FAQ

Icing Sheet Questions

:: Are the icing sheets (edible paper/frosting sheets) EU approved ? (European Union Food Standards Agency)

:: What is the shelf life of the icing sheets?

:: What do the icing sheet taste like?

:: What type of icing should I have on my cake?

:: Will the printed icing sheet meld onto icing that has set for a day or more?

:: How do I remove the icing sheet from the plastic backing sheet?

:: What do I do if the icing sheets are dry & brittle?

:: After printing on the icing sheet, can they be stored for use later?

Edible ink Cartridge Questions
:: Are the edible inks EU approved ? (European Union Food Standards Agency)

:: How many icing sheets can I print with a set of edible cartridges?

Printer & Printhead Questions
:: What Printers are compatible with anycake.com's range of edible ink cartridges?

:: Why do my prints with edible ink have lines running through them?

:: How do I clean the print head?

Scanner Questions
:: What scanners are compatible?

:: What resolution (dpi) should the images be scanned?

Software Questions
:: What software can be used for printing edible images?
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Icing Sheet Questions

Are the icing sheets (edible paper/frosting sheets) EU approved?
Yes

What is the shelf life of the icing sheets?
The shelf life of the icing sheets is 1 year, although they must be kept in the zip lock bags.

What do the icing sheet taste like?
The icing sheets have no noticeable taste.

What type of icing should I have on my cake?
The printed icing sheet can be applied to almost any kind of icing such as, sugar paste icing, fondant, royal icing, or butter-cream.


Will the printed icing sheet meld onto icing that has set for a day or more?
If the icing on the cake appears dry, apply a fine mist of water to the cake before applying the printed icing sheet. This may be achieved by spraying a fine mist of water on the cake, or by using a basting brush (see 'Step 1' in demo page)


How do I remove the icing sheet from the plastic backing sheet?
After printing, leave the image out in normal room conditions for about 5 - 15 minutes. Drying time and methods depend entirely on the ambient humidity. In some cases the humidity may be so high that the icing sheets will NOT easily release from the paper after the normal drying period. In these conditions we recommend the following methods for removal of the icing sheet:

1. Use a blower type Hair dryer (or any other hot air supply) on the reverse side of the backing sheet on high hot for 30-40 seconds. After heating the backing sheet, let it cool down before attempting to remove the icing sheet. (the cooling process allows the icing sheet to stiffen)This method is very reliable and should solve your release problems.

2. Place in a warm dry oven at a low temperature, for about 1-2 minutes, or lay the sheet on a warm pan for a minute or two. As in the previous method, let the backing sheet cool down before attempting to remove the icing sheet.

3. Placing finished icing sheet into a FREEZER will allow easy removal after about 10 to 15 seconds, providing the freezer is a DRY freezer and not a WET freezer. You should remove the sheet immediately after taking it out from the freezer (before it defrosts) & put it on the cake.

To remove icing sheet from backing sheet pull sheet over the sharp edge of a table top as shown in the picture.



Remember the only reason the icing sheets will not easily come off the backing sheet, is that the icing sheet is still wet. THEY WILL RELEASE WHEN THEY ARE DRY.
In high humidity areas, we recommend taking the icing sheet from the ZipLock bag for sometime prior to printing, which may also help the drying process.


What do I do if the icing sheets are dry & brittle?
If the icing sheets are dry and brittle they have dried out too much. This is usually caused by a faulty zip-lock bag, or failure to close the zip lock bag after removing an icing sheet.
To re-humidify the icing sheets they may be sprayed with a fine mist of water, using an airbrush, or any other water misting device. They will become moist again, and you may have to wait a few minutes for them to dry back to a usable condition.
You can also bring moisture back into the icing sheets by holding them over a pot of steaming water for a few seconds, or place them into a high humidity proofing area or proof box if available for a short time.

Do not place brittle icing sheets into a printer. They will break off during printing and cause a paper jam in the printer

After printing on the icing sheet, can they be stored for use later?
Yes the icing sheets can be stored for use at a later time. Leave the printed icing sheet on the backing sheet and place it back in a zip-lock bag. You may choose to dry the printed icing sheet before or after storage.

Edible ink Cartridge Questions

Are the edible inks EU approved?
Yes.

How many icing sheets can I print with a set of edible cartridges?
25/09/09 - TO BE UPDATED.

Printer & Printhead Questions

What Printers are compatible with anycake.com's range of edible ink cartridges?
Click on the following link for a list of printers that are compatible with our range of edible ink cartridges: Edible ink cartridge printer compatibility
We currently recommend the Canon PIXMA IP3500 for A4 printing & the Canon PIXMA ix4000 for A3 printing.

Why do my prints with edible ink have lines running through them?
The clogging or blocking of the nozzles within the print head are what we refer to as "banding". Banding results in the presence of lines running across the printed page. Normally the lines are a few millimetres wide and may be white or not the correct colour.
Banding is a result of the edible ink drying in the print head and restricting the flow of ink to the icing sheet. To eliminate banding on the print, the print head should be cleaned.

How do I clean the print head?
In order to clean the print head follow the instructions below:
1. In Windows, open the control panel.
2. Select printers.
3. Right click on the Canon printer that is causing the problem.
4. From the dropdown menu select "Properties".
5. Click on the "Maintenance" tab.
6. Click on the option to clean the print head & follow the instructions. The cleaning procedure may have to be carried out several times.

Scanner Questions

What scanners are compatible?
Basically any scanner that is compatible with you PC & operating system.

What resolution (dpi) should the images be scanned?
We would recommend 300dpi. Any larger will take up significant amounts of your computers memory. Scanning at higher resolution (quality) will hardly be noticed in the final print on icing sheets.

Software Questions

What software can be used for printing edible images?
You do not require any special software for printing on the icing sheets, however we can supply KopyKake's FREE 'Desktop Decorator' software. The Desktop Decorator software has templates for the various sizes of icing sheets available & is very easy to use.
When printing our mail order 'cake tops' we use 'Adobe Photoshop Elements' for scanning & editing images & 'Microsoft Word' for printing.