Setting up an edible printer is easy, and just like setting up any regular printer! All of our printers come with a Canon Set Up Guide as well as our handy guide - 'Edible Printing - How to Get Started', which is packed with helpful advice and guidance.
If you’re new to edible printing or have just received your new edible printer, we’ve also compiled a list of printer set-up instructions and tips below which you may find useful when setting up your new machine. This guide is based on our most popular edible printer model, the Canon TS705a, but the same general instructions apply to all printer models.
Setting Up Your Edible Printer
- Remove any packaging and orange tape from the printer (displayed in Figure 1), plug in to a power source and turn on the printer. Follow the on-screen instructions to select your language preference.
Figure 1. Orange tape for removal prior to set-up.
2. Lift the lid on the printer and wait until the ink cartridge carriage moves into position. Do not touch the carriage until it stops at the ink tank installation position (movement shown in Figure 2).
Figure 2. Diagram of an open printer lid showing where the ink carriage should move to on opening.
3. Each printer comes with 5 edible ink cartridge colours - 1 x cyan, 1 x magenta, 1 x yellow and 2 x black (small and large), you will need to insert all 5 colours into your printer in order to use it. If using pre-filled edible ink cartridges, you can remove these from the orange cradles insert them into the corresponding coloured slots. If your printer includes our refillable edible ink cartridges, you will need to fill them first. Filling edible ink cartridges is easy, simply remove the pull tab and the coloured plug from the top of the cartridge and syringe in the correlating coloured edible ink. It’s important you fill the cartridge whilst in its orange holder as this prevents ink from flowing straight through the cartridges (cartridges shown in holder in Figure 3). Do not attempt to fill the cartridge whilst it’s in the printer otherwise the ink will leak. See our full guide on How to Fill Your Edible Ink Cartridges.
Figure 3. EPS Refillable Edible Ink Cartridges (580)
Please Note:- You cannot swap cartridge colours inside the printer so you must ensure the correct coloured cartridge is in the same coloured slot. If you accidentally fill the wrong cartridge you cannot simply swap these round as each chip is programmed for each colour and will not be recognised by the other slots.
4. Ensure you fill the cartridges so both sides are full of ink (the sponge side and the cavity). This will make sure the cartridges are registered on your printer and ensure the ink flows effectively.
Top Tip - Keep the orange holders for refilling the ink when required. You must insert the cartridges into the holders before starting to fill them or the ink will leak.
5. Install your cartridges by matching the label colours to the corresponding colours on the ink carriage slot. Gently place the back of the cartridge into the slot before pressing down on the front of the cartridge until you hear a click.
6. If you have the Canon TS705a or the Canon TS6350a (or any other with a display screen) the colour of your installed cartridges should appear on the printer screen, with an opaque black square above the installed colours (shown in Figure 4). If you have the Canon iX6850, a red light will appear for each colour indicating the cartridges have been installed correctly.
Figure 4. Printer screen displaying full Cyan ink cartridge has been detected.
7. Once you have inserted all 5 colours of edible ink cartridges, close the printer lid and the cartridge carriage will move back into position. Press OK to the message which appears on screen about the installed ink tanks.
8. Follow the on-screen instructions and instructions included within your Canon set-up guide to complete the set-up.
Connecting Your Edible Printer to Your Device
- There are two methods for completing the set-up of your edible printer with your chosen device - online set-up or using the CD-ROM. For the online set-up, you can find instructions for your edible printer on the Canon website here. For the CD-ROM set-up, full steps are included in the Canon guide, you will need the CD-ROM enclosed with your printer.
- If you wish to connect your edible printer to your smart phone, it is recommended to download the Canon PRINT app on your device and follow the instructions in your Canon set-up guide provided.
Please Note:- All edible printers sold by EPS are wireless, and do not come with a USB cable. However, you may wish to use a USB cable to connect your printer to your device, which you can purchase from most electronic stores or market places such as Amazon.
How to Set up Your Printer for Printing on Edible Papers
- When printing on edible paper, you must always use the rear feed tray, rather than the cassette tray. This provides a straight path through the printer for more delicate icing sheets and wafer paper, preventing paper damage and printer blockages as a result. You can select the the rear feed tray when sending documents to print. For more instructions and info on printing from the rear feed tray, check out our blog on How to Print From Rear Feed Tray.
Figure 5. An icing sheet being loaded into the rear feed tray with the plastic strip first.
2. Printing on edible papers can require some level of trial and error in order to achieve the optimal print quality. You can adjust your print settings and test what works best on regular printing paper before you begin.
3. For printing on icing sheets you will need to keep the icing on the plastic backing and load the icing sheet into the rear feed tray with the plastic strip first (see Figure 5) and the icing side should be facing you. Icing sheets should be loaded into the rear feed tray one at a time, as loading multiple sheets can cause feeding errors and jams. When you send your images to print, you can change the print settings. We always recommend printing in BEST quality and trialling between PAPER, ENVELOPE and PHOTO PAPER as the MEDIA TYPE. You can find more information on printing on icing sheets in this guide.
4. For printing on wafer paper or wafer card, this works just like printing regular paper. You can load multiple sheets of wafer paper/card into the rear feed tray at a time. If using EPS Wafer Paper, you should print on the smooth side for the best results so this side should be facing you in the feed tray. EPS Wafer Card is smooth on both sides, so you can load this either way. We recommend using BEST or NORMAL quality for wafer paper and sticking to PAPER as the MEDIA TYPE.
5. For printing on chocolate transfer sheets you can also load multiple sheets into the rear feed tray at a time. You want to print on the cocoa butter side (rough side) so this should be facing you in the feed tray. Chocolate transfer sheets should be printed in a MIRROR IMAGE, as once transferred onto chocolate your design will flip. You can select this option in the print settings and design your images as normal. We also recommend printing in BEST quality and using PHOTO PAPER or PAPER as the MEDIA TYPE. You can find more information on using Chocolate Transfer Sheets in this guide.
Additional Settings when Printing on Edible Paper:
- As edible papers can be thicker than regular paper, sometimes the rollers in the printer can cause small dotted ink marks or indents in icing sheets and chocolate transfer sheets. To prevent this you need to switch ON the ‘Prevent Print Abrasion’ setting which you will find in your driver settings or under ‘Feed Settings’ on the display screen.
- If you're using a Windows PC or an older Mac operating system, downloading the printer driver will give you access to a wider range of print settings, you can find the downloadable drivers for your printer by selecting your model on the Canon website here. Please note, more recent Mac Operating Systems no longer support Canon drivers and run through AirPrint instead. You can check your device in the link above.
IMPORTANT:- Once you have set up your edible printer, it must ONLY be used with edible ink. Using standard ink and then switching to edible ink can be harmful to health as residual ink may still be within the printer.
You can find further instructions, hints and tips on using your edible printer in our blog section or on our social media (Instagram and Facebook). If you still require additional support to set-up your edible printer, you can get in touch with our experienced team at sales@edibleprintsupplies.co.uk and we will be happy to help!