frequently asked questions
How much will my print cost?
With so many variables in the final product we do need the details of your project to provide a quotation. However a typical 10 m wide by 6 m Microfibre backcloth with web and ties to the top and conduit pocket to base costs £2,100 plus VAT.
How do you print the fabric?
Using our digital printer, we print the image onto dye sublimation paper then transfer the image to the textile in our rotary calender.
How big can we make things?
As large as you like.To date, the largest backcloth we have made is 24 m wide by 8 m high.
How small can we make things?
Our equipment is suited to items larger then 10 cm square.
How wide can you go without seams?
Typically 3m, although some fabrics can be printed to 3.1m.
What sort of seams do you offer?
We can make drapery up with a plain seam (a seam with two seam allowances to the rear [which can be trimmed back to 2/3 mm]) or we can overlap the join and top-stitch the fabrics together. Seams can either be horizontal or vertical. We also offer a welded join on our Seam-Less™ Microfibre.
What sort of fabrics can you print onto?
Many, our textiles are made from either polyester or nylon yarns and dyed white. Visit our dye-sub page for more details.
Can I give you my own fabric to print on?
Yes, provided it passes a usability test first. Practical widths of textiles range between 60 cm and 300 cm.
Can you print onto dark fabrics?
No. We must print onto white or light colours. If you require white lettering say on a black background, we print the black background leaving the lettering white.
Are your fabrics flame-retardant?
Many are. Please ensure you have requested this feature in your specifications.
Are your fabrics waterproof?
Polyester and nylon yarns do not absorb anywhere near as much water as cotton but we do offer some textiles that have a showerproof coating on one side.
Are the colours I see on my screen exactly the same as the printed textile?
Probably not, however if requested we can produce a test print.
Can you print Spot Colours
No, the digital printer is a four colour machine. Please alter your artwork from spot colour to RGB or CMYK values. If we try to print spot colours the results are unpredictable!
What BitMap (photo) file format is best to send us?
A layered Adobe Photoshop file. If we have this style of file it means we can do requested alterations to the file more easily, without having to go back and forth.
A layered or flat TIFF is another good format to work with.
A JPEG/JPG is good, but as it is a "LOSSY" format the quality of image may be inferior. "LOSSY" means that it loses detail every time it is saved.
What is the best dpi?
First, forget the fiqures that Photographic Books and Magazines bash on about ie. 300 dpi - that's great for high quality paper output but irrelevant to textiles.
For textiles, figures of 1 to 150 dpi is good. Anything over 150 dpi is likely to be wasted; it's simply impossible to see.
What on earth is dpi and why should I care?
dpi stands for "Dots Per Inch". It means in any particular image, what quantity of "Dots" (Pixels) get spread across the output (print or screen) per inch.
The quantity of Pixels construes to form a particular quality.
The quantity needed for a nice looking ( good quality) cushion is in the region of 100 dpi but a backcloth can look great with a dpi of 25.
So an image used to produce 10 m by 6 m backcloth should have ideally 10,000 by 6,000 pixels.
I only have a small image - will it look good?
Maybe. Generally the bigger the image the better it will look. However, please don't be tempted to add pixels in Photoshop by forcing a resample, just send us the image as it is.
I thought we were using metric measurments?
Yes, we prefer metric dimensions but "dpc" (Dots per Centimetre) hasn't caught on!
What Vector (graphic) file format is best to send us?
An Adobe Illustrator file. An eps file is fine. If using a PDF please save it as a version 1.4 or Reader 5 compatible. Please make sure artwork does not contain spot colours.
Should the file be in RGB or CMYK?
We prefer files in RGB however our large format printing software handles files in either colour space.
Should the file have a colour profile?
Yes please. The originating device should have a colour profile. Colours will vary without a profile.
I have a real piece of artwork, can you print a copy?
Yes, we can scan artwork. There is normally a charge for this service.
Any Copyright issues must be resolved prior to any work commencing.
How much will my print cost?
With so many variables in the final product we do need the details of your project to provide a quotation. However a typical 10 m wide by 6 m Microfibre backcloth with web and ties to the top and conduit pocket to base costs £2,100 plus VAT.
How do you print the fabric?
Using our digital printer, we print the image onto dye sublimation paper then transfer the image to the textile in our rotary calender.
How big can we make things?
As large as you like.To date, the largest backcloth we have made is 24 m wide by 8 m high.
How small can we make things?
Our equipment is suited to items larger then 10 cm square.
How wide can you go without seams?
Typically 3m, although some fabrics can be printed to 3.1m.
What sort of seams do you offer?
We can make drapery up with a plain seam (a seam with two seam allowances to the rear [which can be trimmed back to 2/3 mm]) or we can overlap the join and top-stitch the fabrics together. Seams can either be horizontal or vertical. We also offer a welded join on our Seam-Less™ Microfibre.
What sort of fabrics can you print onto?
Many, our textiles are made from either polyester or nylon yarns and dyed white. Visit our dye-sub page for more details.
Can I give you my own fabric to print on?
Yes, provided it passes a usability test first. Practical widths of textiles range between 60 cm and 300 cm.
Can you print onto dark fabrics?
No. We must print onto white or light colours. If you require white lettering say on a black background, we print the black background leaving the lettering white.
Are your fabrics flame-retardant?
Many are. Please ensure you have requested this feature in your specifications.
Are your fabrics waterproof?
Polyester and nylon yarns do not absorb anywhere near as much water as cotton but we do offer some textiles that have a showerproof coating on one side.
Are the colours I see on my screen exactly the same as the printed textile?
Probably not, however if requested we can produce a test print.
Can you print Spot Colours
No, the digital printer is a four colour machine. Please alter your artwork from spot colour to RGB or CMYK values. If we try to print spot colours the results are unpredictable!
What BitMap (photo) file format is best to send us?
A layered Adobe Photoshop file. If we have this style of file it means we can do requested alterations to the file more easily, without having to go back and forth.
A layered or flat TIFF is another good format to work with.
A JPEG/JPG is good, but as it is a "LOSSY" format the quality of image may be inferior. "LOSSY" means that it loses detail every time it is saved.
What is the best dpi?
First, forget the fiqures that Photographic Books and Magazines bash on about ie. 300 dpi - that's great for high quality paper output but irrelevant to textiles.
For textiles, figures of 1 to 150 dpi is good. Anything over 150 dpi is likely to be wasted; it's simply impossible to see.
What on earth is dpi and why should I care?
dpi stands for "Dots Per Inch". It means in any particular image, what quantity of "Dots" (Pixels) get spread across the output (print or screen) per inch.
The quantity of Pixels construes to form a particular quality.
The quantity needed for a nice looking ( good quality) cushion is in the region of 100 dpi but a backcloth can look great with a dpi of 25.
So an image used to produce 10 m by 6 m backcloth should have ideally 10,000 by 6,000 pixels.
I only have a small image - will it look good?
Maybe. Generally the bigger the image the better it will look. However, please don't be tempted to add pixels in Photoshop by forcing a resample, just send us the image as it is.
I thought we were using metric measurments?
Yes, we prefer metric dimensions but "dpc" (Dots per Centimetre) hasn't caught on!
What Vector (graphic) file format is best to send us?
An Adobe Illustrator file. An eps file is fine. If using a PDF please save it as a version 1.4 or Reader 5 compatible. Please make sure artwork does not contain spot colours.
Should the file be in RGB or CMYK?
We prefer files in RGB however our large format printing software handles files in either colour space.
Should the file have a colour profile?
Yes please. The originating device should have a colour profile. Colours will vary without a profile.
I have a real piece of artwork, can you print a copy?
Yes, we can scan artwork. There is normally a charge for this service.
Any Copyright issues must be resolved prior to any work commencing.
