|
There are a number of ways
to get a design printed onto cross stitch or
tapestry fabric. The main requirement of the
software is the ability to print at the exact holes
per inch of the fabic and turn off the grid. All
our software allows this.
Silk Screen
Printing
This is the chosen method
for long print runs in a business (around 200
copies or more of a design). Using our Publisher
Edition, each colour in the design has a screen
produced through which ink is squeezed onto the
fabric. Each piece of fabric is printed and dried
once for each colour. You need specialist equipment
but you can also submit your design to a silk
screen printer who will do the job for you. In the
UK, there are at least two printers that can take
our design format from any of the editions and make
batches of prints for you. You will also get a
discount for sending the design in our
format.
Direct Inkjet
printing
Most ordinary inkjet
printers do not easily take fabric. You may be able
to print direct if you can attach the fabric to a
paper backing and/or starch it to make it more
solid. Another problem is that washing the fabric
may make the ink run.
There are large format
roll printers for commercial use that can print
direct to canvas. Normally the canvas is rolled
with a paper backing so you can print over the
holes without covering the printer. A special ink
is used that can be fixed by steaming. This is an
expensive investment but there is at least one
company in the UK that can print this method
from our design format.
Sublimation
Inkjet
This is where you make a
transfer print on paper and then heat press (or
iron) onto fabric. You use a standard Epson inkjet
printer but use a special sublimation ink
cartridge. Prints can be made onto good quality
plain paper (not gloss coated) or special
sublimation transfer paper. You must print in
mirror image. The transfer is then pressed at about
180C onto a polyester fabric. You can get cotton
fabrics with a polyester starch which give
excellent results - ask your Zeigart dealer to
special order polyester starched Aida, Evenweave or
Tapestry canvas. You must have polyeseter for the
transfer to work but if you are using a domestic
iron it is difficult to use pure polyester due to
the poor heat control. The polyester starched
cotton is easier to use. The advantage of
sublimation is the transfer is permanent and has no
residue so any unprinted areas look and feel
clean.
T-Shirt transfer
paper
There are a number of
T-shirt transfer papers on the market that allow
printing with ordinary inkjet ink and then iron on
to any fabric. The problem with these is that they
work by transfering the ink on a carrier compound.
You get a hard and unattractive residue on the
whole area of the transfer and you will have to
stitch through this too. It is however the cheapest
method as you can use your existing
printer.
Program settings for
these methods
If you are using a
transfer that requires a miror image, first select
the entire design and then choose mirror from the
area menu.
In the print dialog, set
the stitches per inch to the count of the fabric
you are using. For evenweave where you want to
stitch over two threads, set it to half the count.
This ensures the print is exactly life
size.
In the options, turn off
the grid as you only want the colour blocks not the
gridlines. You may also want to turn off center
marks, titles and page numbers.
In the format, set colour
blocks.
For silk screen colour
separations, there is a special button on the
publisher version. This causes a separate print for
each colour and also oversizes the edges of each
colour area to prevent gaps due to alignment errors
in manufacture. If you are trying to send
separations to a printer, ask them for the oversize
value to use. Better still, find a printer with our
software and just send them the design
file.
Contacts (UK):
Deighton
Needleworks
No origination charges for Cross Stitch Pro
designs. No minimum print run.
Phoenix Designs - +44 (0)1271 323749
Quantities 200 plus. 50 percent discount on
origination charges and 10 percent off first print
run for Cross Stitch Pro designs.
Sublimation
information
|
