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Look! A Printer For Your Latte

2008_08_22-Latte.jpgLook! A printer for your coffee? Reader Rae sent us these photos of a pretty wild gadget she saw at a computer graphics trade show in Los Angeles last week. Click for more photos...

 
 

2008_08_22-Latte2.jpgShe says,

I saw a demonstration of a new technology that prints custom artwork right on top of your latte foam! The inventors repurposed a standard inkjet printer, replacing the ink with caramel syrup. We printed the logo for our latest project, but you could use a photo, or draw your own sketch on a tablet right there. Nerdy and tasty at the same time!

2008_08_22-Latte3.jpgWe are agog. We've seen the amazing art that talented baristas "draw" on their lattes using foam and a spoon, but this printer threatens to put them out of business. Look out barista artists - the OnLatte machine is coming for your job!

Well, maybe not; there will always be a place for artisans. Besides, this is still a prototype.

• See more images of the OnLatte printer at the OnLatte blog

(Images: OnLatte)

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Gadgets, coffee, technology, latte

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Comments (8)

Ha! I was thinking the same thing before I jumped down to the second half of the post.

More specifically, I see a last ditch effort by SB's to show that they are all about quality--even though they would be cheating.

Latte art is technically a proof that both the shot has been pulled and the milk has been steamed perfectly. If these techniques have not been pulled off correctly (which is almost never the case with major coffee chains) the latte art will not show up (and you don't need a spoon to do it.)

Maybe another Clover http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/355692_clover20.html
type move in the future.

posted by art on August 22nd 2008 at 7:12am
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I dunno, I think you could have a pretty interesting breakfast if you combined it with the Instant Laser Coffee Maker and the CNC toast printer! Good for a Star Trek themed dinner party?

(Unfortunately I didn't get to taste the coffee - it was demonstration-only.)

posted by SisterRae on August 22nd 2008 at 7:47am
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How do they do it? Is part of the printer suspended over the coffee, or what?

posted by whytephoenix on August 22nd 2008 at 9:57am
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You can see a video of the printer doing our logo here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt3RDd8VJ2Y

Basically, the inkjet mechanism is mounted on drawer slides, and then the whole thing moves over the coffee cup... you have to position it just right to get started, but then it does the rest of the work on its own.

posted by SisterRae on August 22nd 2008 at 6:49pm
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No thanks. Half the time the coffee is cold by the time it gets to me as it is. With this kind of technology we would get cold coffee 100% of the time. I don't pay someone to draw on my food (I can do that myself) I pay someone to give me a good and hot coffee!

posted by buda on August 24th 2008 at 12:28pm
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Clever, I've seen paper thin carmel candy logos dropped on foam for an event. The detail and customization were in the same range as above but it was much faster and easier to execute at the event.

posted by StevenHulk on August 26th 2008 at 4:34am
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"art", really, is latte art a proof of correct coffee preparation? Amazing, I didn't know that. More info on this?
I was also really amazed by the printer! :0

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