I am considering a new printer and because I print on fabric, pictures for quilts, I am looking for your recommendations on what kind of printer should I consider, and why do you like it??

Oh I'll have to watch this thread....I too am in need of a new printer.

You need an inkjet printer. I had one and it worked great ( a small HP from Walmart for less than $200.00) and then my DH decided to upgrade it to a HP Laser printer. Nice machine but not recommended for printing fabric as it gets too hot. I really miss my little inkjet!

Quilt Home magazine did a research issue on printers...what they came up with is...first off it has to be an "Ink Jet" printer NOT A LASER JET---
they tried out something like a dozen different brands- basing on ease of use...quality of pictures...quality and permenence of ink...and found the 2 that were above the others were the HP and Brother...for clear, good color- i think an epson came in third.
it is not recommended to use refillable ink cartridges- or off=brands...the ink rinses right out of the fabric. you need good quality ink.

I have an Injet HP from Staples...works nicely with the fabric... Most important is having new ink cartridge

Look at the printers with separate color cartridges - that way you only have to replace the depleted color. Canon & Epson make them - I've had no problems with Canon ink jet printers.

Good tip regarding "do not use refillable ink". I did not know that and certainly will keep it in the back of my mind for future quilts. Thanks!

I am also thinking of upgrading my printer so I'm interested in what others have to say - I currently have an HP and have been happy with it. My other comment is to remind you to only use pre-treated fabric so that the ink does not wash out of the fabric - printer ink is water-soluble. As well as printing photos on fabric, I make all my quilt labels in the same way.

Where do you purchase "pre-treated" fabric for your HP printer, or do I have to manually pre-treat? Thanks

I just replaced mine three months ago with an ink jet printer/scanner from Walmart online for $40. Works great!

Which "printable fabric" does everyone use. Or do you make your own, and if so what product do you like best for preparing the fabric?

I have the Epson Artison 810. I've been printing pictures of flowers on the Printed Treasures. It does a great job...and yes, it's an ink jet.

We have a HP 5780 all in one. At first I had a problem with fabric feeding (I iron it onto freezer paper) then I explored the set up and realized it had a special setting for it. The color is amazing and I'm very happy with it. Have an old HP 720 and it works well still, but it's difficult to find toner for it now. I had looked at several and glad we decided on this. It has a flat bed so you can copy onto fabric as well.

I make my own, usually with bubble jet. If I know it's not going to be washed, I usually just print it and set it with an iron. I'm going to try the mix recipe that was on here this week though. Sounds easier and cheaper than bubble jet.

I have an HP3210 All in one , works great. It has the Vivera Inks. Individual color cartridges.

What if it will be washed??

At one time I did use Bubble JetSet to treat my own fabric and then ironed it to freezer paper, but my printer does not handle that well - it often jammed and I have a scar on the back of my hand to prove how hard it was to remove all the bits and pieces from inside the printer!! For that reason I prefer to buy pre-treated and have always used Printed Treasures brand (use your 40% or 50% coupons from JoAnn's). The inexpensive HP printer I have now does a pretty good job but I would like a printer that will allow me to enlarge or reduce designs. If anyone has used another brand of pre-treated fabric, I would be interested to know more about it. The Printed Treasures sometimes gives me a hard time when I try to remove the paper from the back.

You can send documents to more than one printer. I'm not sure how, but I know you can.

Thats what I had and it worked great!!! I now have a Kodak that my daughter gave me for xmas - havent tried it yet

I just use the printable cloth from JoAnns _ I think you can buy it at walmart also. Does this need to be treated so it can be washed - want to make my daughter a quilt of all the deer horses etc from their farm but it will definitely have to be able to be washed lol

Although I have bought the Printed Treasures brand of pre-treated fabric from JoAnn Fabrics, I am not sure if that is what you are referring to - it comes in a package of 5 or 6 sheetss each one 8 1/2" x 11". Whatever kind you buy, just make sure the package says the fabric is washable after printing, because there are some types that require dry-cleaning.

I have a HP Photosmart. Had to get a new one last fall, so I got the HP. I really like it. It is ink jet, I have done a few pictures & some of my labels that I put on my quilts.:-)

I would love the "recipe" also. Havn't done mutch in the way of fabric printing but would like to try.

How many of the color cartridges do you need? Do you only have to replace one at a time? Are they expensive? Is it cheaper to replace the colors one at a time?

SO what I have found in doing a little more research on this subject that I thought I would share with you, is that in addition to the requirement for the InkJet and not using off brand or refilled cartridges is that you check to see if the ink is pigmented, as it will have better color, less likely to fade or wash out, has a brighter crisper color as well. I just had a girl bring me a memory quilt to quilt and she had used a Kodak printer for the pictures.... and they were amazing. So I haven't yet decided, one article said that the printer manual will indicate if the ink is pigmented.