Tips for printing quilt labels - I'm an Aussie
 

I have been inspired to print quilt labels after reading about it on my Aussie quilting site of which I am also a member
http://www.victorianaquiltdesigns.co...uiltlabels.htm

I need some tips please. I did once have a go at heavily starching calico material to use as a quilt label, then running it through my printer, using coloured and black ink on the label, but the coloured ink washed out. That tells me I have to do something different! My printer is a practical Canon MP180 and is not laser.

When I read this in the instructions -
Using pre-treated fabric sheets available for ink jet printers:<o:p></o:p>
Go to the web page with the larger label, that you would like to print out. Select a thicker paper option with photo quality, if your printer allows. Print.

I guess you have to use pre-treated fabric sheets for it to be a success?????......where in Australia can I buy these? I bet they are so expensive that I will gasp...... When the instructions say to select a thicker paper option with photo quality, does that mean "in simple language" to click on the setting to print a photo from photo paper????? I have read of dipping your fabric in some type of solution, but I would have no idea where to buy that either, here in Aussie land.

I'm looking for tips, and I appreciate your replies. I have mentioned before I live in an isolated part of Australia, not near any shops or other facilities, and no fabric shops either. I have to buy everything online.
A trip to the nearest town is a major expedition for me now that I am "not so young". I think that is called "ageing up" these days.
Looking forward to your replies,
Anna Australia

Both the solution, which is probably Bubble Jet Set, and the pretreated ink jet fabric sheets can be found at OzQuilts (under Printable Fabric and Dyeing). http://www.ozquilts.com.au/index.html Does that help you?

ETA, on the printer settings, yes, that's what they mean...photo settings.

you do not want to add starch to your fabric- the fabric should be pre-washed then dried with no fabric softener or any additive- unless using Bubble Jet set- or some sort of (prepared for dying additive-) but you do not want to add starch, sizing, fab softener- anything like that- the premade sheets come in a variety---some are washable some are not-
you can purchase fabric that is (prepared for dying) that works well.
make sure you are using quality- permenent ink- the pigma inks are better than water soluble inks. do not use refills, or off brand cartridges.
the HP and Epson printers have the most (dependable) inks-and printers.
after printing- set the fabric aside to *cure* -allow the ink to saturate the fibers- then heat set.
it takes some experimentation-
i make lots of labels this way- i iron the (prepared for dying) fabric to freezer paper- cut it to size of printer paper- and run it through- set aside for 24 hours- then heat set & set aside again- the next day i run cold water through it and see what happens- reds tend to run the easiest- i've had labels that are still read(able) 6 years later- i have labels that after 2 or 3 washes are pretty faded away- if i have one that fades i usually go over it with a permenent marker- oh yea---ink jet printers---not laser printers--- it's all in the ink---and the fabric preparation.

I did a written tute here on the QB. I've used this a lot without it washing off.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...s-t117667.html

Yes, you can use Bubble Jet ... I don't ... but, you can. One person I know always uses soda ash to set the ink on her photos she transfers via her ink jet printer.

Hope this helps.

ali

Thanks so much ladies for your replies. Alikat thanks for your link, and ghostrider thanks so much for the
http://www.ozquilts.com.au/index.html site. I don't live near any facilites, so I have been able to access the site and place an order for fabrics that I needed for a baby quilt also some other supplies, and I did see the Matilda's Own Prinable Ink Jet Fabric Sheets there too......just not game to order any until I feel more confident about printing those labels.

Question for ckcowl Thanks so much for your detailed instructions. I have a question being a novice to all this,
i iron the (prepared for dying) fabric to freezer paper.......would you mind telling me how you go about preparing your fabric for dying? Do you buy the already prepared fabric? or what?

Regards to all,
Anna Australia

I'm not Ckcowl, but I use a good quality muslin. I prewash it (no fabric softener), dry it (no dryer sheets), and press it (no starch or sizing). then I iron it to the freezer paper and trim it to the size of a sheet of regular printer paper. I have an HP printer and I set it to High Quality in preferences. After it is printed, I let it dry for several hours, peel off the freezer paper, and run it under cold water. Then I set it on a few paper toewls, and put afew on top and press down with my hands to get as much water as possible out of it, then I iron it till it's dry. I haven't had any problem using black ink (not a refill). Hope this helps and good luck!

Thanks Val, your method is simple and it works for you. I guess the black ink would stay and not wash out. I did notice with my experiments even when I starched the calico, the black ink but the colours washed out, and thinking about it, I guess the reason starch isn't used is so the ink doesn't wash out with the starching........I was trying to get my piece of calico to be more rigid in order to be taken up by the printer more easily, that is why I used starch.
Anna

We've tried several different brands of inkjet printable fabric, and have had the best results with Printed Treasures by Dritz. We use the Sew-On for our personal quilts because we stitch a border around our labels to set them off, and I get the Iron-on sheets for our charity/church quilts because it's fast and easy. Just follow their directions for perfect results--color and clarity are super! (just remember to remove the paper from the fabric before you immerse it in water!) I'm sure it's available in many shops--a bit pricey but results are worth it! Hope this helps.

Val's method of preparing muslin is an easy way to make any fabric 'prepared for dyeing'. Washing in Synthrapol, drying with no chemicals and pressing with no chemicals will also work. As far as getting your calico stiff enough to run through your printer, pressing it to freezer paper will take care of that...just make sure the leading edge is very secure. Black ink and colored inks are different types...the black is pigment ink and that's why it 'sticks', colored inks are dye based inks which are water soluble.

Thanks you, your method is simple and it works for you. I guess the black ink would stay and not wash out. I did notice with my experiments even when I starched the calico, the black ink but the colours washed out, and thinking about it, I guess the reason starch isn't used is so the ink doesn't wash out with the starching.