I learned something new today. Yeah!!

In the past we all used freezer paper to iron on Bubble Jet Set treated fabric, then cut to size and printed our pictures, usually with an ink jet printer. But, we dealt with curling edges, shrinking freezer paper, jamming in the printer.

So, we tried double layers of freezer paper or bought industrial strength or put tape on the leading edge. Less problems but same issues.

Next we tried using sticky backed full sheet size label paper. Worked great. No curling, shrinking or jamming. I usually bought laser printer labels because they cost less than the inkjet ones and I wasn't printing on the paper anyway. But, you had to be careful not to distort the picture when removing the label and it was a one time use.

Today, I discovered Post-It brand full sheet labels that are super sticky but have a removable adhesive. Wow, they were pricey at $24.99 for 25. Way more than twice what I usually pay. But, I have orders for 4 queen size picture quilts and I want as little hassle as possible. Plus I had 4 yards of fabric prepared, cut and ready to stabilize.

Boy, oh boy, do they work great! So far today I have used one 4 times and it still seems good to go. I don't know how many uses I will get out of each sheet...but I think these things are great. They handle better than the thinner permanent adhesive labels too and don't distort the picture when removing the backing.

Wow that is great. Thanks for the information. :)

This is great information! Thank you so much for sharing it. Where did you find these? I'd have to order online, I'd never find anything like this in my neck of the priarie.
I want to make a photo quilt for my ex who is very sick.

These came from Office Depot, but I would think any major office supply store would have them. Nearly everything I buy is online. I don't usually get out to shop much, but needed these in a hurry and the freezer paper was driving me nuts. I was out of regular labels. Now, I am all stocked up again but have been using these all day. Just for comparison, I did some with regular label paper and some with industrial strength precut freezer paper. These are the best of the 3 choices and the least hassle. And they are reusable.

sounds like an excellent investment. thanks for sharing that wonderful tip

I went looking after I posted and found these same labels at Walmart online for $3.20 per pkg. Wow! What a difference from what you paid for them. I ordered three pkg and it was $13.20 with shipping. I should have them next week. Thanks again for the information!

Holy Moly!!!
That's some savings.
Here's the link:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Post-it-Fu...-Pack/15032419

Here's the OfficeDepot link (with an instant online savings):
http://www.officedepot.com/a/product...ky-Full-Sheet/

Still not as good as the WalMart price.

Poor purrfectquilts. ;-)

Maybe the unopened packages can be returned (if there are any).

At least you can take comfort in the fact that you shared this great idea with us.

Yeah, I know, small comfort. :mrgreen:

But I, for one, am really grateful.

(as I go off to order it from WalMart.com)

Thank you so much I cannot wait to give this a try, going by a office store tomorrow.

Thanks for the info...Bookmarked this one!

Hope I'm not the only one who is having trouble wrapping their head around this....are you putting actual fabric on the sticky sheet, or fabric sheets, or what?

I have a written tute somewhere on the QB about making your own labels.

Did edit it to add that I used a glue stick at the leading edge of the freezer paper before ironing the fabric to the freezer paper. Then trimmed the leading edge again with a rotary cutter. No problems after that.

I am too thrifty to buy something I don't need. .... except fabric.

ali

I totally do not understand but would love to

ok been reading about useing frabicfor priting pic. do u have to treat the frabic

me too :shock:

You have to treat the fabric with Bubble Jet Set before you print on it. Then after you attach it to the adhesive sheet, you run it thru your printer and let it dry then iron it to set the ink.

Wow, what a fantastic idea! When I make an applique project, I print the pieces onto the back of the fusible web. I have to tape the fusible web to a piece of copy paper and then send it thru my copier. These post it thingys will make that sooooo much easier! Thanks for the tip!!!

This sounds really cool and I have seen some awesome fabric picture projects but have never done any yet and don't quite understand exactly how it is done...Question for anyone, can you print pics on fabric with a laserjet or only a bubblejet? Or is that the same thing as an inkjet? I only have a color laserjet.

Ok, I am lost. Not understanding what is been done here. You print pictures and labels on this paper and stick it to the quilt?

I am wondering the same thing!

You have to use the paper to give your material stability before running it through a ink jet printer or it will not go, then paper is removed, after all the preparation is done. You have to treat material before printing with bubble jet stuff, not sure. Someone with more knowledge can step up and take over now.

Good grief!! I would have thought they made a mistake in the price except the online Office Depot is so much cheaper. I will be calling the store today just to express my opinion. Can't return because I used every single one multiple times now.

Price of education comes high sometimes.

Update: I talked with the store mgr about the vast difference in price between $24.99 and $3.20. She looked up Walmart and yes it was $3.20. She gave me credit for the difference.

So what did I learn? I was totally reminded that one should always do their research BEFORE heading out to shop. Even the online price was better and all I would have had to do was tell them that before checking out. They do match local competitors' prices and their own online prices. I was the one at fault for not checking.

Thank you Rose L and MTS, you have made my day.

You should only use an inkjet printer. The inks are not the same in a laser printer or a color copier.

For those who asked, you treat a fabric with Bubble Jet Set (either regular or special formula just for Hewlett Packard printers). Each large bottle will treat about 40 to 50 approximately 9 x 12 inch rectangles of fabric. You can pour back into the bottle whatever you don't use at a time. I soak mine 15 minutes (co. says 5 min.) and drip dry. Press flat and let cool. Stick to something (freezer paper, removeable label sheet, LOL), cut to exactly 8.5 x 11 inches, making sure there is no lint or thread pieces, etc. Print your picture (which you have tweaked, adjusted, cropped to size or otherwise fixed in a photo editing program).

After complete drying, company says 30 minutes, (I wait a couple days because of the type of printer and climate I have), peel off whatever backing you have used, heat set or iron it well with dry iron, let it cool and then it must be agitated for a full minute in a gallon of distilled cold water with 4 capfuls of Bubble Jet Rinse, or a bit of Woolite or even a bit of fabric softener. I usually also add a bit of Retayne. Drip dry, do not wring, press smooth and cut the way you want. If you don't rinse, your photo ink will bleed heavily and fade drastically.

I use distilled water because I don't want the extra chlorine or minerals in the water. And I know some people who use Synthrapol instead of Retayne. Absolute best is an Epson printer that uses Durachrome or Durabrite inks, but Cannon printers work well too. Any printer with an L shaped or flat printing path will work better than one with a U shaped printing path. My printer uses Vivera inks and has a U shaped path ... not the best choice for printing on fabric, but great every other way.

And, in addition to all the above, for certain projects, I also spray the photo with fixative. This would not be for snuggly quilts, but for a wall hanging, art piece, tote bag, etc. Not anything that you would want to iron afterwards...just something you wanted to keep from fading a bit longer.

Keep your printed on fabric photos out of direct sunlight and don't wash too often. They won't last a hundred years, but will last a good while. We have some quilts going on 15 years now and being used and still the pictures are ok although fade more with each washing.

For fabric, you can use just about anything depending on the effect you want. If you use muslin, wash in hot water once or twice and press well first. Or use PFD fabric, or a smooth poplin, percale, sateen, etc. You want a high thread count for most pictures.

But, for an art effect, try printing on a tone on tone, canvas, pastel fabric, etc. Very cool effects...just for fun.

Check in that pricey office supply store (LOL), fabric stores, quilt shops, online at Printed Treasures, EQ Printables, etc. for sheets already prepared so all you have to do is print. There are some that come with a fusible back so you just print and fuse to a project. Many, many ways to go.

Have fun!

Did that cover all the questions?

Wow, thanks for a ton of useful information and tips about printing on fabric.
I never gave thought to half of it but I can see how it could improve my results.

Kudos to the OfficeDepot mgr who gave you credit. Didn't know they had a "match competitors' price" policy.

And I think I have to start paying more attention to WalMart (especially online).
It's not on my regular circuit of shops - store or online, but this was a real eye opener.
Thanks to RoseL for pointing me in that direction.

Great thread!

Thank you purrfectquilts for the excellent clarification. So happy that you were able to get credit for the labels too!

I am putting a thank you in writing to the manager along with a fabric postcard. I really did appreciate the credit!

This is all good to know. Thanks, Purrfectquilts for details (excellent that you got the price difference credit) and thanks, Rose L. for the Walmart price heads-up.

Awesome tutorial for those of us new to this! Thank-you for all the detailed information! Would love for you to show some pics of ones you have done or are working on!

$1.00 each is a very good price if they work!!! Thanks for the information....I'm off to get some after dinner.

Here are a few pictures of the ones I am doing now.

Great information. Thsnk you

Great information. Thank you

I Love how you did the stitching around the individual pictures! Almost makes them look like postcards which would be a cool thing to do with vacation/travel pictures! Really great quilt:) Whoever is getting that, is going to love it!

What a great tutorial for this project. Thank you so much!

I like Printed Treasures. I started using it a long time ago. The back paper came off very easy right away. Now it is a pain. Is there a trick to it?

Warm it with an iron again and it will come off easier.

Thank you for all of the good information. But how did you figure the Post It Notes?
I guess Necessity IS the Mother of Invention.

What printer are you using to print? My new printer jams when trying to print pictures on fabric and freezer paper