Forum Activity for @Debra Fleck

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I think it runs only on PC's, not the Macs. Anyone can download the software directly from the website, but they will not be able to print without the flash stick.

Does the packaging on the transfer sheets say they are a Callebaut product? That comes as a surprise to me if Callebaut is making transfer sheets. I would guess the sheets were Deco Artist and/or Cake Art Intl. The ink is not cocoa butter, but special edible ink for printing on chocosheets and icing sheets for cakes.

All the above posts refer to this printing system.

The deco-artist software is very easy to use and I use this technology almost daily for my chocolate business.

Your first step is to use a PC for the software. Then is should be quite easy from there!

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I just purchased the Deco Chocolate Artist software direct from Chocolate World and the Canon ip3600 from Amazon. The software came with no instructions as to how to download it on to the computer and connect it up to the free software off the internet from Deco, just a flash stick and that is all. In fact, all that is on the flash stick is a pin number that allows you to access the software you have already downloaded. When you plug it into the computer, nothing shows up on your screen, at least not on my Mac. It is very confusing and had to go to my computer tech to set it up. I have yet to start printing transfers and from what I can tell, I will have to have to work it out myself by trial and error. I do not mind if the end product is what I am after.

The blank transfer sheets I bought from Chocolate World were made by Callebaut and are lightly coated with cacao butter. I also purchased the cacao butter filled ink cartridges from Chocolate World. Has anyone used either of these two products?

The info in this discussion is very useful and greatly appreciated. I plan to test drive my Deco system this week, will share my results.....

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

WOW!! whEN i WAS IN chOCOLATE WORLD i NEARLY BOUGHT THE WHOLE SET. I was not sure so I left it. Now I think I am interested again. I need to go and read everything here and my notes from Belgiumagain. I do have some questions, but it is 1 am here and I am too tired to think. WIll be back 2moro,thank you all for all the great info.

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I've attached 2 photos of chocolate business cards made at the same time. I used Chocolate World molds that have the metal backing. The metal gets much too cold and I have to heat the metal up so that the white chocolate will adhere to the image and not chill too quickly. I prefer the molds that www.dr.ca sells. They carry magnetic molds with the polycarbonate backing which I like much better because they don't get so cold. One card is using the Deco Artist via Tomric chocosheets. The other is Cake Art Intl via Home Chocolate Factory. The Cake Art sheets are thicker and have different ingredients than the Deco Artist. The Deco Artist sheets are very thin. I find that when using Deco Artist sheets for larger prints thus any transfer that has a larger surface area, these sheets show their imperfections. When using the small 12 - 15 gram molds, these sheets are okay because it is harder to see the imperfections. So, on large images such as the business cards molds or the large ovals made by chocolate world, then it is better to use Cake Art Intl. The Deco Artist sheets do make a beautiful transfer image. I have made some amazing customized pictures with them. But use them only for smaller transfers. You must make sure that the metal backing molds on your 2 piece molds are warmed to within a few degrees of your chocolate temperature...so with white 29 Celcius.

I order from Home Chocolate Factory for the Cake Art Intl chocosheets. There is an American supplier and when I did my research the price was cheaper to order from England. The American reseller did say that she prefers to sell the larger sized sheet than the smaller because it works (transfers) much better even though they say that the sheets are exactly the same except for size. After having used both sizes of sheets, I agree with her, the larger size sheet works much better. I trim the sheet and save the scraps for when I have to make some individual transfer images.

Please note that the Deco Artist card has the crackling effect (BLEMISHES) that i have been referring to. Hopefully this helps with.

INK: Icing Images is one of the places that I purchase the ink from. Photofrost was another. I have had trouble with Photofrost and have not purchased from them for quite some time and they have not given me the routine phone call asking if I need to place an order which tells me they know good and well they were in the wrong. I told them that the ink cartidge was not working/being accepted by my printer and they said "We will send you another one today" This has happened twice in a short period of time and they never, AND I MEAN NEVER sent any replacement to me. And of course that is why I don't receive any sales calls from them anymore!! Icing Images and Photofrost and Kopykake to name a few sell many many different varieties of edible ink cartridges to fit a variety of printers. If you are looking to a printer you could even call Icing Images and they would be very helpful on what they think a good printer would be. They do sell chocosheets but the sheets are very poor quality.

One last note: The business card image was scanned from an actual business card. Had I received an original jpeg or png image it would be even nicer..much better clarity...sharper image on the chocolate.

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I use this technology all the time. Almost daily. the sheets can vary. Sometimes the Deco artist work best for a project, other times Cake Art Intl work better. It always varies and you have to adjust your printer settings to control the flow of ink. It can be tricky. I use to airbrush white but have long stopped that process. When working with magnetic molds you have a very flat surface. If your house was flat and had no beam, it would cave in. These magnetic molds work on the same principles. Therefore, to protect the strength of the chocolate I mix 100 grams white chocolate with 30 grams cocoa butter and add some white PCB powder colour. It all goes int the Thermomix until heated to the proper tempperature. Anyhow, I put a thin layer in, instead of airbrushing.

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I've heard other issues with the sheets, which could have just been the batch. I still have the first original batch I ordered, so I don't know if another one would give me problems.

I don't have any secret trick, it's all been hit or miss when I first started using these. I just spray the cocoa butter the same for anything else I do.

I have used them without the cocoa butter and they worked, but I felt the image wasn't as bright as with the white. This shows without, but the logo is white, and this is way is too yellow from the white chocolate.

But, this photo is of my cat, and the white chocolate works better than white cocoa butter because it's her blond color:

Since Tomric only sells these and are not the maker, I don't know if any info from Deco in the UK or Chocolate World in Belgium would be better. They are the ones that developed it. I was going to order the sheets from them until I found that Tomric sold them.

I've never had any trouble with the printer clogging. www.tastyfotoart.com is the other place I ordered ink from. I liked them better because the came with the chips that the Canon printers have, and I didn't have to move chips between cartridges.

I can still have problems occasionally, but it's mostly been from the cocoa butter not being the right temp or something.

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Tomric should tell people that unless you apply a white background, the software & sheets don't work well.

I just orderedthe sheets preprinted with my customer's logo & they worked much better. Wasted much money.

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I tried this system for a while. We bought our own printer and ink from kopy kake. We made our own templates and ordered the sheets from Tomric. The molds are pretty expensive, so we only had a few to work with at a time. Our main issue was that the transfers didn't work very well. We spoke to Tomric repetitively about our issues, tried everything that they said we should try...and it never worked well at all. It was a lot of wasted time and money. Wasted transfer sheets that didn't transfer well. We tried everything. In fact...the first package of sheets we ordered worked much better than the second package...I don't know if they changed them...but it was horrible. I did not try what Robyn did and airbrush the sheets with white cocoa butter before using...that could have helped...maybe. But I was VERY unhappy with the system. It was a super cool idea...but we had to put SO much work into it to get each order completed. We decided to not offer it anymore. **We also had the printer get stopped up a couple of times if we didn't use it for a week or so. It was a pain! I wish I had better things to say about it...but I do not recommend it at all...unless Robyn has the secret trick of airbrushing the sheets. I was also unhappy to find that the sheets were not cocoa butter sheets to print on...they were sugar based. I don't have them near to give the ingredients...but true transfer sheets are made from cocoa butter...so I think that was why I had so many problems with them working as well. I love Tomric products...except for this one.

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

If you're familiar with design software like Photoshop or Illustrator (to name just 2) you can completely skip the clunky and expensive Deco software!

All you need are the transfers from Tomric plus the edible inks from kopykake. I use the Canon ip4700 and it works quite well. Of course you have the white issue, but that can be circumvented by using white chocolate for your prints or spraying a white background with either white cocoa butter or white edible ink. Just did some VW logos for our local club and they looked great.

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Yeah, unfortunately, printers don't print in white. I tried molding with white chocolate, and for some things it works without the white. I used a photo of my cat, and molded with a layer of white chocolate behind the photo. It worked better because she's Siamese and the more golden color looked more like her coloring. I did it with white cocoa butter and she was washed out. So, it just depends on the image.

And Jackie, you can just brush a thin layer of cocoa butter on the sheet with a brush or sponge as long as the printed image is dry. I did that for a more streaked appearance on a logo I did for Infiniti (don't have a photo unfortunately). It's not as solid as the photo above though.

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I agree the software needs work. Tomric didn't tell me that the design has to be done on white - & I don't have airbrush equipment yet. On my list! So I can improve!!

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

No, not yet. I'm not doing a lot of chocolate right now, and haven't gotten around to it. Another thing on the list.

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thank you for the information. Have you figured out the additional cost per piece?

David

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I have it and use if for logos and photos. I chose to get a printer on my own, and then ordered the software USB. I ordered the sheets and USB from Tomric.

I have a Canon MP620 and ordered edible ink cartridges from KopyKake and another place I can't remember the name of.

It works well, but the software could be better. Better editing and sizing options would be helpful. I have one scalloped round mold that the software doesn't have an option for. So, I choose the rectangle and it lines up almost perfect with it.

This is a logo from the caterer I work for. I always airbrush over the image with white cocoa butter to keep the colors true and to have it show up on dark chocolate.

I hope down the line the have some updates to the software, but I like using it.

Chocolate Artist Software/Printer

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Has anybody used the Chocolate Artist software and printer by Deco ? I have some custom applications for which this would be perfect, but I would love to know your opinions on it. Any help is much appreciated.

Thank you!

updated by @David Peterson: 04/11/25 09:27:36

alcohol in chocolate by volume

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Carol:

It's easier if you do everything metric and my recommendation is to weigh everything: get away from volumetric recipes. This relies on the fact that in the metric system, for these purposes, 1cc = 1ml = 1gr (close enough; it's really only precisely accurate for distilled water at 20C/68F (?) at sea level).

If the total weight of the ganache (chocolate, dairy, alcohol, other ingredients) is 1000 grams and you've added 10gr of alcohol, then the alcohol is 1% ABV. Simple. 5gr of alcohol in 350gr of ganache? ~1.4%

However, as I think about this, that's not entirely correct, because you need to consider proof. An 86 proof alcoholic beverage is only 43% alcohol. So if you add 10gr of - say - 86 proof rum to a recipe you're only adding 4.3gr of alcohol. The rest is water and flavorings. The math is still easy. In the case of 10gr of rum in a 1000gr recipe, the alcohol content is ~.43% ABV.

Now as I said, this is not 100% accurate past the first digit. But for hobby work, it should be more than close enough. If you plan to sell commercially interstate, then the labeling laws may require more precise measurement.

:: Clay

PS. Take your existing volume measures across making the recipe 5 or 10 times and weigh them. You'd be shocked to find out how inconsistent volume measuring is. Average the weights and use the average as the weight in your recipe.

alcohol in chocolate by volume

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks Clay. I am sorry I didn't make myself very clear. I do add my liquors to the ganache and mix really well to incorporate before filling the shells. I use a nice chocolate for the ganache.

My measurements were just an example for me to understand how to figure out the percentage of alcohol in a truffle by volume, not the fact that the truffle itself would be overpowering by taste. I do add small amounts and taste until I am satisfied by the taste of the ganache. My question is how to determine the percentage of alcohol i.e. > 1% or < 1% by volume?

I use several different liquors such as tequilla, spiced rum, coconut rum, frangelico, sambuca, kahlua, blue raspberry vodka, blackberry liquor, amaretto just to name a few. I have fun making truffles and experimenting with different flavors. I live in a 55+ community and my people here love taste testing.

Thanks, Carol

alcohol in chocolate by volume

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Carol:

The usual method of production is to add the alcohol to the ganache and then pipe the flavored ganache into the shells, wait for the ganache to crystallize, and then enrobe.

The right amount to add isto taste and would depend on a number a number of factors including the kind of chocolate in the ganache and the strength (flavor and proof) of the spirit you're using. You'd use a lot less of a huge peaty Scotch like Peat Monster (for example) than other alcohols because it's so strong.

Keep in mind that you subtract the amount of alcohol you're using from the amount of other liquid (milk, cream) you're using for the ganache.

:: Clay

alcohol in chocolate by volume

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Can someone tell me how to figure out what percent of alcohol by volume is figured out when making a batch of truffles?

Say I am making about 10 truffles using pre-made shells. About 1/2 cup ganache with about 2 - 4 TBLS liquor poured into the shell, then dipped in chocolate.

Thanks,

Carol

updated by @Carol Bersch: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Rasberry, strawberry or other red fruit fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

davy try pineapple and coconut, they go great together

Rasberry, strawberry or other red fruit fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks guys, I have now used awhite chocolateganache compound of which the result is actualy realy good. I also added a red fruit liqueur. Currently one of my favorite pralines. I actually wanted to try it with fresh or frozen strawberries, but currently didn't do that... Any ideas on pineapple and passion fruit fillings would be great!

Thanks,

Davy

Rasberry, strawberry or other red fruit fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

awesome! ill look that up thanks. I just hope I can find a supplier in the middle east

Rasberry, strawberry or other red fruit fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hi Omar

I think the taste is great. I use nutifruit which I ordered it on amazon. it really is a great product i have used it bars, ganaches an this weekend I'm going to use it in some caramels. There is also another company calledAmerican Spice that carries citrus powders that you night like .

Rasberry, strawberry or other red fruit fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

hi Anderson,

I'm curious to try those dried powder.i just googled some info.It looks like a great product to use for long shelf life chocolates.Do you get a nice natural fruit taste? What brand do you use? (i'm looking at "nutifruit")

Rasberry, strawberry or other red fruit fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Have you tried using strawberry or raspberry freeze dried powder in a white chocolate ganache. They are very easy to use and they don't add excessive moisture to the ganache.

Rasberry, strawberry or other red fruit fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks Omar, currently I 'm not working with marzipan. Next week we'll start with it. I think we will be moddeling with marzipan. still no idea right now. But I am actually more interested in all sort of (tropical) fruit fillings and I might want to try out somethings with spices... Thanks already!

Rasberry, strawberry or other red fruit fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

DAvy,

would u like help with marzipan as a filling or making marzipan from scratch?

Rasberry, strawberry or other red fruit fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Ok the exams were realy good, next part in the course is marzipan (which I realy don't like). Think I'm gonna practise further on new praline fillings. Any tips would be apreciated!

Thank,

Davy

Rasberry, strawberry or other red fruit fillings

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Hello I am looking for a good recipe for red fruit filling for my white pralines.

It's for my exams, we need to create 3 pralines, white, milk and black. The black will be with egg liqueur, the milk with butter coconut, and I want the white pralines with a red fruit filling but could find realy good, not tooooo difficult recipes.

If would realy appreciate any help. Thanks!

Davy

updated by @Davy Asnong: 04/11/25 09:27:36

Food safe practices when airbrushing.

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

yes i am with kerry on this one i work with an airbrush 2-3 days a week when working with it i am in a spray both with a extraction fan & i wear a face mask. i have a very big compressor and i do release the moisture that come from the air out of the air lines once every few days

Food safe practices when airbrushing.

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I'd say the health risks are more significant to the person airbrushing - coloured fat aerosolized and being inhaled is likely not safe. I wear a mask appropriate for those particles when airbrushing.

Food safe practices when airbrushing.

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I'm inspired to have an airbrush in my chocolate design tool kit. My concern is oil or moisture, from the compressor, will compromise food safety. High quality traps will remove the majority ofbacteria breeding environments but a system that generates 'pure air' pushes way past my budget.

Does anyone have more information on the standard systems used for airbrushing chocolates or the health risks involved in using compressors?

updated by @Sarah4: 04/11/25 09:27:36

What it means to be "Featured"

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

In response to a question from ChocolateLife member Dee:

As the creator of TheChocolateLife one of the options I have to is to "Feature" members. I do this as a way to recognize ChocolateLife members who post photos of themselves in their profiles.

Practically, what being Featured means is that the member's profile photo is displayed on the home page as well as on the Members page. Only the five most recently featured members are shown on the Members page; 27 members are featured on the Home page.

As new members are featured, older ones are no longer displayed even though they are still tagged as featured. I never "unfeature" members.

How does a member get featured?
I only feature members who post pictures of themselves in their profiles. If you use the default avatar image, post a company logo, a photo of your work, a photo of a smoking chimp, a cartoon image - anything other than a photo of a recognizable person - then you aren't featured. If you post a photo of someone who is obviously not you (e.g., a celebrity) you won't get featured.

It's not a perfect system as I never feature more than a few members at a time. So - you may have added a photo to your profile but it escaped my attention in the Latest Activity listing.

Iwant members to post photos of themselves, when they feel comfortable doing so, as a way to grow the feeling that TheChocolateLife is a real community composed of real people - not a group of strangers.

updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/16/15 06:37:15

Beneluxx in Philadelphia

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I went to the Ritz the other night to watch a movie in Philadelphia. Afterwards, my friends and I were trying to find a place to hang out. We popped in this Belgian pub, and when we discovered it was seriously overcrowded, they told us about their sister bar called Beneluxx. It was off the beaten path (therefore less crowded), but well worth the venture.

When I first walked in, there was a distinct cheese scent. I was a little concerned, because I didn't expect a bar to smell like that. Turns out that this place doesn't just specialize in fine beer, but wine, cheese, and best of all, chocolate!

I was suspicious, because I've been tricked before by places like MB's, so I started paying close attention. They offered fondue (which I also was unsure about). But when I asked for the "chocolate menu", I discovered this was for real! There were blends of chocolates from all over the world, with descriptions like wine tasters would write.

I ordered a spicy hot chocolate (which had too much spice for me, but that doesn't mean it had a lot). When it was delayed coming out, the waitress brought me a plate of their chocolates. Since I don't drink alcohol, I was thrilled!

I started to taste the chocolates, and I was very impressed. They had beautiful shine, crisp break, smooth texture and three dimensional flavor.

What a great place! Usually I only go to a bar because that's where my friends want to hang out. This is a place I really want to return to! If you're in the Philly area, I think you'll like it.

updated by @Dee: 04/20/15 09:27:53

I want to open a gourmet chocolate store in Beijing, China. Would love to hear your suggestions.

Posted in: Opinion

Hi, everyone,

My name is Emay, Iam here to learn and to share.

I am getting into a gourmet chocolate business, and want to open a store in Beijing China.Why not! We are so lucky to live in the United States and enjoy all kind of finechocolates. But gourmet chocolates arevery new to China, and I want to bring them to China.

There are lots of chocolatiers who making fine chocolates. They all have their best sellers. What I want is to sell premium chocolates from a few brands. For example, I like Recchiuti's dark chocolate covered marshmallow, truffle champagne from Leonidas, Tea flavored chocolate from Charles chocolate...etc. But the problems are gourmet chocolates have a very short shelf life, and the inspection and quarantine, custom clearance, permit are complex. You might say why not learn to make chocolate yourself? Well, the business model in my mind is to collect fine chocolates from different makers, yes, you guessed right, something similar to Fog City News.

So here I am for help. Is my idea realistic? what is the best way to work with chocolatiers to get their chocolate to China?Any suggestions & comments?

Very appreciate your time, and thank you in advance.

updated by @Emay Wang: 05/11/15 21:10:32

Organic Beans Question

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

That freezing process doesn't sound very feasible for a container!

Organic Beans Question

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Check out a pos last year from Jim Lucas who discussed what controls his beans have to go through to get from Brazil to the USA - and about the precautions you have to take when using the very nasty chemicals involved.

Organic Beans Question

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I believe it depends on the origins AND what exactly is being shipped. For examples beans from Africa need some kind of pest treatment for importation into Australia. However there ARE organic pest control procedures for example freezing to -18 degrees centigrade for 7 days.

Organic Beans Question

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Thanks! You're the first person to provide any kind of answer to this question.

Organic Beans Question

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Jeff and Nancy,

A couple points:

Generally, if your paperwork is done correctly stating organic status, most origins will not be fumigated. That being said, these are the biggest exceptions:

Indonesia as an origin is automatically fumigated upon arrival to the US

Venezuela has mandatory fumigating before export but not upon US arrival

As Jeff notes, semi-finished products are not subject to fumigation.

Hope this helps!

Organic Beans Question

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

I have asked around about this as well. I am working on it now from the customs and ag commission side to find out what is done. Even there, I am getting the run around.

Organic Beans Question

Posted in: Tech Help, Tips, Tricks, Techniques

Have passed this question around the world without an answer. As I understand, most if not all sea shipments of agricultural products such as rice, corn, and cacao must be fumigated (usally with methyl bromide) before shipping. I would like to know, under what circumstances (type of container used, or via air transport, etc.) are beans shipped and guaranteed not fumigated?-since any fumigated beans would no longer be "organic". It seems that fumigation is a very standard operating procedure performed not once, but sometimes 2x, on cocoa beans. So how do "organic" beans arrive stateside or to other cocoa processing countries?

I have also heard that some companies buy organic liquor in the country of origin, and have it shipped, since liquor does not require fumigation.

updated by @Jeff Stern: 04/11/25 09:27:36