It's like a Xerox machine for food," says California inventor John Kitos of his creation, Decorate. The machine scans color images and paints them on white frosted cakes with near-photographic quality resolution.
Decorate, approximately US$18,000, is based on a 386 computer, a color scanner, and a custom painting unit that squirts edible food dye. The painting unit is "halfway between an inkjet printer and an air brush," Kitos explains. Refill cartridges, holding enough dye for about 40 cakes, cost approximately $40.
And cake isn't the only thing Decorate can paint. Any food with a flat smooth surface will serve as a canvas.
ELECTRIC WORD
A Day Without Boiled Angel Is Like a Day Without Sunshine
The Sound of Concrete Screaming
The Maryland Net: Almost Free, Almost Good
Oklahoma: Land of the Squeaky Clean CD-ROM
Edible Photography
