Edible Food Printing in Dubai
Sun Studio prints artwork directly onto food at our studio in Al Quoz, Dubai: chocolate, macarons, croissants, cookies and confectionery, printed with edible inks straight onto the item itself. There is no wafer paper, no transfer sheet and no sticker.
The work runs on IMAGO food printers (the Vulpes Pro and the Amber), machines built for food and nothing else, with edible inks kept and documented separately from every other ink in the building. This is a printing service for events, corporate gifting and brand activations in Dubai and across the UAE. It is not a food printer or edible ink for sale.
Tell us the item and the date: food runs are scheduled around freshness.
What we can print on
If it has a reasonably flat face and it is served fresh, it can probably carry artwork. The regulars:
- Chocolate: bars, pralines and tablets, printed direct onto the chocolate itself.
- Macarons: the classic canvas: logos, illustrations and full-colour artwork on the shell.
- Croissants and pastries: printed for hotel breakfasts, launches and branded mornings.
- Cookies and biscuits: event and gifting runs with sharp text and colour.
- Cake sheets and fondant: artwork printed for the pastry team to build into the cake.
- Marshmallows and soft confectionery: tested first, printed when the surface allows.
How chocolate takes a print
Printing on food is its own discipline with its own machines. The IMAGO printers this work runs on use edible inks and handle the food gently. On chocolate, a lamp softens the surface fractionally as the artwork is laid down, so the ink keys into the chocolate itself rather than sitting on top. In our experience that is what lets the print survive normal handling instead of flaking off the bar.
- Edible inks Supplied by the printer manufacturer for food printing, and kept and documented separately from every UV ink in the studio. Ask us for the current ink documentation.
- Direct to the item No wafer disc laid over the food; the artwork is on the chocolate, the shell, the pastry.
- Full-colour photographic artwork Logos, portraits and illustrations, sharp at macaron scale.
- Gentle handling Machines built for food, and one piece tested first, so delicate shells and soft surfaces come through the print intact.
- Short runs and event quantities A tray or a thousand pieces, scheduled around freshness.
- Multiple designs per run Each design is a file, so a mixed box costs nothing extra to set up.
Direct printing or wafer paper?
Most printed confectionery in the market is a printed wafer or sugar sheet stuck onto the item. It works, but it is a different result:
Direct edible-ink printing
The artwork is on the food itself: the texture of the macaron shell or the snap of the chocolate stays exactly as the pastry chef made it, and nothing peels away in the box. This is the route for premium gifting and hotel work.
Wafer and sugar sheets
A printed disc glued to the surface. Cheaper at volume and fine for casual cakes, but it adds a visible layer, changes the bite, and the edges can lift in humidity, which Dubai has no shortage of.
Who this is for
How brands use it is covered in our guide to edible food printing for events, corporate gifting and activations.
- Hotels and restaurants
- Chocolatiers and patisseries
- Event planners and weddings
- Corporate gifting programmes
- Brand activations and launches
- Airlines and hospitality groups
- Ramadan and Eid gifting
- Cafes and coffee brands
What we need from you
Food runs are scheduled around freshness, so the brief matters more than usual:
- The item: what we are printing on, and who supplies it.
- The quantity: and whether it splits across several designs.
- The artwork: vector where it exists; fine text is possible but has a sensible minimum size on a macaron.
- The event date: printing is scheduled backwards from when the food is served.
- Storage and delivery: chilled items need their timing agreed up front.
- A few spares: printing is physical work and setup uses a piece or two.
How it works
The item, the quantity, the artwork and the date it is served.
We confirm the surface takes ink well and size the artwork to the item.
A printed sample piece, approved before the run and eaten after.
The run is printed fresh against the event date and packed for service.
Food we have printed
Printed with edible ink, direct onto the item.
Technical considerations
Food is the one substrate in the building that gets eaten, and everything about the process follows from that.
Dedicated machines
Ink documentation
Chocolate behaves differently
Surface decides sharpness
Freshness drives scheduling
Sampling is eating
Common questions
Is the ink edible, and can I see the documentation?
How do you print on chocolate without melting it?
What foods work best?
Is there a minimum order?
Can you print several designs in one run?
Who supplies the food?
How close to an event can a run be printed?
Where is the food printed, and can it go to an event outside Dubai?
Have an event to feed?
Send the item, the artwork and the date. We will print a sample you can approve (and eat), then schedule the run so it is served fresh.
Technology used
IMAGO Vulpes Pro: the dedicated food printer, running edible inks on chocolate, macarons and bakery items. See the full printer fleet.