Schematic Printer

Container-fed Survival construction triggered by redstone, with optional repeat building.

Paid building with redstone

A printer binds a schematic placement to a block, so redstone can start a paid Survival build using nearby eligible containers. It uses the same material accounting, placement checks and server limits as the Survival builder.

The schematic press has a wood-and-metal frame, a blueprint scroll, a side crank, a redstone crystal and a small block design on its bed. This is the printer’s physical appearance; the miniature blocks are decorative, and the bound schematic and build target are shown in its settings screen.

Its registry ID is simpleschematics:printer. Place it where you can configure it and supply a redstone signal. The player who places it owns the printer; the server checks who can edit and run it.

Craft the printer

Use a crafting table with four iron ingots in the corners, four redstone dust on the edge centers and a crafting table in the center:

Left column	Middle column	Right column
Iron ingot	Redstone	Iron ingot
Redstone	Crafting table	Redstone
Iron ingot	Redstone	Iron ingot

In Creative, find the Schematic Printer in Minecraft’s Redstone Blocks tab on all four supported loaders.

Bind your schematic

Load your schematic and position the preview at the first build site. Resolve any import choices.
If you want substitutions or saved-data choices, open Materials to set them before binding. This is optional when the selected schematic already has the choices you want.
Right-click your printer to open Schematic Printer. The printer takes priority over preview positioning, so clicking it opens its screen without moving the preview.
Wait for the selected schematic’s automatic upload and check. Bind schematic becomes available when it is ready; you do not need to visit Materials first just to prepare the upload.
Click Bind schematic. The printer saves the server-validated placement, options and substitutions as its template.
Choose a mode, enter whole-number X / Y / Z spacing if advancing, and click Save settings.
Provide all missing items in eligible containers near the target, then use Start or a redstone pulse.

Moving your preview afterward does not move the saved template. Rebind to adopt a different placement or choices. Configuration and rebinding are locked while active work is running.

Binding saves a copy of the selected plan, including its anchor, rotation, mirrors, substitutions, saved-data choices, build rate and effects. Changing those choices on the preview afterward does not update an existing binding. Set them before binding, or stop the printer and bind again.

The printer itself must sit outside the non-air blocks of the target; the build cannot replace its controller. If a relevant rule changes, stop outstanding work and rebind to adopt the updated rule plan.

Use the screen’s Wiki button to open this wiki. Hover a shortened Owner, Template, Status or Target line to read its full text.

Repeating a build

Mode shown in the UI	Behavior
Mode: one print	Start one paid job at the bound target.
Mode: repeat at one target	Wait while the completed target remains unchanged; build again when the result is cleared and materials/checks allow it.
Mode: advance by spacing	After successful completion, add X/Y/Z spacing to the current target anchor and attempt the next copy.

The Redstone power indicator shows a vanilla redstone torch: lit when powered, unlit when off. Hover it for the explicit On/Off state; Minecraft narration also reads the state. It describes the current signal, rather than whether a repeating job is latched.

A rising redstone edge starts the configured mode. In repeat modes, that pulse latches repeating work; the signal does not have to stay powered. Use Stop to stop it. A shortage, blockage or refused check can halt work and needs attention before another Start/Resume as appropriate.

For a row of copies twelve blocks apart along world X, use X = 12, Y = 0, Z = 0. Choose spacing large enough that the whole transformed schematic fits without overlap. Negative values go in the opposite direction; Y adds vertical spacing. All-zero spacing is refused in advance mode, and out-of-bounds or overflowing targets are refused.

Spacing accepts whole numbers. Invalid text disables Save settings and shows the red hint Enter whole numbers for X, Y and Z. Your unsaved spacing entries are retained across status refreshes and screen resizing.

Some configured blocks contain coordinates that need their own relocation contract. Advancing refuses those blocks with This configured block needs a relocation adapter before advancing when no suitable contract exists. A generic saved-data rule does not supply that missing transformation.

Advance occurs only after a successful complete print. A stopped or failed copy does not skip to the next spacing position. The Target line shows the active anchor.

Three practical setups

Print one small foundation

Prepare a schematic containing eight plain stone blocks and place its preview over an empty site.
Put eight stone in an eligible nearby container, assuming the normal cost and no substitutions or custom stone rule.
Bind the schematic, choose Mode: one print and save settings.
Press Start, or connect a button that produces one redstone pulse.
The printer builds the missing foundation blocks and finishes. The owner’s player inventory is not the supply source.

If two blocks already match, only the six missing blocks need materials. Solid obstructions still have to be cleared; spare materials do not authorize overwriting them.

Rebuild a fixed output site

Use Mode: repeat at one target when the same location should be built again after its output is removed. Bind the first placement, supply containers and start with one pulse. While the target still matches, the printer shows Waiting for this target to change and consumes no new construction inputs for that unchanged result.

An external machine or a player can remove the finished blocks. The next copy uses real materials and must pass the ordinary placement checks. This works as a repeated paid building step; the printer does not remove its own output or run the external machine.

A preserved machine with changing configuration may stop matching its bound template. The rule field ignore_when_comparing does not relax the printer’s paid configuration/fulfillment checks. See Block data rules before relying on a working machine as a fixed output.

Place a row of separate foundations

For three eight-stone foundations twelve blocks apart along world X, supply twenty-four stone near the intended targets, choose Mode: advance by spacing, enter X = 12, Y = 0, Z = 0, save and start. After each completed copy, the anchor moves twelve blocks along X.

Advance mode does not have a copy-count setting: stop it after the desired number of copies, or let it halt when the next copy has no eligible materials. Use the Target line to see where the next copy will go. Do not rely on an obstruction as a normal stop mechanism.

Spacing is measured in world axes and stays separate from the schematic’s rotation. For a row along Z, use X = 0, Y = 0, Z = 12. For a vertical stack, use a suitable positive Y spacing; leave room for the transformed height and keep every target inside build height.

Supply the next copy

Keep the build site clear and supply the complete missing materials in eligible containers. Repeated builds do not grant free materials or copy stored inventories and energy. Consult Survival material sources and Rules for data and cost problems.

The usual 10-block container range is measured from the transformed build’s edges, rather than from the printer. Place enough supply along an advancing row, or move containers between runs. Fixed-target mode can work with an external machine that clears the output, provided each new paid placement passes the normal checks.

Container exclusions and extraction faces selected before binding are saved with the template. Advancing does not reposition your physical supply containers or those saved exclusions. Rebind if the intended supply-access choices change.

Read the printer’s status

Status or message	Next step
None bound / Select a named schematic	Load a schematic in the library, let its upload/check finish, then bind it.
Checking template and materials	Wait for the check; inspect the next status rather than sending repeated starts.
Waiting for this target to change	Fixed mode has no new work at the completed target. Clear the intended output when ready.
Target is unchanged	One-print/advance mode found no missing work at the current target. Reposition/rebind or provide a site that needs the design.
An authorised Survival owner is required	The placed printer’s owner must be eligible for paid construction. Creative configuration does not permit free printing.
Finish or stop the current job first	Pause/Resume or Stop the linked job before changing the binding or settings.
Advance spacing must not be zero	Enter at least one non-zero X/Y/Z component and Save settings.
This configured block needs a relocation adapter before advancing	Use a compatible integration, fresh defaults/manual placement where suitable, or a fixed-target setup.
Template exceeds the printer storage limit	Use a smaller or simpler schematic for this printer. The previous valid binding is retained.
Ready to restart / Paused by owner	After a clean reload or manual pause, use Resume as the owner. A Recovery message needs inspection first.

Material shortages, obstruction, permission, chunk and recovery messages come from the paid builder. The Survival guide and Troubleshooting explain those conditions. A rule change requires a fresh binding once outstanding work is resolved.

Pause, Stop and restart

Pause and Resume control the linked paid job. Stop cancels through the Survival return path, keeps completed work and returns unused held inputs where possible. Read status messages for unresolved return space or recovery requirements.

After a clean server restart or chunk reload, linked work waits for the owner’s explicit Resume. If an unclean shutdown left an ambiguous operation or the job reports Recovery, inspect its recovery state first; pressing Resume is not a substitute for resolving that ambiguity. See Recovery guidance.

An oversized template is refused with Template exceeds the printer storage limit, leaving the old binding in place; the serialized printer template budget is 240 KiB, independent of the general file-import limits.

Pause is for continuing the current job later. Stop is for cancelling that linked work and ending repeat activity. Removing the printer also stops its linked work through the paid return path; it does not erase placed blocks or create an extra refund.

If a return is recorded as owed, make room in eligible supplies and use the existing job controls to resolve it. A restart, a second redstone pulse or a new printer is not a substitute for resolving an outstanding paid job.

Before changing mod versions, finish or Stop linked work and settle all owed returns on the old version, then stop the server and back up the world. A paused printer job is still unfinished. To downgrade, restore the pre-upgrade backup; 0.1.0 cannot load the printer blocks and templates in a 0.2.0 world. Follow the full upgrade steps.

The printer must be ticking

Paid printer placement requires the controller’s chunk to be both already loaded and actively ticking under Minecraft’s simulation-range rules. A chunk merely remaining cached or loaded is not enough. Work pauses outside the controller’s ticking range, even before the chunk physically unloads.

The printer adds no chunk-loading tickets. An external chunk loader must provide actual ticking eligibility if you want the machine to run without a nearby player. After a clean cold chunk reload or server boot, the owner must explicitly Resume linked work. An ambiguous job from an unclean shutdown needs Recovery inspection first.

This machine-specific controller requirement does not change ordinary Survival build behavior; ordinary jobs keep their existing required-chunk rules.