[comp.graphics] Printing on fabrics - how?

steve@bass.cc.utas.edu.au (Steve Andrewartha) (06/14/91)

I'm interested in getting colour images from machine to fabric
(linen, cotton, whatever). Are there any colour printers out there
that can be used to either print straight onto the fabric, or at
least create a transfer that could be ironed on? I have heard of
"underwear ribbons" for dot-matrix printers, but never been able to
track one down. Do they exist? Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
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Steve Andrewartha,                 Phone : (002) 202811 (work)
University of Tasmania,                    (002) 391283 (home)
Box 252C, GPO, HOBART,             Email : steve@bass.cc.utas.edu.au
TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA. 7001.

swatko@airbag.enet.dec.com (Mike Swatko) (06/17/91)

--
In article <steve.676878548@bass>, steve@bass.cc.utas.edu.au (Steve Andrewartha) writes:
>I'm interested in getting colour images from machine to fabric
>(linen, cotton, whatever). Are there any colour printers out there
>that can be used to either print straight onto the fabric, or at
>least create a transfer that could be ironed on? I have heard of
>"underwear ribbons" for dot-matrix printers, but never been able to
>track one down. Do they exist? Any help greatly appreciated.

I have heard that there are t-shirt transfer kits that are used in the
following way.  Starting with a color hardcopy (photo, printout, etc),
go to a copy shop and get a color photocopy made.  The t-shirt transfer
material is then used on the photocopy - it picks up the "ink" from the
photocopy and then you transfer it to your shirt, probably by ironing
it on or something.  I've never actually seen or tried it.

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Mike Swatko                             !  swatko@airbag.dec.com
Digital Equipment Corporation           !  swatko@airbag.enet.dec.com
Corporate User Publications Engineering !  swatko%airbag@decwrl.dec.com
Nashua, New Hampshire                   !  ...!decwrl!airbag.enet!swatko
===========================================================================

uselton@nas.nasa.gov (Samuel P. Uselton) (06/18/91)

In article <23571@shlump.lkg.dec.com> swatko@airbag.enet.dec.com (Mike Swatko) writes:
>--
>In article <steve.676878548@bass>, steve@bass.cc.utas.edu.au (Steve Andrewartha) writes:
>>I'm interested in getting colour images from machine to fabric
>>(linen, cotton, whatever). Are there any colour printers out there
>>that can be used to either print straight onto the fabric, or at
>>least create a transfer that could be ironed on? I have heard of
>>"underwear ribbons" for dot-matrix printers, but never been able to
>>track one down. Do they exist? Any help greatly appreciated.
>
>I have heard that there are t-shirt transfer kits that are used in the
>following way.  Starting with a color hardcopy (photo, printout, etc),
>go to a copy shop and get a color photocopy made.  The t-shirt transfer
>material is then used on the photocopy - it picks up the "ink" from the
>photocopy and then you transfer it to your shirt, probably by ironing
>it on or something.  I've never actually seen or tried it.
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Mike Swatko                             !  swatko@airbag.dec.com
>Digital Equipment Corporation           !  swatko@airbag.enet.dec.com
>Corporate User Publications Engineering !  swatko%airbag@decwrl.dec.com
>Nashua, New Hampshire                   !  ...!decwrl!airbag.enet!swatko
>===========================================================================

I first used this process in the late 1970's - I'm sure it is better now.
Basically, there is a special t-shirt transfer thing that can go through
the copier feed.  (Finding this, or a copy shop that has it, is the hard part.)
You generally make a copy of the original onto a transparency, then flip
the transparency and copy the flipped image (with a backing sheet or background
if desired) onto the transfer.  The transfer, when ironed onto the t-shirt,
re-flips the image back to original orientation.

It was fairly expensive then, because color copiers were rare beasts and
both the transparency and the transfer were non-standard too.  We did it
to make t-shirts for my Dad as gifts.

Sam Uselton		uselton@nas.nasa.gov
employed by CSC		working for NASA (Ames) 	speaking for myself

mpogue@applelink.apple.com (Mike Pogue) (06/21/91)

References:<steve.676878548@bass> <23571@shlump.lkg.dec.com> <1991Jun18.164152.9096@nas.nasa.gov>

There are two methods that I have tried:
   1) Use a "transfer glue" on a photocopy to pick up the image (along 
with some paper)
            and glue it to the T-shirt.  There is an alternate method 
which also works, involving
            using the glue to make a sort-of decal, that can be glued onto 
a T-shirt.  However,
            the decal also has a thin paper background, and so appears 
white on the T-shirt.
            Both methods have high detail, and work with B/W and color 
photocopies (and
            according to the bottle, also works on Christmas cards, etc.).
   2) There is a company called Black Lightning, that makes a fusible 
transfer toner for 
            laser printers, in Black, Red, Blue, Green, among other 
colors.  Load the toner
            cartridge into your favorite laser printer, send your bitmap 
out (reversed), and
            iron the paper onto your T-shirt.  The colors appear upon 
ironing.  Saturation is good,
            but the method really works best on polyester T-shirts (also 
there is spray-on gook
            that you can buy for 100% cotton T-shirts.)

Speaking for myself alone....