PFD fabric, laser printers and Bubble Jet Set

[Robin G.]

I want to be able to print some things for a new quilt using PFD cotton fabric and my black-and-white laser printer. Do I need to treat my fabric with Bubble Jet Set before I print? Can I just heat-set the fabric after it has been printed?
Does anyone know whether I would be better off using Bubble Jet Set and my inkjet printer rather than the laser printer?
Thanks in advance.
Robin

[Jean H.]

Hi Robin
I think with PFD you do not need bubble jet, But I just bought 10 yards of the PFD and I am ready to start dyeing myself and I am a little nervous myself. I guess you take a deep breath and take the plunge....Jean

[Ruth C.]

I didn't think laser printers worked on fabric because it puts toner on top of the paper (so also fabric?) rather than ink that goes into the fabric directly (and the Bubble stuff preparation is to keep it from running?). If you're not planning to wash it, maybe it will be fine.

[Beth A.]

I think Ruth is right. BJS is for use with bubblejet printers, only.

Bubblejet Set -- the chemical you soak the fabric in -- works only with bubble jet inks and not with laser printer toner.

Plus, I heard that running fabric thru laser printers can be a fire hazard -- lasers + cotton = fire...

BethMI

[Beth A.]

I would be really careful putting fabric in a laser printer. The laser printer fuses toner to paper and it can get VERY hot inside the printer. It could potentially ruin your fabric and your printer, so be careful.

I would recommend using an inkjet printer. You can either buy pretreated fabric or use bubble jet set, which is what I use. You just soak the fabric in the solution, let it dry flat, iron it to freezer paper and trim the edges. I should note though if you have an HP printer you should use the BubbleJet Set esp. for HP printers, you will be much happier with the colors.

Once you print your fabric (pretreated or treated yourself) you should let it sit for about 30 minutes to cure. Then rinse the fabric in hot water to get rid of excess ink, iron it and then your ready to sew!
Drew

[Jean H.]

Sorry Robin
I did not notice you were using a laser printer I was focused on the PFD fabric and weather or not to use BJS with it....Jean
P.S. thanks Drew for your info

[Robin G.]

Thanks to all of you who wrote in with advice and/or comments. Here's an update:
I have successfully used my laser printer to print on my PFD fabric, backed with freezer paper. That's the good news. The bad dnews is that once it was printed I could see that the PFD fabric just didn't have the hand I was looking for - too thin, too much like muslin.
I hd some fabric in my stash that was a white design printed onto white fabric. I tried printing on both the front and the back of this fabric and they both came out great. Printing on the back of the fabric will actually look better in the quilt that I have designed so I'll use that.
The laser printer in an older one but a real workhorse - it gave me no problems whatsoever. It is, however, only black-and-white; that was what I wanted to print.
This saved me a lot of time since I did not have to use the BJS.
I am a happy quilter!
Robin In Northern Illinois where is snowed again today (no joke, but just a dusting)

[Beth A.]

For the future, you might try a fabric called Southern Belle. It is not PFD, but it comes in white, cream, etc. and has a very fine weave and is recommended for computer printing.

For that matter, you might just as well use Printed Treasures or something like that.

BethMI