Saturday, June 8, 2013

General Information About 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.

This process is similar to dying. The main difference is that dying involves the material being uniformly changed to one color. When it comes to doing a print job, one or multiple colors may be applied in a specific design or pattern chosen by the artist.

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.

Direct printing is used to classify the work in which colorants that include dyes, mordants or thickeners are used. Other substances that are needed to add color to cloth may be used as well. In either case, this is applied in the pattern that is desired. Mordant might be used for printing purposes as well. This is put in the desired pattern before cloth is dyed. Once this is done, the color only attaches to arts where mordant had been 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.

The various techniques for printing include: hand block; machine, cylinder or roller; engraved copperplate; digital textile; screen; perrotine; and stencil. Most custom prints are done through these methods, but sometimes a combination of application processes are used. The technique applied is usually the decision of the artist and often based on the desired results.

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.

Custom fabric printing, or textile making, is common for those who enjoy doing crafts and making clothes and other such goods. The process can be done in an assortment of ways and includes specific knowledge and processes to be done correctly. This process is distinct from dying in that it involves application of color in particular patterns or designs and not changing fabric to one solid color.




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