Someone called me for a cake with an image on it, I explained to him that I don't have an edible image printer and there would be no way of ordering one this close to the cake date. He says he doesn't care if the image sticks to the cake or whatever might happen in the case of a regular printed image, he must have this. I don't know what to tell him, is there a way to print of an image and somehow stick it to the cake (it will be fondant)? should I put parchment paper underneath or plastic wrap? or will it then slide of the cake? how about if I "stick" the printed image to plastic wrap with bc and then bc that to the cake? Am I making any sense? Anyone know?

I tried to talk him into frozen bc transfer but he doesn't want that.

Any thoughts?

ACan you get the image printed at the grocery store? If not, just tell him it is not possible. We've all heard the stories of a baker trying to accommodate a last minute order then the customer complains it is not what they wanted.

AOnce you explain to the customer what is realistically possible, the "must-have" requirements often turn into "nice-to-have" options.

Thanks but unfortunately I can't bc this is not something that can be done here, he knows that this is what he wants bc he sent me 2 photos and said he doesn't mind which one I use but it has to be printed. I told him very certainly that I have no way of doing this on an edible printer and he said he doesn't care - anything else I proposed to him for the cake he turned down. I'm just wondering if I can print it of, stick it with bc to plastic wrap and then stick that to the cake, or if anyone else has any other ideas?

AIf I were you I would explain that you can't meet the customer's requirements, apologize, and wish him the best of luck with his event.

Or buy a clear picture frame, put the picture in it, and have it set up in front of the cake.

If you really want to try to make this work another alternative would be to make a stand for the picture out of fondant, print the picture on heavy stock, and mount it on the stand on top of the cake. I'm not sure how good that would look though.

How much is the customer paying for this order anyway?

That's a good idea, I actually like the idea of the photo being 'framed', I'll call him and let him know the options. It's a small cake - 8 people. I haven't given a price yet bc I'm not sure what I'm doing. I told him I'd let him know the price when I can figure out if its possible to do it.

Thanks!

I would just make a gumpaste or fondant plaque. Then I would use clear tape and cover the back of the printed image and stick that on the plaque with buttercream or piping gel. The clear tape would serve as a barrier so the image won't get greasy or spotty from the BC or gel.

Obviously you would tell your customer that this is not edible and to remove the whole plaque before serving the cake..

I do cover the picture with either a clear or plastic picture frame, because I would not want to have any contact with any chemical ingredient of the cake, good luck!

Yo si cubriría la foto ya sea con un portaretrato transparente o plástico, debido a que no me gustaría que algun químico tuviera contacto con algun ingrediente del pastel, suerte!

You can use an edible image sheet in a regular printer and use the image in a way that it doesn't actually touch the cake as some mentioned  --on a gumpaste placard for example. It  be attached to lollipop sticks and can stick up vertically instead of laying on the cake. I've had to do this a few times when the edible image printer was on the fritz. Make sure you emphasize to the customer that regular, non-edible ink was used and get them to sign off on that. Usually a grocery store bakery will sell you a blank sheet. You can buy those Wilton ones, but i had trouble getting it to feed through my printer the one time I tried one. Had to push it.

http://cakecentral.com/g/i/3117004/a/3411216/birthday-cakes/sort/display_order/#order=7&albumId=3411216&nextId=3117005&prevId=3114469&imageId=3117004&imageESOId=9286219&fullUrl=%2Fg%2Fi%2F3117004%2Fa%2F3411216%2Fbirthday-cakes%2F%2Fsort%2Fdisplay_order&fullSrc=http%3A%2F%2Fcakecentral.com%2Fimage%2Fid%2F9286219%2Fwidth%2F900%2Fheight%2F900%2Fflags%2FLL&thumbSrc=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn001.cakecentral.com%2Fa%2Fab%2F50x50px-ZC-ab470f37_IMG_8017.jpeg&description=%0A&original=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn001.cakecentral.com%2Fa%2Fab%2Fab470f37_IMG_8017.jpeg&setName=&urlSlug=birthday-cakes

I recently ordered an icing sheet print, the person I got it from was having problems with her printer and it was awful! So I just laminated the paper printout and put a border around it. Turned out great and the birthday girl was thrilled with her keepsake. lol. (That's her face photoshopped in place of Alice)

Several of my cakes are done like that, if you look at my album.

Linda

I just printed the image on regular paper (duck commander logo), dusted fondant with a mixture of powdered sugar and cornstarch and laid my printed image on top of that to trace around it. I then cut the fondant same size as image and used BC icing to stick image onto the fondant and attached fondant to the cake...Explained to customer it is not edible and to remove that peice of fondant before serving. Hope that was ok...they loved cake and everyone is still alive...LOL

Wow, thanks so much for (all of) your help esp as I'm very visual so having the photos to look at is a bonus

glad the info was helpful, good luck with your cake!

Update - I called and explained the options to the client and he cancelled the cake. He said he absolutely wants the copy stuck to the cake & I told him that I could and would not do that so he got huffy with me and cancelled. Oh well, you win some you lose some.

ASorry you didn't get the sale but you are probably better off. He sounds like he would have been difficult even after the sale, probably demanding a refund.

I agree, I'm actually quite relieved bc the whole order was 'off' if you know what I mean. Thanks!

AHere's a picture of mine that I did for a friend. I cut wax paper to fit the picture and used double sided tape.[IMG ALT=""]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3118188/width/350/height/700[/IMG]

Looks fab, 

this order was so weird bc he was insistent that the copy be stuck to the cake even after I explained to him the difference between an edible print and regular print, I told him about ink leaking into the cake, the copy sticking to the cake etc but he didn't care. Made me wonder if he wanted to poison someone.  

 .

Sometimes it's better not to do things you're not sure, so next!

I the future if you have the time, not only do we print and ship images, but others do as well.  This way you do not have to worry about having things on cakes that are not edible.  Your whole cake can be edible and there are no worries if you let us or someone else who has an edible printer print for you. Health departments are cracking down heavily on non edible products on cakes and people who are cutting corners are getting shut down, so its best that you didn't do it  unless you had a truly edible cake

Thanks