Hi,

I don't have an edible images printer, but the shop that does kids' cakes in my area does. I was planning on doing an anniversary cake for my inlaws and am contemplating putting a royal icing framed picture of them on the cake.

My question is: supposing that the shop agreed to print up an edible image for me - is it possible to put it in tupperware to take home right away, or do these images have to be put on the cake immedately?

Thanks.

Yes, you can put it in tupperware to keep it from drying out. You don't need to use it right away IMO.

Thanks!

Whenever I get edible images ahead of time from the grocery store, I'm told to keep them in a zip-lock bag. That seems to work well - they've kept for a long time!

Cakesrock: how much do they charge you for the image?

zip lock works fine, I have the printer and I do images ahead of time and they will keep for months

I get a sheet for $10 (Canadian) - it's about 7X10 at Sobey's. But I can get as many images as will fit on that sheet. It's not cheap, though.....

I did a seminar for the Southeastern Bakery Assoc. and found that people charge anywhere between $6.00 - $23.00. Everyone yelled at the $6.00 and told her to increase her price!!! We charge $13.00 plus $5.00 shipping.

I have a epson 200nx and I use the Kopy Kake program, I just figured out how to put more than one image on each sheet, What a relief sure maximizes your decorating abilities, just not computer save, but when I do figure it out I feel like a genius LOL

You can use most any graphics program that you are already familiar with to print images. The only time you need special software is when you are printing the speciality sizes like the 2", 2.5"... circles. We are working on a program now, it is the beta stages, but if you order our premium 2.5" circles, you get a copy of the beta version to download for free! Its in its rough form, but we are almost done completing the actual program. Once we are done, it wont be free anymore.... But it is just a simple printing program which places images on the page and prints them

You can download Edible ARtist from this site for free and it's very user friendly. http://deco.uk.com/

You're welcome!

I would keep it in a plastic bag instead of the container, less air exposure.

You might consider putting it in a chocolate frame. They look SO nice in those.

Jen

thanks for the replies, everyone!

For those of you who make edible images, can I ask a couple of questions please. I know you have to have a dedicated printer just for edible images, when you buy a new printer, don't they test them at the mfg to make sure they work ok, so wouldn't they already have regular ink that has run through them, so do you have to somehow clean this out? (Hope that's not a silly question) And where do you buy the cartridges, do you buy regular ink ones and clean them out and then fill with food colour? I would really appreciat any info anyone would like to share about this. Thanks Lisa

You can buy cartridges at several places. Kopykake, icingimages, photofrost, and many others. I purchased new, empty, refillable cartridges on ebay and buy the the refill edible ink from kopykake. It's much cheaper that way. Kopykake has a list of printers they supply cartridges for. I can't answer the question about the testing at the mfg.

Thank you Glenda

Dear Lisa:

I think you have very good question but I think Epson or Canon may be using some type of testing equipment - may be using by air compressor to see if air can flow through printhead.

Most of cartridge supply are using brand new compatible cartridge for Edible printer. No one is using OEM cartridge to refill edible ink. You may see them (REMAN CARTRIDGE) in HP, Canon, Lexmark or Dell printer. Those are built in with PRINTHEAD. As long as you print a color chart every other week then your printer should be fine.

I think only PhotoFrost are using Reman cartridge for their edible printer. Photofrost is the only one that selling HP(HP 95/96/97/9 printer.

Thank you EdibleSupply

Here is something that I use to help my customers when they are trying to decide if it is time to buy a printer. It is important that you are going to use it, at least once per week. If you dont then print something on regular paper.

There are two types of printers out there. Ones that hook up to a computer and you would use it the same way you do when you print "regular" pictures, and the other has a scanner/printer combo that works like a copier. It can hook up to a computer but does not have to.

What you need to ask yourself is if you need a unit with a scanner. If you already have a scanner, do not pay extra for a printer with one on it as you are purchasing redundant equipment. So, that being said, once you decide which printer type works best for you, you move on to the next set of questions. If you choose the scanner/printer unit, you would then choose if you need a model that prints up to 8.5x14" without a computer which would be teh mx860, or if printing up to 8.5x11" without a computer would be big enough, which would be the mp560. Both systems will print up to 8.5x14" with a computer and my guess is that you have a computer since you are on Cake Central. So, I would not pay the extra to print an 8.5x14" without a computer. That brings you to a scanner/printer unit which is the Canon mp560 or if you already have the scanner then the Canon mp3600.
Now...Older version printer versus newer versions. The newer printers use our Gold Label ink. We use spongeless cartridges which give you a bit more ink. The fact that we cant get it to clog...yet, goes a long way. The refills bring the cost per print down dramatically and the gold label cartridges are easy to refill.
I have been in business for 10 years from the horrible 2 cartridge printers that printed 18-20 prints until now and I have never had better ink than with this series. So much so, that I am offierng all my customers who purchased a printer from me to upgrade at a discounted price.
I hope this is helpful to you and that it sheds some light on things.
Oh, as long as you use a new printer, you can print with edible inks.
Good luck!

Thanks Debbie, lots of good info in there

This question is for icing images.... i have been going back and forth with the thought of buying an edible printer. I have weighed the cost and I can finally make the purchase but....If im not using it at least once a week, its not worth it? Is that your advice? I dont want to waste my money and I just want it in case I need it. What do you think?

You can get a chocolate mold from www.sugaredproductions.com I attached my photo image with a little piping gel.