MAWS Auto Printer System

Details

An automated email printing system designed for Windows that monitors Gmail inboxes and automatically prints incoming unread messages to a selected printer. The application features a modern dark-themed GUI inspired by VS Code, with support for test mode (HTML file generation) to reduce paper waste during development and testing.

Status: ✅ Completed and deployed
Repository: https://github.com/Maws7140/mawsprinter
Platform: Windows-only (due to pywin32 dependency)
Language: Python 100%

Core Features

Automated Email Monitoring: Continuously monitors Gmail IMAP inbox for unread messages
Automatic Printing: Prints email body content to configured Windows printer
Test Mode: Simulates printing by saving emails as HTML files (no paper waste)
Dark-Themed GUI: Professional VS Code-inspired interface with Tkinter/ttk
Configuration Persistence: JSON-based storage of credentials and settings
Real-time Logging: Color-coded status messages with export capability
Manual Test Printing: Send test pages on-demand

Goals & Milestones

Technical Roadmap

Technology Stack

Core Language

Python 3.x

GUI Framework

Tkinter (standard library)
ttk.Style for custom theming
scrolledtext for log display

Email Integration

imaplib - IMAP4_SSL connection
email module - Message parsing and header decoding
Date-based filtering for unread messages

Windows Printing

win32print - Printer enumeration
win32api - ShellExecute for print spooling
pywin32 package (external dependency)

Image Processing

pillow (PIL) - Image handling for logo/assets

Utilities

threading - Background email monitoring
json - Configuration persistence
tempfile - Temporary HTML file generation for printing
datetime - Timestamp handling

Architecture

Class Structure

PrinterApp
├── __init__() - UI setup, config loading, printer detection
├── build_ui() - Constructs dark-themed interface
├── load_config() / save_config() - JSON persistence
├── start_monitoring() / stop_monitoring() - Thread control
├── process_emails() - Main IMAP monitoring loop
├── print_text_file() - Handles printing/HTML generation
├── send_test_page() - Manual test functionality
└── safe_decode() - Character encoding fallback

Configuration Format (JSON)

{
  "imap_server": "imap.gmail.com",
  "email": "user@gmail.com",
  "password": "app_password",
  "printer": "Selected Printer Name"
}

Email Processing Flow

Connect to IMAP server via SSL
Search for UNSEEN messages since current date
Fetch and parse email content
Extract subject and plain-text body
Generate HTML-formatted document
Print to Windows printer OR save as HTML (test mode)
Mark as processed and continue monitoring

GUI Theme (VS Code-inspired)

Primary Blue: #007acc
Dark Background: #1e1e1e
Control Background: #252526
Foreground: #cccccc
Color-coded logging (green=success, red=error, yellow=warning)

Deployment Strategy

Standalone Executable (PyInstaller)

pyinstaller --onefile --windowed --icon=logo.ico --add-data "logo.png;." maws_printer.py

Features:

Single executable file
Embedded logo asset
No console window (windowed mode)
Custom icon

Installation & Usage

Development Setup

# Install Python 3.x
pip install pywin32 pillow

# Run application
python maws_printer.py

Configuration Steps

Enter IMAP server (default: imap.gmail.com)
Enter email address
Enter app-specific password (Gmail App Password required)
Select target printer from dropdown
Save configuration
Click "Start Monitoring"

Test Mode

Enable checkbox before starting
Creates captured_prints/ directory
Saves emails as timestamped HTML files
No actual printing occurs

Security Considerations

Credentials stored in plaintext JSON (local config file)
Gmail requires App Password (not account password)
IMAP connection uses SSL/TLS encryption
Windows-only (requires local printer access)

Known Limitations

Windows-only (pywin32 dependency)
Gmail-focused (IMAP configuration required for other providers)
Plaintext storage of credentials (no encryption)
No multi-account support (single email configuration)
HTML-only printing (no attachment support)
Date-based filtering (only processes emails from current day)

Notes

Repository Statistics

3 commits to main branch
5 files total
0 stars / 0 forks (initial release)
No releases published yet

Key Design Decisions

Tkinter over PyQt/Kivy: Minimizes dependencies, standard library
JSON config: Simple, human-readable persistence
Test mode: Reduces paper waste during development
Thread-based monitoring: Prevents UI freezing
HTML generation: Ensures consistent formatting across printers
VS Code theme: Modern, professional aesthetic

Future Enhancement Ideas

Encryption for stored credentials
Multi-account support
Attachment printing capability
Email filtering rules (subject/sender)
Cross-platform support (CUPS for Linux/Mac)
Database storage instead of JSON
Web interface option
Email templates/formatting options

Resources & Links

GitHub Repository: https://github.com/Maws7140/mawsprinter
pywin32 Documentation: https://github.com/mhammond/pywin32
Python IMAP Documentation: https://docs.python.org/3/library/imaplib.html
Tkinter Documentation: https://docs.python.org/3/library/tkinter.html

Timeline

@card [color-green]
time: 2025-01-01
title: Initial Development
content:
Project started - Core email monitoring and printing functionality implemented

@card [color-blue]
time: 2025-01-05
title: GUI Implementation
content:
Dark-themed VS Code-inspired interface completed with real-time logging

@card [color-green]
time: 2025-01-08
title: Test Mode & Configuration
content:
Added test mode (HTML export) and JSON-based configuration persistence

@card [color-green]
time: 2025-01-10
title: Release
content:
Repository published to GitHub with PyInstaller executable support