Edible Image Printers

Decorating By allaboutcakeuk Updated 24 Jun 2014 , 12:06pm by EdibleSupplies

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allaboutcakeuk Posted 3 Oct 2010 , 6:20pm
post #1 of 23

Hi can anyone help I want to buy an edible image printer (asap) and don't know where to start! I want obviously a reasonably priced printer and inks but one that is going to be suitable/good for printing edible icing sheets. Thanks for any help/advice

22 replies
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icingimages Posted 4 Oct 2010 , 2:55pm
post #2 of 23

Hi.
Being in the UK, for warranty purposes, you would want to look for a Canon printer that takes the 521 series ink. Before you purchase the printer, email me for compatability. Then if you like you can order the cartridges needed. I personally like the Canons better than the Epsons since they have a removable printhead. What this means is that if you get a clog that you can take the printhead out and clean it. If you get a bad clog in an epson, you are out of a printer. But alot depends on the ink. Some inks are more prone to clogging or printhead burnout if they have alcohols in the inks. That is why you see such a big mix of reviews. If they are purchsing inks that have alcohol in them, you will see that they hate their printer as the printhead will burn out. If they do not use their printers regularly they can be prone to clogging as well. BUTTTTTT.... if your inks do not have the alcohol and if they use their printers once a week, you will see that most people love their printers/inks!

Papers also vary. There are three types of icing sheets out there. KK which is the thinnest. Some people swear by it, others have troubles with cracking depending on their humidity or lack there of. Lucks is a great all around icing sheet that is found on Edible images. Finally their is the newest to the group, the Premium Icing Sheets that are a bit thicker and stand up to most environments well. They also have the edge to edge printing and the easy-peal backing.

I hope this is helpful to you.

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tiggy2 Posted 4 Oct 2010 , 3:05pm
post #3 of 23

I highly recommend the inks from icingimages :=)

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rebeccabeebe Posted 9 Oct 2010 , 4:44am
post #4 of 23

so i can just buy a printer like the Canon IP3600 from a electronic store and then just order the inks that are compatable with it from icingimages.com right??

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Gingi Posted 9 Oct 2010 , 5:30am
post #5 of 23

Have you heard of the Silhouette? It prints in color and cuts at the same time. I don't own one but have seen demos. I think it's great. Linda McClure teaches how to use it.

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tiggy2 Posted 9 Oct 2010 , 11:28am
post #6 of 23

The silhouette DOES NOT use edible ink. However, you can print with an edibleage printer and cut it with the silhouette.

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lollyponpon Posted 9 Oct 2010 , 11:54am
post #7 of 23

Hi icing images!! I am in this situation as well, only just dabbling into the idea of geting a printer--im in Australia...any advice i should consider? I was just assuming i would need to order online like everything else! hehe

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icingimages Posted 12 Oct 2010 , 2:51pm
post #8 of 23

Hi:
In Australia, you would want to find a printer that is compatable with our supplies. Make sure however, that you are going to be printing regularly, otherwise its too much of a hastle to keep it clean. When you are ready, PM me and I can help direct you to t he correct printer in Australia

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simi74 Posted 3 Jan 2011 , 5:09am
post #9 of 23

I am looking to purchase a printer to print edible images. Can someone please tell me the best printer to purchase which will give me the least number of problems. I am not printer savvy.

Also, is there a difference in image quality if you buy a printer with 4 ink tanks vs. 5 vs 6 tanks.

I do want good quality images.

Thanks.

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icingimages Posted 3 Jan 2011 , 6:42pm
post #10 of 23

Happy New Year!
I would be glad to help you. I have been in the edible printing busienss for over 11 years now and I take printers, test them, try to break them and try to fix them when using edible inks!!!! By far, Canon is the best all around printer. It has a removable printhead which allows you to remove it should have a problem, fix the problem and replace it. THe printhead is what delivers the ink on to your paper and so that is where 99% of the problems occur...if they are going to occur. Epson printers do not have this feature and so inevitably the printer will clog and if you cannot get the clog out, you will have to replace the entire printer.

Cartridges: There are two types of cartridges on the market today. The older style which has a sponge or a wick (either way it is a material that takes up about 60% of the cartridge which reduces the amount of usable ink in a cartridge). This is the older style cartridge. We use these in some of our older printers and actually are offering the newer type as well now so we have lots of experience with them. We found that this type of cartridge because of the ink mixture you have to use and the impedement of the wick or sponge, it has cause many problems with printers. EIther in clogs or printhead burnout. So we switched cartridge type and went with a sponge free or wick free cartridge (in other words there is ONLY ink in your cartridge, nothing else). We use to have to carry printheads in stock to take care of our customers problems, when we switched to a different ink, it improved but when we went with the different ink and the newer stype wick/sponge - free cartrdige we found we do not have to carry printheads AT ALL for our customers. Pretty amazing results. Plus the colors are amazing. Plus our cartridges are made from a FOOD GRADE PLASTIC. All sponged/wicked cartridges are not.

As far as how many cartridges, currently in edible printing, there are only 5 cartrdige systems out there. Previously, there was a 2 cartridge (which I do not recommend and edible ink is not available for the newer 2 cartridge models) adn there were actually 4,6,8 and some companies were even selling 10 cartridge systems. With the exception of the 4 cartridge printer, it was just a waste of ink and allowed for more problems. WIth edilble printing, since you are printing on an absorbant icing sheet, more cartridges is not better.

So, with that being said....and I hope it wasnt too much information, I would recommend the Canon mp560 or the Canon ip3600. Both are excellent, the MP560 has a scanner built in and the ip3600 does not.

I hope this was helpful and I will be more than happy to help you with any questions you have.

Thanks

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simi74 Posted 3 Jan 2011 , 8:37pm
post #11 of 23

Thank you icing images! What do you think about the Canon MP640. It looks like the same printer as the MP 560 but a little higher in picture quality from what i have read.

So the inks that you sell won't clog the printer heads? Do you make the inks you sell?

Thanks for your help. I will be looking on your site soon after i get my business up and running

Sim

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DebbyJG Posted 3 Jan 2011 , 9:08pm
post #12 of 23

I have an Epson printer for my edible ink, and I desest it. Hate it immensely. I spent SOOOOO much money getting all four ink cartridges, and when I went to use it last week, the magenta is not working - the printer suddenly decided it wouldn't recognize it - so the whole printer shuts down. I can't even print in black and white if one of the cartridges (or print heads, I don't know know which) has gone bad.

So now I have an expensive paperweight here with full cartridges of ink, and I can't use it.
I would dump the Epson and get a Canon, but unfortunately the cost of the ink far outweighs the cost of the printer, so I think I'm going to be stuck getting another Epson Piece of Junk.
Even before it stopped working entirely last week, it's always been really touchy. Sometimes it would work great, no problems, other times the printer would get angry about the installed ink not being "genuine Epson ink" (YEAH - 'cause I can't BUY edible epson ink!!) and it would shut down and I'd have to reset the printer and install "new" (really just the same ones again) several times before it would give up trying to tell me it isn't genuine Epson cartridges and just let me print the dang page.
The end result? I can never guarantee that I'll have a working edible printer here when I need it, so I don't use it nearly as much as I'd like to.

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icingimages Posted 3 Jan 2011 , 10:15pm
post #13 of 23

Hi Sim:
The 640 is actually not compatable. It uses different cartrdiges which are not available in the edible arena yet. As far as clogging, I didnt say they wont clog, they just dont clog like the older style cartridges adn the non gold label ink. If you let any printer set with ink in it, it will clog. But the nice thing is the Canon has a removable printhead in it which allows you to clean it!!!

DebbyJG: Though the epson ink is more expnesive then the printer you purchased, it is still worth it as the problem could be your cartridges. If it were me, i would dump the epson in a heart beat and go Canon.

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DebbyJG Posted 3 Jan 2011 , 11:08pm
post #14 of 23
Quote:
Originally Posted by icingimages

Hi Sim:

DebbyJG: Though the epson ink is more expnesive then the printer you purchased, it is still worth it as the problem could be your cartridges. If it were me, i would dump the epson in a heart beat and go Canon.




Hmm. So you think the problem might be the cartridges themselves (or also)? Do other non-Epson printers give you that same dire warning of "THIS IS NOT GENUINE xxxx company ink"? Does the Canon recognize the cartridges as legitimate? I've wondered for a long time now if there was such a thing as a printer that was actualy MADE for edible imaging, and not so obviously an aftermarket, not so reliable workaround, as my Epson ink/printer deal is.

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icingimages Posted 4 Jan 2011 , 1:53pm
post #15 of 23

Debby JG:
It could be either.I am not sure which Epson you have, but some are more finicky then others. I only sell one because they are so finicky and they are more problems then they are worth. Plus, when I test them, and I break them, I cant fix them. You suually can get bast that warning.

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DebbyJG Posted 4 Jan 2011 , 3:48pm
post #16 of 23

Yeah, I usually had been able to get past the warning, by shutting down the printer, starting it back up, "reinstalling" the cartridges, and hoping for the best. Often what would happen would I would get one color to be recognized, then then another color would "X" out, and on down the line, until I'd gone through and "replaced" each color at least once. THEN it might print a sheet or two before shutting down on me again.
Last week, though, I tried all the usual tricks to get my printer to cooperate, and it just stubbornly refuses to do anything, so I think it's toast.

It's an Epson CX7400. I have the same model for my normal printing (a different unit though - just in case anyone was wondering!!) icon_smile.gif and it's finicky as well, but not nearly as much. It just annoys me because of the issue of one color going out, the whole printer stops. Such a design flaw.

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icingimages Posted 4 Jan 2011 , 4:49pm
post #17 of 23

Well, in defense of the printer, it was designed originally to work with Epson cartrdiges - not aftermarket and Epson makes its money on the ink therefore tries to stop people from using aftermarket inks. It could very well be the placement of the chips on the cartridge as well. If it is not perfect, it will not register. But I do not know that printer nor have I worked with that series as I got tried two different series and once I found what I was looking for, stopped as I broke too many printers and made them unusable. So...based on my backgroudn with Epsons, I would take the cartridges out, unplug the machine. Leave it off for 5 minutess or so. Plug it back in, allow the computer to tell you that the printer needs ink and follow the computers directions to install the tanks. Be sure that they are pressed in there well. Let me know how it works for you.

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DebbyJG Posted 4 Jan 2011 , 4:59pm
post #18 of 23

Thanks, I'll give that a try later today.
And, sorry for hijacking this thread. I just came across it right when it was a sore spot for me. icon_wink.gif

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icingimages Posted 4 Jan 2011 , 5:12pm
post #19 of 23

Let me know how it works for you!

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simi74 Posted 5 Jan 2011 , 8:12pm
post #20 of 23

Debbie:
I went on your website an it shows that you can purchase Gold label ink cartridges for the canon MP640. Is your website wrong?

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icingimages Posted 5 Jan 2011 , 8:18pm
post #21 of 23

Oh...I am so sorry....it does work with it! It didnt for a while, but it does now. I apologize for that error. I still would recommend the others as I have not personally worked with it. I did check my database and we do have customers using it with out problem. Thank you for pointing that out!

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tammys cakes Posted 26 May 2013 , 6:54am
post #22 of 23

Do you post to AUSTRALIA thanks 

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EdibleSupplies Posted 24 Jun 2014 , 12:06pm
post #23 of 23

Hi there,

 

If anyone is still interested in edible ink printers our company have recently released our latest range of EIS A4 & A3 Edible printing packages that contain everything you need to set up an edible printing business or side operation if you have an existing business.

 

We are the first to develop our own natural icing sheets and our ink are the highest quality available. We directly import them from Bologna, Italy and are very impressive. You'll receive ink and sheets together with software, templates and support in our edible printing systems.

 

Our edible ink printers can be shipped worldwide by express courier. For more information visit our website at http://www.edibleimagesupplies.com.au.

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