Posted by Ink4Cakes on 8/26/2020 to
Edible Images
These are two of the most popular edible sheet products on the market for edible printing. The first edible sheet product are icing sheets, also known among cake decorators as sugar sheets or frosting sheets.
The second edible sheet is wafer paper known also as rice paper (the product is actually made of potato starch, not rice). Here we will go into what makes each sheet different and which one may be right for your edible printing needs.
EDIBLE ICING SHEETS
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Our customers often ask what the difference is between the two edible sheets and which one best fits their needs.
Here’s a quick reference guide:
Icing sheets are made of a very thin layer of icing pressed against a backing paper. The backing paper allows the printer to feed the icing paper without issue. The backing sheet can be made from clear plastic acetate sheets or gloss treated paper.
This backing paper must be peeled off before applying the icing sheet onto a cake. As icing sheets are thicker than wafer paper and closely resemble fondant icing they tend to produce a higher quality print finish than wafer paper.
We carry several brands and different types of icing sheets. One of our brands are Ultra Thin Twiggy sheets commonly used for cocktail toppers or coffee edible decoration. They are extremely thin, so they melt right onto most drinks without any issue!
Our very own brand and most popular icing sheets are our Supreme Icing sheets, the best icing sheet in the world. They produce great quality images, have a fast drying time and blend perfectly onto your icing. All our icing sheets are also Kosher certified by OU, suitable for vegetarians or vegans and are gluten free. The backing sheet removes easily without any need for freezing or heating.
Icing sheets work best on cookies, cakes, and any other pastry. They lay down flat onto the surface and must be adhere with either icing or lite corn syrup.
WAFER PAPER
Wafer paper is a vegetarian product made from potato starches, water and oil. It closely resembles standard paper but it is more translucent depending on its thickness.
Here at Ink 4 Cakes, our wafer paper is available in a wide selection of thicknesses varying from 0.19mm to 0.65mm. Our Wafer paper is also available in different colors, the most popular colors being pink and green.
The thicker wafer paper is mostly used for stand up, 3D cake toppers or cupcake vertical toppers; because of its rigidness, wafer paper can ‘stand up’ when inserted into a cupcake / cake.
Our wafer paper is graded from thinnest to thickest beginning at AD00 , AD2 , AD4 and DD6 being the thickest wafer paper we offer at 0.65mm.
It's Kosher, gluten free product.
Wafer Paper is somewhat flexible however edges can be brittle and can easily to break off. The thinner wafer paper has a smooth and a rough side, we recommend that for the best results, printing should be done onto the smooth side with high quality print settings.
When it comes to print settings when printing wafer paper, they should be changed depending on wafer paper thickness.
WHICH PAPER SHOULD I CHOOSE?
What about edible printing quality?
Should I choose Wafer Paper or Icing Sheets?
Our Ink 4 Cakes Supreme Icing sheets have been specifically engineered for edible image printing. The smooth and bright white finish means your printed images turn out very clear and high quality. They achieve the best possible printing results.
Compared to printed wafer paper, printed icing sheets achieve a more sophisticated and a higher quality image. Wafer paper also won't melt onto icing so using icing sheets to decorate cakes/cupcakes, achieves a more uniform and finished look. The printing process for both types of papers is exactly the same., simply insert your paper (wafer or icing) onto the feed tray of your edible printer and print away!
HOW DO YOU APPLY WAFER PAPER AND ICING SHEETS ONTO A CAKE?
Ink 4 Cakes frosting sheets remove easily from the backing paper. You simply peel them off!
Different brands of icing sheets can be difficult to remove especially in summer time which can cause problems. As a precaution we offer thermal packaging for all our icing sheets to prevent any weather/elemental damage.
Once printed, icing sheets are extremely easy to apply. You can spray your iced cake with a fine mist of water to help the process and then simply press the icing sheets (with the acetate backing removed) gently into place.
Icing sheets are easy to cut through and mold into fondant icing easily.
FlexFrost icing sheet can be manipulated and distorted onto shapes, lace, and layers, often called edible fabric because of their extreme flexibility.
Wafer paper can be applied onto cakes easily as well. Simply apply onto your cake/cupcake once the image is printed and you're done!
You can lay the wafer paper on top of your edible creation or you can stick it and make it stand up for a cool 3D look. The best part? There’s no backing paper to remove, you just print and go.
Wafer paper does have a tendency to curl after a while if it’s applied to wet icing, so letting the icing harden a little before application is always a good idea. If using our wafer paper on buttercream, always apply them at the last minute or when the buttercream has hardened. Another downside of wafer paper is the it doesn’t blend/mold into fondant icing, It can also be difficult to cut when applied to the top of a cake.
One of the most popular use of wafer paper is for Jello cakes. You print a reflected image onto your wafer paper and then place the image face down onto your Jello cake. Let the image sit on top of the Jello cake for a few minutes then remove it. Your image is now transferred onto your Jello cake!
HOW DOES EACH SHEET TASTE?
Supreme Icing Sheets have a very slight, sweet and vanilla flavour. However, as the icing is generally absorbed into the cake / cupcakes any taste is not usually noticeable. Wafer paper is flavourless. An advantage of its lack of flavour means it doesn’t affect the flavour of the cake you’re applying it to.
AFFORDABILITY
Wafer Paper is considerably cheaper to purchase than icing sheets, with prices from $2.99 or less for 25 sheets while the same amount of icing sheets would cost you $27.99.
Unlike wafer paper, icing sheets are also available in pre-cut options.
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