The world of 1:1 printing has moved way beyond direct mail. You can now get your name or other personal text on just about anything from baked goods (scone to scone printing?), labels, candy, and more. Here are twelve new approaches to personalization.

Chocolate Candies
Print your photo or any other artwork on chocolate candies.

$49.99 for a box of truffles
www.chocolographyboutique.com

Ketchup and Mustard Bottle Labels
Put your own words on a Heinz ketchup and mustard bottle label.

$6.00 for a 14-ounce bottle
http://myheinz.com

Wine
Select a wine and design your own label from a palette of choices.

$600 for a 12-bottle case of Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, CA. Merlot? Not!
www.personalwine.com

Soda Pop
Select a flavor of Jones Soda and upload a digital photo for the label. You can also write a message for the label on the back of the bottle.

$34.95 for a pack case of 12
http://myjones.com

Branded Steak
Pick the letters you want and they come pre-branded on each steak so guests know that you grilled their meat.

$24.95 for a three-lettered brand; $29.95 for a logo on a brand. Sorry, no photo brands -- no one wants their picture on what was the rear end of a steer.
www.texasirons.com

M&Ms
One side is yours to customize. You get two lines, eight characters maximum per line. You can even get your logo printed instead of the text. The other side will have the famous "m." They say you can have your company colors, but don't expect the Pantone set.

$45 for 32 ounces
www.mymms.com/business22

Wheaties Box
Send in a photo and have it printed on a box of Wheaties. I have one and it is pretty neat.

$34.95 per box
www.wheatiestrophy.com

Postage Stamps
Upload a digital picture and it is printed onto stamps acceptable to the U.S. postal service. They are pressure-sensitive and no licking is needed.

$17.99 for book of 20 customized 39-cent stamps (as long as stamps are 39 cents)
http://photostamps.com

Custom Labels
Put your name on elegant custom-designed labels, favor tags, and coasters to create beautiful personalized wedding and party favors, food or craft gifts, bath creations, wedding CDs and DVDs, baby announcement CDs, and more. Create book plates or serve your personal coasters to guests at dinner parties.

Price varies
http://www.myownlabels.com

Personalized Halloween Cookies
Gingerbread jack-o'-lantern cookies for your favorite little ghosts. The treats are then individually decorated and personalized with up to eight characters, including spaces. A Williams-Sonoma exclusive.

Approximately 4 ounces each. Set of three, $24.00
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/prod/sku8259939.jsp (no longer available)

Personalized Whirly Pops
Each sucker is three or four inches in diameter and is personalized with your choice of any design from the web site and tied off with coordinating curled ribbons.
You can even add a photograph or logo.

Each 3-inch version is $1.95
http://www.personalizedsweets.com/

And the Winner for the Most Personalized Product Goes to Art Created from Your DNA
DNA 11 creates unique, high-end, abstract art from DNA. Each individual piece of art is a one-of-a-kind stylized artistic representation of a person's genetic fingerprint. With a wide selection of colors and styles from which to choose, customers can customize the piece to reflect their personalities and best suit their home or office décor. Creating your own DNA Portrait is simple:

Step 1: Select your color and size options from online store.

Step 2: DNA 11 sends you a collection kit with instructions.

Step 3: Follow the step-by-step directions and send your DNA sample back to DNA labs using pre-addressed envelope.

Step 4: Your DNA sample is processed in a secure lab: DNA is extracted and run on a "gel," then the gel is photographed using a special camera.

Step 5: DNA 11 digitally enhances and customizes your DNA fingerprint. They then print your art piece on the highest quality canvas using an in-house Giclee printer.

Step 6: Each art piece is visually inspected. Your art is then hand-varnished and signed on the back by the founders of DNA 11.

Step 7: Your art piece is shipped rolled in a protective tube.

Step 8: You are accused of murdering Jimmy Hoffa in Michigan in 1975 (only kidding).

From $190 and up
http://www.dna11.com

Lost in Translation: The Dark Center of Personalized Food Printing
Aunt Elsa was supposed to receive a customized cake from Wegmans Supermarket to celebrate her birthday. The part-English, part-Italian message was e-mailed into Wegmans and their digital cake printer (flatbread inkjet?). But the system had a disconnect with non-English glyphs. Why no one actually looked at the cake before sending it out is beyond us, although cake proofreading is not a common occupation. Nevertheless, Aunt Elsa had a cake with a strange birthday message (Figure 1), and we presume even the ?supportEmptyParas? was tasty if not tasteful.

Figure 1. Mmmm, [endif] (via Engadget).

What font goes best with bakery products? Butter Scotch Bold.

Frank Romano has spent over 40 years in the printing and publishing industries. Many know him best as the editor of the International Paper Pocket Pal or from the hundreds of articles he has written for publications from North America and Europe to the Middle East to Asia and Australia.

He has founded eight publications, serving as publisher or editor for TypeWorld/Electronic Publishing (which ended in its 30th year of publication), Computer Artist, Color Publishing, The Typographer, EP&P, and both the NCPA and PrintRIT Journals. His columns appear monthly in the Digital Printing Report. He is the editor of the EDSF Report.

He has been quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Times of London, USA Today, Business Week, Forbes, and many other newspapers and publications, as well as on TV and radio. He has partnered with InfoTrends on strategic information for the printing industry.

He continues to teach courses at RIT and other universities and works with students on unique research projects.