Transfer Sheets: Tips, Techniques & Care

[curls]

Why do you need to heat your molds if your room is at 76,? I don't know if the warm room is causing the issues... can you cool the room and work at around 72 F? Also try working with your tempered chocolate at its max working temperature, 88 F is on the low side for dark chocolate.

[keychris]

your room is pretty warm, as curls said. I'd want it a bit cooler - I think perhaps your chocolate isn't setting up nicely right at the start because it's so warm.

[Jim D.]

I find that using magnetic molds with transfer sheets is a useful shortcut to supplement other more time-consuming bonbon decorations when dealing with what are for me large numbers of Christmas chocolate orders (certainly faster than getting out the airbrush equipment and tempering cocoa butters). But finding decent transfers is another matter. Many of them have beautiful colors (such as red) which turn brown when placed on anything but white chocolate (never mind the fact that the online photos from the vendors show a vibrant red atop dark chocolate). Many of the designs are too large (that is, the "repeat" of the pattern is too high and so you end up with a snippet of the design on each chocolate). Someone just gave me a small box of chocolates from a shop in northern Virginia that are, IMHO, strikingly beautiful (I ate one of the pieces before I decided to try finding the transfer sheets used). Has anyone seen any transfers like this:

 

Edited December 3, 2019 by Jim D. (log)

[pastrygirl]

@Jim D. those are nice, no idea who makes them, can you call the chocolatier and ask?

 

On the issue of repeating pattern sizes, Chef Rubber makes some designs that are 1.75" squares with individual images.  Maybe other transfer sheet makers offer these too?  https://shop.chefrubber.com/products/107/1-75in-x-1-75in-squares/

[Jim D.]

12 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

@Jim D. those are nice, no idea who makes them, can you call the chocolatier and ask?

 

 

I guess I assumed they would not wish to reveal their source. As I think more about those particular transfers, I'm wondering if they have them custom made. It's obvious they are applied to dipped chocolates, not used in magnetic molds, and each is 1" x 1". The fact that the shop is named Fleurir might explain why most of them have a flower motif and could argue for custom transfers. I was struck by the self-confident statement on the guide to the flavors enclosed in the box:  "probably the most delicious box of chocolates you have ever eaten." They did make the New York Times list as creating one of the "10 best American small-batch, chocolate-covered salted caramels" in the USA (obviously the Times didn't sample Seattle's best )

[keychris]

6 hours ago, Jim D. said:

I was struck by the self-confident statement on the guide to the flavors enclosed in the box:  "probably the most delicious box of chocolates you have ever eaten." 

 

For most people it's probably accurate. 99% of the population are perfectly happy eating a $2 'chocolate' bar from Cadbury or Nestle and wouldn't even think to pay the asking price that artisan products require. Anyone that's done a market has had the customers who say "I could buy X with what you're charging here!" ...

 

I better stop before I get into a full rant 😂

[Jim D.]

27 minutes ago, keychris said:

 

For most people it's probably accurate. 99% of the population are perfectly happy eating a $2 'chocolate' bar from Cadbury or Nestle and wouldn't even think to pay the asking price that artisan products require. Anyone that's done a market has had the customers who say "I could buy X with what you're charging here!" ...

 

I better stop before I get into a full rant 😂

 

How true. Just outside the city where I live is one of the largest Hershey factories in the U.S. The big excitement is that they are going to start making Reese's Cups there! I recently raised my prices to the point where they almost cover my expenses, and, as I predicted but knowledgeable customers assured me would not happen, sales have diminished.

[pastrygirl]

13 hours ago, Jim D. said:

 

I guess I assumed they would not wish to reveal their source. ... I was struck by the self-confident statement on the guide to the flavors enclosed in the box:  "probably the most delicious box of chocolates you have ever eaten." They did make the New York Times list as creating one of the "10 best American small-batch, chocolate-covered salted caramels" in the USA (obviously the Times didn't sample Seattle's best )

 

I guess some people are secretive, but I feel like a source referral shouldn't be a big deal.

 

7 hours ago, keychris said:

 

For most people it's probably accurate. 99% of the population are perfectly happy eating a $2 'chocolate' bar from Cadbury or Nestle and wouldn't even think to pay the asking price that artisan products require. Anyone that's done a market has had the customers who say "I could buy X with what you're charging here!" ...

 

I better stop before I get into a full rant 😂

 

6 hours ago, Jim D. said:

 

How true. Just outside the city where I live is one of the largest Hershey factories in the U.S. The big excitement is that they are going to start making Reese's Cups there! I recently raised my prices to the point where they almost cover my expenses, and, as I predicted but knowledgeable customers assured me would not happen, sales have diminished.

 

Sad that you've seen a difference since raising prices. 

 

The self-confidence is definitely tricky for  a lot of artisans.  Obviously we believe in what we do enough to keep doing it, but the sales and self promotion don't always come naturally. 

 

So the other day I was tying ribbons around my 9 piece bonbon boxes and feeling happy with them, thinking $18 is a justifiable price.  (They've been $18 for a while, sometimes I'll do $16 in smaller towns or if I need to get rid of them.)   Then I saw that another local chocolatier is now carrying a 3rd chocolatier's bonbons, $25 for a 6 piece box!!!  Are you kidding me, $4 each for a bonbon?  3rd chocolatier always strikes me as very confident, is definitely talented and probably had more extensive training than most of us.  But still ... should I be charging way more or is that ridiculous?  It's still just candy, no matter how much time you spent studying it.  I could bump my 9 piece up to $20 ... 3rd chocolatier is outside of town so should have much lower expenses, maybe it's 2nd chocolatier's pricing?  It is hard to actually make a living ... ok, how about $25 for the 9 piece? 😂

 

I have some people in my life who always tell me to charge more but I do have customers occasionally ask for discounts or say it's out of budget so I'll give a discount.  Another challenge, not being able to say no 🙄.

 

Anyway, back to transfers, I haven't used these folks but pricing on custom doesn't seem that bad ...

https://www.americanchocolatedesigns.com/custom-transfer-sheets-1.html

 

 

Edited December 5, 2019 by pastrygirl (log)

[gap]

On 12/5/2019 at 3:44 PM, pastrygirl said:

Anyway, back to transfers, I haven't used these folks but pricing on custom doesn't seem that bad ...

https://www.americanchocolatedesigns.com/custom-transfer-sheets-1.html

 

My family bought me custom transfers from them 11 years ago and I still have them/use them!! I store them in a room that often gets to 28C+ (it's hard not to in summer Australia) but they lie flat and in the dark. They still work perfectly.

Edited December 6, 2019 by gap (log)

[pastrygirl]

@Jim D. fleurir says their transfers are all custom designs - didn’t say who printed the transfers but that’s a start (I asked on Instagram)

[Jim D.]

1 hour ago, pastrygirl said:

@Jim D. fleurir says their transfers are all custom designs - didn’t say who printed the transfers but that’s a start (I asked on Instagram)

That's what I was guessing since (as I said) they mostly conform to the "fleur" theme. You are bolder than I am about asking them, so I thank you.

[Kerry Beal]

A few years back Chef Rubber carried a series of transfers with similarities to these custom ones.

[Kerry Beal]

Nope - I was wrong - these are what I was thinking about - 

 

[Jim D.]

I just received a notice from ChocoTransferSheets as follows:

 

Quote

We are reaching out to inform you that, due to unforeseen circumstances, Choco will be temporarily closed until further notice.

 

I had received several notices recently about price reductions in their products, but our warm fall weather discouraged placing an order.  It sounds as if reopening of the company is an "iffy" proposition.  Of course this is a season when those who use transfer sheets usually stock up for the holidays.  ChocoTransferSheets was unique (as far as I was able to determine) in being able to make any color opaque.  Reds did not turn dark red/brown but stayed a bright red.  I do not know what their secret was, perhaps some use of white that did not distort the displayed color.  I have used several other vendors--and have many bags with their non-opaque transfers that I will never use--except perhaps for bonbons molded in white chocolate.

 

Does anyone have suggestions for another source?

 

 

[Jim D.]

To follow up:  I posted my issue on Facebook, and Ruth (@Chocolot) replied that she uses Chef Rubber.  And in her photo the reds were really red.  I have bought CR transfers in the past, and the red turned brown (on a dark choc background).  Perhaps they have changed their method.  I'm not sure how I can delicately ask CR (when I want to say: "do your reds still turn brown?")

[pastrygirl]

On 11/1/2024 at 8:06 AM, Jim D. said:

I have bought CR transfers in the past, and the red turned brown (on a dark choc background)

 

Do you mean they fade over time or just don't look red enough over dark choc from the beginning?

[Jim D.]

4 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

 

Do you mean they fade over time or just don't look red enough over dark choc from the beginning?

 

The latter.  It happens with other colors as well (blues become grayish).  I have contacted American Chocolate Designs (information that came from you earlier in this thread), and they are sending me (free) some samples of transfers with red in them.  The fact that they didn't answer with something like "Oh, we know about that problem, and with ours, the red stays bright red" suggests these won't work.  I've never understood what ChocoTransferSheets does (did?) that made theirs opaque.  If they added white to red, it would turn pink.  Here is a sample of one of their transfers:

 

[Jim D.]

I did some work to show what I was describing about cocoa butter colors.  Transfer #1: The pink color transfers to the chocolate fairly well, but not as bright. But then pink contains (presumably) titanium dioxide. #2: This is red on dark chocolate at its worst, very muddy, almost brown.  #3: This beautiful transfer was my biggest disappointment (ignore the chocolate blotch in the middle; it's from a chip falling off the transfer--this is a very old transfer sheet):  Perhaps one could say the dark red/brown is OK--unless you know what it is supposed to look like.

 

 

[pastrygirl]

Thanks for the illustration.  The middle one doesn't look bad to me - not vibrant but red. The one on the right doesn't look red at all. 

 

Maybe some makers use a higher concentration of pigment in the cocoa butter?

[Kerry Beal]

Jim - when you look at the back of the  Chocotransfer sheets is there white behind the red by any chance? 

[Jim D.]

@Kerry Beal No, there is no white.  I remember meeting the owner of ChocoTransferSheets at the last Las Vegas workshop.  I don't suppose you have any info on what happened to the company.  I am still kicking myself for not taking advantage of their recent sales (if they had said "clearance," I might have taken action).   Their transfers were a cut above the rest, in my opinion--tulips, roses, cherry blossoms.

 

@pastrygirl 

Quote

Maybe some makers use a higher concentration of pigment in the cocoa butter?

 

That may be the explanation--it makes sense.

[Jim D.]

I should add that I recently saw a photo of chocolates from @Chocolot.  The transfers are from Chef Rubber, and the reds look good.  Maybe I should give CR another chance.

 

[Kerry Beal]

20 minutes ago, Jim D. said:

@Kerry Beal No, there is no white.  I remember meeting the owner of ChocoTransferSheets at the last Las Vegas workshop.  I don't suppose you have any info on what happened to the company.  I am still kicking myself for not taking advantage of their recent sales (if they had said "clearance," I might have taken action).   Their transfers were a cut above the rest, in my opinion--tulips, roses, cherry blossoms.

 

@pastrygirl 

 

That may be the explanation--it makes sense.

I do have a contact - but not really comfortable asking outright what’s happened