Questions before you book

The machine prints food-safe edible ink onto a stable foam head: coffee, cocktails with foam, stout, hot chocolate. Designs sit on a touchscreen at the bar. One tap, about ten seconds, drink in hand. We load your files before the box ships; nobody from Foam & Ink stays on site.

Anything with a stable foam or creamy head: latte, cappuccino, flat white, espresso martini, foamy cocktails, stout, hot chocolate. We cannot print on lager, prosecco, wine, or drinks without foam. The ink needs something to sit on.

The ink is flavourless and odourless. Ingredients are water, sorbitol, food-grade glycerin and food colourants. It is claimed vegan, gluten-free, halal and kosher, and tested to FDA, EU and SGS food-contact standards, according to the manufacturer. Certificates are available before your hire date. Your venue still owns allergen labelling for the drinks themselves.

About 30–40 an hour at a busy bar. The machine is faster than that; the bottleneck is people choosing a design. Plan for decision time, not bare print speed.

PNG or JPG, at least 1000px wide, high contrast, transparent or white background. Prints land in monochrome sepia on cream foam, so a single dark colour that reads clearly works best. We review every file before dispatch.

Yes. We can enable a QR code at the bar. Guests need a phone signal or wifi. If the venue is a basement with poor reception, tell us early and we can advise on placement. Bar staff can review uploads before they print.

Hire from £395 (party), £495 (wedding), £550 (café opening) or £750 (corporate). Extra designs are £25 each; extra prints roughly £0.80–£1.20. Those figures are hire fees. See the price list for every package, and “What do I actually pay, and when?” for the full cash-out.

Machine hire for your window, 4 pre-loaded designs, ink fitted, tracked DPD delivery, pre-paid return label, and an in-box guide. Optional on-site setup for café openings is quoted separately.

The package price is the hire fee. A £150 booking fee to confirm the booking is included in that figure, not added on top. Example: a £395 party is £150 booking fee plus a £245 balance. The £300 refundable damage deposit is due with that balance, 60 days before the event, not at booking. A £395 party is £695 to send before the event; £300 comes back after a clean return (usually 7 working days). For every package, the balance and the deposit are due together 60 days before the event. If you book inside that window, the full hire fee and the deposit are both due at booking. All payments are by card through Stripe. Prices include VAT only where shown on your invoice; we will say if we are VAT-registered.

£300 is due with the rest of the hire fee, 60 days before the event. It is not part of the hire fee and it is not paid when you book, unless the event is inside that 60-day window. Then the full hire fee and the deposit are both due at booking. After a clean return we refund it, usually within 7 working days. If there is damage beyond fair wear, we deduct repair or replacement costs from the deposit and explain the figures.

Often yes for large venues or dual bars. Ask when you request a quote. We confirm availability and price for your dates rather than listing a fixed dual-machine rate here.

A free UK 13A socket near the bar. The box is about 34 × 27 × 41 cm and ~13 kg. Plug in, one test print, then bar staff use the touchscreen. No specialist AV, no ethernet required for basic printing.

UK-wide by courier. We are Cardiff-based; there is no London shopfront. Geography is rarely the constraint. DPD Pickup for the return is.

We aim for the working day before your event. If tracking shows a delay, contact us as soon as you see it. We work the courier fault and, where possible, re-route or advise. Do not leave it until the morning of a Saturday wedding without telling us.

Call or message us. We provide remote troubleshooting. If a fault cannot be fixed remotely and the machine is unusable for a material part of the event through no fault of yours, our terms allow a partial refund or credit proportionate to the impact, or a full hire-fee refund if it is wholly unusable. We are not liable for indirect losses. Full wording is in the hire terms.

On a proper foam head the print holds for the drink. Soft or collapsing foam, over-stirring, or waiting too long before serving will blur it. Do a test print when you unpack. Hot drinks cool; print and serve, don’t park them.

Yes, if there is a stable foam head: hot chocolate and many non-alcoholic foam drinks work. Same ink, same machine. Keep the venue’s usual rules for under-age guests and allergens.

Guests need a working phone connection: wifi or mobile data. Basements and thick-walled venues are the risk. Tell us the room layout early; we can advise where to place the QR sign. We do not currently promise a wifi dongle in the box.

No. Stoutie is a pub promotion. Foam & Ink is a hired machine for your private event or opening: coffee, cocktails and pints, couriered to you, self-serve.

Default: no. Designs are loaded, the guide is in the box, bar staff run it. For café openings we can quote optional on-site setup as an add-on. We are not a photo-booth crew and we do not stay for the event.

You and the venue. We can send the ink manufacturer's certificates before your hire date. Drink recipes, milk alternatives and guest allergen communication stay with the bar.

Public liability insurance and PAT testing will be in place before any hire. The documents are available before your hire date. We don't publish certificate files on the site.