I’ve only ever painted my nails once; and that was at a Christmas party, so you can imagine the circumstances that led to that incident. Anyway, it seemed like a lot of work and I know lots of women who seem to spend hours varnishing their nails. Now there’s a handy gadget that can do it for you in an instant.

The NailJet printer includes a 15” LCD display that you can use to choose from 1000’s of different designs and images using up to 16 million colours. You first paint your nails with a preparatory primer, then place you fingers on a pad inside the printer. The device has a camera that automatically senses the position of your nails, their size and their curvature. You select the pattern you want for each nail and the process starts with a click of the mouse.

The device prints 4 fingers at a time, with thumbs being printed separately. The manufacturers claim that you can print an entire set of nails in less than 4 minutes.

My partner wants one of these, and I’ve told her no for two reasons. Firstly, the printer costs $7,000. Secondly, and most important of all, 4 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot of time, but she would have to choose from 2000 different patterns and 16 million colours first. That would take an eternity!

The NailJet printer, found via Techie Diva.