Fabric Printing

This is really interesting! I will defiantly give this a go, I didn't even know it was possible, thanks :]

can it be a colour image?

can i do this and with other colours except black?will be succesful??

This is totally cool!! Is it washable? I've been wanting to print stuff on T-shirts as cheaply as possible, but I'd have to be able to wash them.

I tried it with nail polish remover, but i didn't work. should I try it with terpentine too?

did you just print the image on A4 copy paper? or t-shirt transfer sheet?

How would you do this with a comic that had words?

i've been meaning to do some fabric printing for quite some time now except i didn't want to pay the $15 or so for the iron ons - i'm so happy i have an alternative!

This is awesome, thanX for posting!

But I have a question: does it work for coloured images too?

cccccccccccccooooooooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllll im gonna make a cool bag rite now

Art stores mostly but hardware/DIY stores should have it too.

Where can I get Turpentine?

I totally want to do this!

I totally want to do this!

Hey Cat!
Just joined this FABULOUS site because of all the cool stuff you have shared! Can't wait to get started tomorrow! Thanks!

I knew this was possible, but was not sure which chemical (turpentine, white spirit, etc) to use.
And it's washable!

Citra-Solv is a cleaner (available at Whole Foods) that also works for this kind of transfer and it is natural and non-toxic.

Ooh! that's Vamperella! Also, excellent project! I'm most definitley going to try it :]

I've got distilled turpentine.
Is that the same thing?

Im under 16, can I buy turpentine ?

Have you tried just irning on the back of the Laserprint / copy.
Laserprinters work by melting a black powder(toner) on to the paper.
(for this reason wash your projekt with a cool wash)
Ironing the ink off a print on to somting else is used by electonics freaks to make printed circuit boards.
DO NOT Iron with Turps, (nasty fumes and fire danger)
Please also remember that turps in cloth kan spontaniuosly ignite if left 'bundled together' I can think of at least 2 major fires started this way. always wash the turps out or spread the cloth out to evaporate a well ventilated and fire safe place.
Å&F
Warholm.

i once taught a bunch of fashion students how to do this... i have found for best results use cellulose thinners... you can get a small jar for about £1.50 and a little goes a long way!

This tutorial is cool. I've been using a method like this for a while so I'm quite practised at it now. So here are some things to remember, which I found out:

1- You want to press quite hard whilst rubbing, but also make sure that you don't press too hard and break the paper because you may want to go over the picture again.

2- Do a test piece first to make sure that your image looks good on the desired fabric etc.

3- Nail varnish remover also works (thanks Gab!)

4- colour images work too, but if your design is going to be left quite faint you might want to use colours that contrast well. i used black red and white.

5- use normal printer paper, any thicker and it'd be harder to transfer. the print out will not be able to be used again.

6-the image should be fixed on and will not wash off- just to be safe wash inside out and also iron inside out!

7- HAVE FUN!!!

I did it three times, each lasting 5 minutes, but it should start to appear clearly and quite dark after the first rub.

how many times did you go through step 3 until it was as dark as in the tutorial? because I did it a 4 times and it isn't dark yet :s perhaps I have the printer :s

You need a printer that heavily layers the ink, meaning that there's ink to rub off - that's why photo copies work well. Posh new printers use minimum ink when printing, so you're not left with lots to rub off.

So I could print this out of my home printer or would I have to go to a store like staples or kinkos to get the right sort of ink?

Yeah, you do have to flip the image before you print it.

Yeah, it would work on coloured fabric.

Turpentine is available from most art and hardware stores.

It was a lazer colour print of colour photocopy then it would work. And yeah, it should work if it is an old print.

The turpentine didn't have much of an effect on the fabric however you could wash it. The ink would stay on fine. I don't think it would work with colour but you could go over it with coloured fabric pens.

To drink, yes. But it's relatively safe to use. They wouldn't sell it if it wasn't. Just make sure to use it in a well ventilated area.

Not at all.

Yeah you can use any image on most fabric I would think. Lazer printers are quite old.. they make the ink really thick and you can feel it if you touch the paper. Any doubts just make a photocopy of the image.

Hmm.. when I used turpentine it was kind of faint the first time I did it so I just kept repeating the process until is was as dark as I wanted it to be. If that doesn't work then maybe the paint thinner isn't right. It's best to use a solution that contains methylene chloride. I'm sorry it didn't turn out but I hope that helps. x

You print out the image using an ink jet printer or get a photocopy and then using the turpentine print it on to the fabric. It wont wash off because it's permanent.