The Basics On Custom Fabric Printing

By Lora Jones


The term textile printing is used more often to describe the process of adding color to material in a certain design or pattern. When this process is done correctly, color is bonded to the fiber in a way that it will not wear off with friction or washing. Clothing makers and designers are just some of the professionals who do custom fabric printing in their line of work.

The practice is much like dying. However, a primary differences between the techniques is that dying involves changing the color of the fabric as a whole. With print jobs, one or many colors are applied in a particular pattern or design chosen by the creator.

A variety of materials and tools are employed during the process. Engraved plates, silkscreens, wood blocks, stencils and rollers are just some examples of the commonly used tools. Colorants include thickened dyes that are designed not to spread out beyond design or pattern borders. Print techniques can be categorized as: resist dying, direct, use of mordant and discharge.

A direct print refers to that in which colorants include thickeners, mordants and dyes or substances necessary for adding color to cloth are used to print the desired pattern. Mordant may also be used to print the desired pattern before the cloth has been dyed. After this process, the color will only attach to the area where mordant was printed.

There is also resist dying. This is when wax or some other substance is printed directly onto fabric that is dyed afterward. The areas that are waxed will not accept the dye, which leaves the uncolored patterns against colored ground. Bleaching product is printed on the material that has been previously dyed to remove all, or some, of the color in the process of discharge printing. Both discharge and resist methods were popular in the nineteenth century. Most modern works use the direct method.

Hand block; digital textile; stencil; roller, machine or cylinder; screen; perrotine; and engraved copperplate are examples of print techniques. Many custom prints are completed through one of these means but a combination of application techniques may be used as well. The method used is often relative to the artist and results that are desired.

Preparation must go into the colors and fabric before manipulating the fabric. Cloth might need to be brushed so that loose naps, dust and flocks is removed. Sometimes the surface needs to be smoothed and cleaned through the process of shearing. A material may need be straightened or stretched by special equipment. The preparation will be based on the type of print method and material used. Color development often requires some technical experience and working knowledge of different chemicals.

Textile making, or custom fabric printing, is a common practice for those who make clothes, crafts and other goods with fabric. This can be carried out in many different ways and may require certain knowledge and skill in order for correct application. This is different than dying because it involves adding color in specific designs and patterns and not just one solid color over the entire piece of material.




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