Custom Print Panel help
 

Does anyone have experience with having artwork custom printed on panels for quilting? I recently had a bunch of my watercolors printed on cotton at a custom fabric printer - the printer did a good job but - all of the images are faded and not crisp. I read up more on the issue and it sounds like a synthetic or synthetic blend will print better (something about sublimation). I've never quilted on poly or poly blends - if I do, is there a caveat? I'm intending to do a panel quilt with kaleidoscope blocks surrounding the panel. I'm used to ironing the seams and blocks as I go along, can I even do that with poly? I'll try to include an image of one of the paintings that I'm not having good success getting printed.....
Who have you used? What worked for you? Have you quilted on polyester? If so, what is it like?

Can't speak too directly, but is Rayon one of the suggested fabrics? I know that there are dyes and processes that work better on Rayon than Cotton. I'm pretty darn comfortable with Rayon in quilting. I figure (among other tests) if I can do a burn test and not be certain if something is rayon or cotton, it passes that way.

I have an older quilt that was made from scraps, including a patch from a favorite dress that met up with a bad ink pen. I know the dress was 100% rayon, and some 30 years later and most of the quilt is in tatters (is in the dog bed) the rayon is actually holding up with the cottons, without either being noticeably impervious to atom bombs or fraying.

Rayon is a cellulose fiber, as opposed to full polyesters which are basically petroleum/synthetically based.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayon

Your painting is beautiful. Printing on fabric isn't the same as printing on paper. And there's a learning curve. If you printer doesn't have experience with this, I'd go elsewhere. Spoonflower is a professional company with extensive experience.

Ink seeps into the cellulose fibers. Think of diluting dye in water. Ink attaches to the outside of petroleum fibers, so the same amount of ink is more intense.

Since the Ink seeps into the cellulose fibers, its something like bleeding. Hence it's fussy. This is why there's learning curve to use the right ink and treated fabric. There's several good books on the process.

Thank you! Makes sense.

I, too, have had many images printed on fabric at Spoonflower. I have always been happy with their process. In all cases, I have used either the petal cotton or poplin. You may get a sample of your work first, which I have also done. It is worth the fee, which I believe is $5.00. I had a huge project and ordered their samples. Wow! They are awesome and I go to them whenever I need anything printed.

Your painting is outstanding. I love it!

It is a beautiful painting, and I am concerned about printing on fabric, too. I will try Spoonflower as I've only heard good things about it from friends who have used it. Spoonflower has a book out, explaining their process.

I've had excellent results with Spoonflower.

I have gone to SpoonFlower site but can’t figure out where it gives directions for getting a picture printed on Fabric. Any help anyone!
TIA

Spoonflower.com, at the top there's a menu bar across the page, click on "Design & Sell", then "Upload your design".

Seems like I had to create a (free) account when I started. BTW, you can order up to about 30 swatches (6"x8") on one big sheet for about $35.
When I looked for the pic of my swatch order, I found these instructions that I had typed for myself. I hope they help. I believe I copy/pasted from website. Sorry 'bout the blurry pic, but you get the idea.
Make a Collection:


Design Library is on main menu -Click on top right, middle, black icon shaped like a person.

Create a “Collection”:

Go to ‘Design Library’ and look on left side to:

Views

All Designs

Collections



Click on ‘Collections’

You will see a grey ‘plus sign’, Click to create a collection and name it.

Go to ‘All Designs’ ----you will see your uploaded pics in individual thumbnails with a box underneath.

Click ‘Select Collections’ and a drop down menu will appear with your “Collection” that you created.



Now you are ready to Create a Sampler

And


Spoonflower Sampler

1. Navigate to your Collections by clicking on “Design Library” and selecting “collections” on the left side of the page under Views.

2. Select the collection you want a sampler of.

3. Click ‘See This Collection in Your Design Library’ highlighted in blue.

4. Click ‘Get the Sampler’ button on the upper right corner of the page.

5. Confirm the designs. To see how each design will print, click the design thumbnail and select test swatch in the size and amount drop-down on the design page.

6. Select the fabric you want your sampler printed on.

7. Click ‘Order a Fabric Sampler’.



Please note: For Collections that contain more than 30 designs, only the first 30 will print and be charged. The Collection being sampled must be composed of all original designs; Collections with a mixture of original and Marketplace designs are not available for swatch samplers.