Feel free to ask questions.;o)
Gold Paint
It may show a little that I lurve me some gold paint......it's true. I buy from Partyanimalonline on Ebay. They are in the UK but shipping is still very fast and affordable. They also have the best customer service I've found online. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rainbow-Dust-Metallic-Pearlescent-Edible-Food-Paint-Sugarcraft-Cake-Decorating-/280866707699?pt=Uk_C
rafts_Cake_Decorating_MJ&var&hash=item4164f5d8f3
I love this product so much! Perfect for painting cookies and airbrushing. I found that it's thicker, uses less and doesn't leave splatter marks! It's a little expensive but a little goes a very long way. I'm still on my bottle that I bought months ago and if you have seen my cookies, I don't mess around with the gold.lol I also like that you don't have to mix it so its perfect consistency every time! It also doesn't have alcohol in it for those of you who want to avoid it. I've also used it for stamping cookies and it's actually better than the "ink" I bought for the same purpose. It dries well and doesn't smudge. When applying it, depending on the look you want, go thicker for extra coverage but let dry before you add a second coat if you think it's needed. Another plus is,if applied right, no craters. You can also paint fondant with it and get that same beautiful coverage. Edible Image Printer
I have a Canon IP 3600. After purchasing mine, I found that it's just a standard printer with edible ink cartridges! Sold as an edible image printer, they retail for almost $200. Amazon has the same printer for $80. Mine came with software for printing but you may find that your own software works better. This is something you will get to know with practice. I buy my ink from Signaljet on Ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/EDIBLE-INK-REFILL-SET-FOR-CANON-PRINTERS-4-x-100ml-/380414083148?pt=UK_Computing_Ink_Refills_Kits&hash=item589272404c
It's an eighth of the cost of anywhere else. He does not have great customer service but he does have amazing prices. Word of warning, the cartridges from the UK don't work on American printers unless you remove your American chip and put it on the UK cartridge. I realize this is confusing but you will understand when you get your printer. Refills are pretty painless. Use a large syringe(usually included with ink purchase) and don't over fill. One trick if your printer wont print certain colors. Take a needle to the small hole on top of the cartridge. These are notorious for getting plugged up with the tape they are sealed with. Edible image sheets
http://123refills.net/cic/category.php?category=Inkedibles+Frosting+Sheets $28 for 24 sheets and free shipping on orders of $60 or more. It's the best price I've found. (I also suggest buying your cartrides here. Great prices!!! $25 for a new set)
Using edible images
A few things I have found through trial and error. Your icing must be dry before placing on your image. Some people put it on wet icing but that can cause the image to bubble. Here is how I do it and it's a little different for everyone. Humidity is a stinker for edible images if you pan on shipping them so that may change things a bit. Also, Sweetopia has a wonderful tutorial on this that you may want to check out. If you can use a dehydrator(my new favorite must have thanks to Lilaloa) it will shave a full day off your dry tie. Ice, flood your cookies and let dry a few hours. Paint with a mixture of corn syrup with a tad bit of water added. I do this because really thick corn syrup doesn't like to dry. Let dry for a few hours or until the layer is tack(not wet) to the touch. Again, a dehydrator takes hours off but you can also give it a quick zap with your heat gun. Zap being a technical term.;o) At this point you can add icing to trim off the edges or even add icing right on the image. I try to connect the icing with the image and the icing from the cookie so it sticks well. Let dry for 24 hours or..........put in dehydrator for 10 minutes and you are all set. WORD OF WARNING for shipping. If there is moisture in your cookie, it seeps into the image once you seal the bag. They really need to dry for 48 hours before they are safe for bagging or the image will stick to the bag. I found this out the hard way and lost 90 cookies. Once I increased my dry time, no issues. Also remember that a lot of this will depend on the moisture in your area. I like to do a test cookie if possible. I bag one and put something on top of the bag. If after a few hours the image is safe, I know it's dry enough to ship. This may seem like overkill but after a time, you will figure it out for your area and these steps might not be needed. Cello bags
Quality cello bags are worth the extra money in my opinion. If anyone knows of a good supplier, for a better price, please let me know. This is another one that pays to buy more and save on shipping. The biggest factor here is the mil. 1.2 is crystal clear and your cookies deserve to be seen. He offers self sealing bags, which I like because it takes another step out of your busy schedule when you don't have to buy a sealer. He also offers gusseted bags for adding ribbon. Just remember the 1.2mil. http://www.ebay.com/itm/170828983424?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
I hope this has been helpful and will add to it when possible. Feel free to email or add any info you may have as I'm always open to new ideas.
