Check your printer manual for suggested settings to be used for print quality, paper layout, and advanced features.  We have listed three different makes of inkjet printers below, but you are not limited to these three.  Their printing abilities all vary somewhat, and each one has something special to help get the best results.  One thing that they all have in common is that “plain paper” setting should be selected for paper type; as this produces the best results on all three machines. 

• Canon Pixima Printers give you the best results when printing photos onto fabric.
• Hewlett-Packard Printers use Vivera Inks will generate the most brilliant and pure colors in printing.
• Epson Printers use archival ink, which has both high UV (helps with fading) and high water resistance.
  
  

Fabric Sheets, commercial or homemade:
Many brands of pretreated fabric are available in the market today. Pretreated fabric sheets come in various sizes:

• 8-1/2” x 11”, 8-1/2” x 14”, 11” x 17” and even 13 “ X 19”
  (the last two sizes would require a special printer)
• You can also purchase fabric on rolls that are either 8-1/2” or 13” wide. 
• You can purchase pretreated sheets in a variety of fibers, such as cotton, silks, linens and much more.  You can also get sample packs, which will give you an opportunity to try different textures.
• Three types of fabrics are available: sewable, fusible, and self-adhesive.

If you want to be adventurous, try preparing your own fabric. C. Jenkins Necktie & Chemical Company has created Bubble Jet 2000 and a kit that helps you get started with this process.  It includes 1 bottle of Bubble Jet Set 2000, 2 Yards of 44 inch, 200 thread count white cotton fabric, 50 sheets of their award winning 8.5 z 11 Freezer Paper sheets and 1 bottle of their Bubble Jet Rinse.

Most of the manufacturers of fabric sheets provide excellent instructions and helpful hints for printing on pre-treated fabrics.  Fabric care is usually very helpful for properly preserving your fabrics.

Visit our STORE  for the purchase of pre-treated sheets and other products on the market.

Printing your digital designs with an outside source through the Internet:
This is the latest craze for fabric lovers. Affordable digital fabric printing over the internet makes everyone a fabric designer. It's really pretty amazing seeing your swatch of fabric you designed, replicated into yards of fabric.

There are differences between the two processes; with pretreated fabrics the chemicals are in the fabric, where as most of the online services use are soluble pigment inks which require heat settting after the inks are applied to the fabrics.

The results differ between the two proceses. The fabric sheets produce more vibrant colors and great blacks, whereas the pigment inks produce great pastels and muted colorations. Color matching information is available through the different companies that print fabric. Fabric, price, file format and turn around time differ for each company.

I have included a link to a study done by Trueup.net in August 2009 which focuses on a Guide to Digital Fabric Printing. Trueup reviewed four different online companies that print fabric. The study gives you information on each company in regards to fabric types, file size and types excepted, pricing and a link to each of the four different companies. You will want to checkout each company for latest pricing information.

Design It Just Sew is an Excercises in Fabric Design and Sewing using Fabric Studio™ Software. Fresh FACS Publishing has put together a comprehensive, easy-to-use resource with emphasis on creating orginal fabric designs. Using Fabric Studio™, a computer and Design It Just Sew manual, anyone can create original fabric designs that can then be transferred to fabric and stitched into unique and original sewing projects. A great educational tool for teachers to use!

For more information on purchasing this product visit the website at www.freshfacs.com.