TL;DR
A drink printer machine is a compact beverage-top printer that sits on your bar or coffee counter and prints edible designs directly onto foam-topped drinks and even desserts.
The Ripple Maker, for example, uses natural, plant-based color extracts to print designs, “inks” (Ripples Pods) to print logos, selfies, and messages on coffee, cocktails, beer, milkshakes, and macarons in about 10 seconds per drink. The pods are optimized for different drink types, are certified to comply with international food safety regulations, and are gluten-free, non-GMO, and allergen-friendly.
What Is a Drink Printer Machine & How Does It Work?
If you’ve ever seen a latte, beer, or a cocktail with a perfect logo or selfie printed on the foam, that was almost certainly done by a drink printer machine. Ripples defines the Ripple Maker as a drink printer designed for all foam-topped drinks and some desserts, like macarons, printing images on top of foam using plant-based extracts.
Instead of ink and paper, this category uses:
- A countertop printer with an intelligent tray
- Edible “ink” cartridges called Ripples Pods
- A content platform that feeds designs to the machine
Together, they let you turn every drink into a small, branded media placement that guests will photograph, post, and remember.
If you’ve ever seen a latte, beer, or a cocktail with a perfect logo or selfie printed on the foam, that was almost certainly done by a drink printer machine. Ripples defines the Ripple Maker as a drink printer designed for all foam-topped drinks and some desserts, like macarons, printing images on top of foam using plant-based extracts.
Instead of ink and paper, this category uses:
- A countertop printer with an intelligent tray
- Edible “ink” cartridges called Ripples Pods
- A content platform that feeds designs to the machine
Together, they let you turn every drink into a small, branded media placement that guests will photograph, post, and remember.
What is a drinking printer machine & How does a drinking printer machine work to create edible designs?
A drinking printer machine is effectively a beverage-top media printer. In the Ripple Maker’s case, it is a compact device that fits on a standard counter, plugs into a normal outlet, and prints high-resolution images on the foam surface of drinks using natural, plant-based color extracts.
Under the hood, three components work together:
- Hardware
The printer includes a self-rising tray and sensors that automatically detect cup diameter and height to ensure the design is sized and centered correctly, even when your glassware changes. - Edible “ink” (Ripples Pods)
Ripple Pods are cartridges filled with patented edible extracts optimized to print on a variety of foams. They are available in different bases and colors (coffee, malt, black carrot, cabbage-based Chameleon, UV-reactive Glow, and multi-pod blends), so you can match designs to drink types and campaigns. - Content & software
Through Ripples Cloud and the Design Plan, you access thousands of royalty-free designs, upload your own logos, and even give guests a WebApp with a QR code so they can send selfies or messages from their phones straight to the machine’s queue.
From design to drink: the workflow
In a typical use case:
- Prepare the drink.
You make a latte, cappuccino, flat white, beer, cocktail, milkshake, or even a cookie or macaron, ensuring it has a smooth foam or frosting surface and fits within the recommended cup size. - Select the design.
Staff can choose from the on-screen library or pull designs sent by guests through the WebApp (for example, selfies or custom messages). - Place and print.
You place the cup or glass on the tray, the sensors align the print area, and the Ripple Maker sprays a precise amount of edible extract onto the foam surface, creating the final “ripple” design.
Nothing about the drink’s recipe needs to change. You’re simply adding a digital layer on top of the foam that carries your branding, seasonal content, or customer-generated designs.
How do drinking printer machines handle different beverage types and textures?
The core rule is simple: if you can create a stable, light-colored surface, you can probably print on it.
Ripples breaks this into several “What can I print on?” categories: coffee, beer, cocktails, milkshakes, and desserts such as macarons.
Coffee & hot drinks
Coffee is where the platform started: coffee-extract-topped lattes became an instant classic for Ripples. Best practice is to pour smooth microfoam and leave a flat, pale foam “target” in the center of the cup. The Brown Coffee Pod uses coffee extract to create brown prints that look like latte art and are designed for coffee and hot cocoa.
Beer
For beer, the natural head becomes your canvas. Ripples describes printing images, logos, or fun messages directly on beer foam to create unique, shareable moments that enhance guest experiences and build brand loyalty. The malt-based pod is odorless and flavor-neutral, and is specifically positioned as suitable for beer and other drinks.
Cocktails & mocktails
Cocktail printing depends on having consistent foam on top of the drink. Ripples promotes both traditional egg-white / aquafaba approaches and its own Ripples Foamer, a vegan foaming concentrate that produces stable, neutral-tasting foam for shaken cocktails and mocktails. That foam becomes the surface for prints, enabling personalized cocktails without changing recipes or flavor profiles.
Desserts & macarons
The same printer can be used on macarons and other desserts with smooth frosting or icing. Ripples highlights macaron printing as a way to add personalized touches for gifts, events, and launches.
Across all these formats, the support content for “Master Printing” emphasizes:
- Stable, even foam or coating
- Cups not wider than the recommended diameter
- Filled to the brim to keep the print crisp and centered
This is what lets a single drinking printer machine move seamlessly from cappuccinos in the morning to cocktails and beer at night.
How long does it take to print a design with a drinking printer machine?
Speed is critical in any bar or café, so print time is one of the most important operational questions.
Ripples positions the Ripple Maker II and Ripple Maker II Pro as printing in about 10 seconds per drink. Product specs for both models highlight that the machines “print in 10 seconds,” combining high throughput with compact, plug-and-play design. The main site also promotes “stunning drink prints in seconds” and notes that the printer fits seamlessly on the counter and requires minimal staff training.
In practical terms:
- The drink preparation time (pulling a shot, steaming milk, shaking a cocktail, or pouring beer) is what you already do today.
- The print pass is roughly 10 seconds. While the machine prints, staff can start the next drink or interact with guests, so the printer does not disrupt service flow. Case studies from venues like The Yeatman call out that the Ripple Maker “operates with just one tap and prints in seconds,” and does not hinder operations.
For high-volume operations, that makes it realistic to print on every eligible drink instead of treating it as a rare add-on.
Are drinking printer machines safe and FDA-approved?
With any food-contact technology, safety and compliance come down to ingredients and manufacturing standards rather than the hardware alone.
For Ripples, the key elements are pods and foamer:
- Ripple Pods are described as cartridges filled with patented extract, optimized for foams, and made from natural ingredients.
- All pods are “safety certified to comply with international regulations,” and the pods’ FAQ explains that they are tested, regulated, and certified against leading global food safety standards such as HACCP and ISO-based systems for food safety management.
- Pod extracts are explicitly stated to be gluten-free, non-GMO, 100% vegan, kosher, and free of common allergens, including dairy, soy, and nuts.
On top of that, the Chameleon Pod article notes that this pod is developed and produced in Ripples’ own food tech lab and factory, and meets full global safety regulations, including FDA and GMP certifications.
For the foam layer, Ripples Foamer is produced in a GMP-certified food lab, is vegan, kosher, gluten-free, non-GMO, and made without soy or nuts.
Finally, Ripples is clear that adding these extracts does not affect the drink’s taste; the coffee-based extract has a subtle coffee aroma, and the malt-based extract is odorless and tasteless, while other color pods are formulated to be neutral in smell and flavor.
So when you use a Ripple Maker with official pods and a foamer, you are working with components engineered specifically for food and beverage use and backed by documented safety certifications, including FDA coverage for at least part of the pod family.
Can I customize the ink used in drinking printer machines for special beverages?
In a drinking printer machine, “ink” is the edible extract inside the pods, and this is precisely where you get your customization power.
Ripples offers a portfolio of pods that differ by base ingredient and color, including:
Coffee Pod (brown): natural coffee bean extract, ideal for coffee and hot cocoa
- Malt Pod (brown): natural malted barley extract, suitable for all drinks, including beer
- Carrot Pod (red): black carrot extract for bold, red prints
- Chameleon Pod (purple/pink): cabbage-based, pH-sensitive colors that shift with the drink
- Ocean Blend and Jungle Blend: two-pod kits for the Ripple Maker II Pro that generate multi-color print spectra
- Glow Pod: UV-reactive riboflavin extract that glows under black light
All of these pods are designed to be interchangeable on the same device (except certain blends that are Pro-only), so you can swap colors to match specific menus, campaigns, or brand assets.
The Ripple Maker II Pro goes a step further by holding two cartridges at once and supporting one-color, two-color, and multi-color printing, including pH-based color-change effects. That means you can, for example:
- Use a coffee pod for morning latte art
- Switch to malt + Chameleon for evening cocktails and beer
- Deploy Glow for UV-party menus
In practice, you’re not formulating your own ink. Instead, you’re building a palette of safe, food-grade color extracts and assigning them to drinks and campaigns through the content and pod configuration you choose.
FAQ: Drinking Printer Machines
1. Is a drinking printer machine only for coffee, or can it work with other drinks?
While latte art is where many people first encounter drink printing, the Ripple Maker is explicitly designed for coffee, beer, cocktails, milkshakes, and desserts like macarons. Any foam-topped or frosting-topped item with a stable surface can serve as a canvas, so one machine can support multiple dayparts and concepts: breakfast lattes, afternoon milkshakes, and evening cocktails and pints.
2. Do drink prints affect the taste or texture of my beverage?
Ripples emphasizes that its pods are formulated to avoid changing taste or texture. The pods’ FAQ notes that the natural ingredients do not affect the drink’s taste; for example, the coffee-based extract has only a subtle coffee aroma, while the malt extract is completely odorless. Color pods like Carrot, Chameleon, and Glow are also described as odorless and tasteless, so guests see the design without perceiving an extra flavor layer.
3. How difficult is it to train staff to use a drinking printer machine?
The Ripple Maker is positioned as easy to set up and simple to operate, with “plug & play” installation, onscreen design search, automated cup height recognition, and a 1-year support and onboarding session included. Support resources include video guides, master printing tutorials, and maintenance content in the Ripples Academy and support center, which are specifically designed to get teams print-ready quickly. Most venues report that it fits into the existing workflow with just a few minutes of training per staff member.
4. Can guests send selfies or logos from their phones to be printed?
Yes. One of the main engagement features is the Ripples WebApp. You display a unique QR code; guests scan it, which opens a branded mobile site where they can upload a photo, take a selfie, choose a design, or type a short message. When they tap print, their design goes into your Ripple Maker’s queue, and your staff simply match the order number to the drink and hit print. This self-service model creates interactive, “Instagrammable” experiences without slowing the bar down.
5. How many prints can I get from one edible ink pod?
Pod yield depends on pod type, design density, and storage conditions, but Ripples states that pods typically produce roughly 1,200–1,600 prints, with higher coverage designs like selfies using more extract than simple line art. Each pod has an expiration date printed on the box, and for best results they recommend using an opened pod within about 30 days while storing it in a cool, dry place.
6. What kind of safety and dietary assurances can I give my guests?
You can confidently tell guests that Ripples Pods and Foamer are gluten-free, non-GMO, 100% vegan, kosher, and free from common allergens like dairy, soy, and nuts, and that they are produced in certified facilities that follow stringent food safety systems. You can also mention that pods are tested and certified against global food safety standards, and that at least one pod (Chameleon) is specifically described as meeting full global safety regulations, including FDA and GMP certifications.
Ripple Maker II
- Single color printing
- Select Onscreen Print Sizes
- Automated cup height recognition
- Search Design library right from your screen
- Printing on customized desserts
- Supports multiple languages: English, French, German, Spanish & more
- 1-year 24/7 support and warranty
- Onboarding welcome session with a customer success expert
In stock
Ripple Maker II Pro
- Prints in two colors & multiple colors
- Dual pod holder
- Automatic cup centering
- Printing on customized desserts
- Supports multiple languages: English, French, German, Spanish & more
- 1-year 24/7 support and warranty
- Onboarding welcome session with a customer success expert
In stock
