Any inkjet printer that is dedicated to print only with edible ink is considered an edible ink printer. However, not any printer can be used for edible printing purpose. The only printers that are used for working with food coloring are the ones that come with print-heads in the printer(such as many Canon inkjet printers or Epson inkjet printers, or Brother inkjet printers which is a line that Inkedibles is working to develop). The reason that printers with print-heads in the printer are used for edible printing, whereas printers that have print-heads on the cartridges themselves are not used for edible printing, are numerous, but most importantly, it has to do with ensuring that the printer (and cartridges) are dedicates to edible inks and are not used with regular inks. In the case of cartridges with print-heads on the cartridge (such as most Lexmark/Dell and many HP’s), those cartridges used in the “aftermarket” are re-used originals, so at some point in their life they came into contact with regular ink. Also, since they are reused, their quality is not as good as brand new cartridges. The aftermarket makes new cartridges primarily for those cartridges that do not have printheads on the cartridge, therefore bringing us to the point that only those should be used for edible printing. Most websites and resellers that offer edible inks can guide you to choose a printer to dedicate for edible printing. Most common are the Canon printers that use the Canon CLI-221 / PGI-220 series cartridges or the CLI-226 / PGI-225 series cartridges. The Epson printers that use T124, T125, T126, T127 and Epson T069 series cartridges are also favorable edible printers used today.
It is highly recommended to use a new printer in order to avoid any health issue caused by the coming together of edible ink and normal inkjet ink.
Canon edible printers come with a replaceable print head that can be easily removed or replaced.Inkjet printers are generally vulnerable to print head clogs and this particular issue can pose serious threat by the use of edible inks. Therefore, if the print head in your Canon printer is badly clogged, make sure to remove it or replace with the new one. You need to consult user’s manual provided with your printerin order to remove the print head properly.
When it comes to purchase a new printer, make sure to check out the various aspects. Printers come with different technologies; there are 2 edible ink cartridges printer available and also 4 to 6 ink cartridges. For working with edible it is recommended to use printers with 4 ink cartridges for better quality and also because these typically don’t have printheads on the cartridge (2 tank style printers usually have printheads on the cartridges).
Disclaimer: The information in this article does not represent any particular company’s opinions or suggestions. Edible ink printing should follow the instructions of the manufacturer from whom you buy your edible ink supplies, and it should be noted that the mixing of edible ink and regular inks should not be done.