Printing on fabrics

[bitsnstuff]

Do any of the printers out there have any info and price ideas, regarding printing photographs on to fabrics, such as canvas, cotton, velvet etc.?

I am trying to find out possibilities and costs.

Kate.

[downinalbion]

Hello Kate,

Have you thought about iron on transfers? You print the image onto transfer paper through an inkjet printer and then iron it onto the Material.

The best method is screen printing but this is often costly as you have to get a lot done at a time for it to work out cost-effective.

There is also another method which involves sublimation inks, but I am not too sure what this is, and how it works!

[William Wilson]

There are special printers available that can print on fabrics through to carpets but the down side is they are very expensive. My printer an Epson Stylus Pro 9600 does material up to 1.2mm thick but I only print on artist materials as I've heard of some pretty horrific stories when fibres get caught up in the heads.

[chris1317]

I have looked into this also as a service for my website a few months ago but found it to be quite costly to do it properly.

Iron on transfers are ok but dont last very long. To be done properly it needs to be printed directly onto the fabric.

As mentioned previously you need a specialised printer which is expensive + added hastle if something goes wrong with it.

It probaly works out more cost effective to outsource the work to someone that does it all the time unless you would be using it a lot then it may be worth your while.

Chris.

[bitsnstuff]

Thank you very much for your replies.

I wasn't thinking of doing it myself, but outsourcing, but not sure what this process is called technically.

Kate.

[William Wilson]

I know Eastern in Musselburgh have a service for this maybe worth giving them a call.

www.eastern-info.co.uk

[paulbtsfranchise]

Hi Kate,

I run a company that produces personalised soft toys
http://www.beartosay.com

We were recently looking to expand our product range to
include other personalised gifts. The UK printing market is very complexed and there are many options available, most of which you pay over the odds for.

So, we decided to incorporate some of these printing services into our existing business (sourcing most of the products from overseas).
We will be offering sublimation printing and heat applied garment films - both of which are good for short runs and are relatively low cost solutions.

We will also offer the items that can be printed onto such as bags, mugs, plates, soft toys etc..

If you want any further info you can contact me at paul@btsfranchise.com

Good Luck

Paul Lloyd

http://www.btsfranchise.com