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Choosing a handwriting machine
What we would check before buying, with what our own machine does in daily use. It is a UUNA TEK iAuto-01, and we run it every working day.
Buying one? The iAuto at UUNA TEK. Affiliate link: we earn a commission if you buy there. It does not change a single number on this page. Which UUNA TEK discount code works right now, and what we tested.
Eight checks
| Check | What we see on ours | Ask the seller |
|---|---|---|
| Throughput | Maker states about 145 characters a minute. We measure 47 to 50 seconds per addressed envelope. | A timed video of your format, not a brochure number. |
| Feeding | About 80 sheets or 30 envelopes per load. DIN long is not on the format list; it writes fine when fed one by one. | Your exact envelope, in a stack, with flap. |
| Software | Windows or macOS only, and the vendor software must run beside the machine. No Linux, so a Mac mini sits next to ours. | Can it run unattended for a day? |
| Interface | The API is not published. We recovered it from the software. “Accepted” does not always mean written. | Documentation, and how it reports a finished job. |
| Handwriting | We send finished single-stroke paths. Outline fonts traced by a pen look hollow. | Can you load your own single-stroke paths? |
| Pen | Spring-loaded holder. Pen pressure is set by trial on real paper. Quick-drying gel pens only. | Which refills, how long one lasts. |
| Setup | 22 kg and a jerky arm: it needs a heavy table, or the lines wobble. | Footprint, and room in front for paper. |
| Support | WhatsApp to Hong Kong, which is 3 am to noon in Central Europe. | Hours in your time zone, and in your language. |
Not sure it pays off? Running a machine is a job: feeding, pens, failed runs, the computer beside it. Put your numbers into the planner before you buy.
Our machine in numbers
Maker data for the iAuto-01 and what we measured. The two are not always the same.
- Size and weight
- 476 × 380 × 235 mm, 22 kg
- Load
- About 80 sheets or 30 envelopes
- Connection
- USB or 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, with a computer running the vendor software
- Maker's speed
- About 145 characters a minute
- Our A4 letter
- 510 s median, 262 runs
- Our DIN long envelope
- 63 s median, 197 runs
Early single tests of an addressed envelope took 47 to 50 seconds. The median over 197 production runs is 63 seconds, and that is the number our planner uses. More on how we measure: How long a letter takes.
Related reading
- An accepted job is not a letter on paper – why we only trust a counter that moves, and how the interface behaved when we first used it.
- How long a letter takes – cycle times from our run logs and what one machine can do in a day.
- The planner – your volumes, staff time and cost per letter.