Edible Ink Pricing and Costs

Prepare the budget for immediate and long term costs of cake printers and products

Edible ink enables your food service business or bakery to customize products for your company. From photo cakes to cupcakes featuring your company logo, edible ink is quickly becoming the norm in pastry decorating.

When you begin to look for cake printers, you must remember that the costs you incur don't stop once you buy the printer. Consider the following edible ink pricing and costs guidelines to help you prepare your budget:

1. Start your pricing list off with the cost of purchasing cake printers.

2. Plan for the recurring cost of purchasing edible ink.

3. Include the cost of purchasing edible paper for cakes into your regular budget.

 

Consider the cost of cake printers

When you are looking at cake printers, keep in mind that the price you pay is dependent upon the size of the paper you will need to print on. The smaller the paper size, the less expensive the printer. However, upgrading to a wide sized printer is usually a justifiable expense for any business. Not only will this enable you to print an entire cake on one sheet, it will also minimize decorating time on the cake.
Try: The Wizard's Baker sells edible ink printers. You can expect to pay between $300 and $400 for printers to make picture cakes. Photo Frost offers cake printers and icing printers starting at around $350.

Include the cost of the edible ink

Edible ink is a recurring expense. This means that you must set your budget up to absorb the cost of regular edible ink purchases. The price you pay for edible ink depends upon the printer model you have.
Try: Wasserstrom sells cake ink. Prices start at under $10 for bottles of frosting ink. For edible ink printer refills, you can expect to pay at least $30. Baking Shop sells edible ink cartridges starting at around $25. Kopykake offers ink pens with edible ink for under $10 per set.

Remember to include the cost of edible paper for cakes

Edible paper for cakes is another recurring expense. When you order the paper, you should order 10 percent more than you think you will need. For example, if you are decorating 100 cakes one week, you should order at least 110 sheets of edible paper. Generally, larger sheets of edible paper are more expensive than smaller sheets, especially if the number of sheets per pack is the same.
Try: Tasty Foto Art sells edible paper starting at around $20 for 25 standard size sheets. You can also find edible paper for cakes at Cook's Dream. Prices start at around $30 per package for standard sheets. Cupcake templates and multi-packs are available.

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