Digital Printing on Fabric

Digital printing on fabric first emerged in the late 1990′s, and since has technologically matured into a reliable source where the pro’s far outweigh the con’s. First2Print is an internationally renowned source for digitally printed fabric and has been used as a source for artists, high fashion runway production, home goods, crafters, costume design, children’s apparel and branding since 2001. Here’s some of the advantages to printing digitally on fabric.

TIME
For one, it’s fast. Traditional methods of sourcing through mills can take 4-8 weeks, and that’s before correction, approvals and ordering of final yardage even come into play. With digital printing on fabric, you can order your custom designed fabric, view and approve strike-off’s and receive your final yardage in as little as 7-10 business days. This makes Just In Time (JIT) delivery and Quick Response possible. Additionally, digital fabric printing with First2Print permits our clients to control the design and printing process from remote locations.

MONEY
Virtually eliminates the expense and time of screen printing preparation. It’s more cost effective for proof and short-run printing than analog printing methods.

PRIVACY CONTROL
Digital fabric printing can virtually eliminate the threat of design theft before market release. We value our clients privacy and keep their designs protected.

CREATIVE CONTROL
Digital printing on fabric can render unlimited colors and images for short run yardage of fabrics. Typically, textile designs are constrained to six to twelve colors, yet with digital printing, millions of colors are achievable and customization is fast and easy. Changing each print on the fly does not increase costs substantially.

ECOLOGICALLY MORE RESPONSIBLE
Shipping artwork and fabric overseas, obviously is not as eco-friendly as keeping it in the US. First2Print has two locations — both central to apparel and home goods production– The Garment District in the heart of New York City and Los Angeles. The need for physical inventory is greatly reduced, since client files are stored digitally. And while analog volume-print pricing promotes over-run waste, the digital method significantly reduces it. Digital fabric printing is cleaner, safer, and generally less wasteful, and less environmentally hazardous than analog textile printing methods

SPACE
The space necessary for archiving art, films, plates and screens is reduced significantly if not completely. Samples and yardage can be ordered directly from easily stored and transported computer files. Color specifications per client are communicated through fabric swatches, Pantone chips or previous yardage.