PLATEN

I’d been obsessed with thermal typewriters for a while and wanted to make one. Not a copy of a real model, more like a game environment built around an ordinary writing app.

It was also a test of building by direction. I made it with Claude Opus 5.5: I brought the references and made the calls, and Claude did the research and wrote the code.

Write a line on the display and press Return to print it. Tear the page off and it lands on the desk with the others.

Quick uses

Return
print the line
⌫
fix the line before it prints
Ctrl B · U
bold · underline, the old way
Ctrl M
line mode or straight to paper
Ctrl X
tear the page off
Alt P · W · S
paper · width · line spacing
scroll
paper, typing, desk, all your pages
drag · click
move a page · pick it up to read

Everything you write stays in this browser. Nothing is sent anywhere.

How it works → Source on GitHub → Find me on X →

PLATEN

A thermal typewriter on a desk, in your browser. Hold each line on a small screen before it prints, or type straight onto the page. Tear the page off and it stays on the desk, ready to reread or mark up. Everything stays on this device.

warming up…