News

Kiosks let travelers create postcards from digital photos, pay with cash

December 29, 2003

WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- MEI, developer of electronic payment systems, has integrated its AE2800 bill acceptor into Maida Automated Systems Inc.'s Memory Card Machine self-serve kiosk. The kiosk, most recently deployed at the Adventuredome indoor theme park at Circus/Circus Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, enables travelers to create postcards featuring their own digital photos taken during the trip.

To operate the Memory Card Machine, users follows simple on-screen instructions prompting them to insert their camera memory cards into the kiosk, select the photos they want to use and design their postcards. They then insert $5, the cost of creating and printing two postcards, into the MEI bill acceptor to print out their postcards.

The postcards print on thick glossy paper with a standard postcard format on back. Users can crop the image and add a customized border, according to a news release.

"Users of the Memory Card Machine are primarily cash-carrying tourists," said Mike Maida, founder and principal of Memory Card Machine, a subsidiary of Maida Automated Systems. "That's why we made it fast and convenient to insert cash. We integrated MEI bill acceptors because they are the most rugged and reliable in the industry. We can't risk losing transactions because of a jammed bill acceptor, so we went with the best," he said in the release.

The Memory Card Machine features a polished stainless steel enclosure with a small footprint. Hardware in the kiosk includes a touchscreen computer and a color sublimation printer.