Dive Brief:
- At last week's International CES in Las Vegas, 3D Systems unveiled two new food printers — the ChefJet and ChefJet Pro.
- The two new 3D food printers are designed specifically for candy and dessert items, and instead of squirting edible printing material from pre-loaded tubes, the printers use a process that binds granular materials.
- To be more specific, a thin, even layer of fine granular sugar is spread by a roller, and a narrow stream of water is then sprayed by the printing head in a pre-selected pattern. The sugar bonds and forms a shape when it dries, and the process is repeated until completed.
Dive Insight:
It's not hard to imagine something on a larger scale being developed for mass candy manufacturing, if it isn't already. These two printers, which will be available in late-2014, come equipped with a variety of food colorings and dyes, further expanding the possibilities for bakers, pastry chefs, confectioners and chocolatiers wishing to print sugar, chocolate and other candy in just about any shape imaginable. They'll be priced at $5,000 and $10,000 respectively, which doesn't seem particularly hefty if it allows our local baker to print sugar cubes in the shape of our logo.
