Hi All:

I took the plunge and got myself a printer to make images for cakes.
I have a customer that wants an Indiana Jones picture on a cake.
I have not used the printer yet. How and where do I get the pictures from?
Thanks for any info you may have to share!

I'm not familiar with how these printers work, but if they use standard jpg of gif pictures, there are lots of photo sharing sites. I like photobucket.com and google images.

Does anyone know if some pictures work better than others?

Would it not depend on the quality of your printer? Not sure myself, just asking...

jpg's are a higher resolution and quality than gif's.

I have the Epson

Any other useful tips as far as finding a picture for edible icing sheets?

I google, using "images" button. For instance, type in Indiana Jones, click images, and you'll get all sorts of things.

Also, some of my customers email what they'd like to me, or even bring in a napkin, plate, or invitation that I can scan & make an edible image of.

I go to yahoo images, type in what I want...look at pictures, print it, but mirror the image...and then I just trace it out.

I cover the picture with wax paper, trace it with color pipping gel, let it dry...and press gently onto a cake, fill in. This is for transfers...I just got my icing sheets, and have 2 printers...epson and canon...have color on order.

but Im finding out from reading that icing sheets dont melt into the cake...you can see the outline of the edge of the sheet...and its white so it will show on cakes, espeically choc

No, they do not melt into the icing, I have a photo I will see if I can attach it. Fortunately the snowman is white and it stayed that way. I just cute the snowman off the sheet and placed on the cake.

I also go through google images to find my pictures and then crop them if i need to.

thanks everyone for the reply. I just tried my hand at wafer paper tonight. Looks like it works the same way too.

If you have any of the programs that you can make greeting cards, labels and that sort of thing, such as Printmaster, Print Shop, or Photo Shop, you can use that program to create your images. You can use clip art that is provided with the software, your own photos, scans or images from the internet. I have lots of fun with mine.

how does wafer paper differ from icing sheets?

I am experimenting with both. Wafer paper is much cheaper, but I like the icing sheets as they come in cupcake sizes, aswell as any other sizes I could want. So far I have not seen the wafer paper available in sizes other than 8.5 by 11.

As far as texture, I don't see much difference. Others say there is, but I am still new at this, so what do the pros say?