Back in December, I told you about Third Place Books' Espresso Book Machine, which can publish a book in about 7 minutes. In the time since that story, University Book Store got its own EBM. Now, Engadget reports that Xerox is about to put its considerable corporate power behind the device:

We may be skeptics, but Xerox is a believer, putting its reseller weight behind the machine (which uses not one but two of the company's printers internally), selling, leasing, and servicing the things through its retail connections. This means Espressos could start showing up more frequently at bookstores and perhaps even coffee shops early next year.

At a recent talk at Ravenna Third Place Books, EBM operator Vladimir Verano suggested that the ultimate goal for the device could eventually be a kind of "Redbox for books," a vending machine-looking device at stores that would do the printing work without a human hand. Xerox would definitely help make that vision into a reality.