For years, vendors have been claiming to make computers and printers that are just like appliances –- that is, you plug them in and they start up, with no complex installation manuals or operation tutorials.

Now we have the reverse — an appliance that that works like a printer. This new toaster, conceived by Swiss designer Othmar Muehlebach, has the same sleek lines as an Apple computer. You feed a loaf of sliced bread into a tray, much like you’d feed paper in an ink jet printer. Each slice is fed into a slot, where it is toasted and output (dropped) to a lower tray, nicely browned on both sides in one pass (duplexing).

No word on whether there are cartridges that apply butter, margarine, jam or peanut butter. And there is no spm specification (slices per minute).

This product isn’t slated to appear on the shelves at Macy’s any time soon, but it did win second place in a noted European industrial design contest.

The next feature we’d like to see: the ability to burn in a customized message, like “Good Morning” or “Don’t forget your vitamins.”

See a picture here.

Tags: Othmar Muehlebach, toaster