What if an Edible Printer doesn't Print the Right Colors?

You’re trying to print your favorite image using your cake printer, but you’re not happy with the resulting image. Some of the colors are not in the precise shade or maybe sometimes it’s completely absent.

That is a problem. Now it’s time to do a check on the edible ink cartridges on your edible printer and locate the issues.

There could be quite a few reasons as to why your edible printer is not printing the colors accurately. For that, you need to negate the possible causes, to comprehend what exactly is your concern at hand.

In this guide, you will learn

The probable causes stopping your edible printer from functioning poorly, how to solve each of these issues to get your cake printer back to performing just right!

The reasons could be?

• An empty ink cartridge
• Incompatible edible ink cartridge
• A defective ink cartridge
• A clogged printhead
  
  

 How To Narrow Down And Identify The Exact Problem At Hand?

1. Open the cartridge door to check if all cartridges are full of ink.
2. The cartridge light remains ON, on your edible printer, making sure that it is not a compatibility issue.
3. Sometimes a cartridge light could blink, indicating that the printer is not recognizing it. Simply remove the cartridge and put it back carefully. If it fits in and the light is on, your problem is resolved.
4. If none of the above is happening with you, go to your printer’s Properties window. Click on the Maintenance Tab.
5. Click on your printer’s Nozzle Check option and go for Print Check Pattern. Your printer will now print all the colors to let you see exactly which one/s are not performing right.
6. Now go to the Check Pattern tab on your computer. Your screen will display two sides- left and right- to compare the colors on two displays, and discloses if a particular color(s) or shade(s) is having a problem in printing correctly.
7. If the colors look the same on both sides, then your problem is not with the edible ink cartridges. If there is, the screen will display dots, minimal, and missing streaks. This is a very accurate and quick way to determine the problem area.
   
   

There Is a Visible Problem In The Check Pattern and How To Fix That?

1. On the Check Pattern window, you will see a cleaning button. Click on that and choose the Regular Cleaning option.
2. Do not go for the Deep-Cleaning Function right away, as that uses up a lot of ink. When the Regular Cleaning is finished, the light will stop blinking on your edible printer, and you’ll know it’s ready. Run a check pattern to see if your problem is resolved.
3. If there is a visible improvement, you may perform it once again and redo check patterns. Your problem is most likely to end.
4. If the ink coloring still does not improve, you should consider removing the printhead, conversion carrier, and the cartridges for de-clogging. 
   
   

How To Clean The Printhead?

Printheads can unclog if you do not use your printer for very long intervals, and keep fully inked cartridges inside the printer as it stands unused.

As edible ink cartridges are water based and contain food colors and sugar, leaving your printer unused for longer periods may make the edible inks evaporate, which in turn also jams and clogs the printer’s printhead. When printheads get clogged they start malfunctioning, and needs a cleaning to be performed properly.

1. Remove the cartridges gently by raising the bar attached to your printer’s printhead and then carefully remove the printhead.
2. Pick a suitable container like Pyrex to clean the printhead. Pour hot water in the container and submerge the printhead in it for about five to seven minutes.
3. After that simply rinse the printhead under the water tap.
4. Repeat the process for the best results.
5. Gently pat dry the printhead completely using a cloth.
6. Your printhead is now clean, simply replace it into the printer.
7. Put in and fit the conversion carrier back into its slot. Then put in all the edible ink cartridges back into your edible printer.
8. Now, as the last step simply perform a Print Check Pattern and see the final results.

You can try the above steps to clean your printhead if you are not using any cleaning agent. Edible printer cleaning cartridges are basically loaded with special, edible cleaning solutions. They cause no harm to your printer, and are strong enough to clean even majorly clogged printheads. If you want to unclog the printhead using cleaners, choose one depending on the edible printer series you are using.

Although unlikely, if none of the above techniques fix the color correction issue, maybe it is due to a defective printhead, which you need to get replaced.

Even though incorrect color printing is not an infrequent problem in the edible printing scenario, all the above tips are most likely to help you resolve the issues perfectly. The best part is that it will not consume a lot of precious time, or tremendous technical dexterity to not be able to fix it on your own.

However, do understand, that edible inks do not print as vibrant as displayed on the screen when printed on edible sheets. That is primarily because edible inks do not have properties similar to other commercial printers, because they are used on food.

We hope this article addresses and successfully helps you resolve any issues you are facing with edible printing.