The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : World newspapers just at the touch of a button

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Friday, Dec 28, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

World newspapers just at the touch of a button

Kannal Achuthan

A satellite newspaper kiosk is a fully automated unit that receives the latest editions via satellite transmission

Photo: R. Ragu

HOT NEWS: K. Ramasundaram, owner of an enterprise, takes a print from the satellite newspaper kiosk.—

CHENNAI: International tourists and frequent business travellers who seek the familiarity of reading their hometown newspapers in print can now do so right in Chennai.

Thanks to satellite technology, about 200 newspapers from 55 countries in 32 languages are available at the touch of a button on a vending kiosk.

“At present, our main customers are star hotels who buy foreign newspapers for their guests,” said K. Ramasundaram, a resident of Chetpet, who runs the enterprise. The technology is offered by a Dutch firm.

How it works

A satellite newspaper kiosk is a fully automated unit that receives the latest editions of a network of newspapers via satellite transmission. A copy is printed on demand. Some of the newspapers in the network include USA Today (USA), The Observer (UK), Die Welt (Germany), Le Monde (France), El Pais (Spain) and Komsomolskaya Pravda (Russia) and Sports Nippon (Japan).

“The price is about $ 5 (Rs. 240) a copy. The vending machine prints the copy within three minutes of a customer’s request,” said Mr. Ramasundaram. The copies are tabloid-sized and available in black-and-white format. Colour printing is to be soon available.

Mr. Ramasundaram said his regular customers including Swiss guests residing in the Taj liked to read the print versions of newspapers from their countries on the same day of publication.

Once the idea becomes popular, the vending machines can be installed in malls, airports and other public places where customers can print their own copies and pay by credit card, Mr. Ramasundaram said. The satellite newspaper service in Chennai can be reached at 28363447.

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