Printing process with edible inks

1. An edible ink with a viscosity of about 2000 to about 16000 cp at 25° C., said edible ink further comprising at least one soluble or insoluble pigment, wherein the ink has a pigment density of about 0.1 g/l to about 0.25 g/l and an ink density of about 1.1 g/l to about 2.0 g/l.

2. The edible ink of claim 1 , wherein the ink comprises less than about 20% by weight water and about 1% to about 10% by weight of at least one emulsifier.

3. A lithographic printer comprising a master having an edible ink thereon, wherein the edible ink has a viscosity of about 2000 to about 3100 cp at 25° C. and a pigment density of about 0.1 g/l to about 0.25 g/l and an ink density of about 1.1 g/l to about 2.0 g/l.

4. An article, comprising:

an edible substrate; and

edible ink disposed on an exposed surface of the edible substrate, the ink having a viscosity of about 2000 to about 16000 cp at 25° C. and having a pigment density of about 0.1 g/l to about 0.25 g/l and an ink density of about 1.1 g/l to about 2.0 g/l,

wherein the edible ink is transferred to the edible substrate using a printing process.

5. The article of claim 4 , wherein the printing process is lithographic.

6. The article of claim 4 , wherein the edible substrate is selected from the group consisting of sugar fondants, wafers, rice papers, starch sheets, sugar sheets, and icings.

7. The article of claim 4 , wherein the edible ink is transferred to the edible substrate to produce an image thereon.

8. The article of claim 7 , wherein the image on the edible substrate has an ink layer thickness of about 4 microns to about 6 microns.

9. The article of claim 4 , wherein the edible ink comprises less than about 20% by weight water and has viscosity of about 2000 to about 3100 cp at 25° C.

10. The article of claim 9 , wherein the edible ink comprises about 10% to about 20% by weight water, about 70% to about 80% by weight of at least one sweetener, about 5% to about 10% by weight of at least one emulsifier, and about 1% to about 5% of a humectant.

11. The article of claim 9 , wherein the edible ink comprises about 70% to about 80% by weight of a barrier forming compound, about 1% to about 10% by weight of a drying agent, about 10% to about 20% by weight of a film former, about 1% to about 3% by weight of an emulsifier, about 1% to about 5% by weight water, and about 1% by weight of a water repellant.

12. A lithographic printing process for forming an image layer on a surface of an edible article, comprising:

(a) providing a master with an ink receptive layer thereon;

(b) contacting the ink receptive layer with an edible ink to form an ink layer thereon, wherein the edible ink has a viscosity of about 2000 to about 16000 cp at 25° C. and comprises less than about 20% by weight water and about 1% to about 10% by weight of at least one emulsifier;

(c) transferring the ink layer to a substrate to form an image layer thereon.

13. The process of claim 12 , wherein the edible ink comprises about 10% to about 20% by weight water, about 70% to about 80% by weight of at least one sweetener, about 5% to about 10% by weight of at least one emulsifier, and about 1% to about 5% of a humectant.

14. The process of claim 12 , wherein the edible ink further comprises at least one soluble or insoluble pigment, and wherein the ink has a pigment density of about 0.1 g/l to about 0.25 g/l and an ink density of about 1.1 g/l to about 2.0 g/l.

15. The process of claim 12 , wherein the edible ink comprises about 70% to about 80% by weight of a barrier forming compound, about 1% to about 10% by weight of a drying agent, about 10% to about 20% by weight of a film former, about 1% to about 3% by weight of an emulsifier, about 1% to about 5% by weight water, and about 1% by weight of a water repellant.

16. The process of claim 12 , wherein step (c) comprises transferring the ink layer to a surface of a blanket cylinder, and transferring the ink layer from the blanket cylinder to the substrate to form an image layer thereon.

17. The edible ink of claim 1 , wherein the emulsifier is about 5% to about 10% by weight and the water is about 10% to about 20% by weight of the edible ink.

18. The edible ink of claim 1 , wherein the emulsifier is about 1% to about 3% by weight and the water is about 1% to about 5% by weight of the edible ink.

19. The edible ink of claim 1 , wherein the emulsifier is selected from the group consisting of lecithin and polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate.

20. The printer of claim 3 , further comprising an ink receptive image formed on the master.

21. The printer of claim 20 , wherein master is a photopolymer plate such that the ink receptive image is formed using a photographic process.

22. The printer of claim 20 , further comprising a blanket roller to apply the edible ink to the ink receptive image on the master.

23. The printer of claim 3 , further comprising an intermediary blanket cylinder to transfer the edible ink from the master to a substrate.