FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

HOW DO I ORDER?
MY PICTURE IS RECTANGLE – I WANT A SQUARE PRINT.
I TRIED PRINTING MYSELF, AND THE PRINT IS DULL AND STREAKED.
I DON’T HAVE A DIGITAL IMAGE FILE, JUST A PHOTOGRAPH.
WHAT IS ‘PIGMENT’?
DOES THE PRINTED FABRIC ‘FEEL’ DIFFERENT?
WHAT ARE THE COST DIFFERENCES IN PRINTING MYSELF OR YOU DOING IT?
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN BUSINESS?
THE FABRIC SHEETS I BOUGHT AT THE FABRIC STORE SAYS THEY ARE PERMANENT WITH 'ANY INK JET PRINTER'.
HOW CAN THE PRINTER WORK WITH 'FLOPPY' FABRICS?
WILL THE COLORS ON THE FABRIC BE EXACTLY LIKE ON MY COMPUTER MONITOR, OR ON MY CAMERA VIEWER?
HOW DO I SEND A COMPUTER FILE TO YOU?

HOW TO ORDER: All we need is a copy of your image ready to print. Print-ready means if you want a square print, ie 8” x 8”, the picture you send must either be square or directions included where you want the picture cropped to fit the square. You may send a .jpg file online, or any format such as TIFF on a CD.

MY PICTURE IS RECTANGLE – I WANT A SQUARE PRINT: One re-sizing is included in the price. Any color corrections or “boo boos” can be done for an additional 75 cents/ minute. You will be notified in advance of any extra charges. Please give an email address to expedite your order.

I TRIED PRINTING MYSELF, AND THE PRINT IS DULL AND STREAKED: This is due to either the settings in the print menu or your printer needs cleaning. We guarantee your print will be as vibrant and beautiful as your file you send us.

I DON’T HAVE A DIGITAL IMAGE FILE, JUST A PHOTOGRAPH: No problem. You may also send a good photo which we will scan to print for a slight extra charge of $2.50. All materials will be returned with your order.

WHAT IS ‘PIGMENT’? Pigment is the stuff that is in paint, like oil paint or acrylic paint, that make it the color. In paint the pigment is mixed with a binder to hold it together and a liquid like water that lets it spread around the canvas or paper. In our printer, the pigment is sprayed on the fabric in a similar way ink is sprayed on in your inkjet printer. Pigment has the advantage of being permanent (won’t wash off) and much more fade resistant than regular inkjet ink. It has been tested in labs to archive for well over 150 years if kept from direct sunlight, yet it holds up as well in ordinary wear as your fabrics purchased at the fabric store.

THE FABRIC SHEETS I BOUGHT AT THE FABRIC STORE SAYS THEY ARE PERMANENT WITH 'ANY INK JET PRINTER': That's what they say all right. We bought some to try. We followed directions carefully and then tested to see if they washed well, or faded in the sunlight. All of us who have made clothing or crafts of fabric know some colors will fade quicker than others, and some will bleed in the first washings. The cotton 8 1/2" by 11" sheets of treated fabric printed okay (but not very vibrant color using the 'plain paper' setting they recommend), and they washed okay (but details of faces and such blurred a tad). But put into the direct sunlight a couple days changed some of the colors appreciably. And, keep in mind the costs to you are about the same when you consider the cost of ink as well as the fabric - and you can get larger sizes from us, including custom sizes. You currently can find silk sheets in some stores, but none we know about offer SATIN OR LINEN in any cut sizes ready to print.

DOES THE PRINTED FABRIC ‘FEEL’ DIFFERENT? There is no difference at all in the feel of the material with our process than any other like fabric purchased on bolts at the fabric store. Our Habotai has a wonderful sheen, the satin looks and feels as it should, and the cotton has a high thread count for the best wear. There are some print kits out there that you iron on the garment or quilt square after printing. Those are totally inacceptable in that they feel very stiff, change color when you iron them on, and will begin to crack and yellow after a couple washings.

WHAT ARE THE COST DIFFERENCES IN PRINTING MYSELF OR YOU DOING IT? For an 8” square, your printer's inkjet costs are about $3.00 for fabric from packs at the fabric store or other sources, plus about $2.00 for ink, (totalling about what our duplicates are.) Plus we offer larger sizes and the satin and other fabrics on request.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN BUSINESS? Printing on fabric like this is a new technology. At last the 'industry' has developed a product (pigments that print like ink) and hardware (wonderful printers) that make Computer Art as durable and archival as traditional methods such as screen printing, watercolor and acrylic painting.

This service of printing for quilters and other textile artists is relatively new, but the parent company, Raldon Enterprises is in its 50th year of business. Raldon began as a commercial art and sign company in 1955. Still family-owned, the company's purpose is providing services to individuals and businesses in the form of graphic design, web design and, recently, book publishing.

HOW CAN THE PRINTER WORK WITH 'FLOPPY' FABRICS? Our fabrics have been specially treated to "accept" ink or pigment so the colors remain true to the original image file. They also have been backed with paper, similar to the contact paper one finds in rolls at the hardware or home do-it-yourself departments. We ship to you with the paper still on the fabric so it won't wrinkle in transit. All you have to do is peel off that paper and the fabric is ready to use. On special request we will remove the paper and fold the fabric to send.

WILL THE COLORS ON THE FABRIC BE EXACTLY LIKE ON MY COMPUTER MONITOR, OR ON MY CAMERA VIEWER? There are several variables in this color issue. The print will match the file you send us as best as possible. Color is a funny thing - it appears different on various physical materials even though actually the same. This is because of the way that material reflects or absorbs light. A shiny metal surface and a soft fabric and a rough textured wall may all be the exact same color but look slightly different in your room. All computer monitors are not alike. Some brands make the image appear slightly different than others - check this out in any computer store or even in a store with televisions for sale. When the demos are all running you will see many color variations. The age of the monitor makes a difference, and especially how you have set your monitor's color and appearance. Every color has a specific number based on how much of each primary color it contains, and we do our best to match that number, no matter what the monitor appears to be. The last variable is the fabric itself. Cotton and silk absorb ink and pigment in a different way. Cotton and linen are plant based, silk and wool are animal based and take on different characteristics as a result. For anyone needing a specific color to be absolutely true (as in matching another fabric in your quilt or garment) send along a small swatch of the color you want us to match. We will do so if at all possible.

HOW DO I SEND A COMPUTER FILE TO YOU? You can, of course put any file on a CD and send it in the mail, along with the order form. We will return it. The easiest way perhaps, and certainly faster, is to send it through your email as an attachment. The important thing is to be sure it is a GOOD copy of what you want. JPG files are typically small files, saved at 72 dpi as resolution, and whatever size in inches you have made it. It would be a good idea to send the inch measurements at about full size. In other words, if you want 8" x 8", send the JPG as 8" x 8" and 72 dpi. This should be small enough to travel well online. Larger files, such as PSD (Photoshop) or TIFF (from your camera) may be too large and your email host may not allow it to go through. Please don't send a tiny file like 1" x 2", as no details will be there to print well at all. Be sure to name the file - and be sure the file extension is on the name so we can open it here. This would look something like nameofpicture.jpg, not just nameof picture.

Any further questions, be sure to email us. If several people ask the same things we will post those here on FAQ as well.

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