How to Prevent Edible Sheets from Drying or Cracking?

You are all set with your cake printer and edible icing sheets to take the final print out of your favorite image. But, as you peel off the icing sheet from its backing, it is dry and hard to peel off. Worst case, a part of it broke off and now you are worried that your wonderful edible printing plan has gone to the dogs!

The good news is, this inconvenience can be resolved easily, and we will tell you how.

You will learn-

• Why do edible sheets tend to dry off or crack very often?
• How to store edible frosting sheets and prevent them from drying up?

What Leads Edible Icing Sheets To Dry Up or Crack?

• They are temperature-sensitive:

Edible icing sheets are temperature-sensitive and come wrapped in a sealed bag for this very reason. They need to be stored properly, sealed and air-tight to allow the papers to retain the moisture.

• Retaining Moisture is important:

Moisture is imperative for edible printing sheets as that allows icing sheets to soak in the edible inks properly and print the right image output.

• Dry season or climate leads to moisture-loss:

Sometimes, icing sheets tend to show these specific issues during the drier seasons. And, if you live in a dry climate area, it is more likely for your edible sheets to lose their moisture when they are left in the open or not stored properly. When the moisture evaporates, the icing sheets become dry and brittle.

• Exposure in extremes of temperature is bad:

Long exposures in an environment that is too dry, hot or cold, will cause them to become brittle due to the fluctuations of temperature.

So when you put a moisture-less sheet inside your printer, it might break off in between, causing a paper jam in your edible printer. Therefore, no matter what sort of climate you are based in, your edible icing sheets need to be stored at room temperature and sealed.

How To Preserve Edible Sheets In The Right Way?

1. Do not take out the edible sheets from the sealed bag when they arrive, until you are ready to use them.
2. When you open the sealed bag to use one edible paper, make sure to immediately seal the bag to prevent the other icing sheets from being exposed to excessive temperature and humidity fluctuations(too cold, and then abruptly too warm).
3. If your room is not very cold, remove the individual sheet from the bag and lay it on a flat surface for some time to allow it to become more flexible. This is because icing sheets need to stay soft and malleable before feeding it to the edible printer and allow the edible inks to print properly. 
4. If your room is too cold, give some time to the icing sheet to reach comfortable room temperature to warm up prior to putting it inside the printer.
5. When you are going for edible printing, do not let the icing sheet sit in the printer for too long before you actually print. If you leave it in the tray for too long it may dry out (in a colder climate) or absorb too much moisture (in a humid climate).
6. Once you are done with printing the images on the paper and allowed it to dry properly, store the sheet back in a sealed zip lock bag, if you are planning to use it after some time, and not immediately. That way, the image will retain its color with the edible sheet quality at its best. If you live in an extremely hot and humid climate, you should leave your prints to dry for a little longer.

How to Re Moisturize Your Edible Printing Sheets?

While using icing sheets, if you find them to be too dry, you should consider rehydrating them.

• Use a moist paper towel and place it behind its backing sheet, and seal it in a ziplock bag to allow the moisture to soak in. However, make sure that you do not touch or drip the moist paper in front of any of these sheets.
• Let it sit in the manner for at least 12 to 24 hours before removing the paper towel. You will find the icing sheets most and pliable for use now, and that the icing sheet is well-attached to their backings.
• You can also try the technique of remoistening by spraying a mist of water on the icing sheets. Wait for a few minutes to let the papers soak in and dry up- ready to use. But make sure that you do not over-moisturize them. You can also use an airbrush to be more precise.
• You can re-moisturize icing sheets by holding them over a pot of boiling water for some seconds. This is a fast and tested method of letting icing sheets regain the moisture back, making them malleable and usable.

Once you have tried the above methods as per your needs, feed it to your edible printer and run a Check Print to see if the printing is all right.

 Drying or cracking edible sheets is not very uncommon, regardless of the brand you are using. The quality of your edible sheets could be really good, but things can go wrong given that the properties of frosting sheets or wafer papers are such.

 They are sensitive and need to be taken proper care of as preventive measures. If you are careful from the very beginning, chances are you will never face these issues again.