Vending machine’s DIY banners

An employee of a hotel holds up a sign informing passengers of room vacancy as they stand in line to purchase train tickets, at Schiphol Airport.

An employee of a hotel holds up a sign informing passengers of room vacancy as they stand in line to purchase train tickets, at Schiphol Airport.

Published Nov 25, 2011

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Amsterdam - Ever wanted to meet and greet your loved ones at the airport to be sure they don't miss you in the crowds?

Then try Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, which now has the world's first vending machine capable of printing out personalised giant canvas banners in just a few minutes.

You can pick your message, whether that is “Missed you Mummy”, “I love you”, “Will you marry me?”, or anything else that makes you stand out from the crowd, choose the font and background design, pay between four and 15 euros (about R200) depending on the length of the banner, and hit the button.

“We came up with the idea because when we were at the airport we'd see all these people welcoming their friends and family with their own banners made of bed sheets and we thought what a hassle using sheets, wouldn't it just be easier to make the banner at the airport,” BannerXpress's co-founder Thibaud Bruna told Reuters on Thursday.

Bruna's first machine, which was three years in the making, made its debut at Schiphol on Thursday. If the waterproof banners prove popular, he hopes to install the vending machines in other locations.

“We hope have them in other airports, but also in stadiums for sporting and music events,” Bruna said. - Reuters

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