Kiran used one of the lab's Fab@Homes - a customisable research printer that allows scientists to tinker with different cartridges, control software and other parameters.
For the conductor, Kiran used a silver ink. For the magnet, he employed the help of Samanvaya Srivastava, a graduate student in chemical and biomolecular engineering, to come up with a viscous blend of strontium ferrite.
After making a detailed digital model of the telegraph, they printed it on a research 'fabber'.
3D printing technology could be moving from printing passive parts toward printing active, integrated systems, added the release. But it will be a while before consumers are printing electronics at home.
Most printers cannot efficiently handle multiple materials. It's also difficult to find mutually compatible materials - for example, conductive copper and plastic coming out of the same printer require different temperatures and curing times.
Creating a market for printed electronic devices could be like introducing colour printers after only black and white had existed. "It opens up a whole new space that makes the old look primitive," the release added.
