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It’s no secret in the  edible printing world that pinks, purples and reds are the trickiest to match with edible inks, what you see on your computer screen and your normal printer with normal ink and standard paper, is not what you are going to get when you print with edible ink on a very absorbent icing sheet. There are a few steps you can try to optimise results for your colour edible images, which we detail in this article. To this end, we continue to remind our customers that managing expectations around edible images is imperative for overall success.

Before we go further….
It is important to note, to get the best results for your edible image, you must start with a high-quality, high-resolution image. You cannot expect a good result without this minimum starting point.

Avoid Surprises: Get to know your Edible Ink Printer
To help manage colours and establish how your printed edible images will appear we recommend that you print a colour chart for a reference point. Just pick a comprehensive colour chart with a Google search. Firstly, print this with your normal ink printer on normal A4 paper. Then print the same colour chart with your edible ink printer on an icing sheet.

We would recommend that you print a few versions of the same colour chart onto icing sheets using different print settings e.g. plain paper and high quality, or your preferred settings. This will help you determine which setting produces the best results to suit your requirements, as there will be differences in the printing. This will also show how different the colours can print compared to how they appear on the screen.

From here you will now be able to determine if an image needs recolouring according to your colour charts. The best way to enhance or alter colours for your image is to take your image into the software of your choice, e.g. Microsoft Paint, Photoshop and recolour it as required.

Tips:

• a high-resolution image is imperative.
• if you are printing a logo/image designed by a graphic designer ask for the image to be supplied in CMYK colour, which is the same colour base as your edible inks.
• get to know your edible ink printer, and which setting works best for you.

Edible images have been a game-changer within the cake & bakery world and, are a great addition to your decorating arsenal. Due to the different structure of  edible ink to standard ink, achieving the best results with your edible ink printing may take a little trial and error and tweaking. Each image is different and may require individual attention. What is clear with edible ink printing is, that sometimes a perfect match may not be achievable (see our Edible Insights booklet). To avoid potential issues or disappointment, it is always best to be upfront from the start with your clients and manage their expectations accordingly.