System and method of producing printed decorations
A process of producing printed decorations includes providing a gumpaste mixture, creating a plurality of blanks from the mixture, arranging the plurality of blanks onto a platen of a printer, printing a pattern on the plurality of blanks, after the printing, removing the plurality of blanks from the platen, and forming each blank of the plurality of blanks into a shape of a decoration.
1. A process of producing printed decorations, comprising:
providing a gumpaste mixture;
sheeting the mixture to one or more predetermined thicknesses;
creating a plurality of blanks from the mixture;
manually arranging the plurality of blanks onto a platen of a printer;
scanning, by the printer, the platen for an orientation of each blank on the platen;
causing automatic adjustment, responsive to the scanning, of at least one of an orientation of the platen and a height of a printhead of the printer;
automatically printing a pattern on the plurality of blanks with the printer;
after the printing, manually removing the plurality of blanks from the platen; and
shaping each blank of the plurality of blanks into a shape of a decoration.
2. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the shaping includes adding additional elements to each of the plurality of blanks to create the decoration.
3. The process according to claim 1 , wherein manually arranging the plurality of blanks onto a platen of a printer comprises:
manually arranging each blank of the plurality of blanks onto a removable carrier having one or more visual markers; and
loading the removable carrier onto the platen of the printer.
4. The process according to claim 3 , wherein the removable carrier is an aluminum tray.
5. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the shape of the decoration is a bow.
6. The process according to claim 5 , wherein the shaping includes:
bunching up each end of the blank;
wrapping each end of the blank around a cylindrical object; and
wrapping a ribbon around a center of the blank.
7. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the printing includes printing an augmented reality marker on at least one of the plurality of blanks.
8. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the gumpaste mixture includes about 50% by weight to about 60% powder sugar, about 25% to about 35% tapioca flour, about 4.5% to about 6.0% palm kernel flakes, about 3.5% to about 5.0% water, about 0% to about 0.5% potassium sorbate, and about 0% to about 0.5% edible ink.
9. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the printer rides on a rail system to articulate over the platen.
10. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the platen is articulated on a rail system with respect to the printer.
11. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the printer performs laser-guided scanning.
12. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the scanning, and the causing automatic adjustment occurs during the printing.
13. A method of producing printed decorations, comprising:
providing a gumpaste mixture;
sheeting the mixture to one or more predetermined thicknesses;
creating a plurality of blanks from the mixture;
arranging each blank of the plurality of blanks onto one or more visual markers on a platen of a printer configured to print with edible ink;
scanning, by the printer, the plurality of blanks for correct positioning upon the one or more visual markers;
responsive to the scanning, causing automatic adjustment of an orientation of at least one of the platen and a printhead of the printer;
automatically printing a pattern on the plurality of blanks with the printer;
after the printing, removing the plurality of blanks from the platen; and,
shaping each blank of the plurality of blanks into a shape of a decoration.
14. The method according to claim 13 , wherein sheeting the mixture comprises passing the gumpaste mixture through a sheeting machine to obtain the one or more predetermined thicknesses.
15. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the one or more visual markers are created on a tray with edible markings defining placement positions for each of the plurality of blanks.
16. The method according to claim 13 , wherein creating the plurality of blanks comprises cutting the plurality of blanks using a cutting machine.
17. The method according to claim 13 , further comprising drying the shaped decoration in an oven.
18. The method according to claim 17 , wherein a drying temperature is between 65 to 70 degrees Celsius.
19. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the printed decoration is a marker configured to initiate an augmented reality experience.
20. The method according to claim 13 , wherein causing automatic adjustment of the orientation of at least one of the platen and the printhead comprises causing simultaneous adjustment of the platen and the printhead.