A Slate article about 3d printing

[Bradley]

Personally, food printing would be a killer app for me if it was connected to a nutrition program. Taste wouldn't be my primary concern if the machine managed my nutrition intake. However, I would quit using it once I got bored with paste and the printer would sit in the house like TV informercial exercise equipment.

[ajperez]

It's funny that you mention that Bradley. Actually Hod Lipson in the book foresees a personal food 3D printer that will custom make a nutritionally optimized meal depending on your specific biometrics status for each occasion. This will transform completely how we relate to food. On the other hand, Chris Barnatt in his great book "3D Printing: The Next Industrial Revolution," argues that the whole area of food 3D printing is going nowhere. My own opinion is somewhere in the middle. Just as microwave ovens did not replace traditional ovens or stove-tops, food 3D printers may be a kitchen technology with its unique place among others.

[Bradley]

I agree with Lipson. If we had devices that could measure of our nutritional needs a 3D printer that optimized our meals would be pretty amazing. On the other hand, Barnatt's position seems a little extreme. Fancy cupcakes are a market. If a 3D printer could print a fancy frosting for a batch of cupcakes it would probably find a market.