Silk Screening (Screen Printing) on Chocolate and Transfer Sheets

Recently I have been doing some research into how to screen print with cocoa butter to either make custom transfer sheets or to print directly on chocolate. Let me tell you, I have found that although alot of people seem to be doing this already, there is still much confusion about the subject. Equipment can run from the very simple to quite complex. Even if you can get the equipment side right, getting the cocoa butter to be the proper temperature and consistency is a science unto itself.

First, a screen printing, aka silk screening, primer:

A piece of mesh is installed into an frame, together called a screen. The mesh is then coated with a photosensitive emulsion and let to dry. A black and white image is prepared, printed on a transparency, which is then taped onto the coated mesh. The screen is then exposed to light for a certain period of time. Everything that is exposed to the light, ie everything but the black parts of the image, will cure. The transparency is removed, then the mesh is washed. The emulsion under the black parts of the image will wash out, leaving a stencil of the image on the mesh.

If you want a multiple color image, a screen will need to be made for each separate color. You will have to make your graphics for each part. To make sure it all lines up in the end, registration marks are used.

To use the screen, the chocolate piece or acetate transfer sheet is put under the screen. The "ink" or cocoa butter mixture is poured on top of the image and dragged across the screen using a rigid squeegee. The cocoa butter will fall through the screen depositing the cooca butter in the exact shape of the image.

Ok..so how do you get the supplies to do all this and how much does it cost? Well, there are many equipment options. First, the simple route might be to have someone make the screens for you. Chef Rubber can have these made for you; however, the price listed is around $180. If you want to save some money, you can try to make the screens yourself. There are many places to buy silk screens on the Internet or maybe at a local art supply house for less than $30. If you are going to buy pretreated screens or are going to coat them yourself, make sure that the emulsion/diazo is non-toxic. Someone in a different chocolate thread wrote that Ulano TZ/CL is non-toxic. It can be purchased for around $30 and used to make multiple screens. Caution: I don't know of any emulsion which is approved by the FDA. There seems to be some concern around this issue; however, I have been told that the emulsion is safe when dry. I don't know. People are doing it, so you be the judge.

To use the screens, you can either lay them flat over the acetate or chocolate piece and go for it. You could also purchase a screen printing apparatus that holds the frame in place. This is the best option for lining the image up consistently. You can buy one color system for $100 - $200. They also sell systems that can do as much as 6 different colors. These cost over $1,000.

A cheaper alternative I have found is a toy called Silk Screen Factory by Alex Toys. The Silk Screen Factory is neat, but instead of using the photosensitive emulsion, it uses stencils. It only costs $25.

Stencils are an interesting alternative around the food safety issue. Acetate, the plastic used for commercial transfer sheets, can be cut with knives or can be laser cut. You could find a local sign maker or awards place that has a laser. If a stencil could be put on a mesh screen tight enough to ensure that the cocoa butter does not leak, I think this would be the most food safe route.

The most expensive option for commercial purposes is to buy a semi-automatic screen printing machine. Two companies that I have been talking to are Deco Tech and Systematic Automation. According to Deco Tech, you can only use their system to print transfer sheets. Systematic Automation says that their system can be used to make transfer sheets or print on chocolate. I have been told that these systems use a heated screen to keep the cocoa butter at the proper temperature. Cost is several thousands of dollars.

Whatever option you choose, you will have to play around with the cocoa butter and colorants to get the proper mix. It seems that most people advocate the use of powdered colors and titanium dioxide. It appears that many have difficulty getting the color on the cocoa butter to be bright enough once it on the chocolate.

If anybody has experience, please share. Your insight would be greatly appreciated.

Update - Custom Transfer Sheets: Candy Art Supply Website Now Up

A few weeks ago I published an article about Susan Van Dusartz, Prints on Chocolate. At that time Susan was working on a a new website where people can buy products to make personalized chocolates using custom transfer sheets and magnetic molds. Well, Susan has adivised me that the new site, Candy Art Supply, is now up and running.

Candy Art Supply is the USA distributor of Cake Art Chocosheets. They have everything you need to produce your own personalized chocolate pieces including Chocosheets, magnetic molds, and packaging. Chocosheets are transfer sheets that are used to produce high quality full color prints on white chocolate. They are made of a thin plastic sheet, approved for food contact, that are sprayed with hot gel and dried to produce the color sensitive layer. The sheets are 7.5 x 10 inches and are easily fed through any printer that uses edible ink.

Chocosheets are packed in quantities of 25 sheets, sealed in plastic, approved for contact with food, and shipped in a sealed polystyrene box. The cost for a box is $50.00. If you do not have your own edible printer, Candy Art Supply can print the custom transfer sheets for you.

The directions for using Chocosheets are as follows:

Chocolate pieces are made with a milk/dark chocolate base and topped with white chocolate to produce full color images.

1. Print images on chocosheet in mirror image (sometimes call t-shirt transfer) using a printer that is dedicated to using only edible ink.
2. Cut the chocosheet to fit the magnetic mold.
3. Remove the metal plate from the bottom of the magnetic mold and insert the chocosheet.
4. Fill the mold with a thin layer of white chocolate.
5. Place the mold in the freezer just long enough to allow the white chocolate to set up. 4-5 minutes.
   Remove the mold from the freezer and fill with milk/dark chocolate. Return mold to the freezer until milk/dark chocolate is set.
6. Remove the mold from the freezer. Remove the metal plate from the bottom of the mold. Slowly peel away the chocosheet to reveal your image imprinted on the white chocolate.

Chocosheets seem like a great solution to the many people who are looking for a less expensive way to make custom transfer sheets. Custom transfer sheets usually cost around $150 for set-up charges, in addition to being forced to buy a case of 100 of the finished sheets. Chocosheets can also be printed in full color; whereas printing in multiple colors on standard transfer sheets in extremely expensive. The appearance of the two is different, but I guess it all depends on what the budget is for your particular project.

Thanks to Susan for sharing the info. Good luck with your new website!

Custom Chocolate Transfer Sheets and Dessert Wafers

Many people seem to be looking for a company or product to make custom chocolate transfer sheets, so I thought I would let you know about American Chocolate Designs of Atlanta. American Chocolate Designs® is a division of Gadoua Chocolate Designs and is a woman owned business. Gadoua Chocolate Designs prints designs, photographs, and logos directly onto a fine Belgian dark milk and white chocolate. If you want a chocolate transfer sheet or dessert wafer with a custom design or logo, I would refer you to them.

Ordering Custom Transfer Sheets

You will need camera-ready black and white artwork or a high resolution jpg file for a one-color-print. There may be additional requirements for multiple color artwork. There is a one case minimum (one hundred transfers) for custom chocolate transfer sheet orders. The set-up charge is $100 per color. For designs with more than one color, the price may vary due to the number of colors and design complexity. I am not sure of the case price for custom orders, but the case price for their standard designs are 10" x 11"

100 sheet case $195.00; 10" x 16" 100 sheet case $299.00. So, it would cost at minimum $295 for a one color custom chocolate transfer sheet.

Ordering Custom Dessert Wafers

The artwork, set-up charges, and ordering minimums for custom dessert wafers are pretty much the same as for the transfer sheets. They have several different shapes from which to choose including square, circle, oval, and heart. You can choose white chocolate or dark milk chocolate. Recommended colors for logos on white chocolate wafer include: brown, black, red, green, blue and burgundy. Recommended colors for logos on dark milk chocolate wafer are white and gold. The price for one color custom dessert wafers would be $100 plus -

30mm square 1232 per case $258.72

3 1/4" round 102 per case $96.90

2" round 506 per case $141.68

1 1/4" round 1008 per case $211.68

1 5/8" x 1" large oval 1056 per case $274.56

1" x 3/4" small oval 1936 per case $271.04

2" heart 500 per case $180.00

The ordering time is three weeks from finalization of the order and proof approval. Payment can be made by credit card.