Print fabric - Make money!

Whether you teach your customers how to print their own fabric, or you print it for them, there’s money to be made for your store. Creative customers will jump at the chance to design their own fabrics and use treasured photos to create memorable keepsakes.

Equipment
All that’s needed is an inkjet (not laser) printer, copier or all-in-one machine -- the prepared fabric feeds through the printer path just like paper. Anything that’s put on the bed of the all-in-one or copier is reproduced on the fabric.

For added options, such as photo manipulation, special effects, color alteration, adding text etc., add a computer with a basic graphics program, and you’re good to go.

Fabric
Printable fabrics must be a natural-fiber such as cotton, silk or linen, and they must be chemically treated to accept and retain the ink. Several companies make ready-to-print fabrics, including Color Textiles, Jacquard Products, Printed Treasures, Electric Quilt, June Tailor, The Vintage Workshop and Blumenthal Lansing. These white and off-white printables are available in 8 1/2" x 11" sheets (some companies offer larger sheets and rolls) and are pre-backed with paper or thin plastic to allow them to feed through the printer without jamming.

For make-your-own fabrics, C. Jenkins offers Bubble Jet Set, a chemical used to soak yardage resulting in the same dye affinity as the ready-mades. Using this chemical allows the consumer to print on any natural-fiber fabric no matter what color or pattern, opening up many artistic options. After soaking and drying, the fabric must be backed with freezer paper or adhesive labels as a carrier for the printer.

Images
Many of your customers will want to use their own photos for printing, and memory quilts are the #1 project in fabric printing popularity. Techno-savvy customers will alter, crop and correct colors, etc. on their own imagery, but those techno-phobes may depend on you or your staff for help, or at least a referral to someone who can help. Having someone on your staff who is knowledgeable about photo work is helpful if you plan to offer printing services in-house.

Other printable options include CDs of images pre-sized for printing. The Vintage Workshop, ScrapSmart, Blumenthal Lansing and Dover Publications all sell a variety of image CDs. Some offer editable images as well, but consumers love the pre-sized options so they can just click and print.

Classes/Services
As a shop owner, there is a huge opportunity for fabric printing classes and people love to learn. From the basics to more advanced techniques such as scanning and photo manipulation, a knowledgeable teacher and basic equipment is all you need to get started. Once customers learn the basics, your printable fabrics, CDs and lots of other associated product will fly out the door.

If classes aren’t your thing, consider setting up a printing service in your store so you can print customer images for a fee. Establish a cost per fabric sheet and/or an hourly charge for photo work.

For help in setting up a technology center in your store, Joe Hesch (www.joehesch.com), former marketing education manager at Hewlett Packard, now works with stores and offers staff training for setting up printing services.

So stock your shelves with information, printing supplies and books, and join the fun!

All photos in this article are courtesy of Krause Publications. Used with permission from Krause Publications, publisher of Print Your Own Fabric by Linda Turner Griepentrog and Missy Shepler, 1-800-258-0929; www.krausebooks.com.

Reprinted from SQE Professional, March 2007