I'm looking into buying a printer for edible images. I have read that you can buy any type of printer, that takes colored cartridges, and use the edible ink cartridges and paper. I'm a bit leary about that statement. I can why one would think it was ok...1. if the printer was brand new 2. if they had never used it with regular colored ink cartridges, and 3. if it was going to be used only for food products.

Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks,

One more thing. Does any one have an Epson? Are they good? I'm looking into possibly buying a stand alone. I have a computer but would rather not hook up.

HI There!
The printer you purchase must be compatable with the edible ink cartridges. There are two brands sold, epson and canon. In our experience, we do not recommend Epson. Not to take anything away from Epson, the printhead is not removable. So if you get a clog, and it is a nasty one, you cannot take the printhead out to clean it. Which means if you cannot clean it through the printer functions itself, you are out the entire printer.

Understand, my job is to break printers and fix them. In my experience, I found the Epsons to be easier to break, more finicky and harder to fix.

Canons on the other hand are a bit better. The printheads are removable so if you do get a nasty clog, you can remove the printhead for cleaning. What I like about the Canons is they use our sponge free cartrdiges. I know I am biased, but being in the business for this long, I would much rather help my customers get the biggest bang for their buck while upholding high standards. That being said, cartridges come with and without sponges. The sponge in the latest series cartridges take up about 60% of the space in the cartridges. When the cartridge reads empty, their is a lot of ink left in the cartridge. Plus, when you use a sponged cartridge you must use alcohol in the inks to prevent bacteria growth inside the sponge. So this is why I prefer sponge free cartridges, no sponge so no alcohol in ink which increases the longevity of the printer and you get more ink per cartridge because the sponge is not wasting space. Finally you can refill these cartrdiges directly in the printer. This allows for the most sanitary conditions when refilling without the mess of the ink....

I can go on and on as I have too much knowledge in my head! But I will be glad to answer any questions you may have.