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 offer a calculation. However a
typical 10 m wide by 6 m backcloth costs £1,995 plus VAT. A
double sided printed cushion costs £35 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?
Our
equipment is optimised for 160 cm. Many fabrics are 140 cm
or 150cm wide.
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.
What
sort of fabrics can you print onto?
Many,
our textiles are made from either polyester or nylon yarns
and dyed white.
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 160 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. We do what can to colour match, but we live in the
early days of Colour Management, there are too many
variables that are uncontrolled.
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.
We use Adobe Photoshop CS2. For further info please
visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_file_formats
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 somehow "dpc" (Dots per Centimetre) hasn't
caught on!
What
Vector (graphic) file format is best to send
us?
A
layered Adobe Illustrator file. An eps file is fine. We
prefer not to use a PDF.
We use Adobe Illustrator CS2. For further info please
visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Illustrator_Artwork
Should
the file be in RGB or CMYK?
We
prefer files in RGB. 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. For further
info please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_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.
Please call us
on 01322 554455
