$ cat inside_every_booth.mdThe machines on our floor are the machines we sell. This is the software every one of them runs today.

Inside every booth

01 · formats/

Booth formats

One kiosk app, switched per unit. The same hardware can run a different experience next month.

Classic booth: Pick a layout and frame, pay, shoot, choose a filter, print. A download QR closes the session.
High-angle booth: Two screens: guests run the session on the outside touchscreen while a second screen in the booth shows the live view, countdown and shot count. Extra shots let them keep their best.
Trading-card booth: Pick a card colour, take one photo, watch an animated foil-pack reveal, then get the front and back printed side by side. Card designs are swapped remotely.
Designed screens: Screens can be built from a design file or use our coded screens with your artwork, so a brand activation does not need new software.

02 · capture/

The same framing and timing on the thousandth session as on the first.

DSLR or webcam: Canon DSLR or USB camera, detected automatically. The DSLR pre-focuses during the countdown so the first frame is sharp.
Live preview and retakes: Mirror view, adjustable countdown, adjustable number of shots, and retakes before anything prints.
Portrait or landscape: Camera rotation and screen orientation are set per unit, so the same software fits a tall cabinet or a wide booth.

03 · looks/

The choices a guest makes on screen, and the ones you make for them.

Twelve filters: Colour looks including K-Idol Soft, Ivy League 90s, Japanese ID, Coffee, Rebel, Warm and Cool, plus B&W Classic, B&W Drama, Vintage grain, Cinematic and Vibrant, or none at all. Each unit shows the set you choose, with a brightness slider.
Layouts: 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 photos, big strips, a 4×4 mini frame, postcards, and six shots cut into two strips.
Your frames: Custom frames are uploaded from the cloud portal, which shows each layout’s exact photo positions to the designer.

04 · print/

The part a guest holds, and the part most likely to stop a booth. Both are handled.

Dye-sub and inkjet: DNP DS-RX1HS, QW410 and DS620 dye-sublimation printers for 4×6, 4×4 and strips, and driverless inkjets for A4, A5, 4×6 and 5×7, borderless.
Paid extra copies: An extra-print upsell on the filter screen, priced separately from the session.
Paper never runs out unannounced: Live paper and ribbon counts, alerts for jams, empty media and open covers, and a “be right back” screen instead of a failed session. The print queue restarts itself after a ribbon change.

05 · guests/

The print leaves with the guest. The files follow them home.

Download by QR: Every session is uploaded and a QR opens a branded page where guests view and download their photos, with their receipt.
Guest codes: Staff issue a six-digit code good for a set number of sessions in a time window. Every session on that code collects into one gallery.
Phone to booth: Guests scan a QR and send up to two photos from their phone into the booth.

06 · payments/

Cashless, unattended, and reconciled to the session.

NETS terminal: Card tap, insert or swipe, and NETS QR, PayNow and SGQR on the terminal. Settled automatically at end of day.
Nayax tap-to-pay: Card or phone. The guest is charged only after the print comes out.
Refunded if it fails: If the print does not complete, the payment is voided automatically.
Free mode: No payment step at all, for sponsored events and staffed activations. Card-only is a setting too.

07 · fleet/

Every booth reports in. Most problems are fixed without anyone travelling to it.

Live status and alerts: Each booth checks in every 30 seconds. Alerts go out by email when a booth goes offline, a camera or printer drops, a payment terminal errors, or paper and ribbon run low.
Remote settings: Prices, extra-copy price, countdown, idle timers and payment method are changed from the portal, with a history of every change.
Event looks: Save a booth’s look, switch it to an event’s frames, screens and sounds, and switch it back afterwards.
Music and sounds: Background music and button sounds, with volume set remotely.
Remote updates: New software is pushed to the booths you pick. An update that fails to start rolls back on its own.
Remote power: Smart power strips switch or cycle a booth’s outlets from the portal.
Session records: Every session is logged with its layout, filter, frame, retakes, duration, print result and payment, with a step-by-step timeline.
Teams and access: Each organisation sees only its own booths, with admin, operator and viewer roles.

08 · reliability/

An unattended booth has to look after itself.

Restarts itself: If the kiosk app crashes it comes straight back into kiosk mode.
Locked down: Booths sit behind a private network with a firewall and an operator screen behind a PIN.

$ ./request_accessHardware specifications and commercial terms are for verified partners. Ask the Chalkak team for an access key.