According to its website, the printer can make an exact copy of a 200-page book in “less than 15 minutes.”

“The process is extra simple,” Magar said. “You can find the book catalog on our website or the on-demand book website, and users can search and find what they want, email me through our website, and we’ll have it ready for them usually within 24 hours.”

The machine has three main parts — one that prints the pages, one that binds it all together and one that cuts and trims the book into shape.

That online book catalog has more than 7 million titles. Though Magar did say that many of them are different versions of the same book, and also made sure to make the distinction that MSU libraries is serving as a printer, not a publisher.

“For the most part, there are usually not titles in there that are currently big in publishing,” Magar said. “You don’t need to have it available digitally because you have actual publishers printing those books.”

In terms of cost, Magar said that can fluctuate widely depending on what people are looking to print.

“The fee varies wildly,” he said. “It can be between nothing to more than the production cost of the book. It really depends on the title. The stuff in the public domain, like Moby Dick, will be in there with a low content fee.”

And that brings up the next issue for MSU libraries. Users of the Espresso Book Machine cannot just copy any book they please — it must be protected under copyright law.

Magar said that all the books on the school’s online catalog are approved, but when people come in looking to print their own content, it has to go through some legal checks.

“If you just request something from the internet, we need to know that it’s open domain or open sourced, so we won’t be violating copyright law,” he said.

And with more 7 million titles available, plus the ability to bring in personal works, there’s almost certainly something for everyone.