Prinker is a high-tech temporary tattoo printer. It works in conjunction with the Prinker app, which is an enormous database for designs. Users may upload their own custom designs furthermore, or create designs within the app itself.

The tattoos are both safe and non-toxic, and use cosmetic-grade inks to make it safe for skin use. Individual tattoos have a max image size of 39 x 0.9 inches, though if you’re industrious enough to undertake creating something larger, you’ll be able to combine tattoos by piecing together various individual images into one whole.

So, how does Prinker work? Prepare whatever spot on your body you would like to tattoo using the Prinker Skin primer. Select a tattoo from the Prinker app send it to your Prinker via bluetooth then you’re ready.  Simply push the print button and roll the Prinker over your skin. Once printed you the spray the image over again with primer to assist it in setting.

The finished result is also temporary but only upon close examination would you recognize it wasn’t permanent. It’s also suitable for pretty much your entire body, aside from the areas where you most likely shouldn’t be putting any tattoo; like your eyelids or more intimate spots. The ink is tried and tested, and the Prinker hardware itself is customized from handheld inkjet printers that have been around for years. It’s established tech that’s been repurposed in a fun way.

So what do I think about Prinker?

The Prinker does exactly what the company says it will do. Better yet, it does it remarkably well. Reviewing the merchandise alone reveals no immediate downsides. But such flawless tech comes at a price. The Prinker S device with black ink and skin primer will run you $370. If you’re searching for full blown color, it’s $570. Ink refills start at $220 for black and can cost more for colour.

Still, there are one or two of oldsters who could easily justify the Prinker tattoo printer not even as a fun splurge, but an investment. Anyone that dabbles in cosplay online or on the convention scene would get loads of use out of this fancy little gadget. So would theatre and performance art troupes looking to rock a visible edge after they hit the stage. And while working tattoo artists may scoff at the concept, they too may find some real use of Prinker. Customers can see, more or less, what their real tat would appear as if on their skin before committing to creating it permanent.