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In this column we are going to make an attempt at explaining the differences between Textile Fabrics and Ink Jet Fabrics. It is very important to know the differences between the two fabrics. Hopefully this column will help you create brighter images that will last for many years. Textile Fabrics Textile Fabrics are fabrics that are around your home that was not printed with ink jet technology. It is the clothes you wear, the dish towels, the bed sheets and almost any fabric you see with prints on them. However, it is a different type of ink and technology that created those vivid images. Textile printers are extremely large and use a special ink to withstand the harsh environment we put our fabrics through. Most textile inks have some form of UV shield in the formula to resist fading in UV light. They are very durable and can withstand repetitive washings with harsh soaps. The negative side to textile inks is home users cannot print fabrics because of the cost and size of textile printers. So this has lead us to create a new way to print on fabric. Ink Jet Fabric Ink Jet Fabric printing is the easiest most convenient way to print on fabric. Thanks to the Bubble Jet Set 2000 formula this has opened the door for many crafters and quilters around the world. However, Ink Jet printing has not developed into the great results that textile printing has accomplished. In comparison. Ink Jet printing is only a good 10 years old while textile fabric printing is over a 100 years old. As a results, there are a few things that we must understand about Ink Jet Fabric printing. First, we must realize that without some special treatment (like the Bubble Jet Set 2000) the ink that prints on your fabric will not create permanent images. It will simply vanish as soon as you wash the fabric. Also, there is another missing element in ink jet printers. Most Ink Jet inks will not protect your image from UV rays. So you ask the question "why did they leave these important elements out of the ink?" The problem is in the ink jet printing technology. In order to create detailed images the print nozzles must be smaller than the point of a straight pen. When you add the missing pigments to the inks you increase the size of the droplets of ink. These will clog the print head and the printer will not print. If you increase the size of the print head nozzles, you will not be able to produce the detailed images you love so much. As a result, we will learn the best way to care for our Ink Jet Fabrics. We will first explore and learn the correct way to print your ink jet fabrics. Next, we will understand how you should wash your printed images. Finally, we will learn how you should store or care for your finished projects. Step1 : How To print Ink Jet Fabrics Correctly For this article I am going to assume you are using pretreated fabric sheets such as the Miracle Fabric Sheets. Print on your fabric sheets at the best quality and with the most ink the printer will allow. This will create sharp and vivid printed images. Some printers have an advance setting that allows you to put more ink on the fabric. However, if your printer does not allow more ink output then make sure your setting is on a heavy weight paper. Once you print on your fabric allow to dry atleast 30 minutes. Some companies will not print this on their package but all ink jet inks use a form of alcohol or isopropyl to speed up drying time in their inks. It will evaporate extremely fast drying the ink as it diminishes. However, when this ink is applied to fabric the drying time is increased as the pours of the fabric are not as tight as paper. At this point your printed image on the fabric looks bright and vivid. Some fabric manufactures suggest you sew your image at this point. However, because you printed your image on top of the fabric atleast 5% of the ink remains on top. If you do not remove this loose ink your image will bleed or look extremely faded the first time you wash the fabric. As a result, you must wash with a mild detergent such as woolite, orvus soap, sythrapol or Bubble Jet Rinse to remove the loose inks. Cold water alone will not remove the loose ink. The Bubble Jet Rinse was designed to perform this task while leaving you the brightest image possible. Simply lay flat on a towel and when the fabric dries you will have a permanent image. Step 2: How Should you wash your printed fabrics? It is important to know that fabrics printed with ink jet printers are not as durable as textile fabrics. This is very important to understand to achieve longevity from memory quilts, printed pillows and other fabrics created with ink jet technology. You should always wash your images with a mild detergent in cold water on a delicate cycle. Most detergents are harsh and may cause your image to fade faster than necessary. There are many products on the market you can use such as Orvus sop, synthrapol, Woolite and our on Bubble Jet Rinse. The Bubble Jet Rinse will give you the best results because it will not react to the colors in ink jet printers. However, it is important to know that the image will fade after each washing. This is no difference in textile fabrics such as sweaters, blue jeans or you favorite T-shirt. Step 3: How should I store or care for my fabrics? The most important step in caring for your items is to keep the image directly out of the sunlight. Most ink jet inks are not shielded from UV rays and will fade badly if exposed to long periods of sunlight. In most cases you will see significant fading with direct exposure within a few weeks. As a result, it is important to keep those quilts stored in a dark room when not in use. In addition, florescent lights and basic room light will cause your image to fade but it will take many years before you notice any change. The results will vary because there are thousands of unique inks for each brand of printer. However, for the most part if you keep the image out of the sunlight and store away from any light when not in use you will get many years out of your printed image. Written for Jerome's Column email:
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