I am in the middle of purchasing an edible image system.I have already bought my printer and now I am researching edible paper and inks.

Here is a few questions so if there are some of you cakers who do alot of edible images like Melvira..Thanks Mel... can you give a run down from your experience...

1.Who in your opinion has better sheets? Why? I see so many out there but can't choose.I don't want heavy sheets that don't melt into the icing.

2.What is better..regular inks or refillables?

Thnak so much!


Laurel

Hello Laurel. I plan on buying a printer also . I have been wondering the same thing. I did a search and the information Melivira gave was great. If you don't mind me asking what brand did you get? My other half he works in printing he told me to get an Epson. If you go with Epson you I think can only order ink fro KopyKake. I am leaning towards one of the Cannons. Trying to wait until they have one on sale.

Cheryl

Hi - although I haven't actually used the printer & paper yet (my project gets rolling next week! ). I have recently purchased a Canon Pixma IP3600 for $72 from a local computer store & purchased supplies from Icing Images (paper & ink). They were VERY helpful & answered my many questions - spoke with Christine (i believe) a few times & she mentioned they also use that printer in house.
Last year I purchased a printer (Epson - I believe?) & edible ink from Kopy Kake that required me to buy the actual ink cartridge & place the chip in the edible ink cartridge - Well, 2 sets of reg. ink (due to a not so cooperative black cartridge), an ink stain on the carpet & a printer now trashed due to non use... I definately did NOT want to deal with the chip switch again. Please know, Kopykake was very helpful whenever I did contact them - the chip switch just did not work for me. Please consider all aspects of the purchase - as it can be costly.
HTH
I will let you know how it goes next week.

Hi:
Here is some info I previously posted. I hope this will help you.
A few things to consider. Make sure you do not over purchase. Obviously you have a computer cause you are on CC So, the need for an all in one should only be considered if you dont have a scanner or if you are low on space. If you have a scanner and space is not an issue, then you want only an edible printer. Again, you dont want to spend your money on redundant equipment. It is always best to use your system with a computer, both an all in one and a printer can be connected to your computer. If attached to your computer, you are your only limitiation to the images you can produce. Keep in mind that this is an"output" process only. You can print anything once you get it in to your computer. Its just like printing regular pictures except you are using a printer that uses edible ink and edible paper.

Next consideration...Canon vs. Epsons. Canons have been around the longest in edible printing. It is choosen by the manufacturers because it has a removable printhead which can be cleaned if it gets clogged. If it ever gets an unbeatable clog, you can replace that part without replacing the entire system. Epsons cannot do this. You will find that people love and hate both systems, but remember people use it differently and can take care of it differently and have different suppliers of ink and paper which will all yeild different results. So...this is a good start but keep in mind the love/hate relationships are only as good as the ink and how often the person prints.

So now what???? Listen to the CC people to help stear you in the right direction then interview companies who will supply you. First consideration is Quailty, service and reliability. You can have a company who has awesome ink, but when you call them they do not know what they are talking about, or they give you poor service...likewise you can have a company who gives you awesome service, but their products are horrible! You need both. After people from CC give you their advice on companies, call the companies. Talk to them. What is your gut reaction. Ask for samples of their printed work. It is best to supply your own picture since anything can look good if it is not comparied to the original. How fast to they ship to you and how long does it take to get to you? Once you get the sample, look at the icing sheet. Do you like it and if you dont, do they have other types of icing sheets. How does it taste? Does the company offer the icing sheets in sizes that suite your needs? Inks....how vibrant are the colors. Nothing will be exact, but you can get extremely close in colors. How vibrant are the inks. Regarding clogs, every edible ink will clog. It is the nature of the ink since the chemicals that you need to put in to it to prevent clogging are not edible. How hard are the clogs to remove.

Price...you will find most of us are within a few dollars from us. This is a small part of it actually because the cost per print is what you want to look at. Do not ask the company for the cost per print as everyon will determine that differently. Figure it out for yourself. Take the cost of the ink cartridge, divide it by the number of prints per set (This will vary on usage so try and get an average if you can) once you get this figure ad the cost per icing sheet and this will be your cost per print. You will see that most of us companies are within pennies. So find out the ease of refilling. Refilling is what saves you the most money on your ink but your icing sheet cost will stay fixed. But even though you will see close similairties, I wanted to be sure that you can see for yourself the variation.

If you shop this way, you will be happy. Edible printing is soooo much fun. The sky is the limit. Every day someone comes up with other ideas to use an edible printer. So enjoy and have fun.

If you are interested I can tell you about my company, but my reason for answering this was to help you in your search, not necessarily sway you to one company or another. I have over 10 years of experience working with these edible printing personally and I have helped people make the decision that was right for them. Always know whatever you choose, if you have questions no matter what company you choose, I will be glad to assist you in any way I can.

Thanks Debbie....Once again invaluable advice and I appreciate it..I can't wait until you get your Canadian supplier up and running....I so want to get your inks but the shipping right now will kill me!

I too got a Canon IP3600 for $88.00 here so that was a good deal.

Laurel

Debbie - You have again proven why I have chosen to purchase from your company! In previous posts I have seen you respond to & offer to help others with various questions - I knew given my last experience with my printer that I needed lots "newbie" assistance this time around!
Regarding this thread, I knew to suggest bakers venturing into the edible image world should make careful decisions as it can get costly - you & your expertise were able to guide people with specific detail & that is awesome!

I'm sure I speak on behalf of all the newbies entering into the exciting options of edible images - we appreciate your kindness & generosity of knowledge!
All the best!
PS:I'm sure I'll be in touch next week as I finally get my project rolling!

Debbie thank you for all of the information you have provided.

Cheryl

Thank you for all the kind words.