There's a new way to add photos to quilts.
In the past, we relied on photo transfer paper to iron our
photo onto our quilt block. Have you heard about
direct-to-garment printing? It's a new way to get your
favorite photo onto your quilt block.
Direct-to-garment (DTG) printing is a form of digital
printing. Most of the printers fall into the $20,000 range,
so it's not practical to run out and buy your own. But if
you can find a print shop that offers DTG printing, you can
expect to pay $8 to $10 for a photo print.
This process is a little more expensive than the
traditional photo transfer method. That's partially because
the technology is so new. If you do decide to try a DTG
photo on your memory quilt block, there are a few things to
look for in selecting the printer who will do the work for
you:
1. Make sure there are no chemicals needed to pre-treat
your fabric first. Some DTG printers create an image that
is more like screen printing. You don't want that look or
feel on your quilt. The ink will be hard on top of the
fabric and will eventually (sometimes much sooner than
later) will start to crack and wear with washings. Ask your
prospective printer to see a sample of something they've
printed. If you can feel the ink is raised above the
surface in any way at all, it's probably a sublimation type
process which requires chemicals to pre-treat the fabric.
2. Use a form of digital DTG printing offered by the
Brother GT 541. There are no chemicals needed to pre-treat
the fabric. The inks bond with the natural fibers and are
heat cured to set the image. The inks are water based,
which helps leave a soft yet crisp image on your fabric.
There are some downfalls to using DTG printing on your
quilt blocks. One pitfall is color limitations. Since DTG
printing is a form a digital printing, there is no white
ink. White is the absence of color. This means that you
cannot print a photo on navy blue or black fabric.
Digital garment or fabric printing is a CMYK format - cyan,
magenta, yellow, and black. You can mix those colors to get
a full spectrum of accurate colors - just not white. There
are DTG printers that print white ink, but most of those
require chemical pre-treatment of the fabric and will leave
you with that thick surface print.
The light-colored or neutral fabric you use must be cotton
or a cotton blend. The fabric must be able to tolerate cure
time of 30 seconds at about 350 degrees, usually done on a
heat press. If you are not working with 100 percent cotton
or a 50/50 blend, ask your printer if the fabric will work.
Size of your print may be a limitation. Most DTG printers
have a printing field up to 14 inches x 16 inches. For
most quilters, that size range won't be a problem.
And speaking of printing fields, here's a hint. Most DTG
printers charge for a 14x16 surface. If your blocks will
allow 2 or 3 photos to fit within that range, you could get
them all printed for the price of one. Ask the printer if
it's possible with your project.
Like most technological advances, the price of digital
garment (or fabric) printing will probably decrease over
time. Maybe it will even be available on smaller printers
for home and personal use. Until then, see if you can find
a DTG printer for your next photo quilt project. The
results will look like custom fabric, which will be a great
touch for your one of a kind quilt!
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Penny Halgren http://www.TheQuiltingCoach.com Penny has
been a quilter for more than 26 years and enjoys exploring
all aspects of quilting sharing her knowledge with all
quilters.
