An ink stick for use in a solid ink feed system of a phase change ink printer includes a three dimensional ink stick body that has formed in it guide means. The guide means is formed in a first portion of the ink stick body, for guiding the ink stick along a defined path in the ink stick feed system. An ink stick feed system includes a longitudinal guide rail in a first portion of a feed channel. The width of the longitudinal guide rail is substantially less than the width of the feed channel. The guide means in the ink stick is a longitudinal guide element having a shape that is substantially complementary of the shape of the longitudinal guide rail of the feed channel.