20 AM on June 2, 2007

If I were going to build such a thing, I'd model it after a cash register drawer. Although bills are all the same size, the function of the drawer is exactly what you are looking for - the ability to easily dispense the top of a stack of same-sized papers.
posted by ikkyu2 at 12:40 PM on June 2, 2007

I work in a bank-like setting and I swear by Sort-Kwik for all my money counting and paper grabbing needs.
posted by Juliet Banana at 5:57 PM on June 2, 2007