Transfer sheet machine

[Sebastian]

yes they arrived, however i've taken vacation for two weeks and prolly won't get to them. they came in a variety of designs - the crispness of the printing is fantastic, and has very good color blending. they also sent a number of finished pieces, it looks really pretty good on a white piece. the milk piece you can see it, but it's less visually striking. when compared to a conventional transfer sheet, the 'ink' is much t thinner (ie if you run your finger across a transfer sheet you can feel the 'ridges' of ink - on this the ink is a much thinner layer).

While i've not used it yet, i'd think it'd be a good way for small shoppes to customize their pieces, but would probably focus on white pieces...

[gap]

yes they arrived, however i've taken vacation for two weeks and prolly won't get to them.  they came in a variety of designs - the crispness of the printing is fantastic, and has very good color blending.  they also sent a number of finished pieces, it looks really pretty good on a white piece.  the milk piece you can see it, but it's less visually striking.  when compared to a conventional transfer sheet, the 'ink' is much t thinner (ie if you run your finger across a transfer sheet you can feel the 'ridges' of ink - on this the ink is a much thinner layer).

While i've not used it yet, i'd think it'd be a good way for small shoppes to customize their pieces, but would probably focus on white pieces...

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Thanks for the feedback

[sote23]

so I take it doesn't work that well with dark chocolate then? Keep us updated if you do mess around with it more.

Luis

[Kerry Beal]

Tomric is now selling the Deco System described above. Link here.

[mrose]

Tomric is now selling the Deco System described above.  Link here.

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Does anyone have any experiences with this system? For ~$500 is a lot to get started without anymore info?

[Kerry Beal]

I bought part of the system from Europe a while back. I didn't get it to use with the printer however - just to allow me to get all my images lined up right for making a positive to make a silk screen. It doesn't work on my Mac - so I'm using a borrowed Thinkpad.

I haven't actually played with it as much as I would have liked as my screen printing guy is very ill and so I haven't wanted to bother him.

[RWood]

I've wondered if it's possible to just purchase the USB stick and software. I have a canon printer, the edible ink cartridges, acetate sheets and molds.

I talked to Chocolat-Chocolat in Montreal, and they sell the whole system as well. But, they wanted $750 Canadian for it. Seemed a little high.

[Kerry Beal]

I've wondered if it's possible to just purchase the USB stick and software.  I have a canon printer, the edible ink cartridges, acetate sheets and molds.

I talked to Chocolat-Chocolat in Montreal, and they sell the whole system as well.  But, they wanted $750 Canadian for it.  Seemed a little high.

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That's what I bought. I'd call and talk to Tomric.

[RWood]

I've wondered if it's possible to just purchase the USB stick and software.  I have a canon printer, the edible ink cartridges, acetate sheets and molds.

I talked to Chocolat-Chocolat in Montreal, and they sell the whole system as well.  But, they wanted $750 Canadian for it.  Seemed a little high.

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That's what I bought. I'd call and talk to Tomric.

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Thanks, I'll check it out.

[prairiegirl]

You need to make sure that the printer you have will be compatible with the software. I bought the system from England except for the printer that I bought locally the kijiji for $20 brand new in the box. I also bought another printer thru ebay to have as a back up.

By using the software I have increased business and most people are quite impressed. You can put a white chocolate backing on or you can airbrush white cocoa butter onto the transfer sheets. There is good methods and bad methods when doing this.

I was unaware that Tomric sold this so I will inquire about the cost of the special transfer sheets. I found that buying out of England was cheaper postage than from the United States and I live in Canada!!

If you go on my website you will see some of my work using this technology and also what we are charging.

So, in my opinion, Deco Artist is a worthy investment.

[Edward J]

Had a chat with Renee at Chocolat-Chocolat. She used the words "Caveat emporium" to describe the system, and made it clear that she did not advertise the equipment on her website.

On the plus side, it does print as advertised.

On the negative side, it only prints on white backgrounds , and the software only allows it to print on the formats or sizes of the magnetic molds that are included/for sale. And Renee is "not thrilled" with the software's user-friendliness.

I have made, and am continuing to make my own magnetic molds. Actually a fairly simple process if you use simple woodworking skills, plexigalss sheets, and rare-earth magnets. I also like to enrobe pieces and lay them directly on large pieces of the transfer sheets.

The price is tempting--compared to multiple thousands for systems that supposedly print directly on the item. Then again,. I've fought many-a-battle with cheap printers--specifically clogged/ruined print heads, and the printer has always won, and my wallet always lost.

I dunno about this one.....

[prairiegirl]

Had a chat with Renee at Chocolat-Chocolat.  She used the words "Caveat emporium" to describe the system, and made it clear that she did not advertise the equipment on her website.

On the plus side, it does print as advertised.

On the negative side, it only prints on white backgrounds , and the software only allows it to print on the formats or sizes of the magnetic molds that are included/for sale. And Renee is "not thrilled" with the software's user-friendliness.

I have made, and am continuing to make my own magnetic molds.  Actually a fairly simple process if you use simple woodworking skills, plexigalss sheets, and rare-earth magnets.  I also like to enrobe pieces and lay them directly on large pieces of the transfer sheets.

The price is tempting--compared to multiple thousands for systems that supposedly print directly on the item.  Then again,. I've fought many-a-battle with cheap printers--specifically clogged/ruined print heads, and the printer has always won, and my wallet always lost. 

I dunno about this one.....

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I am interested in your making your own magnetic molds. I would to hear more about that. I use the Deco Artist and like it. I had to learn to use it properly and you can see in my website how it looks. Great for corporate logos and wedding apllications.

[RWood]

Had a chat with Renee at Chocolat-Chocolat.  She used the words "Caveat emporium" to describe the system, and made it clear that she did not advertise the equipment on her website.

On the plus side, it does print as advertised.

On the negative side, it only prints on white backgrounds , and the software only allows it to print on the formats or sizes of the magnetic molds that are included/for sale. And Renee is "not thrilled" with the software's user-friendliness.

I have made, and am continuing to make my own magnetic molds.  Actually a fairly simple process if you use simple woodworking skills, plexigalss sheets, and rare-earth magnets.  I also like to enrobe pieces and lay them directly on large pieces of the transfer sheets.

The price is tempting--compared to multiple thousands for systems that supposedly print directly on the item.  Then again,. I've fought many-a-battle with cheap printers--specifically clogged/ruined print heads, and the printer has always won, and my wallet always lost. 

I dunno about this one.....

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I had spoken to Renee as well, and she did say that if you weren't computer friendly, the software can be problematic.

I heard back from Tomric, and the USB is $225 on it's own. Seems high, so still thinking on that.

If most of these systems just use any of the edible ink cartridges, supposedly the ink tanks from Kopy Kake and TastyFotoArt are less likely to clog. And the Canon printer is supposed to be easier to clean if it does. Apparently the Epson cannot be cleaned and is just a loss.

I have to get a new Canon ink tank to replace a chip on the edible tank. One of them didn't work, so once I get that done, I can see how the ink works.

[dougal]

... the software only allows it to print on the formats or sizes of the magnetic molds that are included/for sale. And Renee is "not thrilled" with the software's user-friendliness.

...

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This "software" seems to be a (Windows-only) graphics application.

Its main functions are

- image composition and

- image multi-copying and positioning to suit some particular mold arrangements.

There doesn't seem to be anything specific to the edible inks or to any particular printer (or model).

The printer seems to be driven through its standard printer driver.

Hence, regarding a previous question, you could use these inks on a printer attached to a Mac, just as long as you have a Mac printer driver for that particular printer model. (And I suppose you could even have a custom Colorsync profile made for the edible inks, if colour accuracy were to become more critical ... )

And, regarding the multi-copying and positioning facility - isn't that exactly what most label printing software does?

I can't see why one might not use whatever image creation/editing/combining software one might choose to create the design, and then a label printing program to set up one's page with multiple instances of the design at whatever spacing the mold required.

Doing a left/right mirror-image inversion (should that be required, as for transfer printing) is well within the capability of most graphics programs.

OK, some testing and tweaking would be needed to get it exactly right - but that could be done with paper and ordinary 'cheap' ink.

Or with a little more effort, any page layout program should allow you to place multiple designs at whatever step-and-repeat spacing one might require.

Naturally, it would be prudent to save one's final adjusted layout as a template to use with other graphic designs. And making the design a standardised (overall, outside) size is going to simplify that template re-use.

The only caveat would seem to be that molds that require some rows of the design to be upside down, are going to make these manual processes very much more complicated!

...  And the Canon printer is supposed to be easier to clean if it does.  Apparently the Epson cannot be cleaned and is just a loss.

...

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In general, most Canon models have VERY easily removable (and replaceable, even if not actually cheap) printheads. The printhead and ink tanks unclip as a module and can be stored, in a specially well-sealed Canon-made box, at least as well-protected as being left in the printer.

In contrast Epson use printheads that, while arguably more sophisticated, are generally an integral part of the machine (and not normally possible for owners to remove for cleaning or replacement).

It should be possible to easily swap between a Canon printhead-and-edible-inks and another printhead with ordinary ink for ordinary printing. IIRC, you can get other special inks for other specialist jobs like custom T-shirt transfer printing.

You should not need to dedicate a Canon printer exclusively to edible ink.

[prairiegirl]

It is easier to just buy the software. Sometimes I will use a kopykake software to do some specialized work. I would check with deco-artist in England about the cost of the security stick. You might get it cheaper thru them directly.

[mrose]

It is easier to just buy the software. Sometimes I will use a kopykake software to do some specialized work.  I would check with deco-artist in England about the cost of the security stick.  You might get it cheaper thru them directly.

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Just saw a machine that can be used to enable you to easily make custom silk screened transfer sheets. It's called a YUDU. Seemed reasonably priced versus buying & setting up the equipment to do screening. Cheap place to get it .

Edited July 19, 2009 by mrose (log)

[Kerry Beal]

It is easier to just buy the software. Sometimes I will use a kopykake software to do some specialized work.  I would check with deco-artist in England about the cost of the security stick.  You might get it cheaper thru them directly.

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Just saw a machine that can be used to enable you to easily make custom silk screened transfer sheets. It's called a YUDU. Seemed reasonably priced versus buying & setting up the equipment to do screening. Cheap place to get it .

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That's a good price for sure. Was looking at one in the Michael's in Sudbury today. I've been thinking for the quick one offs - it would keep the price down on making transfers.

Only concern if you use their emulsion sheets - might be the food safety issue.

[mrose]

It is easier to just buy the software. Sometimes I will use a kopykake software to do some specialized work.  I would check with deco-artist in England about the cost of the security stick.  You might get it cheaper thru them directly.

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Just saw a machine that can be used to enable you to easily make custom silk screened transfer sheets. It's called a YUDU. Seemed reasonably priced versus buying & setting up the equipment to do screening. Cheap place to get it .

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That's a good price for sure. Was looking at one in the Michael's in Sudbury today. I've been thinking for the quick one offs - it would keep the price down on making transfers.

Only concern if you use their emulsion sheets - might be the food safety issue.

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What are you using for an emulsion now? You could just coat the screen with that instead of sheets that come with the machine? What was the cost at Michael's? Do you get those 40% off coupons in Canada?

Edited July 19, 2009 by mrose (log)

[Kerry Beal]

I'm using the Ulano emulsion (not sure exactly which one right now as I'm up north) or making my own with Diazo dye and white glue.

The unit is $399 CDN and you get a $50 Michael's coupon with it. The 40% off coupons exclude the YUDU. It was on sale for $349 a while back.

[sote23]

Has anyone used one of these Yudu machines to make a transfer sheet yet?

Luis

[bdonaghy]

Or you could put a thin layer of titanium dioxide mixed in cocoa butter in behind the images with a roller or silk screen.

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Kerry.

I have been airbrush white colored cocoa butter behind the transfer with good results!

brian

[mrose]

Has anyone used the Chocolate Artist System? If so which printer do you have? Tomric suggests an Epson but Chocolate Artist recommends a Cannon? Cannon also looks better on paper with respect to cleaning & print heads?

Also, the Tomric offer gave 50 sheets of transfer paper. Is there anything special about this transfer sheet paper or is it just acetate cut to size?

[Camano Chef]

Kerry,

Have you tried the Parallels software on your MAC. I use it every day using XP PRO.

It works very well and I use it as a system administrator for a very large PC network complete with servers,printers, etc.

I do a lot of tax work using LaCerte software. Probably 80 % of US accountants use this software.

You must buy PC anti-virus software as you are working in the "Windows World"

I use Panda anti-virus software with good results.

I use a Macbook Pro for all of this.

Hope this helps

Phil

[Kerry Beal]

Kerry,

Have you tried the Parallels software on your MAC.  I use it every day using XP PRO.

It works very well and I use it as a system administrator for a very large PC network complete with servers,printers, etc.

I do a lot of tax work using LaCerte software.  Probably 80 % of US accountants use this software.

You must buy PC anti-virus software as you are working in the "Windows World"

I use Panda anti-virus software with good results.

I use a Macbook Pro for all of this.

Hope this helps

Phil

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Phil,

I'm on an old iBook G4, so don't have the dual processor.  Some day perhaps I'll get a new one, but I need my OS 9 Classic in order to run mastercook and a medical billing program that I have. 

Edited September 3, 2009 by Kerry Beal (log)

[prairiegirl]

I use this system and I bought it directly from Deco artist. I have the Canon ip3500 and ip4500. It is the system that they say works with the security stick. I found one printer in kijiji and the other thru Ebay. If you look at my website and view current offerings, you will see some of my work. You must use the special acetate paper. It is sprayed with a mixture of cocoa butter, egg white, gelatine and something else. This allows the ink to absorb into this material and not smudge. It needs to dry for about 30 minutes to an hour before using. You can back with white chocolate (thinned with cocoa butter) or spray with an airbrush white cocoa butter. The white chocolate might interfere with with the colours you used on the transfer sheet. So it is better to airbrush with white. Read the previous posts because i did mention costs etc. in the past.