Why can't you just clean the print head? Not that I'd use regular ink in my edible printer - but it just seems like if you clean the print head, you'll get all the ink out.

AYou'd have to clean the printhead, and the self-cleaning system, and anything else that came in contact therewith, and do so to food-safe standards. Unless you're fully equipped to rebuild inkjet printers, you wouldn't have anything that could do that without ruining the printer in the process.

James is correct. The ink gets all over the inside of the printer and cannot be easily cleaned out to make it food safe. 

I went to the KopyKake site and printed out the list of ink cartridges they had available then went into Staples and bought the Canon IP3600 and couldn't be more pleased.  I use it infrequently but the print heads never clog or fail me.

All I can do is be honest and tell you my experiences.  I've had it for three years. And ashamed to admit that I only use it twice a year.  I always turn it off after each use but don't remove the ink tanks and it works beautifully each time.  Even I'm surprised.

ASo happy about this information.....so want to do edible images can someone give me the links to the best printer ink & paper....also what ever I print from it is edible? Does it peel off??? Do we choose the size ee need? Thank You

Depends on the individual edible printing media, but the usual drill is to do any necessary trimming, then chill the edible print in the freezer for a few seconds to a minute or more, then peel off the backing, and apply to the cake while it's still stiff.

I also have a canon ip3600 and do not have any trouble with it (touch wood).  I unplug it after use and chuck it in the cupboard.  In the last 9 months I have printed maybe a dozen sheets and some of these have been at the same time.  After all I have read I decided that I should be printing at least a page a week to make sure I don't have problems but I find the weeks slipping away and my good intentions come to nothing.

Ok...lots of great info here.... To answer some questions.  The MP5320 is  better than the ip3600.  They are basically the same printers except the 5320 has the scan bed.  We have found that our customers proportionally by more of the 5320 and have fewer problems then even the 3600. I am not sure what troubles howsweet is having, but I may be able to help.  A lot of times it is something simple that needs tweaking.  Since we went with our new generation of ink several years ago, our customers problems have diminished greatly to the point we were able to reduce our service staff!

 

James, we dont have to chill our icing sheets, they feature the easy peel backing which gives an easy release! And where in DC are you? We are not that far apart! I was born and raised in MD!

 

Royalicing101There are different brands of icing sheets and inks out there for you to choose from.  We recommend you request samples or ask here on CC for favorites.  I am biased on our products of coarse since I am the owner! But find a company that answers your questions, ships quickly and provides good products.  One of the most frequent calls we get are the ones who find the cheapest product out there and end up in a mess.  But you do want to print regularly, once a week to two weeks, otherwise you are prone to problems.  While we do have many customers who use it here and there and they too put it away for long periods of time, we do find that its not an inexpensive hobby so it is something you want to use regularly!

 

Edible printing is the driving force of a new genre of cake decorating, edible paper art and edible printing is one small but important part of it as you can do so much more now a days with iDesigns, electronic cutting and Sweet Accents machines that your world is open to use the edible printing with isomalt, chocolate, gumpaste and even all by itself!

 

Please let me know if you have any questions!

 

Thanks

ASo if getting my first printer what is best choice?

I like the Canon MG5320 (our elite printer). Seems to have the fewest problems. 

A

You can use almost any Canon and HP inkjet printer. But you have to be able to clean these cartridges and have  a verified edible ink for them

 

Here is an example of HP Deskjet 930 & HP 78 inkjet cartridge and Brilliant Edible ink for it.

 

http://adriatix.hr/A_NOVOSTI/A_novo_INK_ink/PICT/Brilijant-Ink-_HP-78.jpg

 

HP 78 cartridge has been filed couple of times with distillate water an after that cleaned in appropriate Adriatix  centrifuge for inkjet cartridges.

 

The same way we found Canon iP 1900 + CISS  the best solution for printing in quantity with edible inks. Simple in use and good quality print. Excellent paper feeder.

http://adriatix.hr/A_PROIZVODI/A_pro_PRINTERI/Canon/PICT/DSCN5501_L.gif

Unfortunately you can not use some stock edible ink in these CISS because oxidation issues. So you need to use the edible ink that is resistant to air exposure.

I just ordered the canon PIXMA MG5420, which toners should I purchase? I went to Icingimages website, but I didn't find toners for this specific printer. :/

 

Thank you. 

Al what I can tell is this:

 

Just a week a go we have had an new customer with a story. They are making and printing on icing rice paper for sale. They have been using as a first printer some Italian convert of  Canon MG 5xxx printer. After some times that printer field so they bought same new Canon MG. And the next one in couple of months. In one year they trashed all together  1+ 2 printers.

 

So they finally decide to try something different. And we offered them our convert of Canon iP 1900 + CISS + our edible ink for cca USD 150.

 

So what are her impression? First of all they screw the first Canon iP 1900 we sent them. These thing are very had to send by mail to someone that is not skill with this thing that something does not got wrong.. Then they come in person for service. We gave her one other Canon iP 1900 + CISS. +Honey Brilliant Ink. And now after two weeks she is completely shocked how this small beast is working. No need to refill. And she is fascinated how colors are vivid and brilliant. 

 

Then we checked theirs Canon MG xxxx. Yes theirs print head have been clogged  and ink tank should be replaced regularly. So it is the most important what kind of ink you are using. And it should be tested and verified exactly on particular printer. That is why we saying: >> take that Canon iP 1900 package because everything is optimized .and proven.

 

Hope this helped you in some way.

A

Just a note: my new edible printing vendor, the one I went to for this year's Leland Award cake, seems to be using either your media, or something very similar, and I would not have believed it had I not seen, handled, and used it: it doesn't seem to care one way or another whether it's pre-chilled before application. Before application, it seems to have a toughness that the DecoPac media doesn't have, enough toughness that I was a bit concerned about what it would be like on the cake. (Especially after eating a bit of the trimmings, to see what they were like: unmounted, they had a much more paper-like mouth-feel than the DecoPac media.)

Now, when I'm working with a new edible printing vendor, I make sure that MY piece of the cake is one with edible printing on it; if there's anything there that would make anybody sick, I want to make sure I have firsthand knowledge of it. But in this case, I also paid close attention to the mouth-feel, and once the edible printing had had a few hours to fuse to the frosting, the paper-like mouth-feel of the unmounted media was completely gone.

And of course, one cannot over-emphasize the first two rules of edible printing: 1. You do not run non-edible inks in your edible printer. 2. You DO NOT run non-edible inks in your edible printer. (And you still don't talk about Fight Club -- one of these days, I've got to actually see that movie. Along with Snakes on a Plane. I keep alluding to them; I ought to have firsthand knowledge of what I'm alluding to.)

Great!!! Sounds like a plan. 

ADebbie is the Canon MG5420 comparable to the 5320? I'm looking to get a new printer and the 5320 is tough to find locally.

THe printers are different. The 5320 uses the cartridges with no inner sopnge, however the 5420 uses a completely different sponged cartridge. We sell both and have cartridges for both. If you want to stay in cartridges that are sponge free you can also try the ix6520. But I like the 5320 better.

AAre their different types of Canon MG 5320? I have seen some with the screen in the front and others with the screen on the side.

AAre their different types of Canon MG 5320? I have seen some with the screen in the front and others with the screen on the side.

I think you are looking at pictures of the Canon MG5320 and the MG5220 or the MG5420.The screen placement is different for each one of these models.

Any updates to the printer types (spongless) since this last posting?  I'm looking to purchase my 1st printer. I'm sure there are newer models available since 11/2013.

There are new printers and cartridges since 2013!!! Please visit our website to view our Genesis Series printers! They are larger cartridges then the older models and they have been wonderful!!!

and apparently from what I have googled, you need sponge free cartridges to avoid potential bacteria

vicki