Patent ID: 7182018

Claim:
An apparatus for forming a registered ink-laden image on a non-planar printing surface of a shaped edible piece, the apparatus comprising: a transport surface including at least one shaped recess having a non-planar surface corresponding to the shaped edible piece and a vacuum hole positioned within the shaped recess, said edible piece being laterally, longitudinally and rotationally positioned within the shaped recess at a predetermined position; a first printer station at a first position along a transport path that applies a first component image of said registered image in ink on the shaped piece while in the predetermined position; a second printer station downstream from the first position that applies a second component image of said registered image on the edible piece in registration with the first component image of the registered image; a vacuum pump in communication with and applying a pressure differential to the vacuum hole to maintain the edible piece in the predetermined position within the recess while the edible piece is at and between the first and second print stations; and a valve system connected to the vacuum pump that applies a first pressure differential at the printer stations and a second pressure differential, less than the first pressure differential, between the printer stations.