FABRIC PRINTING

We specialise in direct printing onto fabric techniques, used to print photos for memory quilts, or create innovative quilt labels. I have experimented with most of the products available to determine the best products to use for each application, as well as testing different techniques to obtain the best results from these products.

PRINTING PHOTOS ON FABRIC

Images are printed on fabric in exactly the same manner as you would print an image on paper. This includes:

·        Placing a photograph on a printer scanner, and copying the image onto the fabric sheet

·        Placing a digital camera card in the printer, selecting the images and size to print, and printing directly onto the fabric sheet

·        Using a Publisher or Word document, inserting the image into the document, and then printing the document onto the fabric sheet

I prefer to use the last method, as it allows me to:

·        work on the image using a photo editing program (Adobe PhotoElements 2) to crop the image, increase the contrast and saturation.   This makes the image more vibrant, and so the impact is not lost when placed next to patterned fabrics

·        adjust the size of the image (full page,½ page,¼page)

·        arrange the images to use all the sheet

Preparing your Image

1.    Open a Microsoft Publisher (or Microsoft Word) Document

2.    Click on the Picture frame tool (left hand tool Bar)

3.    Hold down left hand mouse button and draw a picture frame

4.    Click on Insert (top tool Bar) Picture and From File

5.    From the drop down box, locate the image on your computer, and double click on it

6.    The image is now in the document, and you can move the cursor to one corner, hold down the control key, and the left hand mouse button, drag the image to the size you require

7.    You can drag the image to any position on the page, and add other pictures to fill the page

Printing an Image onto “Matildas Own” Fabric Sheets

To print your image:

·        Go to File then Print

·        Click on Properties

·        In the Properties box set Page Size as A4 (Letter Size for Printed Treasures or Miracle Fabric Sheets), Quality as Best and Paper Type as Plain Paper (Photo paper matte finish also works)

·        Place a Sheet of Matildas Own in the paper tray (ensuring the image will be printed on the Fabric side) and then press OK and then OK again to print the page.

When the page has printed, allow to dry, then peel the plastic sheet off the back. Rinse the fabric sheet in water to ensure the ink has set properly. After drying the fabric can be sewn into your project.

When washing, it is best to use a mild detergent, and there should be no colour loss.

Comparison of Fabric Sheets

The simplest way to print photos or quilt labels onto fabric, is to use Fabric Sheets which have already been prepared for you. These sheets are prepared from a special high thread count cotton fabric,  treated with the required chemicals, and backing with freezer paper or a plastic sheet.
You simply take the sheets from the packet and feed through your printer.

We have tested a number of different sheets and decided to stock  Printed Treasures , Matildas Own, and Miracle Fabric Sheets. 

Beginner Pack (3 sheets)  $19.95       Large Pack (10 sheets)    $59.95

All Printed Treasures sheets are US Letter size (8.5" x 11")

To print your image on the Sheets, simply place the Printed Treasures Sheet in the printer, and Print as you would if printing onto paper.
After printing, remove the paper backing and rinse in water to remove any excess ink. Allow to dry, and you are then ready to sew your lovely soft cotton image into or onto your quilt.

The  Printed Treasures are the best we have tried, giving superior image quality, and it is safe to wash them in a mild detergent. The quality of the image really showed out once we increased the Contrast and Saturation of the images, and the quality was superior to the same image printed on plain paper.

Although they are dearer than Miracle Fabric Sheets, the difference in quality easily justifies the extra cost.

Matilda's Own Sheets

The "Matildas Own" Premium Fabric Sheets are Australian, and are A4 size rather than the Letter size of the other sheets. They are also produced in A3 size for those lucky enough to have an A3 inkjet printer, and so you can produce quite large images on Fabric.

5 Pack A4 sheets         $21.95

5 Pack A3 sheets        $43.95

Conclusion

The quality of the image was virtually the same as the Printed Treasures, and the cost of the sheets are around $2.00 per sheet cheaper than the Printed Treasures. They combine good colour depth with low cost, and so are highly recommended.

Miracle Fabric Sheets

Large Pack (10 sheets)    $31.95

To print your image on the Sheets, simply place the Miracle Fabric Sheet in the printer, and Print as you would if printing onto paper. Allow to dry, remove the backing paper. Iron the reverse of the fabric to heat set the inks, and then rinse in water to wash away any excess ink.
Once the fabric is dry, it is then ready to be sewn into or onto your quilt.

The Miracle Fabric Sheets produced images which lacked the colour depth of the Printed Treasures or Matildas Own image. The lower quality became very obvious when we printed images in which the contrast and saturation was increased. The image quality was similar to that obtained printing onto plain paper.

The Miracle Fabric Sheets produce satisfactory images on fabric, and their major advantage is their price, coming in at around $3.00 per sheet.

Miracle Fabric are recommended to use when making labels for your quilts, or when printing Black and White, or Sepia photographs, where depth of colour is not a major concern.

Printing Large Images

It is possible to print larger images by dividing your images into patrs, and printing each part of the image, and then sewing the pieces together. In my talks, I have shown the image of the Grand Canyon, and the image consists of 10 Printed Treasures Pages, combined together to form an image just under 1 metre wide and 60cms deep. 

The image is prepared using a Publishing program such as Microsoft Publisher.

The procedure I used is as follows:

• Open Microsoft Publisher

• Click on Blank Publication

• Click Create

This opens a blank page for you. We set up the size of the fabric sheets we will be using.

• Go to File menu

• click on Print Setup

• Click on the Size dropdown Menu, and click A4 (Matildas Own) or Letter (Printed Treasures or Miracle Fabric)

• Click Ok to close the box

We now need to set up the size that we want the image to be.

• Go to File menu, and click Page Setup

• In the Choose a Publication Layout, click in the circle next to Special Size

• In the width column type in 100cm (or whatever size you want)

• In the height column type in 100cm (or whatever size you want)

This will create a page the size you want the image to be. You will be able to see in the Preview how many pages you need, and also wher the image fits in these pages. You may find by changing the Orientation to Portrait or Landscape, you may be able to reduce the number of sheets to be printed on. You could also change the image size slightly to better fill the pages.

Once you are happy with the size click OK, and you will be presented with a page the size you have indicated. To insert your picture:

• Go to the Insert Menu at the top and click on it

• Click on from File

• Locate your image from the computer hard drive, and Double click on the image to paste it in your document

• Click on the image

• Move the cursor to a corner handle and click on it, and drag image out to the size you require (You need to hold down control button to ensure the image remains in the correct proportion)

You can trim the image to remove unwanted areas, and to make fit better on to page. When you are happy with the image, you can print it by going to the print menu, and printing as usual. You may wish to print out on paper first. Once the sheets are printed, the sheets can be matched up and sewn together to create the full image.