CA2057985A1 - Method for preparing confectionery products printed with edible ink and ink to be used therein - Google Patents
Method for preparing confectionery products printed with edible ink and ink to be used thereinInfo
- Publication number
- CA2057985A1 CA2057985A1 CA 2057985 CA2057985A CA2057985A1 CA 2057985 A1 CA2057985 A1 CA 2057985A1 CA 2057985 CA2057985 CA 2057985 CA 2057985 A CA2057985 A CA 2057985A CA 2057985 A1 CA2057985 A1 CA 2057985A1
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- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- ink
- pad
- printed
- edible ink
- cliché
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
"Method for preparing confectionery products printed with edible ink and ink to be used therein"
The invention relates to method for preparing confectionery products (1) printed with edible ink, in particular printed chocolate. In this method, the ink (4) is applied according to a predetermined pattern onto as cliché (2), a soft elastic pad (7) having a printing surface which is substantially nonabsorbent for said ink, is pressed over the ink (4 applied on this cliché (2), and the confectionery product (1) is printed either directly or indirectly, by printing a mould for preparing this confectionery product, by means of this pad (7). The invention relates also to an ink to be used therein, which contains at least a solvent, a suspended pigment, a sugar and a surfactant and preferably also a lipophilic substance and an emulsifier.
Figure 1.
"Method for preparing confectionery products printed with edible ink and ink to be used therein"
The invention relates to method for preparing confectionery products (1) printed with edible ink, in particular printed chocolate. In this method, the ink (4) is applied according to a predetermined pattern onto as cliché (2), a soft elastic pad (7) having a printing surface which is substantially nonabsorbent for said ink, is pressed over the ink (4 applied on this cliché (2), and the confectionery product (1) is printed either directly or indirectly, by printing a mould for preparing this confectionery product, by means of this pad (7). The invention relates also to an ink to be used therein, which contains at least a solvent, a suspended pigment, a sugar and a surfactant and preferably also a lipophilic substance and an emulsifier.
Figure 1.
Description
2~$7~8~
This inYention ~ei~leS to ~ me~hod for preparing confec~ion~ry prsducts printed v~-iti7 ~dible ink, in particular prin~ed chocolate.
There are kn~7wn different techniques for priming 5 confec~ionery ~rodtlcts whicA can be divided up into two groups, i.e.
direct and indirec~ printin, techr,ique~ ccordln~3 to the indirect prin7;ing tecnniques. the ink i~ apolied according tO a cer~ain pattern to an inncr wall of a mould for prcparin~ the coniectionery prDduct.
When d~mouldin~, ~his ink sticks to the confec~ionery product.
A n ethc~ ~or indirectiy prin~ing confectionery produc~s is for example disciosed in C:H-A-29~86~. En the method descri~ed in this pa~ent publication. a ~la~ plastic foil is firs; printet. Then, a mould for preparin~ confectior;ery products havinL an open bottorn is placed on~o thi5 foil in such a manner that the bottom of this mould 15 is composed of the pr~nted foil. Also in a further method ~or indirectly printing confeotionery protucts, disc10sed in LU-A-66 ~97, a flat foil is first printed. Thl3 printed foil ~s ~hel~ sucked imo snd thermofwm~d in a mould ~ th~t this foil ~orms the inner wall o~ the mou~d. 5O~
in this w~y, con~eetionsry protuc~s having all kincs o~ printed surfaces 20 can be prcpare~. A drawback o~ th~s known me~nod is, however, that it reiuires always a foil which can ~e printed in a plane position by means of ~or example screen printing techniques.
A dircct printing technic~ue ~or printing confec~ionery p~o~ucSs is for exarnple disclosed in GB-A-7Z2 851. In the me~hod LS d~tcribod in thiL pat~nt publlcation, uso is rn~dc of ~ plcLnc s~mp7 the under-surfaoe of which Dears a rqpl~cA of the pattern to be pringed on the sur~ace of a oisCui~ In order to print a biscuir, the stamp Is brought into a ink-reservoir and is then pressed directly onto ehe biscuit. G~-A-722 851 teaches furt~cr that the s~Jr~ace o~ the stamp .
.
2~7~8~j ~
may be made flexi~le to compensate for possible unevennesses in the surfa~:e of the biscuits.
A drawback of this know me~hod is that the used stamp is only suitabie to print orl flat surfaces~ MoreoYer~ each stamp 5 is only suiled to print one kind ~f de~i~n so th3t prir.~ a new design requires always maklng a n~w stamp.
An object of the invention is to propose a method whi::h allows Lo prin~ esrIfeetionerv products of al~ kinds of shapes either tirectly or indir~ctly wi~hT~u~ having to u_e neces~al~ily in the 10 latter cas~ a foil to apply the ink according to a certain pattern in the mould for preparing Ihe confec~ionerv products.
To ~chi5 end~ said ink is appiied according ~o a prel:leter-minet ?attern on a ci.ché. a so'- eias;ic pad having ~ ?rinting sur~ace whiCh is substanli~l'y ~onabsorbent for said ink, Is pressed over the 15 ink appiied to this clich~, said pad i5 r~moved .. om the cliché ant the confectioncry product is primed eilher direcsZy or indirectly by means of this pad.
An important advamage of the use of a soft elaa~ic pad is that It aliowg o print all kinds of surfaces havin~ a dl~ierent 20 relief. By n~e~ns o; this pad, the ~nk c~n ehus be ~plied either directJy onto the con~ectionery p, oducts or firs~ onto the inner sur~ace of a mould for pr~parin~s the confectioncry products. Tn order to chang~
the design .o be printed! only the cliché has to be ch~nged. tndeed, the elastic pad adapts ils~lf to the surfa~e to be prin.ed.
2~ In a preferred embodiment of t.~e method according to the Invention, use is made o~ a pad having a smooth printing surface and of a cLché which }s etched according to said predeterminet pattern.
Compared to preparing a new s~amp, etching oi such a cliché is a very sir..?le process. Moreover, the use of such a c!.ché in combirlation 30 with a pad ~llows ~o prinT. a pattern of fine lines- ~urther, the ink can be a,~piied quickly a~d simply onto an etched c'iché for e~ample by means of a squee~see.
In a ~ur~her preferred embodiment of the m~thod ~ccording to The invention, use is made of a pad of such a shap~ that 35 when printing on a .surfaee, Ihe surface of contact between the pad ~, 2~7~3~
~n~ thc ~UR3~C t~ bc print~t or~ in~rc~3 ~r~ n11~ h~ Ad i~
d iu L~ll Lhe~ lLin~ ~utl~u~ uL Lh~ ~ Lhu~ vnly ~tju~t~ it~olf tO tho ~urf~cs to bcl print~d bUt ~o prin~in~ curf3co of thi~s ~ nrn11s it5e1f ~ Y,rPrr nY~r thP ~lrface TO be printed In this ~ay it i5 prevented that the psd w3ul~ n~; th~ surface to bo prin~d so that no sh3rply, dc'incd pattc~n would be print~d.
In the :~eth~d ac~rding tb ~he invon~ion, use ls made of an ~dible ink whlch cont~ins aT least a solYent, 3 suspended pi~ment. ~ sug~r dnd ~ surfact;~nt. It has been found ~xp~rimentally 10 that such ~n edibie ink allows to print confectionery products such as chocolale either direc~ly or in~irec.ly via the inner wall of a mould for preparin3 .he con~ec.ionery ptoduct, by means of said padO It was also Iound that ~he suspend~d pi~ment in th.s ink provides Eor a high covering de~ree ~hich is essential since the printed ink layer has only a thicknes3 of lO ~o 50 ,u.
ln ~ suilable embodim~nt of .ne method accordin~
to the invention use is made of an edible ink which contains 40 to 60 ~6 by weight suspended pigmen~.
In a preIerred embodiment o~ the me~hod according 20 to the inven~ion, u~e i, made of an edible ink whlch contains a~ least one pigment from the 3roup of calcium carbonatc, titanium dioxido, iron oxide~ iron hydro,~ide, aluminium, s~lver and gold and which contains preferably as suspended pigment mainly titanium dioxide~ From the~e pigments, titanium dioxide pro~ides the hi~hest coverin~ de~ree.
2S In ord~r to increas~: the adhesion of the ink to the confectionery product to be printed, use is made in a sultable embodi-ment o., the method according to the invention o. a.. edible ink which contains a lipophilic substance and an em~lslf ie. . Cspeclally when using rigid rnoulds, a better adhesion of the ink to the conf ~ctionery ~rodu,ct constitutes an impor~ant adYantage since, in case o~ a wea k adhcsion, these moulds should have to be cleaned each ~ime. The emulsifier allows to emulsify the lipophilic substance homogeneously in the solY~nt. The emuisi4ier and the surfact nt in the ink may possibly be composed of th~ same substance, for example by a polysorbate.
The lat~er shows a sur actant acti~ity and is at the same lime an 2~7~
emullsifier for lipophilic substances such ~c cacao butter.
The inven~ion further relates also .o an edible ink to be used in a metho~ according so the in~ention and which is caracte-rized in tha~ it contains at leas~ a soivent, a susper.ded pigment, a S sugar and a surf~ct~nt.
Other ~articulari;ies and advantages of the mcthod accordinE~ to the inventlon Will ~ o~r.~ apparent from the following description of a m~thod for prep~ril~ con~ectionery pr~ducts printed with an e~lble ink 3ccording to the invention. ~ his description is 10 only given ~y w~y of ~ ample and ~oes not limi~ ~he sc~pe of th2 inventi~n. The reference r-um~r3ls rel~te .o the annexed drawinE;s where~n:
Figure 1 shows a diagram of ~ ;netho~ accordir~g to the invention where!n ;he confectlonery product i3 printed directly, 1 5 and Figure 2 shows a dia~ram o4 a ~ethod ~ccording to the invention wherein the ConIectionery product .s ?r.nted ir~directly via a mould for preparing this confectionery product.
In both of th~se ~igures. ihe sam~ reference numerals 20 relate to the same or analo~ous elements.
Figure 1 show~ .schemltic311y the successiYe stepS
of a method according to the inv~ntion wherein the confectionery product 1 is printed directly. In this first embodiment, use is made o~ a confectionery product 1, .or e~emple chocolate con~e~tionery ~S or marzipan, the s-lrSace of which to oe printed does not necessafily has to be ~I~Lt bus may possibly be une~en, sur.~en, co:~.cave or convex as in Sgure 1.
In a first ssep, ink is applied accord...~ ~o a predeter-mined pat.ern onto ~ cliché 2. In the method sL.owr, in figure 1, use 30 is, rnade hereto of a subs~antially flat, according to .:lis predetermtned pattern etched cliché ~ to which the ink 4 is a??'ied by means o~
a squeegee 3 known per ~e. To this end, the squeegee 3 is lowered pre~io~sly accordin~ tO arrow 5 an~ the cliché 2 is disp~ced horizontally according to arrow 6 un~er th}s squ~sg~e 3. ~ue to ~his displacement, 35 the inked cliché ? i5 Dositioned under ~ soft elastic pad 7, for example , , 2~798~
a full silicone pad having a 5hore A hardness com,~. ised between 18 and 28. Thi~ pad 7 has, in con~rast to the known stamps, a ~mooth printin~; surface.
In ~ rnnn ~tPr~ thP ~n 7 i~ ~r~s~l tlr,nn thr inl~r~1 çliçh~ ~cordin~ to arrow S.
Thçn, ir- z third $tepl thç pad 7 i$ raised ~,$k ~
according to arl o~ g, ~n~ ink 4 applict according .o tho pr~dctcrmincd pattcrn to the cliche ~ adhering -~ .h~ pad. It ~4ill be clear th~t preferably as much as possibls of the ink 4 applied to the cliché 2 remains adhered in this step to .he pad 7 and that the latter is a.o.
d~penc~ent on the used ink.
In a tourth s~ep. tne cliche 2 i5 di~laced back aside accordin~ ~o arrow 10 and th~ eLastic p.Ld 7 is ?ressed 3mo the confec-t~onary product I tO be prLnted ~ccordin~ arrow 11. ~s it appears clearly from ~igure 1, pad 7 adapts itseif in this s.ep comple~ely to the confectionery product 1 to ~e prin~ed, in this c~se an Eas~er e~.
~ue ~o the soItness of the pad 7, there is n~ risk on dama~es when printin~ this Easter egg 1-In a ~ifth siep, pad 7 i5 brought back according to arrow 1~ to its initial posi:.on. ~n the same way as in the third step, i . will here ~e clear that pre~erably subs~antlally all the ink 4 transferred ~y pad 7 adheres ~o the confectionery product 1. Thereupon, the pad 7 may possibly be cleaned.
Il has furTher to be noted that the figures are schema tical, which applies especially for the ink 4 shown th~rein, the thickness of which i5 proportionally too big for clarity's sake. Indeed, in the h~rcabove described pad printin~ technique, an ink layer having on average only a thickness of about 10 to 50 IJ is applied to ~he con~c~io-nery product.
In the hereabove described method, use is made of a pad 7 o~ such a shaF~ tha~ when printing on the confectionery product 1, the surface of contact between the pad 7 and this csnfec~i~ne-ry product 1 increases ~;radually as the pad 7 is pressed ;n further.
A pad 7 ha~ing a con~ printin~; surface is ~ppropriate ~hereto.
35 The pad 7 shown in th~ f i~ur~s has rnore par~icularly Ihe shape of 2~7~8~
a convex cone. This conveX cone 7 is prcs~ed f irst with its point a~inst the con~e~tionery prot~ct 1. When pressing ~he pad 7 further in, the printing surface of this pad 7 is pressed gradual~y f~lrther against the con~ectionerY pr3duc; 1. I~ t~.i5 way, the printing surfaee of 5 the pad 7 unrolls, as i2 -*ere~ oYer ~ne confec~ionery product I so that trL~ere is no risk on silding ~!~ the printin~g surfa~e of the pad 7 alon~ the the confe~ionery product 1. However, this would be the case when use ~s made ~f o s~amp, Ine ?rinting surface of which is complementary to the snape of the convex confectionery product 10 1. A small deviation of the correct position o~ such a stamp with respec~ to Ihe confec~ionery prod~lc2, would alreadv involve a sliding of ths~ stamp with re~pe~. .o ~he conIectionery product when printing the latter. In comra5t to a s~mp having 2 ~lexi~le prtntin~ surf21ce, a pad does not only adapts ic5e!f tc lrre~ul2rities in the surf3ce to 15 be printed but aiso to different relief shapes of the surf~ce ~o be printed.
I~ will be ciear that the pad 7 may still have other suitable shapes. ~or printinO ~he ~onvex confectionery product I
shown in fi~,ure 1. use rnignt al~o for example be m3de of a spherical 20 pad 7.
E~ur ,hcr 1. ~ill be clea. ~hat all kinds of confectionery produc~s, ~uch as chocolate ~ru~les, biscuits, and similar products can ~e printed.
The same ?ad 7 as aescribed hereinabovc can al~o 2S be used in a method according to ~he inven~ion whereir. the confec~ionery product 1 is not directly printed but instead l"direc~ly by printing the inner wall of a mou~d 13 for preparin~ this cor~e~ctionery p-oduct 1 by means of this pad ~. This indirect printing .ech...que is schemati-cally sh~3wn in fi~ure 2.
. The first 5tCpS 0~ this method represent~d in fi~;ure 2 are the same as those of the hereabove d~sc..~ed method shown in figure 1, the dlfference being however that '~e ?ad 7 i5 pressed into a mouid 13 ins~ead of on~o the _onfectionery product 1. . After printin~ the rnould 13, a nutritiYe subs~.ance 14, for example tempered 35 molten choco1ate, fo- prep~ring the confe~ctionery product I, is poured ~7985 or dosed in another way herein~ Then, the chocolate is cooled down so that it soli~i~ies and shrinks at the same time so ~hat it is released a;~d can be rem~ved af;erwards ~asil~ $rom the mould 13. During this demouldin~. Tne ink ': applied lo the mould 13 remains stuck to 5 the chocolatc.
The used pad ~f sa.d println~ technique offers ~so in this second embodiment the advant~ that .; allows to print in the moult 13 on an eitiler Gr not f lat h~ner wall. Hence, this printing technique -ilo-vs ~o print c~nfec~i~nery pr~ducts 1 of all kinds o~
shapes, f Gr e.Yarnple with a raise~ ed~e 15 as in f i~ure 2. At the same ~ime! iT i5 possloie to manuIact~lreo lar~e numbers of decorated confectis;7r.ery products sinc~ this is r~tized by means of rigid macrolon moulds. Th~ us~t printi"g unit can ~e moumed relatively simply on sn existing production lln~.
rn 'h~r~above described printin~ technique can also be a?plied for p~ ~viou~ly ~hermoformed moulds, the so-called "blisters". Ihe use of these "blisters" offers the advanta~e that there can be simply moved on~o contectionery products, for example chocolate tru~les, of ano~her shape. ~hen ~he hereabove described pad printing techni~ue is used. neilher the pad ncr the clici-,é are to be changed when moYing on~o a different shape unl~ss al50 the desi~n to be printed has to be changed. In .he iatter case, only the clicné has to be rcplaced.
The her~a~ove described prin~ing technique requires a printing ink 4 wllich is in the first placc edible and which is transferred, 2S d~rin~ the s~cc~ssive printing steps, from the c!iché to the pad an~
~eposated shereupon either directly or indirectly v,a the mould onto the corLe.-;;r,..ery prod..c~ l.
According to the inYen~ion, use is made o~ an edible ink whic', contains at least a solvent, a ~uspen~ed pigment5 a sugar 30 an~ a surfactant.
The solv~nt is for exarnple water or ethanol or a mixtl~e of ~oth. Preierably, water is u ed which has the advantage o~ being cheap and of being easil~ processable. An important property of the ink is that It nas to be relatil,ely quick drying snd that it has 35 to be possible to control the ~rying time by means of accelerators 2~798~
~, and retarders. When usin~ water s soivent, the drying process may be accelerated by adding ethanol or by using higher temperatures, fcr exarnple ~etween 20 and ~O~C. The surfactan~ present in the ink is for extrnple 3n acceierator. In case th~ ink dries too quiekly, 5 for example ~Ireadv cn Ihe pad 7. which is called crusting, wetting a~ents .such as sorbi,ol which ?revent dehydration can then be added.
The pigrnen t su~pend~d in the solvent has to present a high coverin~ ~e~ree since, compared to the known scre~n printing techniaues? bniy a thin ink layer Oc about 10 to 50 ~ is applied by 10 means of the hereabove d~cribed pad offset techniques. Suitable pi~ments _re the pigments E17~ t~ E175 ir~cluded. Those are respective-ly . calclum carbon~te, titanium dio~ice, iron oxides and ir~n hydroxides, alurninium, silver an~ ~old. PreIerence is given to ;he on chocolate stron~ly contrastin~ and weil coverirlg pigment titanium dioxide El7L, 15 possibly mixed tvith CalCi'Jm car~onate E170 dependin~ on the thickness of the ink layer.
Besi~es .he pigments, dyes, for example 100 to E170, may ai50 be dissolved in the sol~ent in case :7ther colors are desired.
The surfactant i~ the ink is essential to obtain a unlform thin ink 13yer. It re~uces the sur.face tension of the ink and prevents thus that the extremely thin aqueous ink lay~r tears opcn durin~ the transfer o ~he ob~ect tG be printed. Consequently, the sur~ctant allows the deposi~lon ~ the ink. It was found that especially polysorbates and in particular polyoxyethylene ~20) sorbitan rnonostearate or briefly Polysorbate 60 are effective as surfactant. Th~s~: polysorbates accelerat~ also the drying process of the ink and hence also the produc-tson process.
The sugar, for example sucrose, glucose or a combina-tion of both, present irt the ink, is an adhesive which provides ~or a better adhesion of the ink to ~he confectionery product. Preference is ~ en to sucrose which is well soluble in wat~r and which has a hi8h sweetenlng ac~ivi~y so that for example the bit~er taste of the polysorbate is covered up. Dependin~ on the application o~ the ink, ~ucose rnay also be added. Compared to sucrose~ ~lucose is a stron~er 2~5~8.~
adhe~ive since it adsorbes better onto composite ~Iycerides such as cacao butter. However, gLucose is also a stronger ~.nding ~gen~ th~n sucrose. Due to these binding properties, the ink becomes more Yiscous and h~nce less easy ;o process so that th~ glucose eontent in the ink is limi~ed.
In orcler to improve the adhesion of the ink onto the confectionery product, additional adhesi~res can ~urther be added to the ink. In a preferred emb~dimen~ of the invention use is made herelo of a lipo~hilic subs~ancP. DiIferent fany acids, fat~y acid mixtures and composite glycerides are appropriate as lipophillc su~stance.
Pre~er~nc~ i5 gi~en to cacao butter ~hlch Is a composi-te ~Iyceride consistjng malnlv o- oieic acid. palmi ~ic acit and stearic acid, C acao butter can be obtained and processed easily. The cacao butter provides a.o., fi. St~ 40r a better ~dhesion of the ink to the chocolatG in the dir~ct ~rinting process and, secondly, ~or a better transfer of the ink from the ~at-repellent mould to the chocolate object, due to i-ts bet .cr adhesion ;o chocolate. The latter property is especially important for ri~id, f~r example macrolon moulds. Indeed, far mass production, it has to be ~0ssi~1e to use these moulds several successive times without having to clean them. This implies that the ink which i5 appli~d into the mould is transferred completely to the confec~ionery product moulded ln this mould. ~y using an additional adhesive, su~h as eae30 bu~ter wh~n preparin~ chocola~e, this was found to be feasibl~. It is also possible tO arrange previously a ~oil into th~ rigid rnould so tha~ the confec~ionery produc~ can be r~moved more easily from the rigid mould and no remnan;s remain in thi~
rnould after dem~ulding.
Sinc~a sait lipophilic substance is not soluble in water, an err ulslfier is added to emu1~ifr the lipophilic substance into the water. As an emulsif ier, use can be made of mono- and diglYcerides known per se- However, in the method accordi:lg to the inYention preference is given to the polywrbates men~ioned hereinabo~e already as surfactants, and rnore particularly to polyoxyethylene (20~ sorbit3n ~onostearate or briefly Polysorbate 60.
Poiysacc:harides such d5 peetin or starch can al~o 2~7~8~
be added to the ink so that the crlstallisation o~ the sugar slows down th~ er ul3ic~ rehc~ ~a~iliPr~
1~ will b~ clear ~ha~ depe~di~g on the use o~ ~ke ink, the contents of ~he hereabove tescribed com~onen~s ca~ be varied 5 within cerlain limi~s. .~kin~ into ~ccount the properties they provide to the inlc.
D~p~s~ding on the u~e. the wa~er conte~t of the ink can vary from 10 to Z2 wO ~y weight.
It w~s 'ound th~t ~.e content of ti~anium dioxide 10 required to obtain a sufIicient covering degree, is dependent on the thickness of the applied ~r.k layer an~ is preferably comprised between 40 and 60 ~6 by weight.
The ~moun~ ~f surtact n~, in particular polysorbate, in the ink c~n vary ~etween 3 and 25 % by weight. This amount 15 is a.o. dependent on the- wa;er content, with a higher water content requiring a big~er a~no~nt of p~lysorbates which ?revent, due to their reducing activity Gn the surface tenSion~ the ink film from tearing open. When the ink contains a lipophil~c substance, the amount of polysor~ates is also d~pending hereon since a suff icient amount Qf 20 polysorb3tes has to ~e present to emulsify this l.?ophilic 5ub5tance.
The 96 by wei~ht of !lpophilic s~..bstance, for example cacao bu~er, is mainly determined Ln view of the required adhesive properti~s and can vary oetween O and ~0 % by weight.
The edible ink ~ccording to ~he invention contains 2S always a sugar so that it has a goot taste ant at the same time already good adhesive properties. Dcp~nding on the desked taste and therefore a.o. on The content o bitter polysorbates, a sucrose COnTen~ from 15 to 30 % by weigh~ was found to be e~fective.
Table L shows a preierred composition of an ink 30 which was found experimentally to be appropriated to be applied on~o chocoLa-e with the hereab~ve described pad o~tsel sechniq~
.
.
2~579~
Content in ~ bY w i~
Water 1 6 Ti~anium dio~ide S0 Polysorba-e ~,~ 5 Sucros~ 2S
Cacao butte~ ~
~ Yen when the cacao butter is omitted, the ink is still appropriate especl311y ~or direct printing or for use with disposable moul~9s ~blisters).
For p~eparing an ink 2ccording ~o a preferr~d embodl-ment ~f the invemior.. a~ aqueous sugar solution is first prepared by dissolvin3 ~h~ su~ar iin hot, non-~oilin~, w~er. Afterwards, a finely ~rinded pigment is suspenae~ in this sulution. In ord~r to make the 15 ink as flo~in~, as possible, all pigmem partlcles are mixed very inti-mately through this solution. This very intimate mi~ing is carried out, in a ~ir~t pn~se, in a rnixing ar,~ sleve installation. Thereupon~
liquid ernulsifier and licuid eacao butter or another lipophilic substance are mixed througn the suspe~sio~ which is still hot. I:~ue to the addition 20 o~ cacao butterc the s:~spension becornes s~lll flner. EYery sm 11 solld particle is coated by a fine small la~ r of cacao butt~r. Thc emulsifi-cation of th¢ cacao bu.~er in ~he p.gment suspenaion is carried out in a homo~cnizer to mix the whole still ~Iner and more intimatcly.
This assures a good physical s~ren~th o' the ma~rix as the ink dries.
~5 Finally, th~ ink is allowed to cool down at room temperature and can then be use~ as such.
1~ wlll ~ clear that the invention i5 in no way lin-ited to th.e herea~ove described embodlments artd that the latter can be .
modif~ed in many ways without leaving the scope of the presen~ paten~
30 application.
In thls way, it is clear that the method according to the invention can also be used ~or printin~ flat surfaces and that the conf e :tionery products to be printed are not limited to chocolate ~ut may possibly be prepared irom marzepan and the like. The composi-3S tion of the ink h^5 to be ~dapsed then ~o the properties of the confectio-nary product.
' . .
~' . ' , ;' ~ '
This inYention ~ei~leS to ~ me~hod for preparing confec~ion~ry prsducts printed v~-iti7 ~dible ink, in particular prin~ed chocolate.
There are kn~7wn different techniques for priming 5 confec~ionery ~rodtlcts whicA can be divided up into two groups, i.e.
direct and indirec~ printin, techr,ique~ ccordln~3 to the indirect prin7;ing tecnniques. the ink i~ apolied according tO a cer~ain pattern to an inncr wall of a mould for prcparin~ the coniectionery prDduct.
When d~mouldin~, ~his ink sticks to the confec~ionery product.
A n ethc~ ~or indirectiy prin~ing confectionery produc~s is for example disciosed in C:H-A-29~86~. En the method descri~ed in this pa~ent publication. a ~la~ plastic foil is firs; printet. Then, a mould for preparin~ confectior;ery products havinL an open bottorn is placed on~o thi5 foil in such a manner that the bottom of this mould 15 is composed of the pr~nted foil. Also in a further method ~or indirectly printing confeotionery protucts, disc10sed in LU-A-66 ~97, a flat foil is first printed. Thl3 printed foil ~s ~hel~ sucked imo snd thermofwm~d in a mould ~ th~t this foil ~orms the inner wall o~ the mou~d. 5O~
in this w~y, con~eetionsry protuc~s having all kincs o~ printed surfaces 20 can be prcpare~. A drawback o~ th~s known me~nod is, however, that it reiuires always a foil which can ~e printed in a plane position by means of ~or example screen printing techniques.
A dircct printing technic~ue ~or printing confec~ionery p~o~ucSs is for exarnple disclosed in GB-A-7Z2 851. In the me~hod LS d~tcribod in thiL pat~nt publlcation, uso is rn~dc of ~ plcLnc s~mp7 the under-surfaoe of which Dears a rqpl~cA of the pattern to be pringed on the sur~ace of a oisCui~ In order to print a biscuir, the stamp Is brought into a ink-reservoir and is then pressed directly onto ehe biscuit. G~-A-722 851 teaches furt~cr that the s~Jr~ace o~ the stamp .
.
2~7~8~j ~
may be made flexi~le to compensate for possible unevennesses in the surfa~:e of the biscuits.
A drawback of this know me~hod is that the used stamp is only suitabie to print orl flat surfaces~ MoreoYer~ each stamp 5 is only suiled to print one kind ~f de~i~n so th3t prir.~ a new design requires always maklng a n~w stamp.
An object of the invention is to propose a method whi::h allows Lo prin~ esrIfeetionerv products of al~ kinds of shapes either tirectly or indir~ctly wi~hT~u~ having to u_e neces~al~ily in the 10 latter cas~ a foil to apply the ink according to a certain pattern in the mould for preparing Ihe confec~ionerv products.
To ~chi5 end~ said ink is appiied according ~o a prel:leter-minet ?attern on a ci.ché. a so'- eias;ic pad having ~ ?rinting sur~ace whiCh is substanli~l'y ~onabsorbent for said ink, Is pressed over the 15 ink appiied to this clich~, said pad i5 r~moved .. om the cliché ant the confectioncry product is primed eilher direcsZy or indirectly by means of this pad.
An important advamage of the use of a soft elaa~ic pad is that It aliowg o print all kinds of surfaces havin~ a dl~ierent 20 relief. By n~e~ns o; this pad, the ~nk c~n ehus be ~plied either directJy onto the con~ectionery p, oducts or firs~ onto the inner sur~ace of a mould for pr~parin~s the confectioncry products. Tn order to chang~
the design .o be printed! only the cliché has to be ch~nged. tndeed, the elastic pad adapts ils~lf to the surfa~e to be prin.ed.
2~ In a preferred embodiment of t.~e method according to the Invention, use is made o~ a pad having a smooth printing surface and of a cLché which }s etched according to said predeterminet pattern.
Compared to preparing a new s~amp, etching oi such a cliché is a very sir..?le process. Moreover, the use of such a c!.ché in combirlation 30 with a pad ~llows ~o prinT. a pattern of fine lines- ~urther, the ink can be a,~piied quickly a~d simply onto an etched c'iché for e~ample by means of a squee~see.
In a ~ur~her preferred embodiment of the m~thod ~ccording to The invention, use is made of a pad of such a shap~ that 35 when printing on a .surfaee, Ihe surface of contact between the pad ~, 2~7~3~
~n~ thc ~UR3~C t~ bc print~t or~ in~rc~3 ~r~ n11~ h~ Ad i~
d iu L~ll Lhe~ lLin~ ~utl~u~ uL Lh~ ~ Lhu~ vnly ~tju~t~ it~olf tO tho ~urf~cs to bcl print~d bUt ~o prin~in~ curf3co of thi~s ~ nrn11s it5e1f ~ Y,rPrr nY~r thP ~lrface TO be printed In this ~ay it i5 prevented that the psd w3ul~ n~; th~ surface to bo prin~d so that no sh3rply, dc'incd pattc~n would be print~d.
In the :~eth~d ac~rding tb ~he invon~ion, use ls made of an ~dible ink whlch cont~ins aT least a solYent, 3 suspended pi~ment. ~ sug~r dnd ~ surfact;~nt. It has been found ~xp~rimentally 10 that such ~n edibie ink allows to print confectionery products such as chocolale either direc~ly or in~irec.ly via the inner wall of a mould for preparin3 .he con~ec.ionery ptoduct, by means of said padO It was also Iound that ~he suspend~d pi~ment in th.s ink provides Eor a high covering de~ree ~hich is essential since the printed ink layer has only a thicknes3 of lO ~o 50 ,u.
ln ~ suilable embodim~nt of .ne method accordin~
to the invention use is made of an edible ink which contains 40 to 60 ~6 by weight suspended pigmen~.
In a preIerred embodiment o~ the me~hod according 20 to the inven~ion, u~e i, made of an edible ink whlch contains a~ least one pigment from the 3roup of calcium carbonatc, titanium dioxido, iron oxide~ iron hydro,~ide, aluminium, s~lver and gold and which contains preferably as suspended pigment mainly titanium dioxide~ From the~e pigments, titanium dioxide pro~ides the hi~hest coverin~ de~ree.
2S In ord~r to increas~: the adhesion of the ink to the confectionery product to be printed, use is made in a sultable embodi-ment o., the method according to the invention o. a.. edible ink which contains a lipophilic substance and an em~lslf ie. . Cspeclally when using rigid rnoulds, a better adhesion of the ink to the conf ~ctionery ~rodu,ct constitutes an impor~ant adYantage since, in case o~ a wea k adhcsion, these moulds should have to be cleaned each ~ime. The emulsifier allows to emulsify the lipophilic substance homogeneously in the solY~nt. The emuisi4ier and the surfact nt in the ink may possibly be composed of th~ same substance, for example by a polysorbate.
The lat~er shows a sur actant acti~ity and is at the same lime an 2~7~
emullsifier for lipophilic substances such ~c cacao butter.
The inven~ion further relates also .o an edible ink to be used in a metho~ according so the in~ention and which is caracte-rized in tha~ it contains at leas~ a soivent, a susper.ded pigment, a S sugar and a surf~ct~nt.
Other ~articulari;ies and advantages of the mcthod accordinE~ to the inventlon Will ~ o~r.~ apparent from the following description of a m~thod for prep~ril~ con~ectionery pr~ducts printed with an e~lble ink 3ccording to the invention. ~ his description is 10 only given ~y w~y of ~ ample and ~oes not limi~ ~he sc~pe of th2 inventi~n. The reference r-um~r3ls rel~te .o the annexed drawinE;s where~n:
Figure 1 shows a diagram of ~ ;netho~ accordir~g to the invention where!n ;he confectlonery product i3 printed directly, 1 5 and Figure 2 shows a dia~ram o4 a ~ethod ~ccording to the invention wherein the ConIectionery product .s ?r.nted ir~directly via a mould for preparing this confectionery product.
In both of th~se ~igures. ihe sam~ reference numerals 20 relate to the same or analo~ous elements.
Figure 1 show~ .schemltic311y the successiYe stepS
of a method according to the inv~ntion wherein the confectionery product 1 is printed directly. In this first embodiment, use is made o~ a confectionery product 1, .or e~emple chocolate con~e~tionery ~S or marzipan, the s-lrSace of which to oe printed does not necessafily has to be ~I~Lt bus may possibly be une~en, sur.~en, co:~.cave or convex as in Sgure 1.
In a first ssep, ink is applied accord...~ ~o a predeter-mined pat.ern onto ~ cliché 2. In the method sL.owr, in figure 1, use 30 is, rnade hereto of a subs~antially flat, according to .:lis predetermtned pattern etched cliché ~ to which the ink 4 is a??'ied by means o~
a squeegee 3 known per ~e. To this end, the squeegee 3 is lowered pre~io~sly accordin~ tO arrow 5 an~ the cliché 2 is disp~ced horizontally according to arrow 6 un~er th}s squ~sg~e 3. ~ue to ~his displacement, 35 the inked cliché ? i5 Dositioned under ~ soft elastic pad 7, for example , , 2~798~
a full silicone pad having a 5hore A hardness com,~. ised between 18 and 28. Thi~ pad 7 has, in con~rast to the known stamps, a ~mooth printin~; surface.
In ~ rnnn ~tPr~ thP ~n 7 i~ ~r~s~l tlr,nn thr inl~r~1 çliçh~ ~cordin~ to arrow S.
Thçn, ir- z third $tepl thç pad 7 i$ raised ~,$k ~
according to arl o~ g, ~n~ ink 4 applict according .o tho pr~dctcrmincd pattcrn to the cliche ~ adhering -~ .h~ pad. It ~4ill be clear th~t preferably as much as possibls of the ink 4 applied to the cliché 2 remains adhered in this step to .he pad 7 and that the latter is a.o.
d~penc~ent on the used ink.
In a tourth s~ep. tne cliche 2 i5 di~laced back aside accordin~ ~o arrow 10 and th~ eLastic p.Ld 7 is ?ressed 3mo the confec-t~onary product I tO be prLnted ~ccordin~ arrow 11. ~s it appears clearly from ~igure 1, pad 7 adapts itseif in this s.ep comple~ely to the confectionery product 1 to ~e prin~ed, in this c~se an Eas~er e~.
~ue ~o the soItness of the pad 7, there is n~ risk on dama~es when printin~ this Easter egg 1-In a ~ifth siep, pad 7 i5 brought back according to arrow 1~ to its initial posi:.on. ~n the same way as in the third step, i . will here ~e clear that pre~erably subs~antlally all the ink 4 transferred ~y pad 7 adheres ~o the confectionery product 1. Thereupon, the pad 7 may possibly be cleaned.
Il has furTher to be noted that the figures are schema tical, which applies especially for the ink 4 shown th~rein, the thickness of which i5 proportionally too big for clarity's sake. Indeed, in the h~rcabove described pad printin~ technique, an ink layer having on average only a thickness of about 10 to 50 IJ is applied to ~he con~c~io-nery product.
In the hereabove described method, use is made of a pad 7 o~ such a shaF~ tha~ when printing on the confectionery product 1, the surface of contact between the pad 7 and this csnfec~i~ne-ry product 1 increases ~;radually as the pad 7 is pressed ;n further.
A pad 7 ha~ing a con~ printin~; surface is ~ppropriate ~hereto.
35 The pad 7 shown in th~ f i~ur~s has rnore par~icularly Ihe shape of 2~7~8~
a convex cone. This conveX cone 7 is prcs~ed f irst with its point a~inst the con~e~tionery prot~ct 1. When pressing ~he pad 7 further in, the printing surface of this pad 7 is pressed gradual~y f~lrther against the con~ectionerY pr3duc; 1. I~ t~.i5 way, the printing surfaee of 5 the pad 7 unrolls, as i2 -*ere~ oYer ~ne confec~ionery product I so that trL~ere is no risk on silding ~!~ the printin~g surfa~e of the pad 7 alon~ the the confe~ionery product 1. However, this would be the case when use ~s made ~f o s~amp, Ine ?rinting surface of which is complementary to the snape of the convex confectionery product 10 1. A small deviation of the correct position o~ such a stamp with respec~ to Ihe confec~ionery prod~lc2, would alreadv involve a sliding of ths~ stamp with re~pe~. .o ~he conIectionery product when printing the latter. In comra5t to a s~mp having 2 ~lexi~le prtntin~ surf21ce, a pad does not only adapts ic5e!f tc lrre~ul2rities in the surf3ce to 15 be printed but aiso to different relief shapes of the surf~ce ~o be printed.
I~ will be ciear that the pad 7 may still have other suitable shapes. ~or printinO ~he ~onvex confectionery product I
shown in fi~,ure 1. use rnignt al~o for example be m3de of a spherical 20 pad 7.
E~ur ,hcr 1. ~ill be clea. ~hat all kinds of confectionery produc~s, ~uch as chocolate ~ru~les, biscuits, and similar products can ~e printed.
The same ?ad 7 as aescribed hereinabovc can al~o 2S be used in a method according to ~he inven~ion whereir. the confec~ionery product 1 is not directly printed but instead l"direc~ly by printing the inner wall of a mou~d 13 for preparin~ this cor~e~ctionery p-oduct 1 by means of this pad ~. This indirect printing .ech...que is schemati-cally sh~3wn in fi~ure 2.
. The first 5tCpS 0~ this method represent~d in fi~;ure 2 are the same as those of the hereabove d~sc..~ed method shown in figure 1, the dlfference being however that '~e ?ad 7 i5 pressed into a mouid 13 ins~ead of on~o the _onfectionery product 1. . After printin~ the rnould 13, a nutritiYe subs~.ance 14, for example tempered 35 molten choco1ate, fo- prep~ring the confe~ctionery product I, is poured ~7985 or dosed in another way herein~ Then, the chocolate is cooled down so that it soli~i~ies and shrinks at the same time so ~hat it is released a;~d can be rem~ved af;erwards ~asil~ $rom the mould 13. During this demouldin~. Tne ink ': applied lo the mould 13 remains stuck to 5 the chocolatc.
The used pad ~f sa.d println~ technique offers ~so in this second embodiment the advant~ that .; allows to print in the moult 13 on an eitiler Gr not f lat h~ner wall. Hence, this printing technique -ilo-vs ~o print c~nfec~i~nery pr~ducts 1 of all kinds o~
shapes, f Gr e.Yarnple with a raise~ ed~e 15 as in f i~ure 2. At the same ~ime! iT i5 possloie to manuIact~lreo lar~e numbers of decorated confectis;7r.ery products sinc~ this is r~tized by means of rigid macrolon moulds. Th~ us~t printi"g unit can ~e moumed relatively simply on sn existing production lln~.
rn 'h~r~above described printin~ technique can also be a?plied for p~ ~viou~ly ~hermoformed moulds, the so-called "blisters". Ihe use of these "blisters" offers the advanta~e that there can be simply moved on~o contectionery products, for example chocolate tru~les, of ano~her shape. ~hen ~he hereabove described pad printing techni~ue is used. neilher the pad ncr the clici-,é are to be changed when moYing on~o a different shape unl~ss al50 the desi~n to be printed has to be changed. In .he iatter case, only the clicné has to be rcplaced.
The her~a~ove described prin~ing technique requires a printing ink 4 wllich is in the first placc edible and which is transferred, 2S d~rin~ the s~cc~ssive printing steps, from the c!iché to the pad an~
~eposated shereupon either directly or indirectly v,a the mould onto the corLe.-;;r,..ery prod..c~ l.
According to the inYen~ion, use is made o~ an edible ink whic', contains at least a solvent, a ~uspen~ed pigment5 a sugar 30 an~ a surfactant.
The solv~nt is for exarnple water or ethanol or a mixtl~e of ~oth. Preierably, water is u ed which has the advantage o~ being cheap and of being easil~ processable. An important property of the ink is that It nas to be relatil,ely quick drying snd that it has 35 to be possible to control the ~rying time by means of accelerators 2~798~
~, and retarders. When usin~ water s soivent, the drying process may be accelerated by adding ethanol or by using higher temperatures, fcr exarnple ~etween 20 and ~O~C. The surfactan~ present in the ink is for extrnple 3n acceierator. In case th~ ink dries too quiekly, 5 for example ~Ireadv cn Ihe pad 7. which is called crusting, wetting a~ents .such as sorbi,ol which ?revent dehydration can then be added.
The pigrnen t su~pend~d in the solvent has to present a high coverin~ ~e~ree since, compared to the known scre~n printing techniaues? bniy a thin ink layer Oc about 10 to 50 ~ is applied by 10 means of the hereabove d~cribed pad offset techniques. Suitable pi~ments _re the pigments E17~ t~ E175 ir~cluded. Those are respective-ly . calclum carbon~te, titanium dio~ice, iron oxides and ir~n hydroxides, alurninium, silver an~ ~old. PreIerence is given to ;he on chocolate stron~ly contrastin~ and weil coverirlg pigment titanium dioxide El7L, 15 possibly mixed tvith CalCi'Jm car~onate E170 dependin~ on the thickness of the ink layer.
Besi~es .he pigments, dyes, for example 100 to E170, may ai50 be dissolved in the sol~ent in case :7ther colors are desired.
The surfactant i~ the ink is essential to obtain a unlform thin ink 13yer. It re~uces the sur.face tension of the ink and prevents thus that the extremely thin aqueous ink lay~r tears opcn durin~ the transfer o ~he ob~ect tG be printed. Consequently, the sur~ctant allows the deposi~lon ~ the ink. It was found that especially polysorbates and in particular polyoxyethylene ~20) sorbitan rnonostearate or briefly Polysorbate 60 are effective as surfactant. Th~s~: polysorbates accelerat~ also the drying process of the ink and hence also the produc-tson process.
The sugar, for example sucrose, glucose or a combina-tion of both, present irt the ink, is an adhesive which provides ~or a better adhesion of the ink to ~he confectionery product. Preference is ~ en to sucrose which is well soluble in wat~r and which has a hi8h sweetenlng ac~ivi~y so that for example the bit~er taste of the polysorbate is covered up. Dependin~ on the application o~ the ink, ~ucose rnay also be added. Compared to sucrose~ ~lucose is a stron~er 2~5~8.~
adhe~ive since it adsorbes better onto composite ~Iycerides such as cacao butter. However, gLucose is also a stronger ~.nding ~gen~ th~n sucrose. Due to these binding properties, the ink becomes more Yiscous and h~nce less easy ;o process so that th~ glucose eontent in the ink is limi~ed.
In orcler to improve the adhesion of the ink onto the confectionery product, additional adhesi~res can ~urther be added to the ink. In a preferred emb~dimen~ of the invention use is made herelo of a lipo~hilic subs~ancP. DiIferent fany acids, fat~y acid mixtures and composite glycerides are appropriate as lipophillc su~stance.
Pre~er~nc~ i5 gi~en to cacao butter ~hlch Is a composi-te ~Iyceride consistjng malnlv o- oieic acid. palmi ~ic acit and stearic acid, C acao butter can be obtained and processed easily. The cacao butter provides a.o., fi. St~ 40r a better ~dhesion of the ink to the chocolatG in the dir~ct ~rinting process and, secondly, ~or a better transfer of the ink from the ~at-repellent mould to the chocolate object, due to i-ts bet .cr adhesion ;o chocolate. The latter property is especially important for ri~id, f~r example macrolon moulds. Indeed, far mass production, it has to be ~0ssi~1e to use these moulds several successive times without having to clean them. This implies that the ink which i5 appli~d into the mould is transferred completely to the confec~ionery product moulded ln this mould. ~y using an additional adhesive, su~h as eae30 bu~ter wh~n preparin~ chocola~e, this was found to be feasibl~. It is also possible tO arrange previously a ~oil into th~ rigid rnould so tha~ the confec~ionery produc~ can be r~moved more easily from the rigid mould and no remnan;s remain in thi~
rnould after dem~ulding.
Sinc~a sait lipophilic substance is not soluble in water, an err ulslfier is added to emu1~ifr the lipophilic substance into the water. As an emulsif ier, use can be made of mono- and diglYcerides known per se- However, in the method accordi:lg to the inYention preference is given to the polywrbates men~ioned hereinabo~e already as surfactants, and rnore particularly to polyoxyethylene (20~ sorbit3n ~onostearate or briefly Polysorbate 60.
Poiysacc:harides such d5 peetin or starch can al~o 2~7~8~
be added to the ink so that the crlstallisation o~ the sugar slows down th~ er ul3ic~ rehc~ ~a~iliPr~
1~ will b~ clear ~ha~ depe~di~g on the use o~ ~ke ink, the contents of ~he hereabove tescribed com~onen~s ca~ be varied 5 within cerlain limi~s. .~kin~ into ~ccount the properties they provide to the inlc.
D~p~s~ding on the u~e. the wa~er conte~t of the ink can vary from 10 to Z2 wO ~y weight.
It w~s 'ound th~t ~.e content of ti~anium dioxide 10 required to obtain a sufIicient covering degree, is dependent on the thickness of the applied ~r.k layer an~ is preferably comprised between 40 and 60 ~6 by weight.
The ~moun~ ~f surtact n~, in particular polysorbate, in the ink c~n vary ~etween 3 and 25 % by weight. This amount 15 is a.o. dependent on the- wa;er content, with a higher water content requiring a big~er a~no~nt of p~lysorbates which ?revent, due to their reducing activity Gn the surface tenSion~ the ink film from tearing open. When the ink contains a lipophil~c substance, the amount of polysor~ates is also d~pending hereon since a suff icient amount Qf 20 polysorb3tes has to ~e present to emulsify this l.?ophilic 5ub5tance.
The 96 by wei~ht of !lpophilic s~..bstance, for example cacao bu~er, is mainly determined Ln view of the required adhesive properti~s and can vary oetween O and ~0 % by weight.
The edible ink ~ccording to ~he invention contains 2S always a sugar so that it has a goot taste ant at the same time already good adhesive properties. Dcp~nding on the desked taste and therefore a.o. on The content o bitter polysorbates, a sucrose COnTen~ from 15 to 30 % by weigh~ was found to be e~fective.
Table L shows a preierred composition of an ink 30 which was found experimentally to be appropriated to be applied on~o chocoLa-e with the hereab~ve described pad o~tsel sechniq~
.
.
2~579~
Content in ~ bY w i~
Water 1 6 Ti~anium dio~ide S0 Polysorba-e ~,~ 5 Sucros~ 2S
Cacao butte~ ~
~ Yen when the cacao butter is omitted, the ink is still appropriate especl311y ~or direct printing or for use with disposable moul~9s ~blisters).
For p~eparing an ink 2ccording ~o a preferr~d embodl-ment ~f the invemior.. a~ aqueous sugar solution is first prepared by dissolvin3 ~h~ su~ar iin hot, non-~oilin~, w~er. Afterwards, a finely ~rinded pigment is suspenae~ in this sulution. In ord~r to make the 15 ink as flo~in~, as possible, all pigmem partlcles are mixed very inti-mately through this solution. This very intimate mi~ing is carried out, in a ~ir~t pn~se, in a rnixing ar,~ sleve installation. Thereupon~
liquid ernulsifier and licuid eacao butter or another lipophilic substance are mixed througn the suspe~sio~ which is still hot. I:~ue to the addition 20 o~ cacao butterc the s:~spension becornes s~lll flner. EYery sm 11 solld particle is coated by a fine small la~ r of cacao butt~r. Thc emulsifi-cation of th¢ cacao bu.~er in ~he p.gment suspenaion is carried out in a homo~cnizer to mix the whole still ~Iner and more intimatcly.
This assures a good physical s~ren~th o' the ma~rix as the ink dries.
~5 Finally, th~ ink is allowed to cool down at room temperature and can then be use~ as such.
1~ wlll ~ clear that the invention i5 in no way lin-ited to th.e herea~ove described embodlments artd that the latter can be .
modif~ed in many ways without leaving the scope of the presen~ paten~
30 application.
In thls way, it is clear that the method according to the invention can also be used ~or printin~ flat surfaces and that the conf e :tionery products to be printed are not limited to chocolate ~ut may possibly be prepared irom marzepan and the like. The composi-3S tion of the ink h^5 to be ~dapsed then ~o the properties of the confectio-nary product.
' . .
~' . ' , ;' ~ '
Claims (11)
1. A method for preparing confectionery products (1), in particular chocolate. printed with edible ink (4), characterized in that said ink (4) is applied according to a predetermined pattern on a cliché (2), a soft elastic pad (7) having a printing surface which is substantially nonabsorbent for said ink, is pressed over the ink (4) applied to this cliché (2), said pad (7) is removed from the cliché
(2) and the confectionery product (1) is printed either directly or indirectly by means of this pad (7).
(2) and the confectionery product (1) is printed either directly or indirectly by means of this pad (7).
2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that use is made of a pad (7) having, a smooth printing surface and of a cliché (2) which is etched according to said predetermined pattern.
3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that use is made of a pad (7) of such a shape that when printing on a surface the surface of contact between the pad (7) and the surface to be printed on increases gradually as the pad (7) is pressed in further.
4. A method according to anyone of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in the use is made of a pad (7), preferably a silicone pad, having a Shore A hardness comprised between 18 and 28.
5. A method according, to anyone of the claims 1 to 4, characterized in that use is made of an edible ink which contains at least a solvent, a suspended pigment, a sugar and a surfactant.
6. A method according to claim 5, characterized in that use is made of an edible ink containing 40 to 60 % by weight suspended pigment.
7. A method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that use is made of an edible ink which contains at least one pigment from the group of calcium carbonate, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, iron hydroxide, aluminium. silver and gold and which contains preferably as suspended pigment mainly titanium dioxide.
8. A method according to anyone of the claims 5 to 7, characterized in that use is made of an edible ink further containing a lipophilic substance, preferably cacao butter, and an emulsifier.
9. A method according to anyone of the claims 5 to 8, characterized in that use is made of an edible ink containing a polysorbate, preferably polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monostearate.
10. An edible ink to be used in a method according to anyone of the claims 1 to 9, characterized in that said ink contains at least a solvent, a suspended pigment, a sugar and a surfactant.
11. An edible ink according to claim 10, characterized in that said ink contains at least 10 to 22 % by weight water, 40 to 60 % by weight titanium dioxide, 3 to 20 % polysorbates and 15 to 30 % by weight sucrose.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2057985 CA2057985A1 (en) | 1991-12-18 | 1991-12-18 | Method for preparing confectionery products printed with edible ink and ink to be used therein |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2057985 CA2057985A1 (en) | 1991-12-18 | 1991-12-18 | Method for preparing confectionery products printed with edible ink and ink to be used therein |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2057985A1 true CA2057985A1 (en) | 1993-06-19 |
Family
ID=4148958
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2057985 Abandoned CA2057985A1 (en) | 1991-12-18 | 1991-12-18 | Method for preparing confectionery products printed with edible ink and ink to be used therein |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2057985A1 (en) |
Cited By (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US6129936A (en) * | 1995-09-13 | 2000-10-10 | Pharmacia & Upjohn Ab | Method for marking ingestible compressible in a package |
| WO2001094116A2 (en) | 2000-06-02 | 2001-12-13 | Mars, Incorporated | High resolution ink-jet printing on edibles and products made |
| US6376000B1 (en) * | 2000-01-03 | 2002-04-23 | Peter B Waters | Method of creating painted chocolate |
| US6506425B2 (en) | 1995-09-13 | 2003-01-14 | Pharmacia Ab | Packaged markable ingestible compressible object |
-
1991
- 1991-12-18 CA CA 2057985 patent/CA2057985A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US6129936A (en) * | 1995-09-13 | 2000-10-10 | Pharmacia & Upjohn Ab | Method for marking ingestible compressible in a package |
| US6506425B2 (en) | 1995-09-13 | 2003-01-14 | Pharmacia Ab | Packaged markable ingestible compressible object |
| US6376000B1 (en) * | 2000-01-03 | 2002-04-23 | Peter B Waters | Method of creating painted chocolate |
| WO2001094116A2 (en) | 2000-06-02 | 2001-12-13 | Mars, Incorporated | High resolution ink-jet printing on edibles and products made |
| EP2123467A2 (en) | 2000-06-02 | 2009-11-25 | Mars Incorporated | High resolution ink-jet printing on edibles and products made |
| EP2314456A2 (en) | 2000-06-02 | 2011-04-27 | Mars Incorporated | High resolution ink-jet printing on edibles and products made |
| US9357800B2 (en) | 2000-06-02 | 2016-06-07 | Mars, Incorporated | Edibles comprising a high resolution image |
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