Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Introducing the "DrinkJet" Printer

This week's Globe column focuses on OnLatte, a two-person proto-start-up that's trying to build a business around a modified inkjet printer that can print edible imagery on cafe lattes and glasses of Guinness.

From the piece:

    A video showing the first prototype printer in action has been viewed more than 800,000 times on YouTube. The founders of OnLatte Inc. have put comic strips, kitty cats, flying horses, and corporate logos on cups of coffee, and they've printed Barack Obama's face on the head of a glass of Guinness (the brew is foamy enough for printing).

    The company has been invited to the prestigious Siggraph trade show, which brings together computer graphics gurus from around the world, and received coverage from newspapers and TV shows from across the globe without the help of a public relations firm.

    But the big questions for the two entrepreneurs trying to get OnLatte off the ground are whether there's a business here, and who will back it.


Here's a video demo:



(Props to Joost Bonsen for coining the term "drinkjet printing," which is just brilliant.)

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3 Comments:

Anonymous Josh P. said...

I guess its one alternative to the barrista writing your name on your coffee cup. Instead they'll just scan your face into the foam and set it on the counter :-)

December 9, 2008 4:21 PM  
Anonymous Rich A said...

I say you use it as a sobriety test: if you can't do the simple math problem printed on the foam, then you can't have your beer.

December 9, 2008 11:36 PM  
Anonymous John Stack said...

Do you think that sometime in the future, someone could SMS a kitchen and the food would come out with a message like "Marry Me" or "You're Fired?" Imagine paid sponsorships at a coffee house - this hour, we're highlighting "Viagra".

December 10, 2008 10:31 AM  

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