Stabilizing printer/photographic fabric

[Paula D.]

I want to use the printer fabric but my quilts need to go into the wash without losing the image. Some of the fabric says don't get it wet or dry clean! Any ideas on stabilizing the image/print once its on the fabric? Thanks.

[Paula D.]

If you use 100% cotton pfd and pretreat with bubble jet set then heat set the fabric after printing you can wash the fabric with no problem.

[Jean H.]

OK , I thought that PFD was already prepared for dying so why do we have to do it again with bubble jet, this is were I get confused
I bought a bolt of PFD and dyes, I understand having to use the rinse, so could someone help me understand this a little better.....
Jean

[Jean H.]

PFD means prepared for dye, and there are no finishes on the fabric that would prevent dye from bonding with the fabric.

Bubble Jet Set is a whole different thing. Inkjet ink is not water resistant, and will wash out. Treating the fabric with BJS makes the ink stay where you put it.

Two different things entirely.

[Jean H.]

Elsielf is absolutely right, sorry i didnt say that in my original reply to you. When a piece of fabric is PFD'd it has all the starches, chemicals and oils removed from the fabric. When you want to print on the fabric, and you use bubble jet set, it coats the fibers in a polymer that lets the fabric absorb the ink but does not allow it to bleed (or wash out). Its also a good idea to heat set the fabric with an iron 24 hours after the printing. Hope this helps!

Michael

[Lynn K.]

Ok, since I'm new to this whole process, guess this is the place to get the answers to my "just curious" questions.

How do you stabilize the fabric to get it to go through the printer?

She said she bought a bolt of it, so guess that's not pre-cut and stabilized 'printer-size."

Lynn

[Lynn K.]

Freezer paper!!!!!We use it for everything.
Iron the paper first to shrink it. Then cut it the size that will fit into your printer. I tear my fabric just a bit smaller than the paper and Iron it on. While the paper and fabric are still warm, I place them under my cutting mat and let them cool. That seems to help the curling problem. Just before I print, I wrap a piece of trancparent tape around my fingers and run it over the fabric to be sure there is no lint or stray threads. If you print over a thead and it falls of, you get a white spot. Before you do any of this, read in your printer manual about paper jams and what to do. It will happen. The freezer paper can be reused several times before it looses it's sticky. Have fun. Betty Ann

[Lynn K.]

I drove my self crazy with that! I finally figured out what works for me. I iron freezer paper to the back of the fabric then cut it to 8 1/2 x 11 inches. On the leading edge of the fabric/freezer paper I cut the corners off (about 1/2 in) so it feeds thru the printer easier. Here's the part that's kinda hard to explain...If you look in the printer where the paper feeds there are a couple of roller thingies. When I'm ready to feed the fabric/freezer paper through I first put a plain piece of paper behind the roller thingies, then I put the fabric/freezer paper behind that. That allows the fabric to get past the stuff it would get hung up on. I take the plain paper out when I start printing. I print one piece at a time.

Wow..that was kind of a struggle to explain! I hope part of it made sense!

[Lynn K.]

I recently purchased an Epson NX400 all-in-one printer which uses Durabrite ink. Tried printing to fabric, using freezer paper, and whammo- a jam first thing. The fabric/paper just crumpled up and I had to go fishing for it. My old HP gave me very little trouble with paper jams with the fabric. I think it's the way the paper feeds--from the top, and it really yanks it in there fast.
Any ideas about how to make this work? Maybe 2 layers of freezer paper? With the Durabrite ink, I shouldn't need to go to the commercially prepared printing fabric sheets. Anyone else have one of these printers?

[Lynn K.]

A few more tips!

It helps to use a fabric that has a very high thread count. There will be less raveling or loose threads, and you will get a better image quality. I've used Kona cotton very successfully, although it's not pfd.

Be sure to increase the color saturation by about 25%, make sure your printer ink levels are sufficient, and select best quality photo printing.

Also, to avoid wasting your expensive fabric sheets, be sure to use the print preview option or print your first copy on a plain piece of paper.

On my profile, I have a slice quilt of a barn. My slice in the middle of the bottom row was made of an altered photo printed using this technique.

[Lynn K.]

I use PFD broadcloth for a higher thread count. My printer has a setting for heavyweight paper. I guess it allows more space for the media to roll thru. HP inks work well for me.
I have two small quilts made with printed fabrics that I designed and then converged. See them on page 50 and 52 of Ricky's Convergence Book. Also the 12,000 quilt in the Gallery is made with four printed sheets of my own design.
It is such fun to know that anything you can get in your computer can end up on fabric. The sky's the limit!!!! No. We could print the sky too. Betty Ann

[Lynn K.]

I used to use freezer paper as a carrier for my fabric but found that it often curled and jammed. I have recently sprayed some ordinary printer paper with 505 spray and then just stuck it to the fabric and cut to size, no curling or lamming. I also use PDF fabric. maggi