Copier having contoured track guides

An input scanner for scanning either a flat or a three-dimensional object having a contour, comprising:

• a platen;
• a track guide having a contour;
• a movable insert fitting into said contour;
• a motion inducing mechanism for selecting positioning said insert either at a first position or at a second position;
• a raster scanner adjacent said platen, said raster scanner having a moving carriage holding a light source that emits a line of light through said platen and toward an object plane, a sensor array, and input optics for focusing light from said object plane onto said sensor array, wherein said raster scanner produces a digital representation of the image at the object plane, and wherein said moving carriage includes a plurality of slide members;
• and
• a motion producer for moving said raster scanner across said platen such that said line of light scans across said platen and such that said slide members travel along said track guide;
• wherein said track guide cooperates with said slide members such that said object plane tracks the contour of a three-dimensional object on said platen when said insert is at said second position, and wherein said insert cooperates with said slide members such that said object plane travels on a fixed plane when said inserts are at said first position.

A printer, comprising:

• an input scanner having:
• a platen;
• a track guide with a contour;
• a movable insert fitting into said contour;
• a motion inducing mechanism receiving position signals, said motion inducing mechanism for selecting positioning said insert either at a first position or at a second position in response to said position signals;
• a raster scanner adjacent said platen, said raster scanner having a moving carriage holding a light source that emits a line of light through said platen and toward an object plane, a sensor array, and input optics for focusing light from said object plane onto said sensor array, wherein said raster scanner produces a digital representation of the image at the object plane, and wherein said moving carriage includes a plurality of slide members;
• and
• a motion producer for moving said raster scanner across said platen such that said line of light scans across said platen and such that said slide members travel along said track guide;
• wherein said track guide cooperates with said slide members such that said object plane tracks the contour of a three-dimensional object on said platen when said insert is at said second position, and wherein said insert cooperates with said slide members such that said object plane travels on a fixed plane when said inserts are at said first position;
• a controller having a user interface that selects three-dimensional copying, said controller for producing position signals that cause said motion inducing mechanism to position said insert at a second position in response to a selection of three-dimensional copying, said controller further for receiving said digital representation of the image at the object plane and for producing video signals that represent an image to be printed;
• and
• a printer for printing the image represented by said video signals.