Fingernail Painting Machine

2003-11-26

I was out with my friend Lulu and we saw this crazy fingernail painting machine so I just had to try it out.

It was a little scary at first because you stick your finger in it. I expected some printer head to come by and spray the pattern on my finger like an ink jet printer and I could imagine it messing up and shredding my finger but of course if that was the case the machine wouldn't be out.

Here is what happens. It was 300yen ($3) for 2 fingers. You pick a pattern

Then you insert your finger into this slot, line up the bottom of your fingernail where a laser is shining a marker and press go.

The machine then locks your finger from the sides, (not hard) you could pull your finger out at any time.

The way it really works is the machine has a jukebox of discs. Each one has one or 2 patterns. It grabs a disc and sets it into the main part of the machine. It then squirts dollops of the correct colored paints on the disc near the inside 3rd of the disc. Then it smears that paint to the outside with an arm spreading the paint to the outside of the disc and across the pattern, once for each color of paint. The paint only sticks to the pattern and the rest spills off the edge of the disc.

Then, once for each color, it takes a vinyl covered pillow, touches it to the disc where one color is, that puts the paint on the pillow. It then squishes the pillow on to your finger applying the paint. Finally it wipes the paint off the pillow and goes back for the next color.

Here are the results

You can pick from 3 sizes of fingernails. You generally would want to print over the sides and then clean off the excess. Then you'd probably want to apply a clear coat over it all.

I don't think this machine is really going to take off. It took 4 or 5 minutes for just 2 fingers and at $3 for 2 that would be $15 and 25 minutes for all your fingers. But it does make me wonder if they had a home version about the size of a Gamecube I wonder if it would be popular.

Comments
Jobless guys get no love
Death and Taxes