readerquilter

I was asked to help make a memory photo block quilt for a retiring teacher and said yes I would along with 2 other friends. I informed the person who asked us to do it that the photos needed to be printed on photo transfer fabric sheets which she purchased and I also told her she had to print them using an ink jet printer. She took care of getting photos on sheets and sent them to us and we started assembling the quilt blocks but discovered that we had some black marks on backing fabric as we were doing the Fun and Done blocks. I worried about it and then finally called the person who printed the photos and she told me she printed them using a laser printer not an ink-jet printer (she really didn't know the difference, she said). We have 22 blocks done and now this problem. Is there any way to rescue the blocks and get rid of the black toner that is coming off the pictures onto the fabric? I called the company that makes the fabric sheets (June Taylor) and they could not give me any help except to rinse the block in cold water and try to get rid of toner marks but when we did this on only one block the lettering and pictures are fading away. Guess this is what happens when too many quilters get involved in a project. Would appreciate any insight into possible solutions.

Prism99

I would try heat-setting a photo and see if that helps. Found this article:
http://cqmagonline.com/vol04iss02/ar...37/index.shtml

Another thread I found says that it's possible to print photos on a laser printer, but *not* if you use inkjet transfer paper. Here is a link to that thread:
http://theqec.org/232/can-i-use-a-la...ting-on-fabric

dunster

What a shame. The link that Prism found on not using the laser printer with the inkjet paper sounds quite authoritative. The person who did the printing probably feels awful, and your group has wasted time and materials. The best thing to do is probably to scrap what is done, try to salvage any fabric that can be used again (unsew it if necessary) and start over. So sorry.

LadyElisabeth

I use Printed Treasures with an Epson printer with DURABRITE ink. The photos are durable and I have washed the quilts and clothes frequently with NO fading. The printers are under $70 and sometimes $59 on sale and use seperate color cartridges. YES, they do sell more expensive models but mine works great. I've printed hundreds of photos.

ckcowl

were the blocks heat set after they dried???? even with a laser printer the ink needs to be heat set- if it is not it will rinse out-
the reason for not using a laser printer is due to them getting hot- jamming- other issues like that-not because the ink is not as permenent-
it does make a difference if good (type/brand) cartridges are used as opposed to refills- generic cartridges.
as for the (bleeding?) that is probably from handling them before they were heat set.
many of those transfer sheets are made for wall hangings- not for used quilts that will be laundered.
if you have some pictures that are not too (marred) i would heat set the pictures=then try to remove the excess dye by rinsing. unfortunately it sounds as if you may have to start over. i have had much better luck printing on muslin (pre=washed- no fabric softener) pressed to freezer paper & ran through my printer- i then set them aside for 24 hours for them to 'cure' dry then heat set- the quilts have faded a little over the years- but are still quite nice 5-6 years later.
sorry for your plight- good luck.

BalserMaryAnn

I am making a photo quilt right now. I used Crafters images photo fabric and our ink jet printer with color catridge 31 which is for better color for photos. I followed the directions on the package then when all ink was dry and heat set I took fray check and sealed each print. I went to plunbing department and got the disposalable brushes that they use to put the acid on pipes to solder. There was 4or 5 in a package. I just very quickly give them a quick coat, then left them to dry. Hopefully this will seal all the color.

Gail B

I hadn't heard of sealing the photos with fray check. I'll try that on my next memory quilt. Have any of you quilters used Bubble Jet Set when you use muslin for the photos?

nativetexan

look at bryerpatch.com for more info on this. i'd take the blks apart and re-do the photos correctly.