Inkjet printing on silk

[robbiethepainter]

I have recently experimenting on printing directly from my home printer directly to silk. It works beautifully. I don't know if I'm really late to something but I just thought I would share. Anyone else had luck with this?

 

[Batty]

Got any pics?

 

[robbiethepainter]

I'll get some posted tonight.

 

[robbiethepainter]

These are just quick patterns I pulled from the net and shopped together. The first is the fresh printed sheet. Details came out pretty good. This is a thin silk and probably will work better on a heavier silk but this was handy. I'll try and find some and give it a go. Keep in mind the printer Im using has ink that is not water soluble.

 

[Gruff Old Bear]

What is the printer you're using, and what is this silk that can be fed through a printer?

 

[robbiethepainter]

I have an Epson 2200, but I'm sure any ink jet will work. The good thing about mine is you can run heavier stock through it which makes loading easier. You can flip a lever and load one sheet at a time. The stuff I'm using isn't all that stick but it's the way I did it.

Ah getting it through, that's the trick. There is a material called Double tack. Its basically double sided tape in sheets. I took some card stock and stuck the double tack on it. Pulled off the other side and very carefully laid the silk down on top and smoothed it out. You have to get it completely flat or it will leave white spots in the print. You can see a little white slice in the green example.

I'm going to try other materials tomorrow. I think as long as the fabric absorbs it should work. I'm going to try white muslin next. I'll take some shots of everything I try. I'm really happy with the results of the silk.

 

[dchung]

This was the technique I used to make Marty McFly's paisley sleeves!

Dan

www.custom-figures.com/backtothefuture

 

[sunohc]

that's awesome! i wonder if you could make some really cool "faux" fabric for outfits with very hard to find material.

 

[**16k**]

That's awesome!

Maybe I could print a MWNN poncho with that method! Thanks for the tip!

 

[robbiethepainter]

ok here are some new tests. I did some on muslin and silk. Both came out pretty much the same, but have some differences in-hand. You can't tell the difference in photos so I didn't bother with different pictures. The silk has a sheen while the muslin remains flat. It all depends on the fabrics original surface. The colors shift so you have to test them but as a whole they came out pretty good. Im not getting black blacks, they are more a dark grey and the same goes for the colors. They are much darker then pastle but Im not getting rich jewel tones or saturated colors.
You can see that the really small square lost a lot of detail, bu the middle held pretty well. For the scale we work in and the cost, this is a very good solution for scaling fabric patterns. With a decent printer and some photoshop skills one can get a pretty good representation of scale movie fabrics.

The square sizes are roughly 1"x1", 2.5"x2.5", and 4.5"x4.5"

 

[Jessica]

You can use glue spray and just do this lightly to tack down your fabric onto your paper. That would avoid the white spots from the tape.

 

[eczamurai]

how would a Joker tie/shirt pattern look on the material scaled to 1/6?

 

[robbiethepainter]

I think it might work ok. The pattern is small but you might have success. Worth a shot.

 

[BlindVoyeur]

They do work, but the big issue you have with this process is handling and sewing the fabric later. The ink doesn't set into the fabric very well and you end up with black fingers and your project getting smeared and dirty. Plus if it you get it wet or damp at all, it turns into something the greatful dead would wear.

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[robbiethepainter]

not if you use an EPSON printer. I have run mine under the tap and the color stayed true.

 

[FlyAndFight]

This has some amazing possibilities!

 

[robbiethepainter]

found this pic. don't know if its accurate of not but it looks good.

 

[duck of death]

Second the recommendation for Epson printers and ink. My Epson RX595 uses Claria ink and prints great on cloth with no smudging (either fresh out of the printer or after getting wet), color-loss, or loss of detail, even with the smallest pattern.

The color ink is pretty expensive, but the high-capacity cartridges (printer uses a total of six: five color and one black) last a really long time even when the ink is supposedly about to run out.

 

[robbiethepainter]

I have an EPSON 2200 that I have had for 6 years now and I use it for all sorts of weird projects. Its a frickn tank. Couldn't beat it with a stick.

 

[BlindVoyeur]

Hmm. Stay away from HP printers then cause they are hell for this.