Throughout the twenty-first century, technology such as three-dimensional food printers have greatly helped chefs to envision, prepare, and enhance new methods of how meals are prepared and processed through food industries. Due to high demands on certain food products, companies have turned to mass producing their food product by using 3D food printers to reduce the time and labor necessary to prepare and or package various types of sustenance. In addition to reducing the amount of labor, these three-dimensional printers have also suggested a new way on how culinary art schools can both incorporate technology in assisting the process of cooking a delightful meal as well as visual appeals. This introduces a whole new level of creativity and imagination to make an appealing food and or meal product. One out of the many advances in the history of information technology involves three-dimensional printers due to businesses exploiting these printers to mass produce, innovate, and explore the limitless abilities that additive manufacturing (AM) can provide.
In 1986, an intelligent member of 3D Systems named Chuck Hull invented three-dimensional printing. According to a newspaper company, known as The Economist (2013), states that after these objects are scanned, "The shape of each slice is used selectively to harden a layer of light-sensitive liquid, usually with ultraviolet light, to form the required shape" (p.1); which means that the machine uses a layering-based method to create a more realistic 3D form for all different types of three-dimensional printers such as 3D food printing or 3D drug printing. Since then, newer approaches have been made such as laser-sintering, which stated by The Economist, "involves zapping layers of powdered plastic or metal with a laser to harden the powder in some places " (p.1) is quite similar to 3D food printing because both printers use a layer-base method to create an artsy solid product.
On April 19, 2017, a journalist named Kyle Wiggers published an article called "From Pixels to Plate, Food Has Become 3D Printing's Delicious New Frontier" on the Digital Trends' webpage; he believes that "3D food printer could improve the nutritional value of meals, produce intricate sculptures out of everyday foodstuff, and solve hunger in regions of the world that lack access to fresh, affordable ingredients," (Wiggers) thus will benefit a large demographic since the food product will be very inexpensive