Frequently Asked Questions Eddie Edible Ink printer

Eddie is the world’s first-and-only NSF and GMP-certified edible ink desktop printer for printing onto cookies and other food items.
Unlike modified consumer printers, Eddie was designed to be used in food processing environments to fulfil all hygienic standards. Stainless steel housing, easy to clean components and certified ink with FDA and EU approvals make Eddie the safest direct to food printer in its class.

1. Where can I buy the printer?

Eddie is available directly from DTM Print or through authorised DTM Print partners in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

2. Which ink cartridges does the printer use?

Eddie Edible Ink printer uses single cyan/magenta/yellow (CMY) GMP-certified cartridges.

3. Are your ink cartridges refillable?

No. For food safety and agency certifications purposes, they are designed for one-time-only use. Eddie is the only NSF-approved edible ink printer in the world, assuring you that Eddie is the safest edible ink printer you can buy.

4. Which dyes does the CMY colour cartridge contain:

Cyan: Blue #1 - Brilliant Blue FCF (E133)
Magenta: Carmoisine - Azorubin (E122)
Yellow: Yellow #5 - Tartrazin (E102), Yellow #6 - Sunset Yellow FCF (E110)
For more information on ingredients please see: dtm-print.eu/europe/rohs

5. Does the ink have an expiration or best by date?

Sealed cartridges are best for one year after the manufacture date. The best by date is printed on the cartridge box. Keep in mind, expiration dates and best-by dates have very different meanings. Expiration dates tell consumers the last day a product is safe to consume. Best by date, on the other hand, tells you that the food is no longer in its perfect shape from that date. It may just lose its freshness, taste, aroma, or nutrients. The best by date is basically a quality indicator. Since this is ink is essentially food colouring, it has no nutritional value or taste to contribute to the overall product, so you can be assured that using the ink beyond the best by date is safe as long as the ink is still sealed in its foil packaging. However, once opened, cartridges last for six months. PrintHub, Eddie’s status monitor, will start tracking the six months from the first time they are used in the printer. Once you pass the six-month opened point, the PrintHub software will warn you that your cartridge is expired and should be replaced. If you wish to keep printing over the next few days or even longer, it’s OK. The ink doesn’t immediately expire at precisely six months.

6. What size items (cookies, etc.) can you print?

Item Height/Thickness:
Carousel: 3 – 19 mm
DTM Carousel Trays: 3 – 19 mm
Platform Kit: 30 – 60 mm (with raiser 3 – 25.4 mm)
DTM Manual Trays: 2 – 27 mm
Item Width:
Carousel: 89 – 105 mm (with spacer 63.5 - 86.68 mm)
DTM Carousel Trays: 0 – 67 mm
Platform Kit: 0 – 120 mm
DTM Manual Trays: 0 – 120 mm

7. Besides circles, does Eddie print onto other shapes, too?

Yes! Eddie prints onto squares, rectangles, stars, and even shapes such as Christmas trees, toy soldiers, and much more. You can also print onto other items such as lollipops, biscuits and crackers, potato chips, marshmallows, and more. See in this video how to print full-colour photos, logos, designs and text directly onto the surface of many food items quickly and easily.

Note: You can also manually feed items into Eddie up to 120 mm wide, or oddly shaped items that do not fit in Eddie’s carousel tray.

8. What size carousel trays are available?

Eddie ships with a carousel that will fit (round) print items between 89 mm and 105 mm. Spacers and custom made inserts/adapters are available for purchase to print on literally any item and with any shape within the specs.

9. Speed

Eddie prints a 89 mm (3.5″) cookie in about 10 seconds. You can therefore expect to print a dozen in approximately 2 minutes.

10. What is the average ink cost per print?

It depends upon the amount of coverage and the colours used in your design. If you’d like to know your specific ink cost per print, please send a high resolution .jpg of your actual design to sales@dtm-print.eu, and we’ll run a test through the printer’s software to give you a very close approximate cost. For a full colour print, you can expect ink costs to run around 0.05 € to 0.06 € per print. For a cost comparison please also see our cost sample PDF.

11. How many prints will I get per ink cartridge?

It depends upon the amount of coverage and the colours used in your design. For a 89 mm (3.5″) cookie with a full coverage design, you can expect around 1,400 – 2,700 prints per cartridge.

12. What operating systems do these printers support?

Windows® 7 - 11 or macOS 10.12+

13. What is the highest resolution the printer is capable of printing?

Native print resolution is 1200 dpi. Eddie can print up to a maximum of 1200 x 4800 dpi.

14. What certifications do the printer and ink have?

Eddie is NSF Certified and is the first and only NSF Certified edible ink printer available on the market! Eddie also has many safety and EMC certifications, including UL, UL-C, FCC and CE. The ink cartridges are GMP Certified edible ink cartridge that are manufactured, and filled, in GMP-Certified facilities. No other edible ink cartridges currently available have GMP Certification.

15. Does the printer come with design software?

Yes, it includes a downloadable copy of BarTender Designer for your PC. Any other Windows-based software may also be used with Eddie.
For Mac Users the design software Swift Publisher is available free of charge if the products has been registered on our website dtm-print.eu

16. How long will my images last?

When printed on a compatible frosting or surface, images can last up to a few months.

17. What types of items can you print on?

Cookies, macarons, candies, white chocolate, soap and more!

18. Will Eddie print onto my frosting, icing, glaze, etc.?

The most important part of getting a high-quality print is using a well-suited icing. Frostings that are white and dry hard work best, for example royal icing or white chocolate. If at first you do not get optimal results, please do not panic! You might just need to do some adjustments to find the perfect recipe to be more compatible with Eddie and to get the best results. The food items, such as cookies, should be flat and consistent in size, but Eddie can also print biscuits without icing and even wavy chips. So It's worth trying a few things. You can also join the Eddie User Group on Facebook, where hundreds of successful Eddie owners have posted tips on how to get the best possible results.

19. Are frosting sheets, sugar sheets or edible printer paper required?

No. That’s one of the major advantages of Eddie over other edible ink printers. Eddie prints directly onto the surface of the food item. No sugar sheets required!

Hi! I'm the Eddie Expert!

Eddie who?

The Eddie Expert, that's me.
I have the best job in the world, because I work at DTM Print and hang out with my buddy Eddie all day. Eddie is an edible ink printer and we print on lots of sweet treats together.

You already own an Eddie? Or thinking about buying one?
Then don't miss out on our tips and tricks. Follow us on Facebook to find out more about Eddie, share ideas and knowledge and learn how you can use your Eddie in the best possible way.