100 Details in 100 Days: Day 18

Printing on fabric.

I love to create my own silk prints using Bubble Jet Set 2000 and my inkjet printer. BJS2000 is designed for use with silk and cotton, but I have also used it successfully with rayon. Printing on smooth fabrics, like habotai, will allow for more precise detail. Textured fabrics, like dupioni, give a more vintage look, because the slubs change the quality of the print. Maureen Greeson suggested silk pongee, and I bought some from her but I have not actually tried it yet.

I tend to print on fabric in spurts and I tend to do it in batches. I soak a bunch of fiber in BJS2000 at once, set it out to dry, iron it, then cut it to size and mount it onto freezer paper. I have a 8.5" by 11" template for cutting the fabric and freezer paper to size for the printer. The letter sized template and rotary cutter are indispensable if you are printing a bunch of motifs.

I use both Epson and HP Ink Jet Printers. I tend to prefer the HP, because it uses less ink. The irony there is that I used to be a complete Epson devotee! I still use my Epson photo printer and I now have their wide format printer, but can not find ink for it anywhere locally and have not had the courage to send off for any. The wide format printer can handle a maximum of 17" x 22."

I use a photo editing software to set up a letter sized page and add as many images as will fit comfortably. My first efforts were too crowded, because I was overly frugal. I also discovered a trick for printing a single small image. I print the image on regular paper, then tape a piece of fabric treated with BJS2000 directly over the image with packaging tape, and then run it back through the printer. This time the image prints directly on to the fabric, with very little waste or trouble. I was shocked the first time that I tried this method and it worked.

I also learned that even though the directions for BJS2000 recommend using all the treated fabric within a few days of treating it, I have used treated fabric that was stored for nearly a year with excellent results. Of course, your mileage my vary.

Do not forget that your print is not ready to use until you have washed it in BJS rinse or synthrapol. You need to disperse any ink that did not bind with the fabric. The rinse usually turns pink, since reds tend to slough off.