Korean designer Jeon Hwan Ju earned a berth in the finals of the Core77 Greener Gadgets Design Contest with his RITI compact computer printer which uses recycled coffee grounds to make its own ink.

The RIKI not only produces distinctive sepia-toned printouts but also adds the dimension of fragrance. Not all that enamoured with the aroma of coffee? Then this ultra-green gadget may not be for you.

Another drawback for some (many?) users is the need to empty the coffee grounds and clean the ink hopper after each page. But that issue may well be addressed by industrial engineers who have already mastered the hands-free handling of coffee grounds in automated office espresso machines.

Also, in its current configuration, the RIKI only prints one hand-fed sheet at a time.

Nevertheless, the gadget has captured the imaginations of the contest judges and may yet confirm the inventor’s notion that brown is the new ‘green’.