OK, first my experience. I am an auto tech and I have basic knowledge and good thinking skills. I grew up watching my brother take apart and put together electronic projects.
At my job, I save a text document from a scan tool on a USB thumb drive and plug it into a computer to open and print. The problem is that the computer is usually tied up. If I could design and build a device to where I could plug in the USB drive, push a button and the printer prints it--all without a computer.
Three components are needed: USB drive, printer, and some interface to make the printer print the text document.
I would assume a power supply, pic and some basic hardware is needed. Any ideas on how to write a PIC program to do this? I just want to push a button and make it print.