Using Bubble Jet Set to make
photo transfer fabric
 Making
your own Photo Transfer fabric for use in an inkjet printer, is time
consuming but more economical than commercially
prepared sheets if you are doing a large amount. One bottle of
Bubble Jet Set and Bubble Jet Rinse will prepare 40 - 60 fabric sheets
for printing. Use quality fabric (choose 200 thread count pima
cotton or PFD muslin) adhered to a stabilizing foundation so it won't jam
in
your printer. You can also make Peel-n-stick labels. (see
below)
We recommend Epson inkjet printers, which use archival ink. Most Hewlett-Packard inkjet printers will work,
but be aware that HP has currently
released some new printers which can only achieve a 50% permanency rate.
This new ink is placed in cartridge no. 10 and 11. If your printer uses
cartridges 10 or 11, use a different printer for printing on
fabric. For more information on choosing a printer, click
here.
General Instructions for using BJS 2000:
- Do not use these instructions to prepare fabric for
Inklingo. If you are using Inklingo, you WANT the ink to wash out.
- Cut your fabric slightly larger than the size you will be
printing. (i.e. for 8˝ x 11 cut your sheets 9" x
10˝" or larger) This allows for shrinkage.
- Soak a whole pile of fabric sheets at the same time. Lay one
sheet in the bottom of a flat plastic box and pour a little BJS on
top. Wearing gloves, rub the liquid into the fabric until it
is thoroughly soaked. Put a second sheet on top of the first,
and it will soak up the excess liquid from the first
sheet. Pour a little more BJS on the second sheet and
rub it in. Continue until you have soaked all your fabric.
Hang dry the fabric, or spread the fabric to dry on a table top
covered with plastic. Let it air dry for 48 hours. Pour
any leftover BJS back into the bottle.
- Iron the fabric to a stabilizer (see below)
until it is completely bonded with no air bubbles between the fabric
and freezer paper. Cut it to fit your printer with a sharp
rotary cutter. Trim any loose threads.
- Using the advanced or custom options of your printer properties, change the
print settings to to the "finest DPI" (720x1440), the
media type setting to "photo quality glossy paper" and the
color adjustment to "vivid". (Do not use the photo ink, which is
meant for paper. Use regular ink, or the new HP Vivera ink if you
have an HP.) Set your printer to accept heavy paper and for manual feed.
Feed the sheets one at a time. Don't forget to change
these settings back when you are done!
- Run it through your ink jet printer and let sit for 30
minutes. Machine wash (delicate Cycle) in warm water with Bubble Jet
Rinse. Do not let the fabric fold in on itself or twist during
the wash. Do not heat set with an iron - it is the wash which
sets the print. Bubble Jet Rinse removes the excess dye
and sets the existing dye so your quilt can be safely washed in the
future.
- For more tips,
consider joining the BJS
user group or check the Bubble
Jet Set Website. See Printing
on Fabric for more helpful tips.
Stabilizing your Fabric:
There are several ways to stabilize your fabric in step
3. You could iron it to
the
shiny side of a piece of freezer paper. Use a hot (1200 watt) iron on
the hardest surface you can find. A cutting board works well. Freezer paper is that wonderful stuff you
can find in your grocers storage aisle or at a butcher shop. One side is
paper and the other has a light coating of wax which melts when you iron
it. It does tend to curl, so try to cut it into 8 ˝" x 11 ˝"
sheets ahead
of time. Flatten them under your cutting board for a few days, or press
them to a pressing sheet
. Pay extra attention to the side that is going through the printer
first - you want that side to be solidly adhered to the freezer
paper. Be sure to remove any stray lint, strings or threads.
Instead of freezer paper you could use Palette paper, available from
your
local art supply store, NASCO Art
Supplies or
Dick Blick's art supplies site. Choose
Canson, Bienfang or Strathmore Paper Palette palette papers. ProArt
Acrylic Media Palette is made differently and won't work for this
project.
Avery 8 ˝" x 11 labels work too, if you can get the fabric to
stick without
bubbles. It stays sticky through up to 10 applications.
Please note: these are liquid chemicals and cannot be shipped
using the "small, flat items" rate. There is a surcharge on shipping for chemicals due to the packaging required by
the Post Office.
The BJS method of printing photos on fabric should not be used if you
think the resulting fabric might be ingested - i.e. chewed on by a
baby. It *is* a chemical after all.
Peel-n-Stick Labels
 Lite
Heat n Bond is a paper backed sheet of solid lightweight heat
activated adhesive. You iron it on to the back of your fabric, then pull
the paper off to create iron-on motifs. To use this for printing on
fabric, don't pull the paper off. Trim to paper size and use in
your ink jet printer to create labels or other items to be ironed on to
garments or quilts. Avery offers free Design
software which you can download and use to create labels.
Roll with a lint roller, or check carefully for threads that would
mar the printed surface. Print the HNB-backed fabric in your inkjet
printer. The paper backing acts like freezer paper -- but stabilizes it
better. The  best thing about using this product is that, after printing,
you can cut out the label and iron it on -- then stitch around the
outside edges for additional stability. Order Lite
Heat n Bond for $2.99. Nervous about
doing it yourself? Printed Treasures makes a
Peel-n-stick product for use in making labels to be stuck to lunch boxes, mouse
pads and the like. Order Printed
Treasures Peel n Stick Labels to order for $12.99
Retayne and Synthrapol
 If you have a problem with fabric bleeding, you may need either
Synthrapol or Retayne.
Synthrapol is used to suspend and carry excess dye from fiber.
It removes any unfixed or unreacted dye to keep it from redepositing
dye onto areas of the fabric that you don't want to be stained. It
is recommended for use as a pre wash to remove excess dye
(especially in reds and blues), sizing, dirt and oils. Order a 16 oz
bottle of Synthrapol for
$7.00. Please note: this is a liquid chemical and cannot be
shipped using the "small, flat items" rate. It has to
be specially prepared for mailing so an additional shipping charge
will apply to the entire package.
Retayne is used to set dye. For example, if you printed a
text message on fabric, you can use retayne to to set it. If
you have a piece of fabric you know will fade, you can use retayne
to keep fading to a minimum. Order
a 16oz bottle of Retayne for $7.00. Please note: this is a
liquid chemical and cannot be shipped using the "small, flat
items" rate. There is a surcharge on shipping
for chemicals due to the packaging required by the Post Office.
See Printing
on Fabric for more helpful tips.
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