We tested the Kopykake Kwikscan III system, and the Deluxe Cake Printing System for Kopykake Edible Inks by The Wizard's Baker. Both use Kopykake Edible Inks and are essentially the same exact printer systems. Both systems include the printer, ink, software, and setup guides. The Kwikscan III from Kopykake comes with paper, promotional banners & posters and at the time of this review carried a price tag of about $600. The Deluxe Cake Printing System for The Wizard's Baker does not include these extras, although you can purchase them separately, and retails for about $350.

Since they are basically the same systems, and performed identically, I will refer to both of them as the Kopykake Edible Ink Printer system. The most essential part in the photo cake process is the edible ink. Kopykake has been leading the pack in edible ink technology. Their inks are FDA approved, and Kosher certified, and we were amazed at the vibrant colors and quality contrast the Kopykake inks produced. Conveniently, these inks come in four individual cartridges, so you only have to replace the color that needs replacing.

We found the systems themselves to be powerful & simple to use. In the most basic operation of the Kopykake edible ink printer systems, you will have your own photo cake in two to three steps. Simply put any picture, drawing, or photograph on the scanning bed, (enlarge if you want), and click copy and in seconds you will have an edible image for your cake. You can do all this without using the computer, and you can even preview the picture before printing on the built in LCD display. More ambitious users can scan a picture into the computer, or find one on the Internet and customize it. You can at text, a border, or even put your bosses head on a donkey's body. The possibilities are limitless. I used it to print out small heart shaped pictures of Disney's Princesses and put them on cookies for my 5 year olds birthday (I didn't get permission from Disney, so don't tell anyone!). One of our testers put her husband's head on a bikini clad model's body, another one of our testers actually used the paper on the top and sides, printed an intricate flower and vine design, and made a elegant after dinner cake.

Unlike other Cake printers on the market, with these Kopykake Edible Ink Printer Systems, you are not limited to just the scanning bed. You can insert your digital cameras flash media card directly into the printer, connect the camera directly to the printer, or even scan slides & negatives.

All in all, we found the Kopykake Edible Inks & the Printer Systems exceeded our expectations. For the same quality and performance, The Wizard's Baker's Deluxe Cake Printer System is much less expensive, and they have another less expenive "Basic" model that no other retailer carries.  Ironically enough, Kopykake sells the replacement inks and paper cheaper than the Wizard's Baker.  For the greatest value we recommend you buy your Cake Printer System from The Wizard's Baker, and the replacement ink & paper from direct from Kopykake. This way, to get that customized photo cake, you wont have to give the Baker your first born (who the cake was probably for in the first place).

Questions & Answers:

Question:

(Posted by Emily S. from Atoka, MI)
 

I have seen some refurbished printer systems for sale a lot cheaper.  I'd like to save the money but I read an article that said that you cannot use a refurbished printer because it may have been used with regular ink, and could contaminate anything you print.  Is this true?  I thought refurbished printers are as good as new.
 

Answer:

That is a good question.  We took your question to one of the engineers that designs the ink for Kopykake and he said that warning you read is only a myth.  There is no problem using a refurbished printer, or any printer that has been used with regular in for that matter. He told us that after a printer has been used with regular ink, simply put the edible inks in and run the Printer's Print Head Cleaning Utility once and you will be ready to go.  Factory Refurbished products are as good as new.  When a product is "refurbished" it means that either it was defective or it was an open box item, and before it can be sold again it needs to go back to the manufacturer to be inspected and certified (and fixed if need be).  At the factory, they test it and do what ever they have to to make it "As good as new", then it is repackaged and shipped out to be sold as "Refurbished".  So to answer your question, there is no reason not to buy a refurbished, or used edible ink printer system.