The Best Edible Ink | 2023

These days, dessert is more than just something delicious you eat after a meal. Instead, it’s more like a work of art, reflecting something special for the people it’s made for. Many people like to create cakes, cookies, cupcakes and more that have photographs or images on them to help celebrate a special occasion. These photographs are made with edible ink and printed using a special printer.

Edible ink is made from edible food-grade coloring that has the viscosity, droplet size and other characteristics similar to regular ink used in a printer. Using edible ink and a special inkjet printer, you can print digital images onto edible paper and apply them to any kind of flat surface on a dessert. Edible ink is made with all food safe ingredients and is FDA compliant. The specific ingredients depend on the brand and type of ink, but edible ink always contains food-grade coloring.

When selecting edible ink, it’s first important to determine how you want to use it. For example, are you looking to print out edible images, and if so, does your printer require a specific kind of edible ink? If you don’t want to print out images, another way to use edible ink is to airbrush it onto desserts. Some edible inks are sold solo, while others are sold with their intended gadgets, such as an edible ink printer or an edible ink airbrush gun.

• When it comes to colors, with edible ink that is used in an inkjet printer you will be able to make just about any color you want using primary colors as well as black and white. If you’re airbrushing with edible ink, then you will want to get an array of colors as you cannot mix them like you can with an inkjet printer. Typically, you can find just about any color of edible ink for airbrushing, from purple to blue to green to yellow and more.
• If you want to add fine details to your desserts that can’t be done with a printer or airbrush gun, then opt for edible ink markers. They are like regular markers and have fine tips, but they are filled with edible ink. They are great for writing messages, adding small details and outlining images.
• In order to use edible ink with a printer, you have to use edible paper, which is typically made from frosting or marshmallows. Note that you cannot use regular paper with edible ink and apply that onto desserts. The edible paper comes with a plastic backing which you peel off once you’re ready to apply the image to the dessert. The frosting of the paper melds perfectly with the frosting on the dessert so that the image adheres to the dessert without falling off, shifting or rolling up.
• Just like with regular ink, you can adjust the contrast settings on the printer to ensure you get the right colors with edible ink. Sometimes the image can turn our too dark or too light, so you may need to play with the contrast settings till you get the perfect results.