An extensive range of troubleshooting information can be found in our Blogs - Edible Tips. For print head cleaning instructions or to download an Edible Insights booklet visit our Customer Support Articles. Still need help? Contact Us.
Edible printing involves using a dedicated 'edible', inkjet printer together with edible ink filled cartridges to print photo quality images on edible icing sheets, wafer paper or chocolate transfer sheets. The printed images can then be used to decorate cakes, cookies, lollipops, macaroons and chocolates. Personal photo', amazing patterns, corporate logos, the possibilities are endless. Imagine. Print. Create.
The printer MUST be brand new and dedicated to edible printing. Regular ink is NOT edible, and you cannot interchange edible and regular ink.
Printing regularly will keep your printer in good condition. If you are not printing at least weekly, perform a weekly test print on normal A4 paper to save your icing sheets. Do not let the printer sit idle.
Yes, you can use the same edible printer and edible ink to print on icing sheets, wafer paper, chocolate transfer sheets (using the mirror image print setting), and normal paper (for test prints).
We recommend and sell Canon printers as the printheads can be removed and cleaned.
We cannot provide advice on other brands.
Our printers feed from the back. Do not place icing sheets, wafer paper, or chocolate transfer sheets in the bottom document tray.
Both of our printers are proven and reliable for edible printing. If you need to print A3 size sheets, choose the A3 printer. A3 printers can also print A4 size paper and icing sheets.
Not always. Edible ink and icing sheets are different from regular ink and paper. Pinks, purples, and reds are the hardest to match perfectly, and colours may appear darker as they dry.
Start by Getting to Know Your Printer and manage customer expectations.
You can use any software from Word to Photoshop or sign up to our Icing Artist Software to create templates for edible printing. A Free Trial is available, limited to 30 days and 5 design exports.
Yes you will! You are using it for edible products so cleanliness is paramount.
Following our recommended Maintenance Schedule is required for your EIS warranty.
Canon will not provide warranty for printers used for edible printing. Warranty is provided by Edible Image Supplies if you buy our printing systems. Review our warranty conditions here.
Canon will not provide customer service for printers used for edible printing. Contact us for support. We provide an instruction booklet, detailed FAQs, valuable Edible Tips in our blogs, and can be reached by phone or email during business hours.
Edible Image Supplies icing sheets are thin layers of icing that have been applied to a flexible plastic backing sheet that allows it to be fed through a printer. When printed on using Edible Image Supplies high quality edible ink, your image will be clear and vibrant. Our icing sheets have a slight vanilla taste and will blend with whatever surface they are applied to. They also peel away very easily from the backing sheet. Edible Image Supplies icing sheets are available in A3, A4 and pre-cut sizes. They can easily be cut into various sized rounds with our Icing Cutter Pro.
Ingredients
Starches (E1422, E1412), maltodextrin, glycerine, sugar, water, stabilizers (E414, E460i), dextrose, emulsifiers (E435, E471), food colour (E171), flavours (vanillin), preservative (E202, E330). Dairy, nut, gluten and egg FREE. Allergens: May contain traces of corn. Edible Image Supplies icing sheets are manufactured in Israel and packaged in Australia. A Kosher certificate can be provided on request.
Storage
Edible Image Supplies icing sheets should be stored in their foil zip-lock bag in a cool, dry place in accordance with their use by date. It is important to ensure they are always air tight to prevent drying out or absorbing moisture in humid conditions. They must be stored flat, with the backing sheet side down. Do not store in the refrigerator. Printed Edible Image Supplies icing sheets can be stored in in air-tight zip lock bag for up to 3 months, out of direct sunlight to avoid fading. Wait until the ink has completely dried before placing in a zip lock bag. Leave the backing sheet on until you are ready to apply your edible image. Edible Image Supplies icing sheets are supplied with a Use By date on the pack.
Application
Always handle your printed icing sheets with care, using clean dry hands. If you need to cut your edible image do so while it is still on the backing sheet. Edible Image Supplies icing sheets peel very easily from the backing sheet. For best results apply the icing sheet to a level surface. They can be applied to buttercream, fondant, royal icing and even ice cream. Before the topping has had time to form a crust (as in the case of buttercream) lower the icing sheet onto the topping starting at the middle and working outward, gently smooth using your hands or a small roller. If the butter cream has formed a crust then spray with a fine mist of water before application. Harder toppings such as fondant, royal icing and marzipan will require a fine spray mist of water, or similar before application. We do not recommend placing icing sheets directly onto whipped cream due to the high moisture content, which will be absorbed by the icing sheet and impact the quality of the image. If you wish to apply the edible image to whipped cream, apply to a thin layer of fondant or white chocolate first, to act as a barrier between the cream and the icing sheet.
Edible ink is a specifically formulated food grade colouring which can be used in conjunction with technology in a compatible ink-jet printer.
Edible Images Supplies edible ink cartridges are used in the printer in place of your regular ink cartridges. Edible ink can be used to print edible images onto icing sheets, wafer paper and chocolate transfer sheets. Note: the printer MUST be dedicated to edible printing ONLY and must NOT have been previously used for regular inkjet printing.
Edible Image Supplies Ink is manufactured in Italy, by food colouring experts, to the highest quality standards. Edible Image Supplies ink will print vibrant images in brilliant colour.
Note the ink is to be used for food decoration purposes only, in conjunction with compatible ink-jet printers.
Colours
Edible Image Supplies ink is available in black, magenta, cyan and yellow. Note the same black colour is used for both black and photo black.
Ingredients
Edible Image Supplies ink is a formulation of water, humectant, preservative, acidifier and artificial colouring.
Download the edible ink detailed data sheet.
Gluten and egg FREE.
Allergens: May contain traces of milk, soy, sulphites and hazelnuts.
Storage
Edible Image Supplies edible ink should be stored out of direct sunlight. It must be stored and used between 18 and 25C.
Edible Image Supplies inks are supplied with a Use By date on the pack.
Yes, you can. KEEP the orange tabs that initially come with your cartridges.
Edible Image Supplies ink is available for purchase in refillable cartridges and refill bottles. All Edible Image Supplies cartridges are fitted with auto-reset chips which allow the cartridges to be refilled. Your printer will recognise when the level in the ink cartridge is low, then once you have refilled the cartridge it will recognise the same cartridge as full.
Edible Image Supplies recommends refilling the cartridge an average of, approximately, 4 times. Overtime the outlet port of the cartridge will wear out and the quality of your images will be impacted. A cartridge that has been refilled too many times will display the same symptoms as a blocked print head.
Refill Instructions
NEVER let an ink cartridge run completely dry before refiling. This will damage the cartridge and potentially the printhead.
It is good practice if you are refilling to have two sets of cartridges. One set in use inside the printer and one set, full of ink on standby. When one cartridge inside the printer requires refilling, take out the whole set and replace it with all the full cartridges. Every time you refill a single cartridge the printer will automatically run a purge cycle, so this will minimise the use of ink lost to purge cycles when topping up individual cartridges each time they are low.
Wearing food safe gloves:
- remove the ink cartridge from the printer
- place the previously reserved orange tab onto the bottom of the ink cartridge
- turn the cartridge over and remove the coloured plug
- using an uptake needle and syringe extract the edible ink from the refill bottle
- slowly insert the ink into the cartridge, being very carefully not to apply too much pressure
- when full, put the coloured plug back into the cartridge
- wipe the cartridge with a lint free cloth ensuring it is completely clean
- place the cartridge into the printer
- restart the printer
- if the printer does not immediately recognise the refilled cartridge, turn it off and unplug it from the power for at least 10 minutes to reset the printer memory.
Manually check the ink levels by removing the cartridges and looking at them. Do not trust ink levels displayed on the printer or your device.
Printing with an empty cartridge will damage the printhead.
Yes, keep a brand-new spare set of cartridges on hand. Refilling takes time, and it's essential to have spares if you are working to a deadline.
Edible Image Supplies cleaning solution cartridges contain the same ingredients as our edible ink, without the colour.
If you do not print edible images regularly, the cleaning solution cartridges can be placed in your printer and used for the daily power on and off, weekly test print and fortnightly clean.
Note: the weekly test print will be blank, the objective is to keep the liquid flowing through the print head to prevent blockages.
When you are ready to print edible images again, take out the cleaning solution cartridges, reseal them and replace with your edible ink cartridges.
Ingredients
Edible Image Supplies cleaning solution is a formulation of water, humectant, preservative and acidifier.
Edible Image Supplies Wonder transfer sheets are thin, food safe, plastic sheets, which have been coated with a cacao-butter product. This allows them to be printed with edible ink and used to transfer printed images to chocolate, meringue or isomalt.
Application
- Print the desired image on the Wonder transfer sheet using printing preferences, media type 'mirror image' or 't shirt transfer'
- Print on the coated side and leave to dry after printing approx. 20mins, longer for darker colours.
Chocolate
- Spread the chocolate evenly over the printed Wonder sheet.
- Leave for 5 minutes at room temperature.
- Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until chocolate completely solidified.
- Carefully peel away the transfer sheet and the image will be transferred to the chocolate.
- Click here for Customer Support Article: How to use the Chocolate Transfer Sheets with Chocolate Moulds.
Meringue
- Pipe prepared meringue evenly over the printed Wonder sheet.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 2 hours 70-75°C
- Open the oven door to release any steam.
- Remove from oven and carefully peel away the transfer sheet from the meringue.
Isomalt
- Pour prepared isomalt evenly over the printed Wonder sheet.
- Leave for 20 minutes until solidified or cool to the touch
- Carefully peel away the transfer sheet from the isomalt.
Storage
- Keep sealed in the zip lock bag. Protect from direct sunlight.
- Store in a cool place 17-25°C.
- Wonder transfer sheets are supplied with a Use by Date.
Ingredients
Modified starches (1422, 1412), white sugar, cocoa butter, stabilizers (414, E460i), emulsifier (435, 322), humectant (422), flavours, food colour (171) vanillin, lecithin. Titanium dioxide content: < 0.3%.
Edible Image Supplies wafer paper sheets are produced in the Netherlands from natural ingredients.
Wafer paper sheets can be printed with Edible Images Supplies high quality edible ink for clear and vibrant images and crafted into a range of cake decorations and toppers.
Printed wafer paper can be applied in the same way as edible icing sheets, by using a fine mist of water.
Wafer paper sheets do not have a backing sheet.
The thickness range of the wafer paper sheets is 0.3mm – 0.6mm.
Kosher certified.
Storage
Store in original packaging, in an airtight container, at an ambient temperature.
Keep dry and protect from direct sunlight.
Edible Image Supplies wafer paper is supplied with a Use by Date on the pack.
Ingredients
Potato starch 86%, water 11%, olive oil 3%.