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Jie Sun, Zhuo Peng, Liangkun Yan, et al

pre-patterning food items at multiple layers of is a summary of current commercial 3DP applications
processing. The De Grood Innovations’FoodJet Prin- in food printing, in terms of materials, fabrication
ter [32] used pneumatic membrane nozzle-jets to drop platforms, and products.
on-demand materials onto pizza bases, biscuits, and
cupcakes. The ejected stream/droplets fall under grav- 3.2 Multi-material and Multi-printhead
ity, impact on the substrate, and dry through solvent Applying multiple materials is quite common in Cus-
evaporation. The drops can form a two and half di- tomized food, including traditional food materials,
mensional digital image as a decoration or surface fill. additives, and ingredients extracted from algae, beet,

or even insects. However, most of the food printer-
s [24,33] use a single printhead to extrude a mixture of
multiple materials. Thus, they are not capable of con-
trolling material distribution or composition within a
layer or a structure. To achieve controlled material
deposition and distribution in a drop-on-demand way,
more printheads are proposed. For multiple-printhead,
the data of individual layer is sent to a platform con-
troller (either in a commercial or a DIY platform),
which activates a corresponding printhead and con-
trols its feeding rate. Hence, food printers may per-
Figure 5. Inkjet Printing form multi-material object fabrication with higher
Compared with other methods, 3DP is an economi- geometric complexity and self-supporting structure.
cal and innovative way for mass customization in food Researchers tried multiple-printhead using
fabrication. The quality of fabricated food items de- Fab@Home 3D printer and tested with frosting, choc-
pends on the process and planning rather than people’s olate, processed cheese, muffin mix, hydrocolloid
skill. This technology can easily and accurately per- mixtures, caramel, and cookie dough [19] . Dual-material
form fabrication based on customer demands. Table 2 printing was only achieved for a limited material set.

Table 2. Comparison of 3DP technologies in food printing
Hot-melt extrusion Sintering technology Inkjet powder printing Inkjet printing
Materials Food polymers such as Low melting powder such as Powder such as sugars, starch, Low viscosity materials
chocolate sugar, NesQuik, or fat corn flour, flavours, and liquid such as paste or puree
binder
5
2
3
3
Viscosity 10 ~ 10 cP Not applicable 1 ~ 10 cP (Binder) 5×10 ~ 5×10 cP
Platform • Motorized stage • Motorized stage • Motorized stage • Motorized stage
• Heating unit • Sintering source (laser or hot • Powder bed • Inkjet printhead
• Extrusion device air) • Inkjet printhead for binder • Thermal control unit
• Powder bed printing
Printing Nozzle diameter: 0.5 ~ powder size:100 μm nozzle diameter≤ 50 μm nozzle diameter≤50 μm
Resolution* 1.5 mm Powder particle ≤100 μm
Fabricated Customized chocolates Food-grade art objects, toffee Sugar cube in full color Customized cookies,
Products shapes Bench-top food paste shap-
ing
Pros • Cost effective • Better printing quality • More material choices • Better printing quality
• Fast fabrication • Complex design • Better printing quality
• Full color potential
• Complex design
Cons • Low printing quality • Expensive platform • Slow fabrication • Slow fabrication
• High power consumption • Expensive platform • Expensive printhead
• Limited materials • Expensive platform
• Limited materials
Machine Choc Creator [33] Food Jetting Printer Chefjet [34] Foodjet [32]
[2]
Company Choc Edge TNO 3D Systems De Grood Innovations
* The printing resolution is determined by nozzle diameter and/or powder size.

International Journal of Bioprinting (2015)–Volume 1, Issue 1 33