Abstract: This invention relates to a method and apparatus for distributing mass copies of text and/or images on a novel medium, namely eggs, by using the eggshell of the egg as an advertising or message-bearing medium. Mass quantities of eggs are imprinted with a promotional image prior to distributing said eggs to consumers. The promotional image can be, for example, a corporate logo, a national flags, a charitable insignias, a messages or a trademark and can be multi-colored. A matrix of eggs are preferably imprinted by a like matrix of printing tampons. The eggs are preferably lifted and oriented by a like matrix of vacuum heads.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method and apparatus for distributing mass copies of text and/or images on a novel medium, namely eggs, by using the eggshell of the egg as an advertising or message-bearing medium. Mass quantities of eggs are imprinted with a promotional image prior to distributing said eggs to consumers. The promotional image can be, for indicative of a modification to the egg's content, or consist of warnings or instructions pertaining to security or emergency matters. The shells of the eggs are imprinted by a method comprising the steps of (1) repeatedly transferring one row of eggs at a time from a carton having M rows of N eggs to N empty egg-receiving cradles until all the eggs in the carton has been transferred, moving the cradles through a number of imprinting stations, imprinting N eggs at each such station with N tampons, and transferring N imprinted eggs at a time into each of the M rows in the cartons.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method and apparatus for distributing mass copies of text and/or images on a novel medium, namely eggs, by using the eggshell of the egg as an advertising or message-bearing medium. Mass quantities of eggs are imprinted with a promotional image prior to distributing said eggs to consumers. The promotional image can be, for indicative of a modification to the egg's content, or consist of warnings or instructions pertaining to security or emergency matters. The shells of the eggs are imprinted by a method comprising the steps of (1) repeatedly transferring one row of eggs at a time from a carton having M rows of N eggs to N empty egg-receiving cradles until all the eggs in the carton has been transferred, moving the cradles through a number of imprinting stations, imprinting N eggs at each such station with N tampons, and transferring N imprinted eggs at a time into each of the M rows in the cartons.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method and apparatus for distributing mass copies of text and/or images on a novel medium, namely eggs, by using the eggshell of the egg as an advertising or message-bearing medium. Mass quantities of eggs are imprinted with a promotional image prior to distributing said eggs to consumers. The promotional image can be, for example, a corporate logo, a national flags, a charitable insignias, a messages or a trademark and can be multi-colored. A matrix of eggs are preferably imprinted by a like matrix of printing tampons. The eggs are preferably lifted and oriented by a like matrix of vacuum heads.