Has anyone tried printing on fabric?

[MightyMegs]

I've been wondering how difficult it would be to reproduce one of the Mego's with silk-screened outfits... like Spider-Man or Joker. I found this tutorial using freeze paper and a regular bubble jet printer.
http://h71036.www7.hp.com/hho/cache/...0-225-121.html
Has anyone here tried this method?

[M3G0M4V3R1CK]

now that i have a tutorial i shall try it out ill let you no if any luck

[Edgaar]

I've printed on fabric, both Walmart and Craft stores sell fabric that is already on a paper backing and made for this - the end result isn;t too bad.

[Merlyn1976]

Misread the title....

[AAAAA]

There are packaged fabric printing programs sets out there with all the things you need to print irons for fabrics

[jessica]

I believe AlmightySuffix, a member here, has printed on fabric.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

Silkscreening is pretty easy to do (so I've been told) so it would definitely be possible to do old-school style costumes. Might take a while, doing the breakdowns and layers; especially if you draw your own.

I've seen it done by computer too; with printable fabric, and people printing transfers that are later applied to fabric. There were a few folks around here doing this, but I can't remember who....

Don C.

[jasonmego1277]

I Believe That Reproheads uses Dye Sublimation which is similiar, and from what I hear their suits come out great.

[almitysufx]

I print on fabric all of the time, but there are a few things to know. The main concern when printing on cloth is what ink you use. Almost every company uses a water based ink. Epson inks are alcohol based. if you use a water based ink and your costume gets wet it's ruined. don't spill a drink,try to wipe them with a damp cloth,heck, don't even accidentally sneeze in their general direction.
I sell my customs and the last thing I want to hear is that someone paid X$amount for a custom, got a smudge on it, tried to clean it and half the suit came off.
Epson inks are far safer near the old H2O due to their alcohol base. there may be other companies that also offer alcohol based inks, i don't know.
I guess the other big thing would be, being able to line up what you print so that you can run it through the printer multiple times. Ive run some patterns through the printer up to 4 times to get it dark enough and if things don't line up it's trash.
One last thing, I use thin card stock as a backer for the cloth, its stiffer than wax paper and its the perfect size for a printer.

Austin (reproheads) does indeed use Dye Sublimation which I believe is an even better process than what I do but I think you have to invest a few $$$ in equipment.

Either way, good luck

[megowgsh]

Yes, I use the dye sub method and it is fabulous. The Morbius I just posted in finished customs uses this technique.

And yes it is a big investment.

[Megotu]

I wonder if the Kodak 5300 would also work. It also doesn't use water based inks.

[almitysufx]

Megotu, It's worth an attempt.