Milan 2012: this inkjet printer has been adapted by Ecole Cantonale d’art de Lausanne (ECAL) student Christophe Guberan to print patterns that contort pieces of paper into specific 3D forms.  Watch this movie on Dezeen Screen »

The machine prints a mixture of water and ink that causes the paper to fold automatically along wet lines and humid areas.

It's hooked up to a computer that can be used to generate patterns for different fold configurations.

There will be a live presentation of the project at the Salone Satellite at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan next week. See all our stories about Milan 2012 here.

Watch another popular series abut folding paper by hand on Dezeen Screen here.

Here are some more details from ECAL:

Hydro-Fold by ECAL/Christophe Guberan

The ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne is very pleased and honoured to be invited on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Salone Satellite in 2012.

Under the given topic «Design-Technology» we decided to present a very innovative yet extremely straight-forward project: Hydro-Fold.

Christophe Guberan, 3rd year Product Design student at the ECAL conceived and developed the Hydro-Fold project. It is a project combining modern technology (ink-jet printer) and a very well known and accessible material (paper).

Hydro-Fold is a project that aims to explore the properties of paper or how a liquid may bend its structure.

The project consists on bringing modifications on a simple contemporary desktop ink-jet printer by replacing the regular ink contained in the cartridge by a very specific mixture of ink and water.

Different patterns, grids and shapes can be printed on paper using this specific liquid. While drying, the paper contorts, folds and retracts around the printed and humid areas, transforming it self from a 2-dimensional paper sheet to a 3-dimensional structure where lines become edges and surfaces become volumes.]

We aim to present this project through and installation bringing together 3 functional ink-jet printers, each on a separate display table as a live happening.

A video presenting the process and various possibilities of this concept will be presented on the available screen. The public will be able to see the paper sheets being printed and then take home with them as a souvenir.

Material: paper, ink + water
Process: customised water printing machine