After an incident yesterday involving me calling the closest store that will print edible images and sell them to average joes like me (26 miles one way) and they said they could do it I drove there to have one made.... A half an hour after I call the store--drove straight there the lady across the bakery counter says "We are out of icing sheets and we won't get any until Wednesday." I said I called and drove here and now you say have none? Reply "I am sorry." So went to Wally World and the bakery there does not even decorate cakes--they come decorated to them--they don't even write on them...... The question I pose is that I threatened to put money into a printer and all the goodies to make my own images so I don't have to mess with it again. Is it worth it? If the first store had the icing sheets I would have paid $4 for an image. I researched a little and it seems like a lot of money to buy my own stuff.

$4/image is cheap..i pay a little more, but i charge directly to my customers...if they want an edible image, i tac on a price, but i also tac on for deco pacs and other accessories that go on the cake, so it worth it depending on how much u charge

I'm selling images to other decorators for $10 and $12. I LOVE my printer and am very glad that I took the plunge! Check out the most recent photos in my photos on this site. I'm obsessed! LOL I live 55 miles from the nearest store selling images. Figuring the price of gas and cost of the image...........I'm way ahead even if I don't sell any to other decorators. DO IT!

I love mine to death!!!!

The cake that I am working on now for the weekend is going so smooth because of the photo images and hearts that are going on the cake.

In the long run, it is worth the money

I have to pay $7.00 an image where I live and the last time I got so frustrated b/c the people didn't seem to really know what they were doing and they screwed it up so many times and took sooooo long! Now I have someone asking for some images on a cake and I don't know what to do - I dont' really want to go back to these people - but I don't have the money right now to get a printer either It's hard to decide what's more important right now - a cake leveler/slicer (Agbay), a scale, or an edible image printer! I'm still trying to build up my supplies!

The initial investment cost some, but after that... I love mine and I am finding I am using it more and more with all the different things you can do besides just putting a pic on a cake.

missyek - like what else?

Cakediva~ Thanks so much! LOL My goal with the image printer is to jazz the cakes with images up so they don't have that "slapped on image" look. I think that fondant accents will be a fun addition too.....I'm trying to match icing colors to compliment the images also. It's way fun. My problem is that I want to put an image on EVERY cake I make. I must get a grip on this! I've never done FBCT. The images will fill that need for me. I doubt I ever learn that art. My customers seem to love the image idea.

I got a printer and setup just for fun...well, we are supposed to make cookies for my aunt's restaurant. Maybe I should print and sell images. One of the cake shops around here charges $10 per sheet...

To those that do have a printer.... which is better 2,4, or 6 cartridge ones and how many images can be made from cartridges?

I have the epson c88+ - 4 cartridges, and according to the kopykake people, one cartridge should print about 2 packages of icing sheets...

it will depend, of course, what type of images you do...

Crafty~ My printer is a 4 cartridge set up, and I can't imagine 6 being any better. I am a professional photographer and do alot of inkjet printing so have seen ALOT of prints made from higher end printers. The images I have printed with 4 cartridges would rival any more elaborate system (IN MY OPINION...! lol) I own and use a 6 cartridge photo printer and actually prefer my 4 cartridge photo printer. Go figure~

Thanks for info Ive been thinking about getting one the Epson. Another ? I see alot of cakes with like characters pooh elmo etc what about copyrights?
Is that something to think about also. If so where do you get images to use it?

It is illegal to scan copyrighted images that are not in the public domain....ie Barbie, Pooh, Darth Vader.............................there are sites with free artwork and characters. I've scanned greeting cards. That's probably illegal too, but ask me if I care.

Well I feel the same its just I hear so much about copyright stuff but seems to me there are alot of folks that do them and they are still around.
I tried to get a pic done at a store that I got from the internet just a darn battle tank and oh you would of thought I ask for their body parts. And it would of never left my house just for a hubby cake is all.

Which I tried a different method and failed. but thats a nother saga in its self.
Thanks again for the info.

I haven't done anything with edible image but just curious as to the cost of the printer (startup) and then the image paper?

Thanks

What do edible images "taste" like? I personally don't like most of the images. I think they make a cake look cheap (especially if it's a photo of a person). They remind me of those tacky t-shirts you can have made at a kiosk in the mall.

However, I have seen a few cute ones where detailing the faces of characters are too much for 99% of us - like Cinderella's eyes or Tinkerbell, etc. Of course, selling these are illegal... so... hard to "justify that".

I just think, my opinion only, that a hand tooled "image" looks better than a photocopy, so I think the cost is too much for something that pretty much ANYBODY can do - including my local grocery store.

You wanted honest opinions - I don't think edible images are worth it. and if they have a "taste" then definitely not. I know if I were a buyer, I wouldn't pay for extra $ than a store sells for just for a photocopied picture.

I know I'm in the minority, but as I said, just my 2 cents.

Melissa

I hope this isn't a silly question... here goes...
Can you use any type printer for this or are they specifically designed for edible images? Also ...where do you buy the edible image paper and ink? Sorry, I'm sure yall have answered this for someone else before. Thanks

Berryblondeboys~ Wow! I totally disagree with you. A cake CAN look cheap with an image, but I've certainly seen some crappy looking cakes without images that the creator must have though were works of art. It's all in the artistic ability of the cake artist.

patricia, have to admit - your cakes are about the only ones that I've seen that look really good and appropriate (not that I've done an extensive search or anything). I had just seen your curious george one before posting and said to myself, "OK THAT looks good." And it was your princesses cake I had seen before too that I thought "deserved" an edible image over a fbct.

I guess you are right, it does take artistry just like anything else. If someone is going to still take the time to work with it to make it artsy, then it can be a good tool. But I see a LOT of cakes here with edible images where you can see the outlines of the paper and that just looks tacky. My cakes aren't perfect by ANY means, but the point of edible images is to look sharp and clean and many times they looks so sloppily done - but I admit - yours look fabbo, but it's still a lot of money for an item that would be hard to pay for itself unless you do a LOT of it.

I guess another question to ask, besides the taste factor. How many images can a cartridge set make? And if you don't use them fast enough, do they gum up like gel colors? it would take a long time to pay for itself for most bakers.

Melissa

Melissa~ On the cartridges gumming up.....from what I can tell, if you use your printer at least once per week, you'll be fine. I don't think they sit well unused at all. I print an image and save it if I don't need one for something. That is a problem.............. My printer is a toy. I wanted it and knew that it might not pay for itself. The FBCT is a great skill............don't think this is a justifiable substitute. IT'S not!

i have a canon ip pixma 6000d. i have usaed it two times so far but for multiple prints. i have a cake in a week that will require it also. i have no problems so far but its brand new.

yes it can look cheap. i have one that isnt too great in my photos i think. but thats what the people wanted. they didnt want anything else done to it. if you take your time and add some more details i think they are fine.

if you can compare them to fbct...no..but not everyone is capapble of doing a fbct.. i tried it and trust me.....no no no...it sucked. its not as simple as it looks.... sometimes you are also pressed for time and a print out helps a lot.

i also think you can make back the money invested. maybe not in a day but you can.

I have to Canon 3000ip printer dedicated for edible images. I've only used mine once so far but I see many great things being done by decorators and I see the possibilities only as limited as your imagination or interest. I can't wait to make my first anniversry cake with my setup. That is my first edible image cake for someone elses anniversary. My first was some time ago.

You have to have a dedicated printer (only to be used for edibles images) and for which there are edible ink cartridges made. I understand that Canon and Epson are the only ones that can use the special cartridges of edible ink. You cannot switch back and forth between regular ink and the edible. I took my cartridges out and store them snapped into their original cases and in a zip lock bag. I have the printer head in it's protective plastic case in another air tight bag. They haven't dried up or gotten goopy yet. I imagine I'll get about as many printings out of these cartridges as I do from my other color printers. Images are printed on frosting sheets that blend right into your cakes icing and they only taste like your icing. I haven't noticed that they have any different taste that the rest of the icing.
I'm excited about using my printer. As soon as I make a couple and share them in the right places I expect I'll have people calling wanting them on their cakes.