i have an HP inkjet 4 in one printer (5500 i think) there was a study done a few months ago about the best printers/ inks to use for fabric printing. the study found that the HP's and Epson's have the best outcomes. It is important to buy the expensive inks...the refill ones or off brands do not work, they run and fade. so when fabric printing i spend a fortune on HP ink. after printing it is important to allow the ink/fabric to 'cure' i set mine aside for at least 24 hours. then i heat set it, then i set it aside again. i do this for about a week before i finally remove the backing and run water through it. it works best if you use pfd fabrics (prepared for dyeing) but you can treat your own, with success. some colors tend to not 'hold-up' as well as others (same as any dyeing...blacks and reds are the most difficult to get good consistant results from) i worked on one project that kept fading a little bit, i finally used permenent fabric markers and colored the areas that needed some pick-me-up that worked well too.
Originally Posted by shaverg
ck, what type of printer do you have? I use to do that on quilts I didn't wash and someone told me they would wash out. I tried it sure enough even washing the fabric the colors would go immediately and the black faded a lot. I have tried HP photo and Epson, which is the same type of ink the photo companies use. Epson even washes out, even with heat setting, prewashing.
I talked to Epson, they said they have not come up with a ink that is color fast for fabric yet.